New Beer Sunday (week 584)

I did this exact tasting earlier in the year. I had my wife set up the beers for a blind tasting to insure the rarity of Westy didnt skew my results. The Rochefort 10 was a clear winner for me, followed closely by Westy 12. The Abt 12 while still a great beer, was the last place beer by a wide margin. My beers were all aged roughly three years.
Enjoy and Cheers!

 

Rochefort 10, for the price and availability, is in the discussion for best beer a beer nerd can acquire, IMHO.

 

Long day yesterday; had a short outdoor screening last night that got much colder than I expected then I stopped at the pub across the street and the beer I was craving couldn't be served because "something is wrong". Fortunately I got home right around midnight where I had several fine options and started off with something I had been eying for a while.

Stone Brewing's Enjoy By 05.04.16 Black IPA

A: Well, they aren't kidding when they call this a black IPA. This can't quite masquerade as a stout in appearances as the head is more of a clean white and when held up to light it shows a reddish tint, but it sure looks black at first glance. Slight foamy film and some lacing left after the head recedes. 4.0
S: Grassy and citrusy with a slight sweetness. Not sweet like in some barrel aged stouts, but it doesn't have the hint of bitterness that I get with some IPAs. 4.0
T: As with the aroma, there is an earthy, grassy note to the flavor along with some grapefruit notes. Definite bitterness here though, in contrast to the smell. This leads with the juicy citrus flavors and finishes with the bitterness which lingers on the tongue for a bit. 3.5
F: Heavy for an IPA. 4.0
O: In the end, the bitter finish is just sticking around a bit too long for me. At the outset I liked how this managed to hit nice flavorful citrus notes and moderate bitterness in a complimentary fashion, however halfway through a bottle and I had to cleanse my pallet to be able to enjoy the remainder. Were it not for this lingering flavor, I would be comfortable giving a 4.0 here. As is though, over the course of the bottle this created an experience that ended up being underwhelming in comparison to the individual components. This is going on my list of beers to reevaluate at a later date. 3.25
Composite: 3.65 Average: 4.21 rDev -13.3%

I had plans to follow this up with another bottle, but due to the lingering bitterness and repeated pallet cleansing it was about 2 am when I finished and about time to call it a night. The flavors were here and I could see myself really enjoying something similar when I'm in the mood for a hoppy slightly bitter big beer. I will take another crack at this style soon to see if the aftertaste is a consequence of the style or specific to this brew.

 

Now you went and got me craving quads. None in the fridge. What to do? What to do?

 

Go to the cellar. All of us have at least one quad aging, don't we?

 

Bottled 3/2 and poured 5/1.

Appearance: A pale yellow color with maybe a slight haze to it. Virtually no head, and no lacing. Active carbonation. It looks like a light lager. Whateva.

Smell: This smells like a lime raddler. My sister claimed it sounds like a household cleaner... I guess I could see that, but I think it just smells like an intense raddler more than anything. Like up the ass with a berry aroma, not quite like juniper berries like the label says. The coriander is super subtle. Really, I get a ton of lime sweetness. Almost pop-esque. I actually really like it ... wishing it was summer.

Taste/feel: Seriously like a lime raddler. Intense lime flavor with the tartness and a rind-like bitterness. Finish is dry, tart, and bitter with a little biscuit flavor from the yeast. The coriander and juniper berries take a backseat to the lime and are only very modestly accenting the flavors. The feel is, again, raddler-like. Very highly carbonated -- like a pop, thanks to the tonic water.

I dig it. I fully get why a lot of people hate this beer, but it is what it is. This would be better off labeled as a raddler though, since to me, it really drinks like half limeade, half blonde ale. The coriander and juniper berries are faint. My biggest problem with this beer is that the rindy lime bitterness I get on the end is slightly off-putting. The tartness is a little too strong and not balanced out quite enough with sweetness.

On the whole, hell yeah I'd have this again ... preferably in the hot, hot heat of summer. I have to wonder why Short's didn't release this in July or something.

3.78/5 (+5% rDev)

 

Yikes! Sunday is the day for monks I guess.

 

Yes, yes, and yes, please!

Down here in Central Texas, I’m up early trying to finish my bedroom rearranging project. What a pain in the arse! But when everything gets put in place, it will be worth it. At least that I'm telling myself.

My late shift ended earlier this morning, and I dove head first into this sucker:


The artwork is funny:

I feel just like that dude when I see my fridge ... love of my life, indeed.

