New Beer Sunday (week 509)

Moving along....

Winter White - Legend Brewing Co.


Legend Brewing - Winter White Belgian Style Ale by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a Hoegaarden glass.

A deep pale amber and quite brown chestnut body. Slightly cloudy, but with lots of visible carbonation making it's way up to a creamy head. Simple two finger head, solid white with a creamy appearance if a little small. This is a real dark witbier I must say.

Nice aromatic hints of coriander and cardamom like spices. Sweet notes and quite a big estery brew going on here. Sensing classic like candi sugar but with not much else going on. A real impressive aroma, but a bit big on the sweet side.

The sweet spice notes of clove, cardamom and sugars really come forth on the palate on first sip. Big booming almost dry hot brown spice all over, large and inviting. Has a big sensing feel of a winter warmer, but with less boozy character. Some controlled sweetness but not too large, but grabbing into minty and large menthol aftertaste.

Looses some classic witbier character in the mix but comes off as quite a unique beer, with a huge candy cane like aroma. Probably a solid Christmas beer ironically for the time, but doesn't really remind me of a witbier so much.

look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5 | Final Score: 3.65

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Happy NBS! I'm a bit tardy, but I've been trying to work out a bit on the weekends which sometimes leads to no beer in the morning hours.

Today's offering is an IPA from a tallboy can. Only 9 reviews including mine. The first half were somewhat low, but the latter ratings are more in line of how I feel about this IPA.

It has a nice hoppy aroma of citrus and tropical. The combo of citra and galaxy stands out in such a great way. Tropical notes of kiwi, pineapple, passion fruit. Citrus notes of grapefruit and tangerine. Mellow sweetness from the caramel malts lingers. The flavors are bold and hoppy from all the resin. The most dominant flavor is citrus, with the tropical notes filling in. Grapefruit, pineapple, tangerine, and some passion fruit. Caramel is in there, but this stays on the bitter side. Terrific IPA that went down quickly after my workout.



I also picked up a new phone (LG G3) that takes much better pics than I am used to. I have to crop them down because of all the height in the photo.

Last night I also had a really nice local brew from Black Husky, Big Buck Brown Ale.

The aroma was sweet brown bread, with roasty malts, muted hops, brown sugar and a touch of maple syrup. A nice brown ale flavor with some roasty malt. Rich brown bread with hints of nuts and a touch of maple syrup. The sweetness is held in check by the mild hops. Overall a really tasty brown ale.

 

Um cavedave, you were invited. (link)

 

Half Acre Heyoka IPA. Made with Chinook and Amarillo hops and won a silver medal at the 2014 GABF. This does live up to the hype IMO. Lots of Chinook character, as I get pine resin, lemon zest, and grapefruit zest and a pretty abrasive bitterness for an IPA. The Amarillo does add some sweeter flavors of orange juice and mango notes towards the finish and there is some ever-so slight honey sweetness and cracker malt to balance everything out. Nice soft carbonation leads to a silky and creamy mouthfeel. The hop oils just coat the mouth on the very dry finish. This is well balanced while being hop-forward and has a complex and clean hop profile. Another world class IPA from Half Acre.

I think I appreciate this more because it is different from a lot of other IPA's that are coming out now. Most IPA's recently seem to be more fruity and sweet, which makes the beer appear "juicy". I don't have a problem with this, as I am a big fan of a lot of juicy and fruity IPA's and this beer does have some fruitiness and sweetness, but not near the level of other recently-made IPA's. The resinous pine and bitter citrus rind qualities from the Chinook make this more of an old school IPA in terms of hop flavor, but it is definitely a welcomed addition to the beer and plays off nicely with the sweeter Amarillo hop notes.

 

New ESB Sunday

What a gorgeous day we had today- perfect for some soccer, yard work, and lounging about. The sun is starting to say goodnight, though, so it's time to close the windows and turn my attention elsewhere.

I just popped a can of Blue Mountain Barrel House Steel Wheels ESB. The only thing I know about these guys or this beer is those last three letters, but that's OK, it's a salespitch that I just can't resist .


First off, the nose is very English in nature, and absolutely gorgeous. Lots of fruit comes out right away (berries and dried apple, primarily), but it's woven so beautifully with toasty malt, caramel, nuts, and a just enough floral hops to give it a certain lightness. The mouthfeel is moderately full and smooth, while there is just enough bitterness to keep things in check and not an iota more. Mostly caramel dominates the palate, but the finish is surprisingly dry (!!!), with the toasty malt and flowers lingering on the finish. Hell, yes! They got the finish right, and drinkability is off the charts! Everything about this beer is so harmonious and well put together. This has been a genuine pleasure to drink- I look forward to getting it again, and whatever else I can find by this brewery. A- (4.2)

Come on wheels, take this boy away...

 

Happy NBS and Happy birthday to @beertunes! For this installment of NBS I have chosen a beer that I came across a little while ago and has been staring at me in my fridge for about a month now... I present Vampire Slayer by Clown Shoes.



The beer pours jet black without much head. While it is around it is a mocha colored head with a slightly creamy appearance and texture.

Smells mostly of bitter dark chocolate and anise. Roasty malt begins to take over. Being from Memphis where the smell of Hickory smoked BBQ permeates the air I can actually pull out hickory smoke from the distinct woody smells that come from the nose as the beer warms. I usually don't like smoked beers too much, but I really don't mind this, it is very subtle and takes more of a backseat to bitter chocolate.

Taste is roasted, bitter chocolate. Wood notes and a definite rauch-esque quality are present. I honestly don't perceive too much depth to this beer and I am a little disappointed. Looked forward to trying this, and at least I am getting my allotment of Holy Water for a little while. Maybe this will stave off the Flu...

