New Beer Weekend #304

Trap Door Interiority
Barrel-aged imperial stout

Look:
The dark brown body is right next door to black, and has deep reddish-brown highlights. It briefly sports a thin disk of cocoa brown foam which quickly shrinks to a buff colored ring and a skin like a tenuous dark nebula in the void.

Smell:
Dark chocolate. No, wait...vanilla. No, it's cocoa powder on a thick slice of toasted brown bread that's still chewy in the middle. Slightly burnt caramel. Oak, vanilla, a low thrum of bourbon. Sweet at first, but it turns a bit drier and earthy as it warms.

Taste:
Sweet, but not quite obnoxiously so. Chocolate and vanilla grab the spotlight early and hog it until the curtain drops. Dark chocolate and black cherries up front. Then the bourbon catches up. Oak, booze, vanilla, and toasted marshmallows lead into devil's food cake, fudge, and charred malt. A brief interlude of caramel-drizzled graham crackers. Hints of prunes and raisins. The finish is more dark chocolate, bourbon, and instant Vietnamese coffee.

Feel:
Full-bodied and velvety, with understated carbonation. Coats the mouth with every sip. Smoother than a Lou Rawls greatest hits collection.

Overall:
The chocolate is behind the wheel, and vanilla sits shotgun. The base stout and bourbon are in the back seat. I think I'd like this better if the group switched seats. Still, it's not too sweet, and the feel is luxurious, and I'm happy with the amount of barrel character. Really nice beer, would drink again.

 

I haven’t been to More’s brewery in quite some time, but really need to return this Summer. They canned a great WCIPA collaboration in April with Revolution, an homage to Empire Carpet, that I hope to get more of (pun intended) and also that it returns in the future. Hope I run into The Pact based on your review.

Really enjoyed this beer, and glad I had a chance to enjoy before they sold out.

This sounds like a great beer, and Pine + Citrus is a favorite taste profile. Beer turned out better than the Habs after period one (I turned it off after the quick first goal because I didn’t want to jinx it), but like you, I’m pulling for Buffalo in the Prince of Wales Conference Finals. If it’s Carolina vs. Colorado, I’m not watching the Final.

Thanks for sharing your chart and love for NBW! I will likely transition to Apple and Numbers after using Excel since it replaced Lotus 1-2-3. Will love to make and share better visuals assuming I won’t lose or distort my transferred Excel files.

This selection sounds excellent, and I love the Lou Rawls reference!

Will return with my planned home Sunday beer review, likely before the Sox game.

 

Time to celebrate New Beer Sunday #1108 with this tall boy paired with tacos, about lunch or post lunch time on my body clock. This label doesn't state brewed and canned, but the can stamp is consistent with Revolution can stamps. Will report back if they state that certain beers are brewed beyond their plant. This is a beer like many of the stovepipes for people looking for the max craft ABV for their beer bucks.

Revolution X Hero Tropical Surge

4.12/5 rDev +13.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4



Full review linked above. Short take, not sure how much of the tropical fruit is derived from hops vs. natural flavors. Tastes like a hybrid beer and fruit juice. Not cloying, but sweet, with pineapple and citrus the leaders, and lemon and tangerine backing up. Could order this as a draft pour, probably would limit these stovepipes unless sharing as this is potent as I am enjoying the second half.

Cheers!

 

That is a fun bit of Tonewood lore, ChicagoJ. Now I have to wonder whether I ever crossed paths with @jonphisher there without realizing it. I lived fairly close to the original Oaklyn spot and frequented it pretty regularly from 2017 through 2021, usually around opening hours. @jonphisher, did you ever happen to notice a metal dude posted up there in those days?

Tonewood brews for the win as well!

Pendulum



Wave Shift

 

We did!!! We went back and forth in a thread or DM here after the fact I forget how we realized but I remembered a guy taking pictures with a real camera and somehow connected dots and reached out on here, a while back now.

I’ve also been waiting to cross paths with @Bouleboubier who I’ve also messaged a few times.

I cannot believe they’re hosting a full blown music festival for their anniversary this year. God do I love that bunch of music loving brewers; I can’t wait to see what beers they got in store for us. Peace, Love and Tonewood

 

Ah, you are right! I had completely forgotten that we connected afterward. My apologies. I had quite a lot going on around that time and in the years that followed, so that memory slipped out of place.

But yes, that was absolutely me with the real camera. I used to love bringing it along for Tonewood visits. Very cool that you remembered that detail.

Peace, Love and Tonewood indeed.

P.S. I had better plan a trip back there sooner rather than later.

 

Excellent point and something I've definitely thought when trying to review these NA beers to style. In essence, I feel like I've been rating them in comparison to the style they're mimicking and not in comparison to other NA beers, but honestly, rating these things with or without the alcohol always feels a bit like throwing darts at a dartboard ... hard to be 100% precise with something so subjective to begin with IMO.

