New Beer Sunday (week 571)

My wife and I returned yesterday from a week's vacation in Florida. We were very busy there, visiting my in-laws, my sister and brother-in-law, and my daughter. The weather was on the cool side, with rain on two of the days. I managed to get three rounds of golf in, as well as a lot of card and domino games. Today is going to be a day of rest and binge-watching Mad Dogs on Amazon.
Today's NBS beer is Rocky Road from Smuttynose. The label says it is a "stout brewed with cocoa nibs & marshmallow crème and aged on oak chips." This turned out to be a very apt description.
In a snifter the beer was a very dark brown, near black, color. There was a slender tan head.
I got an aroma of chocolate, coffee, and sweetness.
The taste followed the nose. Big hit of chocolate and marshmallow, with a lingering coffee taste at the end. There was a hint of vanilla.
This was a medium-bodied stout.
There was too much sweetness to it, but fortunately the coffee balanced it out.

 

Just reading that makes my back hurt!
Hope it gets better soon.

 

Howdy, NBSers! Allow me to begin with an apology for last Sunday. I had said that I was planning on a day of CANned beers, but following that post, I had to get out & shovel my walk or risk a fine. The exertion did something untoward to me & when I came back inside, I was waylaid by an attack of gastrointestinal distress & I gave up and laid down.

It is a MUCH nicer day here in SouthCentral PA this Sunday! The sun is shining & I have turned the furnace off for the time being. Even so, I do not envision stirring out too much over the course of the day. I have plenty to drink here at Chez Woody as things stand.

If you have been looking at my reviews, I have been on a roll the last couple of days, especially where CANs are CANcened! Today looks to be a CANtinuation of the same.

In other news, yesterday was a great day to be at home, watching college hoops & college hockey on the telly, interspersed with my catching up on episodes of "Doctor Who". Penn State (boo!) and Michigan played in the inaugural Big Ten Super Saturday Hoops & Hockey at Madison Square Garden & MichiCAN swept the NitCANny Lions! I wish that Pitt would join the Big Ten ... Next year, Wisconsin will be the home team for both games & I am already making plans to attend. I also watched my favorite college hockey team, NoDak beat Western MichiCAN before retiring. Today is the NHL All-Star Game, the AHL Skills CANpetition and VA Tech @ Pitt in more basketball.

I kicked things off today by jumping into the Creek with a Hefeweizen.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29021/125010/

Inspired by Doctor Who, I am traveling back in time for the rest of the day. This wheat beer will begat another, which will begat another after that until the CANminoes begin to fall (Fall?) in a way that I will CANnect the dots for you at the end of the day. Be seeing you!

 

I am saving it for another New Beer Sunday post. You can be rest assured I will tag you on that post.

Cheers!

 

Thanks so much, Maria!

 

Hey what's going on!?!

Much neat things! Finally all that snow is melting here as it has all week, and much sunshine and wet slush has been on the agenda of dodging. Been doing a lot cooking of late, as I spent the past 2 days roasting Anaheim and Poblano peppers to make homemade green enchilada sauce... WOW what a difference, I am never buying the stuff in the can ever again...

I got some leftover seafood broth, and I found a hiding frozen fillet.... this means... it's time for chowder...

I have been in an exceptional mood for the past 2 weeks. I have some news.. I GOT A NEW JOB!! I am ecstatic and I start next week and I am very excited about it.

Because of that I've also been very celebratory and buying some new beers. Some should arrive tomorrow for sure, but I just have to be patient. Also working on a big purchase to celebrate.. but I must be patient.

I agree with @kemoarps and @Ozzylizard about stout and sour, it rarely works for me as well and can be quite clashing.. But like a moth to light I am strangely drawn... wildly so sometimes...

Besides new digs, what is new for our hero today?!

Stillwater / Hof Ten Dormaal Arcana - Stillwater Artisanal Ales


Stillwater / Hof ten Dormaal - Arcana Farmhouse Stout by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass.

Slow pour brings a real nice chestnut brown out of the bottle and filling with dark walnut to mahogany body colors. The body is filled with lots of fine carbonation in solid streams, rising to a simpe creamy and sudsy thin puck. Head creation is a little foamy but manages barely a finger but always being repopulated along the edges. Looks like a big espresso in a way, very nice.