Many of you have tasted this one, Prairie Artisan’s 3rd Anniversary Ale, a saison brewed with raspberries.

First a question: Should we have an “American saison/farmhouse ale” category? I know I'm not the first to ask, but I feel like I must because I drink these tasty concoctions from Prairie Artisan, Jester King and Jolly Pumpkin and wonder if they are anything like their Belgian ancestors. American IPAs are way different from English IPAs; are our farmhouse ales as different from Belgian farmhouse ales?

Here’s the review:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30356/185666/?ba=Premo88#review
4.38 (+14.4% rDev)

Needless to say, I love this beer. No surprise ... I love most everything I try from Prairie. What really stands out with this one is the barn must in the aroma -- it’s like a Jester King beer. Put your nose in the glass and it's like kicking over a big pile of wet hay in an open-air barn where you can see the really wet bottom of the pile. Funky. But the fruit has a strong presence here, too, and the raspberry notes include a pinkish color to bits of fruity sweetness in both the nose and flavor. The raspberry flavor seems to be smoothing over the earthiness and sourness of the base beer without oversweetening.

3rd Anniversary Ale is a great brew and I’m shocked it hasn’t been rating higher. I mean, farmhouse ale + fruit = 4.2 plus, generally speaking. Maybe I'm missing something, but if I am, it's a good miss. I had a feeling about this one and bought a second bottle ... now I might buy a couple more if I see any lying around.

Cheers!

 

New Schwarz-Weizen-Dopplebock Sunday
Greetings NBSer's,
And I hope you are all enjoying some form of a wonderful Spring day. Getting to the end of a cold and wet week. The grass needs a haircut badly and I hope the sun will be out so that I can get to it.
Another new beer as part of NBS BIF #3 courtesy of @cjgiant. So what is the proper glassware and serving temperature for a Schwarz-Weizen-Dopplebock? Since they are all German styles I went with the pils glass.
This is a very interesting and unbelievable complex lager with all three styles showing forth. The Weizen is the least and the schwarz the most in the balance, but it overall makes an interesting and enjoyable drink. Wonderful full and rich mouthfeel.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18539/131665/?ba=garymuchow#review

Best to all

 

Very nice Jack!

I think later today, our hero will take a battle of Bohemain pils vs a local canned one... who comes out on top?!

Stay tuned.

 

New American Pale Ale Sunday

It seems like I'm reviewing Ballast Point every week now, and there's still a handful of their lineup I haven't tried. I went with Grunion Pale Ale today based upon it's rather big reputation.

Look: I rated it 4.75 because look at that head that never recedes, and all of the lacing?!?! Beautiful. Otherwise it's the typical copper color that we can expect from an APA.

Aroma: Uh oh. I immediately smell yellow onions. After I get past that, it's a lot of spicy hops and a touch of fruity honeydew melon.

Taste: Spicy hops abound with sharp pine and grapefruit zest. Still can't find a hint of malt.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, dry.

Overall impression: 3.55 rating. I'm afraid to say that this is too hop-forward for me, and that's the whole reason I drink APAs -- for a nice balance. Oh well.

 

Well of course! None of those pictured but certainly a few others.

 

Indeed. I have about 3-4 bottles of La Cumbre's 3rd Anniversary Quad. Maybe I'll give that guy a spin.

 

Time for my second Quad.

Poured 330ml bottle into chalice. It is a deep, dark amber brown. A thick 2 finger khaki head remains for the entire session and leaves spotty lacing on my glass. The aroma is prominent with dark fruits, yeast, and some all spice baked into bread. Very light toffee and caramel notes. Flavor is big on plum and fig with yeast coming in at the finish. It has a bready sweetness with some allspice or cinnamon along with some toffee flavor. Not any really chocolate like in the Roch 10 I had earlier. Medium, smooth feel with prickly carbonation. Very good and I can see that this should age well.

 

Or me. Give me a spin, bitte!

 

First New Belgian Sunday beer for me (seems to be today's theme anyway) is this Belgian inspired Enkel from Hermit Thrush Brewery in Brattleboro VT.



