New Beer Sunday (week 574)

(Jerry Seinfeld voice) What's the deal with fruity IPAs? So here's another IPA with stuff added. Green Flash Tangerine IPA. Is it me, or would these all benefit from summer releases? Spartans like King Leonidas would probably find this not Spartan enough but I thought this one was really tasty. Pours a beautiful orange. Smells mightily of tangerines. Taste is very similar. Delicious tangerine notes dominate. Not sure if it's natural but it seems like it is. One of my favorite fruit IPAs. Very nice. Flaming Lips and Led Zeppelin would approve.

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @cavedave for getting the NBS train out of the station,

Yesterday was an outstanding day for local beer. Selkirk Abbey hosted a customer appreciation party. The official goal was to create a banner photo for facebook showing the SA parking lot full of people hoisting glasses. Mainly I showed up to drink more of their Cuvee - and I did - but wound up hanging out with friends and meeting at last the illustrious @Babbo. His blog - http://www.spokane7.com/blog/ontap/ - is required reading for anyone wanting local beer info. Jeff Whitman was in the process of giving a small group of us a highly interesting tour of his brewery set-up but this was interrupted because he had to raffle off a case of 22oz bottles of rye whiskey barrel aged St. Stephen. No, I didn't win, but he let everyone with a ticket have a bottle to take home. I followed that up with a visit to my favorite bar in north Idaho, Capone's in Coeur d'Alene, where I had a magnificent hot pastrami sandwich, an Old Rasputin on nitro, and a new RIS from Daft Badger, a newish brewery in CDA while I watched Gonzaga go down to defeat on the telly (it's quite possible the 17 years of making the NCAA tournament ended right there). It wasn't as flavorful as the OR but was still tasty. I think a visit to Daft Badger is in order next time I'm out that way.

Oh, that Cuvee I mentioned? It's a blend of barrel aged 8, 10 and Guilt, and drinks like a profoundly sensual dream. I drank a bottle and reviewed it Thursday night. Technically not a new beer as I had it when it first came on tap at SA (November?), but it will have to do until I can get a new beer consumed today:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28798/214902/?ba=woemad
After enjoying a leisurely hour or so drinking that beer, I had to go out and buy another bottle of it on Friday, $17.99 be damned.

 

Good afternoon NBS, happy finally having a day to relax after an extremely long wrestling tournament yesterday, but got two guys on my team going to states! Was trying to think what I could drink to be part of Allagash's Drink Ot Now and NBS, when I remember I had a bottle of Brothers Fût Note with Black Currants that I got this summer from @gillagorilla and keep meaning to try but kept forgetting to open it, so now is the time!
3.74/5 rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Thank you gillagorilla for this
750 ml bottle poured into a teku

A- Clear reddish orange with a small white head.

S- Sour, some black currants, some vinager, hints of grains.

T- Mild fruits, hints of vinager, grains, slightly sour, some oak and leather, flavored are kind of mild.

M- Smooth, lighter body.

O- Not a bad sour, but didn't really wow me. Could be fruitier and more flavorful, but no really flaws.

★415 characters

 

It is delicious. If they can send you the Buried Hatchet Stout, do so.

 

New Peanut Butter Jelly Time Sunday
I know we are not supposed to post videos here anymore, but I wanted to share the end of my son's swimming season. Our school competed pretty well at our District tournament at Ohio State Friday. Fell just one spot short of medals in several events, and mine posted his best times yet. Pretty exciting to be within sniffing distance of the state semi finals your sophmore year. Here is his 1:07 breaststroke time. He came in 4th in his heat, and 13th overall. He is in the 3rd lane in with the silver cap and flamboyant suit. Excuse my mother in laws video recording skills.


Anyway, had to work all morning, so just now getting a chance to try out some new beers from @beergorrilla
This one caught my attention first.

3.66/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

This beer poured a very brownish-red gold color. Murky looking. It had a moderate lacy white cap, but it disappeared fast.

