New Beer Sunday (week 521)

Like I just said in WBAYDN, I held a grudge against Lagunitas when I read that they were suing Sierra Nevada. But then I started thinking: What if I'd never read that thread on Beer Advicate? I wouldn't have had an opinion, and thus What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You. Then I walked into my favorite beer store and saw Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout on the shelf for under $5. Lagunitas, I forgive you because you make great beer at a great price. Well that was easy, wasn't it? I guess I can be swayed, thus I have no soul.

The beer is midnight black with brown hues coming through the edges in the light. A mocha colored head recedes leaving a bubbly ring and a circle of wispy foam in the center of my Yeti balloon glass. Light patchy lacing, although by the last pour my glass is downright filthy with foam -- love it.

Aroma is massive strong dark coffee. Lots of roasty notes, but not without a lactose sugar sweetness and dark chocolate as well.

Excellent dark roasted coffee beans on the palate, but it soon transitions into lactose sugar and bitterness in the finish. There's a definite chocolate cake afterthought to this. The warmer it gets, the more that it tastes like a milk stout to me. The mouthfeel is medium to light, a bit thin for 9.2% ABV.

 

Hey everyone. Hope this Sunday finds you well and fulfilled. I'm enjoying some time at home with my son, as my wife always has a day to herself on Sunday so in my house it is now Daddy Son-day. And as he has just discovered at 12 weeks he has hands and can move stuff even if his depth perception needs some work it has been a fun day...

Now as my son sleeps I'm getting stuck into some new beers. starting with this... one of the beers I recently got in a bumper pack of USA beers

4.07/5 rDev +12.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance – Amber colouration with light flowing CO2. Brilliant shaving foam cream head that dies to a ring of lace cover after 5 minutes. This lace sticks lightly to the edges of the glass

Smell – Instant Lemon Geranium aroma that is best described as citrusy and piney. This is an aroma I have come to expect from many modern IPAs. There is only light evidence of sweeter malts in here but they are evident in the aroma which is an improvement on Brew Dog offerings.

Taste – Actually very well balanced. This beer is definitely hop forward but the malts also make a good showing for themselves giving a great base to the citrus fruit and pine hop. The fruits in here range from grapefruit and blood orange to mandarin sweetness. Although there is some sweet elements in here by and large this beer sticks to the bitter sour end of things and it does it pretty well.

MF – Pretty smooth but also slightly thinner than I had hoped for. This beer despite some great flavour does not boast a good linger and it is not drying or cloying so that you wonder did you drink anything at all. I would probably be best describing this beer as crisp but a little pedestrian.

Overall – Great balance in the flavour compared to some modern IPAs I have had. The only drawback to this beer as I can see it is the mouth feel that does not provide much to chew on so to speak but it is still a very fine beer.

Guid forder all

 

All right! Back to hoppy California beers.



A little slow getting to some new releases, but there are just so many new beers all the time now—I think we really need a NBEDOTW (every day of the week). But that's another matter, anyway.

My basic thoughts for this one: a floral hoppy aroma, bitingly bitter, then lemon-candy-/limoncello-like flavour, lingering bitterness—like chewing on a 'traditional' lemon pith (i.e. not meyer lemons, which seem to have eclipsed regular lemons in California, these days). Yes, 'Lemondrop' is a good name. Lemons definitely come to mind. There's a moderate sweetness, but the bitterness balances it. It makes me think a bit of a mild Lemon Cello (the goofy spelling of which bugs me).



Overall, I like it. 'Delicious IPA' might be overselling it, but I won't mind going through the rest of these.

 

I think I may have broken probability.
A bad schedule that looked like it was going to become problematic ended up forgiving (from one perspective...). We've been in high census protocol at the hospital recently with almost every bed in the whole damn building full (they were apparently resorting to rooming kids in the procedure rooms!). For some reason I agreed to take my coworkers call shift Friday night. Was pretty sure that 6 in 7 was going to become 7 in 8 (again). And then the high census protocol called for volunteers for the weekend to come in for overtime, which I foolishly signed up for. So I was convinced it was going to be 8 in 9 becomes 9 in 10 which is actually 13 in 15. Well!! That's two nights of call in a row that I have not been called in! Probably some sort of record. Kind of wish I'd been called in last night, since working seemed like the best use of the 14th, but no luck. Instead I got to some much needed housework.
The rain has abated for now, and, as you will soon see, this leads to pretty spectacular sunrises. It's a cool view from work off the 7th/8th floors looking out at the Space Needle/mountain/sound, but I have to give the edge to my roof, since it contains the same ingredients, and the roof doesn't care what I bring with me (pretty sure the hospital would object to my sipping a brew taking in the view...).

