New Beer Sunday (week 542)

@cavedave @JackHorzempa @CleanFiend @SixpointJMH @DrStiffington

Hello to all, and happy NBS. This week I'd like to share a little homebrew story. After all, many of the commercial beers we enjoy each and every day start out as homebrews, and the entire craft beer movement started out as homebrewing...so here's to NBS, and here's to homebrewing!

Several years ago I met a young dude named Kyle when I was at a beer event in Orlando, FL. He had just gotten out of college at the time, and he loved craft beer and was thinking about becoming an entrepreneur full-time (he had just launched his venture shortly before I met him). Homebrewing was his interest, and he had the idea of putting together well-designed, custom brew kits for beginner homebrewers. After chatting wtih him several times, I realized that he was the real deal, and serious about his entrepreneurship.

He called this venture "Craft-A-Brew" and he wanted to do an online experience, instead of the traditional brick-and-mortar style store. He put an emphasis on design, formulation, and customer service. He proposed the idea of doing a "Resin Brew Kit" - one that we would scale down the Resin recipe for fans across the country. I liked the idea, but I said under no circumstances can this be a gimmick - if we are going to do this, we must do it right. This meant going through many iterations of the trial recipe, and perfecting it.

After two years of experimenting with trial runs, tweaking the packaging and design, and the formulation, we finally got it right. Today I'm drinking the last bottle I have of the final Resin test batch formulation, and I must say, it tastes mighty close to the original!

Here's to NBS, and here's to reverse-engineering your own beers! :-) cheers



one of the early formulation rounds for the homebrewed version of the Resin



we tweaked the original badge logo in favor of a circular medallion that integrates better with the design



The Resin Brew kit which produced the beer I'm drinking for NBS! cheers

 

Good morning New BSers! It's a cloudy day so far here in Frankenmuth, MI - hope the rain holds off until I get home in 6+ hours. Mrs L. and I have been taking a couple unwind days driving around MI - she hits quilt stores and I get to visit brewpubs and bottle stores - got about 40 new beers to try, not counting the ones I've posted in the last four days. I did learn something new on this trip: even though a number of bottles and cans say they're recyclable in MI for $ 0.10, they're not - i.e. Oskar Blues, Sly Fox, Lagunitas, etc. Coke cans and plastic bottles do get you your deposit back as do 12 oz bottles of Michigan beers - good thing I drink a lot of Dirty Bastard, Breakfast Stout, and Smitten.

Today's new brew is one I'm surprised I've missed - Weihenstephaner Original Premium. Since I really like all the other Weihenstephaner beers I've tried, I was excited to try this one. Oh boy!



Wrong. This seems to me very much an AAL, sweet followed by some limping bitterness, pretty much a DMS bomb. Not at all crisp and clean.

500 mL bottle marked 6055 19:10:50 at 39 degrees into shaker. Allowed to warm to 44 degrees
Aroma - wet grain, some DMS – Typical lager
Head average (4.5 cm, aggressive pour), white, frothy, diminishing to three mm ring and frothy layer, leaving behind drag marks as it recedes
Lacing fair – small islands and archipelagos of tiny to small bubbles
Body light yellow, clear, effervescent
Flavor slightly sweet with a hint of bitterness at the end, not much flavor at all, shifting to DMS as it warms; neither hops nor malt tasted, no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate light to medium, watery, soft carbonation

Appearance 4.5, Aroma 3, Flavor 3, Palate 4, Overall 3.75 Rating 3.34 rDev -17.9
Looks good, taste doesn't live up to appearance.

 

Great story! I'll be looking for this on line!

 

I'd suggest you defer final judgment on this beer until you get a chance to have it on tap when it should be fresher, etc. My personal reaction to the beer was a bit different than yours.

 

Mornin NBSers.

With a kick off like the first few posts of the morning I'm almost reluctant to return later with report on the Hell or High Watermelon I have slotted for today (But only almost reluctant, since I have the perfect music lined up for this beer even if I don't much care for it.)

Off shortly to take care of errands, shopping and the "honey-do" list for today. Meanwhile enjoy your day!

BTW: @Sixpoint, I think what you've described in your post is a real class act on your part.

 

To me, one of the best lagers in the world.

 

I was very happy to have been able to try this jewel.

4.88/5 rDev +7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Russian River Supplication has a medium, white head, a murky, amber appearance, some noticed suspended yeast chunks, and low-level lacing left on the glass. The aroma is of sourness, up front, but there’s a background maltiness, brown bread crust, fruitiness of a type, and the flavor is of tart cherry skins, semi-sweet malt, sour and sweet fruit, and essentially no bitterness. Even a nutty, woody, cherry seed. Also, barrel-aged wood. Mouthfeel is medium, and Russian River Supplication finishes semi-dry and exquisite.

RJT

 

Straub Pilsner – Beer No. 3 from the Sunshine Variety Pack

I have already reported on Straub Kolsch and Vienna Lager, now time for Straub Pilsner.

On the bottle neck label it states: “The World’s First Pilsner was brewed in Bohemia in 1842, the same year as our town of St. Mary’s was founded by Bavarian immigrants. We brewed this classic Continental Pilsner to celebrate our rich heritage and lager brewing traditions.”

On the 12 –pack box packaging it states:

“Pilsner

Color: Pale Gold

Malt: Harrington Pilsner and Carapils

Hops: Tettnang, Sterling, Tradition

Yeast: North American Lager

IBU: 35

ABV: 5.5%”

So with those preliminaries out of the way, how did the beer taste:

Served in my 17 ounce Pilsner Glass.

Appearance:

Yellow/Gold color with fluffy, long lasting head.