Smells awesome. Exactly like a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich. The peanut butter is the dominant aroma. Really smells like bread crust or at least peanut shells. Pretty excited to try it now.

aaannnd, it's gone. Where the hell did the peanut butter go!!?? All raspberry right off the bat. Extremely overpowering. Very sweet. That is followed by some tartness and the yeast. You get more and more of that wheat profile as it warms and especially if you swish it around in there a bit. A bit of hoppiness and coriander noticeable with a subtle peanut butter aftertaste.

Body seems a hair thin and bubbly for the style. A would describe it as being on the lighter side of medium bodied.

I really think that the wheat beer base is a great idea for this sort of beer. It just seemed to lose the balance that the aroma suggested. Enjoyable.

 

Had to take my dog in to the vet today to fix a broken claw. It was bad enough that it would not get better on its own so they removed part of it. He is a bit groggy but doing well at home.

So Almanac just started distro to WI this week. I finally got to try an AWA that was aged on blueberries, something I have wanted for years. I rated it a bit higher than average, but I seem to do that for many AWAs.

Nose is funky sweet, tart and seedy fruit juice. Notes of blueberry, wine, and wood notes. Flavor is of very tart blueberries with some sweetness. There is some woodiness and wine flavors on the finish. Light bodied with moderate carbonation with a dry finish. Pretty tasty and I wish I had an entire 750 ml to enjoy.

 

Hey Happy Sunday all you NBSers! Thank you @cavedave for getting the seat hot with a wonderful rendition of practical poetry! Another winner of a day here in New England. I'm outside on the deck and its in the fifties and you can feel the sun starting to warm as we approach the start of spring. In the distance I can hear a leaf blower but more enjoyably the sound of children playing outside. Which relieves and relaxes me. First because the fond memories of childhood linger in my mind and second because I'm happy kids still do this instead of sitting in the house playing video games or whatever..
Feel like we've cheated Old Man Winter so let's keep that theme for today's beer:
UINTA BREWING BIERE DE MARS aged in Chardonnay barrels

Pours a beautiful fiery gold color with a thick creamy off white head that lats for minutes and leaves wonderful rings of world map Lacing. Beer has some haze and seems to be unfiltered. What a great looking beer!

Aroma is of green hop and grassiness with saison yeast, pears and apples and hints of white grapes and viniuos oak.

Taste follows with the fruits and white grapes and a nice hop bitterness that doesn't overpower and keeps the beer balanced and not sweet. Nice full flavor that lasts and dries the back of the tongue with oak.

Feel is medium bodied but goes down nicely with fine champagne like carbonation. Beer is drying in the throat and just Bitter enough.

This is a really nice biere de garde. I'm into the wine Barrel aging - especially red wine barrels with sours. Chardonnay/ white wine has been kind of hit or miss for me but this one certainly hits the mark! What a finely crafted spring beer.
Definitely worth seeking out if you appreciate the style or just want to veer off course! Recommended highly.
And for NOVS I'm spinning some great old Beatles and one of my favorite Harrison songs: Old Brown Shoe.
Love the line: " for your sweet top lip I'm in the queue, baby I'm in love with you"
Hey everyone have a great week and as always - Thanks for taking the time to listen!

 

New Strong Dark Ale, Belgian Style, American Made, Sunday!

Greetings from the Jersey Shore. Today's weather is mild, a bit cloudy, but quite warm for February, near 60 degrees. I took advantage and went for a long run this morning. Does that kinda make up for the runs that I've missed due to winter weather? Probably not, but some movement is better than none, I guess.
Then I took a ride to Rossi's in Hamilton, NJ (about 35 mins.) to meet some old pals for a long overdue lunch date. Here's the resulting beer:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4/40051/?ba=NiceTaps



One of my pals was drinking the same beer as me, the other's Bud Light is visible behind the glass of Allagash. So be it.

Here's a dulcet number from the Jersey indie music scene:


Well, I like it..........

All the best, everyone!

 

Love the opener!

 

Crisper drawer broken ..... check.

Shelf collapse from excessive weight poorly distributed ..... check.

Door bin bracket broken due one beer too many crammed into said bin ..... check.

I'm a cottage industry for refrigerator repairmen.

 

Happy New RIS Sunday!