Going for stout compared to funky brett character on the nose. Deep grains and light dryness with a mix of dark chocolate flavors and airy powder like cocoa. Some mild brett like character which brings out a toasty malt dark bread crust note as well. Chocolate dominate angle, with a bit of creamy note that gives to angles also of vanilla.

I guess stout saison it is on the palate. Light crisp and large effervescence with a punch of good brett and sharp mineral and rocky flavors on the first sip. Mineral earth and saison crisp Perrier water with a mix of brett at first, followed quickly with excellent chocolate notes. Milky, slightly sweet flavors, touching almost cake like quality. After taste is mineral joy, hints of dry champagne but with more malty soft tones to temper the prickly and fun carbonation. Not much estery fruity quality on this one, as the malts of chocolate flavors primarily take over. Stays away from being just chocolate carbonated soda also as there is a good stout depth to it.

A really neat creation Belgian stout saison it is, with a touch of very stomach pit warmth as well.

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 | BA Generated Score: 4.27

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Always dig Stillwater, they make some pretty interesting stuff. Till next brew!

 

I love comparing notes. This is why I decided to grab this beer as a second offering for this NBS. I admit to skimming @Ozzylizard's review in the original post for this reason - so I could go in "unfettered". I hit this beer still chillled a bit, and tried to note its changes as it reached the 50 degree starting point that my comparison review did. I'll try to do this review as a side-by-side using someone else's notes (this may not work):

Looks: I didn't get as high a buildup of head, but I wasn't being at all aggressive in my pour. I did note a decent tan cap, and it did stick around through the whole pour. I also got some lacing, a few strings early, spotty late - which my uninformed cohort noted not seeing.

Aroma: I think we may be in agreement here, as @Ozzylizard mentioned the rye whiskey first. To me, this was the dominating scent in the beer early on. Wood and coconut notes specifically hit my olfactory senses once the beer starts to warm and release its nuances. A light coffee-like roasted malt scent hides itself well, but I think I found it eventually.

Flavor/Palate: Especially when sipping on an admittedly too cold glass of this beer, the BA aspects dominated the taste to me. I didn't think they were overpowering in and of themselves, just that I wasn't getting much of the RIS in the BA RIS. In perhaps the biggest difference between this beer and @Ozzylizard's (or to say, more accurately, his palate and mine) is that I found the rye whiskey barrel to be the predominant flavor in this beer. I also found the beer to be rather light on my palate, buoyed by a higher level of carbonation than I usually expect from ta BA beer (side note of a very loud *pop* from the cork releasing). I did find that on a warmer beer, the lingering flavor was a balance of roast and wood with a hint of the rye whiskey; I must say each sips lasting power wasn't much, though.

In the end, I think I preferred @Ozzylizard's beer more than mine (), and our respective ratings indicate this. My beer was more BA-centric with accents of RIS, where his appeared to better combine the two aspects. I would definitely have this beer again if I were ignoring price, and would definitely let it warm to a more proper temp before sipping it slowly.

 

It was rough that first night, but I am actually surprised it hasn't been more annoying that it has. I was seriously concerned when it happened (which I wouldn't have been 10 years ago) that I'd be mildly handicapped by it for a week or more, but it really is more just in the AM and at night when it stiffens up.

Congrats on the new job! And I recall my first sour dark beer being Tart of Darkness, and it threw me for a loop. I don't recall the last dark sour I had, but I enjoyed it and even noted that one of the reason was the slight, but noted, influence of the darker malts. The palate works in mysterious ways sometimes.