Mouthfeel is rich and slightly creamy. Pretty standard for the style.

Overall the disappointment doesn't take away from the fact that this is a good beer. The smoked malts don't overwhelm this beer in the least. In fact if I looked at this as a smoked beer instead of as a stout it would recieve high marks from me in that category. As a stout though I would reach for something else next time. Like Imperial Biscotti Break. Still dreaming about that one, which I cracked this week after finding out that I got a new job. Wahoo! First real job out of college! (for those of you wondering, yes I am fairly young... but legal.)

Hope yall enjoy your own NBS!

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers,

Right now it's 42 degrees (closest to normal for this time of year than its been for over two weeks) in the city that Idahoans come to for culture and everyone else flees from in search of the same thing (I kid, Idahoans, I kid...). Beer-wise, it was a quiet week, though I did pick up a couple of goodies at Huckleberry's last night. Yesterday was perhaps the best college football day I've had all year, as both of my teams won - they were games they were supposed to win, but it was still fun to have that happen, since it's been rare this year (mainly looking at you, UW - my Eags have done their part this year.). After a breakfast of coffee, bacon and a Cornish "breakfast pasty" (actually from Montana), I have settled in for NFL action, rooting for the 'Hawks, as I have for 30 years <edit: BTW, Fox, you can stop playing grunge songs at every break for commercials. Yep, I was a fan, and mostly still am, but it's been 20 yrs, and we'd produced Hendrix and the Sonics long before Alice In Chains and Pearl Jam>.

While deciding what to do for lunch, I cracked open a canned IPA from Nebraska (the state and the brewery) purchased in western Washington:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16504/50887/?ba=woemad
This may or may not be a single hop beer - Citra is the only hop mentioned on the can, but it doesn't explicitly state no others were used. It's a good, "fruit-forward" IPA, but it's not something I'd put in the first rank. I bought it mainly because I'd never had a Nebraskan beer, but would buy it again if sold locally at a sensible price.

 

Thanks, I see you know how good it is! My second favorite TH glass, their teku is my favorite!

 

Looks like you summoned me, might as well share a new brew with this Sunday crew!

 

The other one was WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY cooler.

 

Blind Guardian... \m/

 

New Gose in a Can Sunday!

Today was fun yet tiresome at work. So coming home never felt better. Well, I'm better now that I know I have a beer to drink! This is the new Brew!



This is my last time trying the Gose style before I single them out, that they are just not for me. I tried one I liked, tried a very popular Gose, couldn't finish it. So third times a charm, right? Ok time for the beer! This brew pours a pale blonde body, the head went down fast, no lacing. Not the prettiest looking beer, but it's not ugly. The aroma is telling me that there is sugar in here, so I might actually like where this beer is going to take me. Nice hints of honey and wheat grains. Tart green apples approaches and greets you with a crisp welcome. Smells like a malt liquor actually. That's not a bad thing for me. Tasting the brew now! First it hits the palate with a melange of subtle sourness and mild salinity. In between there is hints of grain sweetness that I believe helps the brew stick to the palate and not wrecks it with sourness. In the aftertaste is where everything meets together and shakes your hand. Green apple skin with wheat crackers graininess echoing in your mind. This brew finishes acidic, fruity, semi-dry and clean. The feel is light on the palate, carbonation is very active and acts like scrubbing bubbles on the tastebuds.

Overall: I am not over the moon with this style, but I actually like this. I could recommend this to those who are not too familiar or just getting into the Gose style. This really does remind me of the Malt Liquor style brew, just with more tartness. At the end of the day I could sit back and slam a few of these watching a Baseball game. This brew is worthy!

Grade: Solid B+

Cheers New Beer Sunday Crew!

 

5.2% alcohol. 40 IBU. Introduced in 2014. Brewed in Chicago. It has the stereotypical American pale ale characteristics, but a much heavier mouthfeel than one would expect. I purchased it at Stein's Deli in New Orleans ($2.69 for the 16-oz. can).

 

I have one of those too. Love collecting Teku's. I have 3 now: Tired Hands, Sexual Chocolate, and Three Floyd's.

 

Time for a big treat that I have been waiting for since I first heard it was happening, Barrel-Aged Narwhal! It is as good as it sounds, feel very lucky I was able to pick up 3 bottles, highly recommend, cheers!

4.69/5 rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

750 mL bottle poured into a teku

A- Pitch black with a two finger mocha head.

S- Chocolate, oak,!some bourbon and vanilla, roasted coffee, touch of caramel, almost no alcohol.

T- Very rich and big, dark chocolates, hints of dark fruits, bourbon, a lot of oak, vanilla, alcohol, but not boozy, espresso/roasted coffee that linger in the finish, very well balanced.

M- Smpith, full body, slightly chewy, carbonation is a little too high.

O- A great barrel aged stout the is actually more bitter than sweet. I was able to grab 3 bottles, but will probably hunt for a few more. I am a big fan of regular Narwhal and Sierra Nevada did a great job aging this!

 

Nice!

 

New American IPA Sunday

Hello all! Rainy but mild day here in the Milwaukee area. I recently bought the Magic Hat winter variety pack. There were four different beers. The only one that I had already had was the #9. I reviewed the other two - the brown ale and the porter - over the last few days. I reviewed the encore - which is a hybrid of IPA and American Pale wheat today. Like the others, I wasn't particularly impressed, but enjoyed it. All were pretty good - certainly not the greatest, but pleasant and good enough to like.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/96/61703/

Have a good week all!

Cheers!

 

Agreed!