Pretty nice day here on the Western Slope, low 50s, sunny. Huge improvement from last Sunday on the muddy shit. Having a pretty tasty brew today, glad that I did buy another bottle of it.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/88880/?ba=Wasatch

Cheers!

 

Cheers all NBS folks. Today I'll be spending some time with Tell-Tale Tart from Boulevard. I was going to smoke a pork loin and enjoy time outside in the 70 degree weather but rain decided to come around. Instead I'll cut a few chops of the loin and pan fry some later. On with the beer.



Here is my review.

4.2/5 rDev +10.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a murky copper color that reminds me of a little of apple cider with the color but is clearer. The smell is really nice. It is a combination of apple cider vinegar, cherries and a malty sweetness. There is a bit of Belgian yeast smell that is faint in the nose but adds a touch of spiciness.The taste is very similar to the nose with apple cider vinegar up front, tart cherries in the middle and an almost caramel sweetness at the end. There is a medium light mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. This is one complex and tasty brew.

 

Hi.



Other than the routine Great Things that happen each week, these two stand out for me...

Great Thing #1:

I received a box of beer from the great BA @Prager62.

This is one of 'em:

Greenbush ~ Barrel Aged Cassius IPA

It's always kind of fun when a beer punches or bites you back. This beer delivers massive classic IPA flavor but cranked up a notch. Crisp fresh carbonation of purity. Beneath the rich color are the citrusy hops we all know so well and expect. Nice! The bourbon component is there but it's subtle and adds to this alternative big IPA journey.

Excellent! I love it!

Great Thing #2.

Friday I stopped by my favorite Wiccan pagan shoppe in the forest to browse.

The rock in the pic spoke to me. It glows. The image is the raw file with no effects.

My cute Wicca helper said, "It's Labradorite. The frozen fire of the Aurora Borealis. The mystical light that separates the waking world from unseen realms."



So I bought it for a mere $38.

Cheers all!
Long live NBS!

 

Good afternoon BAs. Today for NBS I will be reviewing Pizza Port's Kook double IPA. The 16 oz. can was dated 1/19/2016 and was received in mail from the So-Cal area. It weighs in at 8.5% abv.
L: 4.0 Kook poured out a really clear, golden-brass-like mixture of a color. It produced a good two-finger sized head of splotchy white foam. Dissipates rather quickly and leaves a moderate amount of lace on the glass.
S: 4.0 Immediate smell is of tangerines, some mild piney notes and a peek of booze coming through.



T: 4.0 Taste is of the tropical flavors with the booze still present. It's just a mild amount of heat, but its there and makes its presence known. Resiny hops flavor too with some malt backbone as well.
M: 4.0 Feel is medium and coats the tongue nicely. This was close to being a 4.25, but not quite. Mildly carbonated and finishes with a mild bitterness.
O: 4.0 Like most of the West Coast IPAs I've tried, I liked. This one hits all the notes I like of the style but doesn't really knock anything out of the park. Would drink again but nothing I would go out of my way for. Still, a nice DIPA.

 

I WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE TO ALL FOR LINKING THE MUSIC TO A VIDEO OF A FAKE BEATLES ROOFTOP CONCERT.
I AM SO PISSED AT MYSELF FOR NOT NOTICING!!

 

New Breakfast in a Bottle Sunday
Taking a break from my Hop Ju Ju binge drinking to try another new brew courtesy of that _ichigan guy


4.03/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Solid black, heavy medium viscosity pour. Not a big head, but it does retain a nice frothy tan film around the outside of the snifter.

Smells like blueberry muffins. Dominant, but not overwhelming. I don't notice much maple. More like faint molasses. The roasted dark malts are there. A hint of chocolate.

Much like the aroma, the blueberry is front and center, but not overbearing or off putting in any way. The difference here is I now get some definite maple syrup flavor. There is some chocolate, that I could do without, yet is kind of unavoidable, along with some slightly ashy charred flavor.

It is sort of dry and the body has a nice velevty texture without being heavy or any noticeable alcohol. Very on point here with the style I feel.

Excellent beer. Could see where it might not be in your face enough for some folks because it is very nicely balanced.