Silly Friar

Hermit Thrush Brewery
Belgian Pale Ale / 5.80% ABV

3.66/5 rDev -3.9% | Avg: 3.81
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

L-The beer pours a slightly hazy golden. The head starts off at about a half finger of white foam which quickly recedes to a thin ring.
S- the nose of this beer is all over the place. On one had I get the toasty malts that make up it's backbone, but I swear to god that I got a whiff of diacetyl which quickly disappeared and was replaced with a fruity pear sweetness. Not really a clean progression or melding, but kind of a hot mess.
T- taste and nose are the same. Malts, with that fruity pear character. Again I'm getting buttery character which I don't believe should be in there. Without that the flavor profile is pretty spot on for style. Hops presence may be a bit lighter than it should be.
F-Carbonation is prickly, but lacking after the initial pour. Mouthfeel is smooth and medium overall.
O- I feel like I'm being more negative than the beer probably deserves, but the buttery diacetyl that I picking up now and then makes me wonder if their is a QC issue with this batch. Overall without that the beer does an adequate job for the style. Hermit Thrush has always been hit or miss for me, and this beer is not exception. I'll have to try this again from a different batch to see if the experience is the same.

 

Missed last Sunday for the first time in a long while, and have failed now for 2 weeks to complete the BIF box I received. I will try yet again today at some point. As I have mentioned, trying to be a little better these days, and I have lost a couple pounds and am not finding my pants to be quite as snug, good things. Got out golfing yesterday, and walked the course for a nice bit of exercise. and now, the morning workout is done; but the morning beer is not done. Time to remedy that:


Well, it's a Founders beer, and for those who pay very close attention in WBAYDN, you could probably guess which one (or you could have your eyes scan down about a quarter inch).

The beer pours a slightly reddish brown out of the bottle, but in the depth of the glass, it turns dark brown to the eye. Clarity is high ignoring color. It didn't pour with much head, but kept a nice thick rim of foam that supplied some lacing.

Nose is a lightly nutty coffee to me. The strength is less than I expected, but sits about medium - the scents don't explode from the glass. Warmth strengthens the coffee and hides more and more the nutty notes of the brown. Some whiffs yield cheap cigar smoke through the deep roasted coffee.

The feel is a bit halting on my tongue this AM (could be an environmental factor), sticking on each bid for a split second, like chewing/licking a rubber band (what, never done it ?!?). Or maybe a slightly different description - the beer itself flows on through a bit thinly, but the coffee roast notes and slight bitterness they bring seem to hold on my tongue, like their more interested in taking in the scene than the rest of the beer.

The flavors that rush by are weak coffee and light woody bitterness. As mentioned, the bolder roast black coffee sits on my tongue for a long mid-taste. I now perceive they aren't the only lingerers, but their boldness makes the other's presence less known. However, eventually the coffee starts to filter off my tongue, revealing the dark toast and nuttiness of a bolder brown that was also enjoying the scene. In the longer terms, a buildup of bitter coffee and a hint of oily nut starts coating my mouth more and more.

The beer? Oh yeah - it's Founders Sumatra Mountain. I have seen quite a few comments to the effect: "I don't like browns, but I like this beer." I figured the coffee would be very strong after seeing these statements, and while it is a big component of the beer, I do not feel it was overpowering. I still got a decent impression of a bolder American brown ale in this beer. The coffee seemed like it added its unique bitterness to ensure that boldness that I think some browns achieve without the adjunct. The perceived bitterness (40IBU per the bottle) is now what I think people might be enjoying about this beer.




Regardless of whether my guess as to why anyone else may like it, I am also a fan, but not as much as some. I am not at all disappointed in having bought 2 four packs. I'll give it another go before supplementing my initial rating with a review. Cheers, all!

 

Hello NBS!

My new-to-me beer today is Ommegang's Lovely Dark and Deep. Picked this up a few weeks ago but haven't gotten around to trying it. Till now.

First thing I noticed, besides the allusion to Frost's poem, is that the label calls this beer both an "Oatmeal Stout" and a "Winter Ale." So I'm wondering, will this beer be jaywalking across stylistic lines between a stout and a winter warmer?

Pours a very dark brown, near black actually, with two fingers of moca head. Looks like a stout.

Nose is a dark roasted malt and a whiff of the Ommegang house yeast. Slight notes of hops and spice.
The first sip is a big punch of burnt malt, char, burnt coffee grounds, burnt oats. A little bitter chocolate. Then the burnt offerings subside mid-palate to make way for an odd fruitiness from the Belgian yeast that stops just short of tangy. Before long the burnt coffee gets a second wind and blends with a touch of hop bitterness. Finishes with some crisp carbonation. And burnt.

