New Beer Sunday (week 542)

Thanks so much man, am so digging this one. Your box really hit the spot in so many ways. Saving the Hardywood Gingerbread for winter.

BTW we drank the Hop Drop N Roll (which we'd all tried and loved so I couldn't put it on NBS) next to Vermont's finest, and it held its own gotta say. For a hop maniac like me though Grand Larceny was just like Christmas in July. Cheers!

 

Busy day, so getting a late start for NBS.

Today's choice is one from The Black Abbey from Nashville. I picked this up a month or so back from one of the Nashville bottle shops. Apparently the brewery occasionally gets empty barrels from them, and does some limited edition BA brews using those barrels.

This is a barrel aged version of their beer called The Special - a Belgian Dark Ale, using Buffalo Trace barrels. I had high hopes that this would be a winner, but I'm didn't really care for it.

There are some nice bourbon and dark fruit notes, but it is badly undercarbonated, and strangely tart. I don't regret trying it, but glad I only grabbed one bottle. On to the next one...





http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27835/181381/?ba=richj1970

 

What's going in nbs. Summers in full effect here on the island and I'm spending more, and more time at the beach. About all I seem to have done this weekend.

Another bif beer for me thanks to @rgordon . My new beer today is Wally, June ipa, from Foothills brewing.

The pour is cloudy and orange with a subtle nose of fruity tones. Light and hoppy upfront with a slight bitter finish. Tangy and crisp with a tropical fruity feel. It has very much a juicy feel to it with a slightly buttery tone on the end. Overall, I found the beer to be pretty flavorful and enjoyable at just 5.9%. I'm on a solid 4 score,

 

Good evening all fellow NBS followers. I've just returned from a week long trip to some of PA but sadly to say I didn't get to many of the great breweries there. I did get to a few in between camping in a couple of the beautiful State Parks. Maybe won't stay in them the next time as I didn't realize they prohibit the drinking of alcohol on there grounds. Spent Friday and Saturday at the Briggs Farm Blues Festival and saw some great blues groups there.

My new beer for this Sunday came back from a visit to East Enders Brewing in Pittsburg and along with a few choice bottles I'll report later on I brought back a 6/pack of there Big Hop IPA. As I bought it blind as it wasn't on tap at the brewery when I was there it was a surprise when I open it this evening.


This beer poured a dark orangey brown when poured into my Garrison City Snifter.
There is a very malt forward smell to the nose with a little smell of the hops coming through.
The taste is surely west coast style very heavy on the malt with just a little bit of bitterness from the hops in the back of the mouth.
The mouth feel is smooth with nice carbonation.
This style is not my favorite type of IPA but in itself it is well done. I probably wouldn't be a big buyer if I lived in the Pittsburg area.

As nice as my trip was it is always good to be home!

 

Happy Sunday evening, NBSers. On a brutally hot Minnesota day (I dropped 7 lbs whilst mowing my lawn - time to fill 'er up!), I humbly offer this review of Stone RuinTen for your reading pleasure.



4.19/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

From a bottle born on 6/25/15, so it's pretty fresh since it's in MINNESOTA.

Look: beautiful ambery orange with 2+ fingers of off-white head. Glorious.

Smell: booze peeks through, then DA HOP WALLOP - and then a subtle caramel aroma. Very nice.

Taste: WHAM!!! Hops all OVER my palate. Some citrus, some passion fruit - and then booze. But before the booze gets too hot, the toffee/caramel flavors smooth it out. Really, REALLY well-executed for a hop bomb.

Feel: it's not as slick as I thought it would be, probably because the malt is creamy enough to smooth things out.

Overall: I'm a Hoplaterian, and this is a hop lover's dream - but with a juicy malt backbone built on toffee and caramel. Dare I say it - it ventures ever so gracefully toward barleywine territory - but not quite. There's enough hops to yank it back to DIPA (although the bottle says Triple IPA) land.

 

New Fruit Beer Sunday: Hell or High Watermelon

Evening NBSers with special greetings to Fans of Flavorful Fruit Beers.

