New Beer Sunday (week 522)

How about one more for dessert.

Ooooh yeah, smells terrific. Vanilla is the star here with notes of roasted malts and sweet, milk chocolate and hints of caramel.

The vanilla flavor is mellow and allows the milk chocolate, cocoa, and cream from the stout to come through. Roasted malts, caramel and some malted milk on the finish.

A very tasty sweet stout that does not overdue it. The 16oz can is a cherry on top of this great dessert beer.

 

As a Goonies fan, I love the name of this beer!

 

What's it take to get this beer? I'm shit for Trade Value.

 

No doubt ... it really hit the Belgian pale notes well, didn't taste Americanized even a pinch. Good tart brew.

With the East Coast beers consumed, why not return home and try a New Texas Beer this Sunday?



Rahr's Iron Thistle definitely has some Scotch and UK-ale notes ... big malt presence for sure, some wood and a pinch of stout-like coffee, a very earthy presence that is a bit peaty ... this could be Rahr's winter warmer re-packaged because there are similarities, but there's something in this Iron Thistle that: 1.) seems clearly different from the winter warmer, 2.) seems *better* than the winter warmer, and 3.) is impossible for me to put my finger on. Dangit.

The review: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9969/50185/?ba=Premo88

3.91 (+1% rDev) -- methinks I overcompensated for underscoring Defiant's tripel. Ooops!

I've got to say: the distinct LACK of sweetness in this beer is remarkable. It really is almost salty at times. And it does have a hint of sweetness, but all of that malt screams sweet in your mind yet it isn't there -- and for some reason it isn't a bad thing. I might be going crazy.

OK, enough emoticons. On to serious business -- saying goodbye to my little doggie nephew Huevos:


We wore out my nature trail/park when the weather allowed over the last two weeks. I work from about 3:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. and can take a good long dinner break, so we'd run out there on my dinner breaks and get in a good 30 minutes to hour. His favorite thing along with chewing peanut butter-flavored rawhide strips, playing with his toys and sleeping is going on what I call "perimeter patrol".




He finds a fenceline, treeline, brushline, anything that looks or feels like a perimeter, puts his nose to the ground and patrols. He eats anything he finds on the floor at home, so I assume he's looking for food. Even at the puppy park with all kinds of activity and doggie friends ready and willing to play, Huevos spends most of the time investigating the borders of the park, all business and all in his own little world. So glad his mommy rescued him. He's a good dude.

Cheers!

 

A first for me and just what I needed, Capuccino:



A: Black with a slightly mocha tinged head and a decent collar.
S: Roasty, malty and with only a hint of coffee, which is surprising.
T: Nice and roasty with some sweet malts in there. Not actually heavy on the coffee. In a lineup of coffee stouts with one non-coffee stout, I'd probably pick this one.
M: Pretty high level of carbonation that is pretty refreshing and kind of makes this beer what it is. Seems to be a unique mouthfeel for a big coffee stout.
O: Delicious and cheap, especially for what it is. This is why people love Lagunitas, or used to.

 

Sometime this week I'll be over with some goodies. Kill that bottle mate!

 

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1924/88269/?ba=Chickenhawk9932

 

Oh man! I missed out on "The Rapist" ?

 

Now this is something that @cookiequiz should be drinking!

 

Figured I would go big with my next a last new beer of the night. Stone/Bairo/Ishii Japanese Green Tea IPA, I didn't get to try the first release and have been wanting to try this since then! I was hoping that there would be more citrus/IPA in this, but I still really like it!

Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA - Stone Brewing Co.

3.92/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle poured into a tulip

A- A clear golden color with a three finger white head.

S- Unsweetened green tea, hints of wet grass, hints of citrus hopes, and a touch of alcohol.

T- Still a lot of green tea, but in a good way, bitter tea finish, some citrus hops and hint of alcohol.

M- Smooth, medium body, nice carbonation.

