New Beer Sunday (week 521)

It absolutely would. Just drop a scoop of ice cream in and you're good to go.

 

New Beer (Backyard Camp) Sunday!!!

Got home from work last night from the late shift and broke into @TongoRad's NBS BIF box ... just a few left, but this one was a good and there's a couple three to go:



Weyerbacher takes a hearty good stab at the Belgian pale ale, and I most appreciate the subtlety and adherence to the Old World version. This isn't an over-hoppy Americanized beer. It's not an American pale ale with "Belgian" printed on the label. It's tart, lemony and has even a grain flavor mixed with a citrus sweetness (hard for me to describe; starts off like oranges but then ... well ... it's citrusy and sweet ) ... it's also got a little floral quality to it. If Orval is a prime example of the style, Verboten follows in its footsteps nicely.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/392/58482/?ba=Premo88

3.81 (+1.3% rDev) -- the numbers seem a bit low, but hey ... I puts them down and let the BA computer do the rest

I drank that beer starting about 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning as we got out this very old tent:



It's soooo old -- 30 years in fact. It's a hunk of junk after so much neglect, but I still wanted to break it out and test it for an upcoming summer trip to the mountains in West Texas. As beat up as it is, Huevos the puppy dog and I had a decent outing in it last night.



Yes, his name is Huevos. His mommy and her sense of humor named him.

Got some errands to run then it's a swan dive back into the BIF box and a nice run of American-made European-style brews courtesy of @TongoRad. I thank ye kindly for the Verboten and will thank ye again, for it looks like big fun on deck!

Cheers!

 

Sorry to be tardy to the party, but I was actually at another party. Angry Erik's Brewing in Lafayette, NJ celebrated their 1 year anniversary this weekend. My wife and I enjoyed free pint glasses, complimentary snacks, live music, and great beer. So, I'm still here, for the admiring fans who'd never admit they miss my NBS reviews.

I hope everyone over here is enjoying great brews, and I'll be back next week with another killer review.

Oh- I'm wrong, I have music... the band at Angry Erik's covered this song... with great spirit and execution...

 

Nice. I did not know that about this beer... I have an ever growing respect for the folks over at Anchor. What I have had so far is great.

 

Yeah- they seem to get lost in the mix these days, but have been making some excellent beers for a very long time (well...long time by American standards ). Who knows where we'd be without Fritz and Anchor?

I love how they just keep on doing their own thing, not following trends. Hopefully the success of their recent California Lager will even usher in a new trend.

 

New Rye IPA Sunday!

Again, did a nice little hike today, about low 50s and sunny in Northern Utah. A new brew that just came out recently I believe. Nice little take on the style.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28908/156688/?ba=Wasatch

Cheers!

 

Hmm. A lot of the beers from this brewery have got your name on them. Sure you're not self-promoting?

 

Next up:

Trillium Brewing FB-90 Double IPA

Bottled on 1/20/15.

A: Pours a hazy, cloudy golden amber color with a fantastic light colored two finger head that goes nowhere, it just sits on the beer for what seems like an eternity.

S: I could smell it as soon as I popped the cap. Strong hoppy and deep floral aromas combined with lots and lots of citrus fruit.

T: Very bitter upfront, like biting into a grapefruit. It's super hoppy with a strong malt presence, and finishes clean with a surprising little blast of sweet fruit on the finish. Slightly boozy, but nothing too strong.

F: Pleasant body, but my one complaint with this beer is its carbonation. That big, beautiful head translated into a flat, lazy feel on the tongue. Slightly disappointed here, but I'll soldier on......In the name of science!

O: Super glad I got my hands on a few bombers of this fantastic brew. It's not mind blowing, but definitely a strong example of the style. If the feel had been slightly better, this would be a solid contender for a spot among the best, but it's just not quite there. I'm certainly enjoying this bottle, though.



Cheers!

 

Had one earlier, didn't see the Sebastapole Hard Core Coffee tag either like they used to last year. Still great=D

 

New Double Daisy Sunday

Afternoon, NBS'ers. I just got back home after a great weekend visiting friends and family in Chicago. Among the *modest* haul I brought back is a growler of this fantastic beer:



Half Acre's Double Daisy Cutter

This is a double pale ale or a DIPA that pours a bronzy or copper-ish shade of orange. As you can see, the head is substantial, and the beer leaves tons of lacing on the glass.

This is a beer that smells great and tastes even better. On the nose -- and you can pick all this up from a foot or two away from the glass -- there are bright aromas of tangerines, candied oranges, pine, and a generally wet dankness. The flavor delivers all that the nose promised, and more: bitter pine is the opening flavor, which shifts into sweet, juicy oranges and tangerines, caramel, toasted (almost nutty?) grain flavors, dank marijuana buds, and orange peels.