Well the day here was quite nice with temperature in the close neighborhood of 90 and an almost confortable humidity level, making a few chores in the yard tolerable.

This evening's new fruit beer is the Hell or High Watermelon wheat beer from 21st Amendment way out there on the west coast. This beer is living proof that West Coast breweries don't have to use lots of hops to make a drinkable beer.

As usual my review is in progress (and subject to revision until the beer is finished) here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/735/4202/?ba=drtth

Not surpisingly a light refreshing fruit beer is going down quite well after a day of warmth and work at odd jobs from the "honey-do" list (odd in multiple senses of that word ). For music this evening I've got some jazz on the vinyl player, including a verson of a particular piece of music which seems to go fit quite nicely with this beer.




Cheers, all!

 

I helped proctor a BJCP beer judging exam today in Gainesville, FL, and the post-exam party was at the relatively new First Magnitude Brewing Co. Gose seems to be one of the new "must brew" styles, and I've been gun-shy lately as so many seem overly salty or under/over soured. I tried the blueberry version of Saltwater Intrusion and was very impressed. This beer really hit the sweet spot for sour and salt, and they nailed the blueberry, a hard fruit to brew with.

 

Hello again- I'm relaxed and rested from an afternoon of gardening and grilling. Old beds were cleaned out, new seeds have been planted, weeds have been pulled, and everything it going just fine by me.

Tonight I'm ending the week with an oak-aged hop bomb. Two of my faves are Burton Baton and Ballantine IPA, so I'm hoping that this one lines up with my feelings about those two.

Hop Crisis from 21st Amendment-


The nose is absolutely stellar- extremely juicy and fruity with lots of tangerine, apricot, papaya, mango, but there is just enough of a piney/woody quality to keep it all grounded. I could smell this all night and not get tired of it. The palate is also juicy and full, but not nearly as fresh and ripe as the nose would suggest. At first sip it seemed to be conflicted between the fruity elements and the oak, not blending nearly as seamlessly as my faves of the style. But after another sip or two the oak and pine seem to be winning out, and the flavor clashes have mellowed. There is also a slight alcohol burn that feeds into the underlying tension in the glass.

At this point I'm digging it, and will continue to enjoy the rest of the 4-pack; but after that insane aroma I can't help but feel a bit of a let down. It may grow on me yet, but for now I'm going to have to give it the low end of B+ for effort (3.75)

 

Hey! I miss my home state of New Jersey! I moved to Milwaukee just over a year and a half ago. I will be going back during the winter holidays like I've done the last two years... I've never heard of that brewery... Is it available in New Jersey? I'll be in Bayonne, Woodbridge, Old Bridge/Spotswood, Matawan and Manahawkin.

 

Fulton does not have a barrel age version of their RIS that I know of but they do have a coffee version which is quite nice.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22167/56955/

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest where the heat wave of the last two weeks has broken.

Today it is Islander IPA from Coronado, California. A fine tasty IPA with a decided citrus bent.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2447/31763/

I like the silk screen labeling on the bottle too.

So the heat wave has broken and we are down to the low 80's today. A good opportunity to get out and wash a couple of motor vehicles. Ribs and baked beans on the grill. It doesn't get much better around here, or anywhere IMO.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!

 

Going to sneak in one more @JNForsyth BIF offering before calling it a day. Reviewing Union Craft Brewing Old Pro Gose. No visible date on the can, Abv. is listed at 4.2%.

Pours a very pale yellow with almost no foam. Score 3.5

Aroma is citric followed by a cheese like funk. Score 3.75

Flavors of lemon, straw, and mild vinegar, with a salty finish. Score 4.25

Mouthfeel is mildly puckering and semi dry. Score 3.5

Admittedly I don't drink this style often as it's not on my radar. I appreciate it for what it is and try to rate accordingly. I'd gladly drink one on a hot day like today if offered, but won't run out to buy a six pack. Glad I had the chance because I'm always game to try new beers. My final score was a 3.91 / rDev+0.5%.