About halfway through the glass I notice some spiciness, more felt in the mouth than tasted. A warmth that doesn't come from the alcohol, since it's only 5.3 ABV. Also a bit of cream stickiness in the mouthfeel.

So does this jaywalk among styles? I was expecting more spices like in a winter warmer. I'd say it stays on the stout side of the line, but just barely. Did I mention this beer tastes burnt? All in all, an interesting if unusual stout.

Cheers!

 

I hope y'all know this thread, these pics, the chatter, they all encourage me to drink...early. Wasn't planning to start so early, but couldn't miss out on the NBS fun.

Here's a beer I received from @garymuchow in the BIF #3 and yes, I'm still plugging away at beers more than a month later.

Here's Schell's Apparent Horizon berliner weisse with rye:







4.12/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750mL bottle poured into a weizen glass. August 2015 bottle according to the label.

A gentle, angled pour produces a frothy pale white head. Champagne-like, fizzy carbonation endlessly rises through the slightly brown, copper liquid. At the base of the glass, a golden hue shines brightly. As I make note of the beer a half finger of head settles and seems to be sustained by the bubbliness. 5

Agressive tartness shows on the nose alongside some funk. Much more of both than I've had in other berliner weisses recently but I'm feeling it. Lemony notes, floral notes and distant hints of a slightly sweet French bread add to the fray. I'm thinking I'm going to like this beer. 4.25

A potent floral presence dominates my initial sips and continues to speak loudest among the flavors. Dancing around this are some notes of wheat, lemon, pepper, that French bread I was getting previously on the nose, and even some light orchard fruit (peach I'm thinking). The finish carries the floral notes, funk and yeastiness that makes me think Brett. 4

Light and refreshing for sure. Easy to drink and smooth initially until the tartness prickles the tongue about midway through. The floral quality seems to reach all angles of the mouth before the finish delivers cleanly and dry. 4

Interesting saison-like qualities to this. It's really nice to drink. Love the lightness. Perfect for warmer days although the funk will likely feel appropriate even for a colder, drearier day (like right now in Albuquerque).

 

It is a gorram gorgeous day out today in the city of rain. I've been working with a student on our unit for her senior practicum off and on for the last couple of weeks so it's been fun getting to do a little teaching and a lot of learning and rediscovering. She's a quick study and eager so it's been exciting seeing her develop and get comfortable with the tasks we do, but something more than that akin to pride when she raises some abstract question based on the information at hand that shows exactly the kind of thinking, assessment, and prioritization that is so crucial to our work. Awesome. On the downside, my phone, which had been hanging in there valiantly the past couple of months finally gave up the ghost a couple of days ago. I'm remembering what it was like to live without one as I still have yet to replace it. Mostly I've just been working a bunch and so the area where I have felt its absence more than any other has been transportation. Can't check when the next bus is coming without anything to check on. And if that bus is running so far behind schedule (not an uncommon occurrence 'round these parts) that it's not going to get me to work on time, I can't call an Uber or Lyft or whatever it is that Richard Sherman was driving either. hrm. Also, no pictures. Boooooo! And I suppose it hinders communication pretty drastically.

So... beer? Beer.
Black Perle Stout is produced by Zaftig brewing out of Worthington, Ohio. You may be unsurprised to learn that this fine stout made it's way west into my hands thanks to the bountiful generosity of one @WesMantooth. Corey -- in one of your hints I believe you referenced this beer. In said hint you said that you would not at that time reveal which New BSer inspired me to add it to my wants list. I have an official guess as to the muse: was it @bluejacket74 ? Either way, thanks for sending this along!

-Body on this bad boy is an oily almost black that turns to cola-brown at the corners and presents initially with a tight little brown head that soon fades to nothing but cosmic rays. Instead of inspiring confidence, it calls forth concern for a watery concoction of bitter burnt grains and watercolours.
-Nose diverges from this early narrative by presenting a distinctly sweet turn anchored in molasses and dates with some nods in the direction of chocolate syrup.
-Initial impressions on the tongue see the path laid down by the aroma and decides to take it under advisement, but really it knows what's best. Nods towards the molasses are prevalent, but rich chocolate and creamy coffee push their way into the forefront. The longer it has to settle into its glass the more it grows on me as the more rich and complex it seems to get. Luxurious ribbons of fudge wrap their way 'round the whole production and slowly squeeze the curtains shut.

I started off excited, then moved to a little wary, but it came full circle as by the end this settled into a quite enjoyable opulence of rich chocolates.