Mouthfeel is smooth and chewy and, when combined with everything that's going on with smell and taste, makes for one of those…sigh...endlessly drinkable beers.

Overall, another excellent hoppy offering from Half Acre. Just an incredible combo of dank juiciness, sweet citrus fruit, bitter pine and hops, and a toasty, nutty and caramel-y malt profile. Also a cut above Galactic Double Daisy Cutter. One other thing I noted is that I didn't see much of a resemblance to Daisy Cutter, which is a much drier, grassier, and more bitter - but still delicious - beer.

Pairs exceptionally well with these (some highlights from last week's DeadPod):





Cheers, and a happy NBS,
Mike

 

New Wee Heavy Sunday (with bonus Easter egg)

"Who needs to ride the lion?" Um, me. I couldn't find any though, so Royal Standard it is. (Isn't the lion in fact being riden on this label?)

My lion is making a cameo in this pic. On to the brew...

3.71/5 rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

From a 22 oz bottle into a snifter, it pours murky,ruby brown with a small, whispy white head.

Aroma smells very strong of sweet sugars. Also typical toffee, caramel, and dark fruit Scotch Ale malts, nutty, and peat moss. Smells musty and kind of like a Chia Pet. Reminds me of the Sam Adams Wee Heavy.

The sweetness is not as much of an assault on the tongue as it is to the nose, but still plenty of sugar and sweet caramel malts. Some toffee, dark, sour fruits, toasted bread, and ever so slight spiceyness and herb. Odd, but nice, woody/oak like aftertaste.

A little thin bodied for the style, but still a nice feel and easy to drink.

Overall, I would have this as excellent/outstanding if the sweetness was toned down. Especially since it dominates the aroma. Could be a little heavier bodied too. Maybe it's just me, but Wee Heavy and Scotch Ale differ in that regard. Very good beer.

 

Greetings my NBS friends, today I'm reviewing Temporal Purgatory Session Pale Ale from 18th Street Brewery in Gary Indiana. I picked this up on my visit there yesterday. No freshness date, but it's a very recent release.

Pours a cloudy dark gold color with thin head that dissipates rapidly, leaving thin lacing around the glass.

Aroma is grapefruit, passion fruit, and all things tropical.

Flavor is a tropical punch-like mix including grapefruit, passion fruit, and mango. A very tasty blend of palate bending hop goodness for a 5.9% session pale ale.

Mouthfeel is thin and very light with a dry finish.

Overall another tasty hop delight from 18th. I liked the beer, but this would be a better value in a six pack of cans, than a bomber priced at $8 for a session pale. All said, my score came out to a 4.06.

Have a great week my friends!

 

Smell: When I first opened the bottle there was a moderately strong skunk smell. However, once poured the skunk smell is very light. There is also a slight malty smell.

Appearance: clear, light straw color, with a nice fluffy head at the start. A small amount of foam hung around until the very end, with very light lacing on the glass.

Feel: Great mouth feel, perfet amount of carbonation, and nice body for the style.

Taste: Light bready/malt flavor, with the lightest hint of hops.

Overall: Great beer, would go well with delicate flavored food. Defniately would make for a great summer beer.

Bought the HB variety pack with 4 of these, 4 dunkels, and 4 hefes. I was a bit dissapointed by the hefes, but this is a nice helle. I am excited to try the dunkel.

Have a great day everyone. Enjoy your new beers.

 

Well time to get a much better chocolate fix now.

Brewhouse Rarities: Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout


Flying Dog Brewing - Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout by imbibehour, on Flickr

------------------------------------

Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass.

Big dark walnut brown almost black body. Opaque with a bit of red hue on the edges. Thick foamy light mocha cap, three fingers and very sudsy but with enough retention to hang out nicely and stick around. Quite good bubbly head, but a nice looker as it settles.

Real nice spicy chocolate. Hints of mild powdered cocoa and mild roast pepper. Controlled sweetness and even a bit of vanilla quality with a great aromatic pepper note. Very subtle but very well done without going overboard. Chocolate angle really starts to take a back seat as some chipotle like smoke starts to take over.

Light bodied as expected stout character for a standard abv range. Porter like roast body with hints of cocoa powder on the finish. Much of the classic porter roast character seems to dominate and take away from the specialty notes of the beer. Chocolate and pepper notes seem to lag or at times be almost non existent in the mid palate. A bit of steely flavor in the aftertaste and finish, nearly hints at grapefruit but not quite, but also not distracting too much. Some time the palate gets a bit of a pasty thick dry character unfortunately as well. More chocolate flavors come out with warmth with an almost winter warmer spice note taking over which is nice, with hints of nutmeg and very dry clove.