Aroma:

There was noticeable Pilsner Malt on the nose with just a hint of Noble Hop aroma in the background.

Taste:

The taste pretty much followed the aroma: Pilsner Malt with some Noble Hops. The bittering level was moderate.

Mouthfeel:

Medium body with a dry finish

Overall:

A tasty German Pilsner with prominent Pilsner Malt flavor.

Next on deck: Straub Hefeweizen

Cheers!

 

Good Sunday, BA's!

 

Good morning NBS crew. I just got home from a run, and it certainly sweat out all of yesterday's toxins as it's a balmy 75 degrees and humid here in the great sunflower state. The Furnace is coming to Kansas ... will hit triple digits this week.

I was debating whether I'd even do NBS today. But as it is, I had one new beer left in my fridge, and I thought I'd try to tackle this style yet again. Yesterday I had a new beer from Wichita Brewing Company, it was a golden ale that I found quite delicious. The golden ale style is definitely one of my favorites for summer.

Today though, I'm trying Odell Brewing's Brombeere Blackberry Gose. I had my first gose a few weeks ago and was pretty happy, but I'm good with just a 4 pack, it's not something I want all the time.

The pour coming out of the bottle is a light pinkish color that changes as the beer settles -- it becomes more of a copper color. The white head has some fizziness to it and it evaporates to nothing leaving absolutely no lacing afterward. As I put my nose up to the glass, I get a very pure blackberry aroma, mostly in the form of tartness. There's an earthy, vine-like smell accompanying the blackberry. Salt lingers in the background. It's interesting, the Odell bottle label mentions adding the "sweetness of berries" but I'm not really getting much of that. As I sip this, a sweet berry note can barely be perceived on the front end before it gets obliterated with berry tartness. It's one of those things that if you look for it, perhaps you can find it. The taste continues to follow the aroma as there's a good finishing act of salt and malted wheat. The beer is dry, if not a little sharp. There's a lot of blackberry tart in the aftertaste, and again I'm just not finding any sweet fruitiness. I like this beer regardless and Odell make beautiful labels, do they not? I don't drink much Odell, but I can't think of a bad beer from their entire lineup.

Well it's time to enjoy the rest of the day. Unfortunately I need to mow my lawn today after it dries out from all of the recent rain. I'm not looking forward to it. I better hydrate first

Cheers.

 

Well, is a great beer from Tampa. Fruity taste prevails peach nectar and pineapple termination. A delicacy!

 

Good morning. This will be my last NBS review from the road (this trip) as we will return to Florida today after 80 days of travel. Picked this beer up yesterday in downtown Charleston, SC. Westbrook Brewing Co., Mt. Pleasant, SC - Bearded Break-In, a Gose style ale brewed with Sorachi Ace hops. Ringing in at 6.6% ABV:



Bottled on 6/19/15:





Murky Pale amber (9) pour with great lace and good retention. Looks like peach juice. 3.75

Sour fruit aroma. There is a musky hop overtone that predominates. 4.0

Sour fruit taste with salty bite. I like the lemon zest middle, which is somewhat masked by the hops. Finish is a little wooden. 4.0

Crisp, lite mouthfeel. Dry, almost earthy tongue coating. Good sour linger. 3.75

Overall, there is something about Sorachi Ace hops I don't care for - too drying on the palate. I like their regular Gose more. 4.0

I have a 5 plus hour drive ahead of me today. Have a great Sunday all, and cheers!

 

Good morning NBS! This is the last day of my 2nd year of beer advocacy . It has been fun (perhaps too much if my girth is a measure of it). I started rating beers with another app about a year before I joined BA. Like many, I started here by looking at ratings, then realized the benefit of actually reading some reviews.

It wasn't until after joining I really started noticing the forums, and the information (good and bad, right and wrong) they could supply. I didn't post too often, as usually what I had to say was already said; and who cares what beer I am drinking now .

Then I found the NBS thread. This is the thread that opened the rest of the BA forums to me (so blame is squarely on the shoulders of @cavedave and @utopiajane). I enjoy a brief glimpse into my fellow beer drinkers lives, and have found beers I most likely would've overlooked here. So thanks, guys and gals.

Starting today with this beer I saw at a local bottle shop that doesn't have a large supply, but generally has a good selection of beer and the newest releases. For perhaps no good reason it seemed an odd thing to be on their shelves, so I looked the beer up here, saw the rating, read a couple of reviews, and sold!


Smuttynose Baltic Porter pours almost black, although even with a vigorous pour, didn't get much head. Fishing-wire thin rim is what remains after settling. Nose is a light brown sugar sweetness, some cola; with deeper whiffs, a some molasses comes out, as well as the roasted malts-coffeeish in nature.

Up to this point, I'm sorta unimpressed. However, my first sip of this beer won me over. All the scents I had a bit of trouble discerning blended ever so nicely in the taste, with a light bit of tobacco/smoke added (coffee and cigarettes). Carbonation is enough to add the lightest bite to the beer, almost like a bit of char to the roast.

This is one of those beers where the individual ratings will not indicate the overall score I give it. Glad I grabbed it, assist to this site. Cheers!

 

4 Hands Brewing Super Flare is a collaboration with Wicked Weed and is a Brettanomyces IPA brewed with mango, guava, and tangerine zest.

500 ml bottle poured into a snifter. The aroma is a lot of citrus, the tangerine zest comes in nicely. The mosaic and galaxy hops are a perfect addition to the nose as well. The taste like the aroma is slightly sweet up front with citrus in the back end and a touch of brett as well in the finish. Overall, this is a really solid IPA that I enjoyed. Very tasty stuff!