The offering for today is Triple Trifecta out of Fremont. Picked it (as well as some 1st Nails!) up from the brewery and am quite glad I did. Trifecta is a release they do in conjunction with a trio of local top notch watering holes (Burgundian/Bottleworks/Brouwers), and is one of those 'varies from batch to batch' type IPAs. This one is the hopped up (pun not *actually* intended) version (it's not usually a triple IPA. Apparently), and utilizes Sorachi Ace and Amarillo. Now I'm not going to pretend to be observant/knowledgeable/educated/fancy enough yet to feel comfortable in my grasp of different hop varietals, but from the limited stuff I HAVE managed to absorb (THE BLOB/Brett from Futurama [ha! A character that shares a name with a vaguely beer related thing! I've made my alloted play on words/overly nerdy reference for the paragraph]!) I think I picked up some interesting layers and notes that I'm going to pretend come from the sorachi ace.
THE BEER! A gorgeous pour gives you a crisp clear amber liquid with massive satin off white fluff topping it. Said fluff settles into soapy bubbles and nice little mementos on the glass. The second the cap comes off, tropical fruits fill the air: mango/papaya/maybe even pineapple... As it warms up it goes through a phase where it's more into black pepper and lemon peel (is this related to the sorachi ace I keep bringing up? Not trying to be annoying: legitimately curious/trying to expand my understanding). The last permutation it seems to embrace is a thick sap/pitch of coniferous firewood. Or really whatever you might be using fir/pine for, but for me it evokes memories of pine tar on my fingers and teeny tiny splinters in my finger tips from late night trips to bring firewood into the house. While the aroma started tropical before settling into its PNW forestry heritage, the flavour makes no such preconceptions. Jumping straight into the sap/pitch/tar side of things, it doesn't get to the sweet juicy fruits until much later; basically the inverse of the aromatic experience. Overall it all adds up to be a damn fine triple IPA from a brewery that I have come to trust implicitly.

(The ones where the moon lined up perfectly with the bottle just didn't come out as well in terms of colour/etc)
I put off opening/reviewing this brew until I saw the NBS post start up, and damn am I glad I did. Not trying to brag, but that sunrise was ridiculous live. Pictures can never do such natural majesty justice. The timing worked out perfectly (for the thread/prompting me to open the beer/my decision to do so on the roof). I also felt pretty lucky to get the mountain, the sunrise, AND the moon all in the shot. The only thing missing is the space needle (which in the scale of the pic was about an inch to the right) but I'm willing to forego the manmade and replaceable for purple mountains majesty and all that.

Because of where the pic/me is

Because it's been stuck in my head

Because of both of the above reasons

Cheers y'all!!

 

Also, from a little earlier:



I was away and never had a chance to try the original Beer Camp version, but I was curious about this one. Generally I like hoppy lagers, so when I happened to cross paths with a six pack I thought, 'why not?'

—should have stopped at 'why?'

A good floral aroma opens, with a little bit of citrus, but it fades to basic lager smell. There's not much breadiness, and a kind of corn bread / generic grains flavour is pretty strong. It seems to be best when cold because after it warms up I could almost trick myself into thinking I'm drinking Steel Reserve. This one isn't super-fresh—bottled 1/5—but it should be fine still. So I have to conclude: it's just not that great. Too bad, I'd been feeling like Sierra Nevada could do no wrong.

Well, good thing I already picked up some Hop Hunter—up next.

 

okay I'm back for one more on this fine NBS. Not only is this a new beer for me it is also a completely new style! Barley wine.

Now if this beer is anything to go by I'm sold on the style. I even asked my wife who is in Lisburn city today to grab me a couple more for Studio Ghibli season starting next week. See I love a good anime almost as much as I love a good beer and the combination of the two is heaven


4.28/5 rDev +9.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance – Black tea like colouration in fact it is almost ruby ale like. Tight off white foam head. This head dies to a lace cover in around 5-10 minutes and sticks to the side of the glass. There is only slight evidence of CO2 in this one.

Smell – Brown sugar notes are very evident in here as is an almost red wine like boozy aroma. Lots of red and dark/dried fruit such as prune, raisin and grape. Some solvent and biscuit like a very strong fruit cake soaked in booze.

Taste – A sweet solvent mix in the first punch. This beer has an almost whisky like back end to it. The middle section is dominated by the sweet prune and raisin flavours and also some banana and grape present themselves in here too. The way the flavour rides from sweet to bitter to solvent makes this one almost like a symphony on the tongue and it is the first barley wine I have ever tried but it has convinced me of the style.

MF – Very smooth, silky even! This beer had great boozy warmth although it was fairly cloying in the after taste. The linger was simply superb and it had a great tingle on the tongue with full body. Points only lost for the cloying element.

Overall – Sharp and flavourful this beer is damned fine and packs a punch. A great sipping beer for a movie or a long game of cricket.

Now some 80s music!


And finally my fav tune of all time, which just happens to have been released in the year I was born.. now there is a co-ink-a-dink


Guid forder!