Have a great week!

 

Miami Brewing Gator Tail Brown Ale

12oz can poured into a snifter. This is a 5.3% brown ale that pours a dark brown color with a light tan head with great retention and lacing. The nose is sweet chocolate malts with just a hint of coffee. The taste like the aroma is a little on the sweet side with notes of bittersweet chocolate coming through and a nice malty finish. Overall, Gator Tail brown is an easy drinking brown that is light enough in alcohol and just enough flavor to enjoy a few of them in a single sitting. Cheers!

 

My first NBS beer didn't work out very well, but trying another.

This one from my BIF box thanks to @larryi86 - Dogfish Raison D'Extra.

I have always been a fan of Dogfish's bigger beers and this one certainly delivers. Wonderful aromas of bourbon, raisins, figs, dates, and figs. Carrying through to those flavors with some nice brown sugar and caramel sweetness. I need to seek this one out again!



http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/3089/?ba=richj1970

 

Have another beer. Then talk to your Doctor tomorrow.

As a veteran of dual knee replacement I can assure you that, as Franklin Roosevelt said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." You don't have to watch them do it if you don't want to. Joint replacement is one of the most common surgeries in the US. How much pain you feel is pretty much effectively under your control. The major down side is that they won't let you drink a beer immediately before, during, or immediately afterwards.

While the re-hab takes a while all the folks involved have all done it before and know what they are doing while they coach you and you get to treat yourself to some special beers.

As for getting old, have another beer and think long and hard about what a friend of mine used to say, "In this life we've got only two choices, getting older or not. Give me a third option and I'll seriously consider it, but until then I'll take getting older."

Cheers!

 

New Outer Light Brewing Co. Sunday

It has been a busy week for me so my interaction has been limited. I am fairly worn down in many regards, but I finally found time to get to the rest of the howler collection that @Roguer sent me though.

Libation Propaganda Coffee Stout
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/38293/153515/

4.04/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Dark black. Tan head that is fairly frothy.

Smells like coffee beans and dark chocolate malts. No alcohol.

Taste is pretty much all coffee, but in a good way. Very smooth and rich. I dont find it bitter, especially for as forward as it is. Some roasted malts are in the backseat.

It has a pretty good texture. Just a hair thinner than I thought it would be, or prefer it to be. Drinks like an Irish Stout a bit to me. Kind of dry at the end which is my biggest knock.

While it does not wow me in most aspects, it does when it comes to the taste.


Subduction IPA
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/38293/153514/



4.08/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

More cloudy than clear. Copper orange with a large off white head with pretty good retention. This is even after being in a howler for a few days longer than I planned.


Smells like hops and tropical fruits. Grapefruit, pineapple, resin.

Taste is bursting with flavor. A biting red grapefruit, pineapple, possibly peaches. Some bitter hops on the back end with some pine. Semi sweet, light malts.

Carbonation is a little crisp for my taste, but otherwise it is a nice middle of the road body with a solid slick oily resin feel.

This beer reminds me quite a bit of White Rajah. Just not as well rounded. Not a world class IPA, but a damn excellent one.

Thanks to Roguer for this one. You should also check out his review. I think it is spot on, word for word.

 

21st is distributed in Jersey, it's readily available here in Ocean County. It's brewed in Minnesota, I believe, yet based in California. You'll likely find their beers easily here in the Garden State, your "home"!
Cheers!

 

When you start looking for Happoshu check out the online menus of Japanese restaurants. I've not nailed that one yet but know now exactly where to call first when I'm ready. :-)

 

One more to finish off the weekend.

Blonde Fatal is a cloudy deep gold with thin half finger white head. Fades into collar with spotty lacing. A nice fruity apple and pear aroma with a biscuit malt. Starts with a nice mild malt and yeast flavor with a slight touch of pear cider. Cloves come forward with a touch of herbal and earth hops to finish. Medium body with light carbonation and dry. Reminds me of a poor mans Don De Dieu.