 

Greetings friends on a beautiful Sunday AM,
We had a nice birthday get together last evening for our kids who turned 34 and 31 last week. Grand kids, beer, wine, Sesame Chicken, our son's favorite, and Key Lime Cheesecake for our daughter! We cooked all day, also made a chicken pie for tonight, stayed up way too late and had a blast. We listened to some old music, waxed nostalgic and slept like babies. We actually slept until almost 8 AM! It's gorgeous out and will approach 60 degrees today. Maybe the last of the snow will disappear. We took a fairly long walk, saw our usual Blue Heron friend, along with some Buffleheads, and a few humans as well.
Today's beer is Holland 1839, an Aldi product at $5.99 a 6-pack. This is a very serviceable Euro lager, clean, very easy to toss down, and would be perfect with very spicy food. Bright golden/yellow with a lively head and a nice fresh hop nose. For a cheap Dutch lager this one is better than OK. The bead and head persist and I'm a bit impressed. It's better than a Heineken that I was recently given. A great value at $5.99. Ya'll ever hear of Gosa? Had this little Stillwater doll last night and it was tasty. I still like Leipziger better!
Last night I looked around for some old tunes and found some nice different era counter-pieces of the same tune. I grew up loving everything that Steve Winwood touched and consider him a virtuoso and complete genius. His great good spirit is evident in these two versions and I wish him well in his creative voyage!

 

Hello Maria,
Nice write up. I tend to be gun shy with single hopped Mosaics. To me, they usually are catty or sometimes "oniony" as you said. But, I always wanna try a new one. This one sounds like a solid candidate for me to try. I will seek it out based on your description.

 

Happy NBS everyone.
Spending the day gaming, cooking and drinking beer.
Woke up this morning and cracked open averts vanilla bean stout to drink thought out the day and I between other beers.
First impressions were good!


L: Not quite jet black a bit of red is visible in the lights and during the pour..settles with a layer of foam.

S: when cold gave off a licorice type smell as it warmed a light decadent vanilla/bourbon roast barrels come through.

T: Roasty malts up front some coffee and chocolate fades to a delicate bourbon and super smooth vanilla. Great stuff.

F: Velvet. Smooth. A bit lighter than I expected but not too light.

O: Really great stuff very balanced in all aspects. Will probably get another bottle.

 

Hey @kemoarps , I hear FW Velvet Merkin starts to go "soy saucey" when you store it like that.

 

When it was first announced that Stone was releasing a black IPA, I was naturally exciting since first off. I love a nice Cascadian, and second, I loved Sublimely. So is this one going to be just as good? See we shall.



Looks lovely. Thick, billowing beige head with what is turning out to be very even and thick lacing.

Nose has a piney launch along with an odd earthy, biscuity, mealy funk.

Taste is wildly dankerific. A vicious mix of dank and pungent earthiness that quickly gives way to anise, pine and the slightest heat.

Full bodied indeed. Just thick enough to add context to the depth of character but not so thick as to confuse for a different style. Aftertaste is dry, tangy and just a bit hot in a prickly, spicy way.

I regret buying only one.

 

Ethan, best of luck at your new job!

Exciting times!!

Cheers!

 

Congratulations!

 

Congrats on the new job!!! (And new beers coming).

 

Good Sunday NBS, thanks Maria for the greetings and the focus.
The sky is mixed and the temp near 50, 3 times this week I saw
Canada geese flying north over WMASS. What a dud this winter is.
Today's offering is from Crooked Stave, the Petite Sour project.
The offering is a treat I enjoyed immensely.
Cheers all

Passionfruit Petite Sour

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
American Wild Ale / 5.00% ABV

3.88/5 rDev -6.3% | Avg: 4.14
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a bottle dated May 2015 into the modified tulip glass. Served at cellar temp. 58 degrees.
A- Very light yellow with great clarity, a thin cap can be coaxed but will not stay long, meandering carbonation.
strolls toward the surface. A slick wash coats the glass interior, reminiscent of white burgundy.
S - Passion fruit muted, mingles with wet straw, oak, lemon reduction, grape skin, summer lily. Complex nose
that with warmth adds notes of honey, ash and biscuit.
T - Runs in a relatively narrow band, tart fruit, passion fruit, green melon, white grape flesh, a bit of sweetness from the oak adds a nice element.
M - Wow, the palate rolls up reacting to a tart onslaught, with some time a more balanced feel develops. Sweet tart with a linger that is forever. This would pair well with some Raclette or Gruyere.
O - A wonderful offering from a talented brewery, The complexity in the aromatics gives hints of greatness that almost transfer to the palate. The tart, sweet tension is very nice.
Worth seeking out.