O- A really cool idea and pretty well done. Easiest way to describe this would be alcohol unsweetened tea with carbonation and some citrus hops.


Cheers!

 

Now, I gotta look for a new icon! UGH!

 

Don't, your avatar is iconic enough. If you feel the need, go for it. Yet, keep it classic!

 

Is that subtle hint for a future trade?

Nothing to do with anything, but judging by the Oscars, either Chiwetel Ejiofur (sp?) is really short, or Nicole Kidman can moonlight as a basketball player.

 

You know me man! Workhorse is such a great beer.

 

After a very busy work week, a pretty good snowstorm kicked up yesterday, dumping about a foot of the white stuff on us yesterday and last night. Normally, being a skier and all, I would be OK with that, except that I had to make an early morning trip to the airport to catch a plane for a work trip - made it OK, but not without a few hairy driving moments! Anyway, I'm now in the Yuba City, CA area for the week. I don't quite get it - with all the great breweries in NorCal, this place seems to be a beer wasteland, although I did find a sixer of this tasty brew - Hop Hunter IPA from Sierra Nevada:

Bottled on 1/20015
Appearance: Clear, golden yellow, one finger white head that faded to a thin film, pretty good lacing though.
Smell: Very piney aroma, with some light citrus, grass and biscuity malt smells.
Taste: Nice piney, bitter, and grassy flavors, complemented by a slight malty taste.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, nice slick and oily texture with good carbonation bite. Dry finish that makes you want more.
Overall: I really like this beer a lot - very solid brew, keep up the good work Sierra Nevada!
Being that Chico is only about 45 minutes away, I will be heading up to the brewery later this week - can't wait. I may also try to get over to Knee Deep sometime this week as it is pretty close by as well.
Prost BAs!

 

I meant you changed yours, which I'd seared into my brain; so now I have to relearn what icon to look out for!

 

Sorry, I've had my fair share of beer intake today. I felt it was time for a change. I like this Avatar, it screams...me.

 

Happy NBS! I'm a big fan of these big, swarthy ET brews . This one doesn't disappoint. The quality of my picture (or lack thereof) does this beer's appearance no justice. It is opaque with a dark brown head. Aroma is sweet, light berry, coffee, chocolate and malts. Taste follows the nose. Very complex. I wish I could describe everything that's going on, that's probably why I rarely do reviews. The blueberries are present but not overpowering, but blending rather well with everything else going on this big brew. Mouthfeel is full and on the thicker side, slightly cloying. Carbonation is perfect, almost creamy. Overall, I'm a fan. I love big stouts, especially big sweet stouts that are complex yet balanced and that's just what you get with ET From Amager With Love.

Cheers!

 

Ninkasi Expo 58 seasonal belgian.......Not bad admittedly belgians are not one of my favorite styles........

 

Okay, I hadn't meant to come back for another new beer, but a brewery tasting room that is about a ten minute walk from my home was unexpectedly open on a Sunday (okay, it's been open on Sundays for a while, maybe...since they initially opened for business, but I didn't know it), so after adding it to the database, here's my review of...River City's Midnight Marmot.
For those of you not familiar with Spokane, marmots are kind of the unofficial animal of the city. They're freakin' everywhere if you happen to be near the river, and lots can be closely encountered in Riverfront Park or along the Centennial Trail. I had one literally making begging notions for ice cream last summer when I grabbed a cone from Brain Freeze creamery (not that I blame him - Brain Freeze is awesome).
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34277/159250/?ba=woemad
This is a pretty tasty attempt at the Imperial Stout category. It's not quite what I would call a traditional RIS (for that, see the also local Goatnik from Iron Goat), more an American Double/Imperial Stout. It's a fairly bitter, hop forward example of the style, a little thin (River City tends to have beers that are big on flavor, a little thin on mouthfeel), but still rewarding. I'd totally drink this again, and being able to get there and back without driving makes it very likely that will happen repeatedly.