FWIW I do appreciate BAs taking the NA beer category seriously enough to let us bring them to WBAYDN and NBW without casting aspersions. In fact, I wouldn't have started trying them myself if not for seeing so many others BAs posting them on our two major threads. Turns out the good BA knows what they're doing.

 

4.33/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Look: hazy, pale gold, fluffy pillowy head, white cap with good retention, good lacing

Smell: earthy, watermelon, pear

Taste: berries, pear, melon, apricot, pine, citrus pith/rind bitterness, grapefruit

Feel: soft, med body, lower carbo, light fizziness

Overall: 8% abv. Yeah, we're runnin' a little bit hot tonight. Two sixteen ouncers for this review. The scent didn't jump out to me, but the taste did. Excellent citrus flavors came thru with a touch of pine. She's soft and there's a light citrus pithy/rind bitterness and light fizziness that feels quite nice. This brew is pretty damn good, and I got two more to go. Lucky me. Pairs well with the ultimate Lamborghini tune, Panama by Van Halen. Cheers!

 

A delicious gift from @GreenBayBA
3 Sheeps <WOLF> BBA Imp Stout
It's a beautiful example that doesn't exit the common angle of this style I guess. One could say it is slightly redolent of some Central Waters' Stouts. Velvet smooth with tastes of bourbon bbls, dark chocolate, figs, wood, sea spray, old wood, the finish has a long glide and aftertaste of light & gentle caramel sweetness. A primo brewskie.

 

It is a tribute to their advertising that the jingle and phone number came to mind immediately.

 

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Barleywine Ale 2013 Batch 1, English Barleywine, 12.1% ABV. Hissed upon opening. Pours dark brown with a half-finger beige head that left no lacing. Aroma is dark fruit, roast malt, and caramel/toffee. Taste follows plus bourbon and chocolate, slightly sweet, slightly bitter, some bourbon burn, some oxidation but not cardboard. Light carbonation, moderately thick, overall outstanding to world-class adjacent. Amazing considering the age.

4.54/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Keeping an eye on the weather, just got a tornado watch.

 

I like how you roll...

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. Summer arrived rather suddenly yesterday and it's going to be HOT for the next few days. But it's never too warm to review a fine BA Imperial Stout. This one is called Sub Rosa and it is another collaboration to celebrate Twin Elephant Brewing Co.'s 10th anniversary. The partner for this Stout is The Rosecourt Brewery in Madison, New Jersey, which is about to open after a build-out that seemed interminable. I'm looking forward to going there when it opens. It is located about 15 minutes from my home - the same distance as Twin Elephant.

This Stout is brewed with Ugandan and Mexican vanilla beans, pecans, and toffee, and it is aged in a 9 Year Four Roses barrel and a Barton 1972 barrel.

Poured at 57°. It is inky black with a modest, medium-mocha-colored head that dissipated quickly leaving a ring and some clouds floating on the surface. The nose is big and aromatic with notes of strong coffee, chocolate, vanilla, pecan, and distinct bourbon. Super flavorful! The Uganda and Mexican vanilla is big and fresh tasting. So are the pecans which have a roasty quality. The coffee in the background is acidic and there is the pleasant balancing sweetness of toffee. I'm very impressed with the barrel notes which are delicate but add significant flavor without distracting. This Stout has a rich, plush mouth feel with low carbonation, and it is very drinkable for 13% ABV.

4.47/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I wish that TE packaged it in a 500 ML bottle rather than 750 ML. I've corked it and will enjoy the rest another time. I'm also going to check to see whether any more bottles remain although it is pricey. Have a great week, everyone. Cheers, NBW!

 

HAHA! Loved that show. Great pull.

 

Cheers brother! It's mildly unusual for me to roll but some particular flower I got is perfect for it. Alongside that 13.7% Stout, my day was paved in a different, cool way.

 

Reading this on Sunday. Hope your girls do well today!

 

Great writeup. I particularly liked your description of the aroma.

 

Good afternoon BAs! Today’s new to me beer comes from Lithuania (my 53rd Country) - Lietuviškas Pilsneris, double-concocted using oven roasted malt:



Pours, pale gold with excellent clarity; super foamy creamy white head; tons of streaming carbonation; long lasting head; heavy ring; heavy lacing. Smoky nose; burnt toast. Burnt biscuits taste. Clean, crisp feel; light body; full carbonation. Overall, tastes like a smoked Strohs’.

4.75 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5
Score: 4.52
rDev: +5.4%

I don’t generally like smoke as an aroma or taste, beer and food, but the smoke here is mild and elevates the whole. I like!