 

Very cold NBS for me so starting early with a new IPA and an awesome breakfast sandwich.

Zodiak - Omnipollo

4.25/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

11.2 oz bottle, cap dated 4/10/15, poured into a teku

A- A murky golden orange with a two finger white head.

S- Topcial fruits, piney, grapefruit, some melon, hints of wheat.

T- Citrus, grapefruit, big piney finish, hints of tropical fruits and wheat.

S- Smooth, medium body, carbination is a little too high.

O- Overall a nice IPA, but the fruity hops aren't stabding out like I hoped they would, but love the wheat and oats combo for IPAs. Worth picked up.

Kind of reminds me of Tired Hands IPAs but not as fruity from the hops.

No music for me this morning, binge watching Harry Potter, cheers!

 

Heya, dudes and dudettes...

Cracked open my second beer from Gigantic Brewing outta Portland, Oregon today...

Gigantic IPA... addictive drinking!

Hop bill (if you can't make it out) features Cascade, Centennial, Crystal, and Simcoe...

Juicy and fruity, medium-bodied, with a bitterness that develops slowly...

Second pour quickly followed the first...

Cheers

 

Boulevard Sixth Glass

Boulevard has just recently started distributing in SEPA and I saw 4-packs of Sixth Glass for the first time, so I bought a 4-pack.

This beer is listed as a Quad on BA and a Belgian Dark Strong Ale (BDSA) on the Boulevard Brewing website. I sure do enjoy the Quad/BDSA beer style with my favorites being Belgian brewed: St. Bernardus Abt 12, Rochefort 10. La Trappe Quad, Struise Pannepot, …

I have enjoyed everything that I had from Boulevard so I have high hopes for Sixth Glass.

Enough with my babbling, lets DRINK!

Appearance: Hazy red-orange color. Much lighter than I expected based upon the other Quad/BDSA beers that I have consumed. It has a BIG fluffy head!

Smell: A BIG aroma of fruity aromas with banana sort of sticking out.

Taste: The flavor kind of follows the nose but with some additional complexity. There are fruity, figs, some raison flavors wrapped up in some sweetness. On mid-palate there are spicy flavors and the hop bitterness (which is not big) shows up as well. I really like the balance of the esters (fruity flavors) with the phenols (spicy flavors).

Mouthfeel: This beer is medium bodied with a creamy texture from the ample carbonation level.

Overall: I really like this beer but be forewarned this beer is different from the other Quad/BDSA beers that I have consumed. I did not really notice the dark fruit flavors that standout in the other Quad/BDSA beers but maybe this would be more evident with aging? This beer has a best by date of 11/19/16 so this beer is indeed age worthy. Another observation is that I really do not detect the 10.5% ABV alcohol level which is a sign of a very well-constructed and brewed beer.

I would highly recommend this beer to anybody who is a fan of Belgian Trappist style beers and who would enjoy a balance of fruity & spicy flavors.

Another very, very good beer from Boulevard.

Cheers to Boulevard Brewing Company!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Good Morning All,
Fresh back from an invigorating 7 degree walk down by the lake. The huge winds last evening kept the lake moving, so it didn't freeze over and the ducks were hyper active in the new sunlight. The Shovelers were working in unison speaking a language that my hounds understood. We saw a kingfisher spear a good sized bream up close. It's cold out. This huge storm extends as far south as northern North Carolina- and snow tomorrow!
Today's beer is another BIF goodie from kemoarps. Black Raven Brewing Co. Grandfather Raven Imperial Stout 2014. Thanks Kestrel. Pours a deep brooding opaque black. Nice tan head, thick and lasting, with unique thick lacing. A very beautiful beer in the glass, with a nose that needs oxygen, then grows into a rich malty, charry, almost licorice-like edge. The beer is very roasty with deep French roast espresso and other coffee notes, some interesting vinious qualities, dry, with the roastiness and big dry finish absolutely perfect. Another great PNW beer for any day, but it's 7 degrees and the best "coffee" of the day! Cheers all!




I've been craving a bit of Jethro Tull lately and thought this older high energy piece appropriate for the mood. First saw these guys at The Mosque in Richmond in 1970 and they still amaze me. Cheers again and stay warm!

 

That's an awesome beer, and you will probably not run into too many made that way these days. It's made exclusively with what brewers call 'first runnings', which means that additional water wasn't run through the grain bed to collect more of the sugars (a process called sparging). In the end that just means that the wort didn't have to be boiled for a long time to concentrate the sugar content, so it's a more pure malt flavor and not as caramelized as you may come across in other barleywines. There is also a touch of maple sugar added, which plays nicely against the other elements. I love that stuff. Cheers!

 

Interesting: I impulse-buy picked up a few bottles yesterday and here's the label.