Overall the aroma is just a solid fun character, but the beer ends up coming off like a decent porter ironically, but certainly gets better as it warms, bit with a bit of a dry powdered brown spice chalk unfortunately. Still drinkable and decent though.

look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5 | Final personal BA score : 3.7

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

New Session IPA Sunday!

It was a chilly day here in Charm City, I think I seen some alley rats actually set a homeless man on fire for warmth..true story. Enough of that, time for the new brew!



I am a fan of Victory, they're consistant and top quality in almost all they produce. This brew pours like a Pilsner! Nice light Golden body with a nice white soapy head (sorry I took a photo a few moments after pouring). Looks outstanding to me! The aroma should tell me what I got myself into. This hits first with some orange citrus, that's backed up by an herbal quality (peppermint?). Smells interesting. Now the FLAVAH! This hits the palate with citrus peel and crackerish malts. There's a nice herbal feel in mid palate almost like the taste of hop vines. Aftertaste of more citrus goodness with some floral tones. This finishes dry and not bitter. That's pretty refreshing in my opinion. The feel of course is light and playful on the tongue carbonation is on point.

Overall: This brew is pretty good...but! An anniversary beer should taste like a special brew, not a refreshing hoppy Pilsner. I'm not going to judge Victory or try to tell Bill and Ron how to run their business, yet brew a Session IPA? For a nineteen anniversary celebration? I guess they took the ironic route and brewed what they wanted. For that Victory gets my respect. Next year I hope Victory brews a Dry Hopped Wild Ale that was fermented in oak casks with Apricots added. At the end of the day, this brew is worthy!

Grade: A-

Musical Selection:



Cheers to my fellow New Beer Sunday crew!

 

Greetings once again,
Here's another beauty sent by kemoarps. This is Fremont BBA Abominable Winter Ale. This was a perfect day for this beer. A high in the 20s is cold for us, and on our latest hike, the woods were nicely unpeopled! We walked briskly to come back to this beer. This is a big boubony brew, very creamy, smooth and easily drinkable despite the punch! The body of this beer is wonderful, not super full and rich, but smooth as silk and very flavorful. This beer is like a nice port!


You'll find yourself humming this one for the rest of your life!

 

Watching the third Harry Potter so time for my third new beer and it is a good one.

Victory Earth & Flame - Victory Brewing Company

4.39/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle dated 11/13/15 poured into a teku

A- A clear brownish ruby color with a two finger off white head.

S- Sweet, caramel, toffee, bourbon, vanilla, dark fruits, smoky, oak, maple syrup.

T- Sweet, complex and amazingly balanced. Toffee, syrup, vanilla, bourbon, oak, peat smoked malts, along with a a fruity sweetness I can't put my finger on, maybe plums and coconuts.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- An excellent collaboration with Earth-Bread. At first I thought at $16 a bottle it was a little high for a beer from Victory but it is worth every penny. Love the balance of this beer, can't wait to pick up more.


This may be expensive for something from Victory, but I am mad at myself for overlooking this beer because of the price, cheers!

 

Good afternoon again fellow NBS followers it's been a long afternoon here is NH the blizzard is over the temperature has dropped to an even 0 at this time and well the girlfriend skunked me at cribbage and then kicked my butt at dominos to finish the afternoon. So I had to dig deep into the cellar and found a bottle of Hardywood Christmas Morning from a trade with a great fellow BA @beardsonbrews thanks so much for including this bottle in our trade.
This beer poured a rich dark black color into my tulip glass. It had a nice tan foamy head. It has a strong coffee aroma to the nose but the gingerbread comes through in the finish. It drinks smoothly and has a great mouth feel. All in all this is a wonderful stout for a frigid New England afternoon. I'll have to find so more of this to hide away in the cellar.
Once again cheers to all. Time to throw another log on the fire and finish off the rest of the bottle.

 

New American Double/Imperial Stout Sunday

Happy NBS everyone! It started off with a bit of a nippy wind chill here when I went out to breakfast this morning:



I think the actual temperature here got to around 5 or so today. Not that I'm complaining, it really hasn't been a bad winter here so far. It's not like we're getting a ton of snow like a lot of other places are. Enough about the weather, now it's time for the beer. I started off with a brew (and brewery) that's new to Ohio, I had some Boulevard Imperial Stout X Coffee Ale: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/156744/?ba=bluejacket74

It's an impressive imperial stout, if you're into coffee beers and/or imperial stouts then I definitely recommend this one!





I have another brew lined up, so I'll have the review of that on here in a little while. Cheers!