Can you see the bottle codes on yours? I wonder if there are two versions or if you have an older one. I get

Code:

016 5 1
7477 1915

 

For Lagunitas beers, the first three digits are the day and the next digit is the year, so yours was bottled Jan 16, 2015.

Interesting- yours does seem to be missing that info regarding Hard Core Coffee.

 

Hey what's going on!?

It seems rough winter has given the DC area a taste with horrible winds, and a little dusting of snow. Road conditions are really bad.

I was at my cousins annual weekend Mardi Gras party, they throw it every year. Lots of beer and drink and of course her husband who is from the St. Louis area makes mean jamabalaya and gumbo. Spends the previous day all with the roux and sausage and chicken... oh man I look forward to it every year.. he even got some crawdads too!

Even though he's only about a mile and a half up the road, the drive home was bad... holy carp watching lots of people spin out... still our hero got home with little trouble, but almost got stuck behind a small pickup with no load and old rear wheel drive under the underpass...

ick...

Now if I can just find my garbage can today... which I am sure was blown into my second neighbors back yard!

SO ANYWAY...

What's new for our hero today? besides gumbo leftovers?!


Coronado / Devils Backbone Brewing - Devil's Tale Collaboration IPA by imbibehour, on Flickr

Link here or read below: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2447/154247/?ba=smakawhat

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Poured from the bottle into a Spiegelau IPA glass.

Deep bronze and shimmering orange glowing amber body. Super clear with just the right amount of fine carbonation, a little moderate amount, just nearly goldilocks going there, rising to the top of a real nice creamed simple three finger head. Head formation is interesting, not really aggressive but manages a perfect top off the pour, creamed retention, slightly whipped up with a few peaks and valleys. Real nice looking IPA.

Excellent bouquet follows. Dry pine and with a woody tropical notes. Lots of orange and tangerine and dry biscuit grain hiding in the back. Some minor floral and herb woody spiced character comes out as well just a hair it seems. Real inviting, seems to be a smorgasbord of hop qualities going on, with none fighting and all enjoying their presence nicely, real well balanced. Truly as described, some experimental and classic hops in the mix it seems.

Interesting palate. Real nice light backbone of malt, but easily handling the flavors to give it depth. Mid palate is a little empty, translating some of the biscuit qualities with an interesting sweet bread sense, but the party all seems to be in the finish. Final aftertaste really coats with citrus like oils and a good aromatic bitterness. Mild pine and orange to tangerine bent, with the citrus creating some sweet warmth but getting pushed out with more standard hop woody and pine dry bitter flavors. Not quite juicy, but coating well. Slight hint of an almost English Bitter malt chew it seems.

Overall does feel almost in my head like a proper collaboration between these two. Although the last 16 point I had from Devil's Backbone was off the hook. Look and feel hints towards greatness but doesn't really get there. Such feelings leave with a bit of disappointment but this is still and excellent beer. Definitely feels like a sense of both breweries trademarks were present in the making.

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 | Final BA Score: 4.15

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Really do dig both these breweries, although I do kind of overlook Coronado at time, but have had some decent enjoyable stuff from them. And Devils Backbone will always be on my radar as I really dig them too.

So for your listening drinking pleasure... yeah I don't care... Valentines (barf) but technically every day is Valentines Day so there...



Cheers!

 

Good morning, fellow NBSers,

It's a foggy morning in the city formerly known as Spokan Falls. I think there's been more foggy and/or extremely cloudy days in a row than any other time I remember, except for that glorious last Sunday. Right now the brew I'm drinking is coffee as I gear up to making some waffles. As I speak, bombers are standing by (in a good way!). I've still got two bottles from @Ozzylizard received as part of NBS BIF #1. His box of liquid goodness was primarily of robust, not overly hoppy brews, so I've been able to (using a certain amount of restraint!) save them for NBS without fear of hop decay.
How about others in the BIF? Anybody still working on their box, or has it been wiped out?

 

For my new beer this Sunday, I'm going with Adelbert's the Traveler, a Belgian-style IPA from Austin, TX. I got this beer in a trade, so I've never had anything from this brewery and had no idea what to expect.

I like this beer a lot. The aroma was nice but nothing particularly special (it didn't seem to have much "Belgian" character), so I didn't have high expectations for the flavor at first. While the bulk of the hop character is grapefruity, there are also earthy elements that play well with the slightly toasty malt character that strongly reminded me of a bière de garde. So it ends up being kind of like an earthy, hoppy light-farmhouse ale -- quite good indeed.

Final rating: 3.94 +2.9%

 

Or maybe you just decided not to take part in a pissing match between craft brewers. As craft beer grows, I think this will happen more and more. By and large, I plan to stick to drinking what I want to drink, but that depends on the level of chicanery. I'm really curious to see what happens when Iron Goat starts putting product on shelves in Washington near Iron Horse.