New Beer Sunday (week 585)

First let me add to all the other posts here in wishing Mom's everywhere a happy Mother's day. My first NBS beer for the day is this one from Goodwater Brewery located in Williston VT about a block away from Burlington Beer Co. This is a pour from the growler I purchased yesterday at the brewery.



Proper Mild

Goodwater Brewery
English Dark Mild Ale / 5.00% ABV

4/5 rDev n/a | Avg: 4
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L- A modestly aggressive pour from the growler leads to a half finger high cream colored head. The bubbles are small and similar to a nitro pour, though this wasn't on nitro to my knowledge. The beer is dark amber almost cola in coloring and clear. Lacing is not present although when the glass is tilted a fine foam coats the edge of the glass before rejoining the beer.
S- The nose is a mix of plum, chocolate, and bit of coffee of a moderate intensity.
T- The taste contains an almost 50/50 mix of the chocolate and coffee noted in the nose. I'm not getting the plum sweetness noted in the nose. Overall the hop presence is of the earthy english variety and stays firmly in the backround of the chocolate and coffee tones.
F- Carbonation is light. The overall mouthfeel of the beer is on the lighter side of medium.
O- Outside of the slightly higher ABV this mild is very much to style. It's my first time trying one of these and I found it quite enjoyable. I would recommend it to those looking for something different in the hop dominated Vermont beer scene.



I have high hopes for this Brewery as they really seem to have a good idea of what they want to do and where they fit into the Vermont craft beer scene. They have a very nice tap room space and an excellent location with ample parking. Stop in a give them a shot if you are going to check out Burlington Beer Co. Their proximity makes it a quality stop for any Vermont beer journey.

 

My second new beer today, because WHY NOT.

Firestone Walker Easy Jack -- 4.5% ABV
I love Firestone Walker. I like session IPAs. This has to turn out good, right??

First of all, look at that dirty glass. Amazing lacing. Maybe I've been drinking too many beers without good lacing lately, because I get excited when my glass gets foamy. My Sam Adams nucleated nonic pint is one of my favorite glasses. The beer is golden in color with a foamy white pillow on top, and I should drink my next Easy Jack in another glass to compare just to see how much nucleation matters or helps with head retention/lacing.

The aroma is piney and sprucey up front, total evergreen forest. Tropical fruits like mango and pineapple come in soon after as well as some light citrus.

This tastes just like the aroma. Piney and woody up front with evergreen branches flossing my teeth. Sweet tropical fruits work their way into the middle of the beer which adds a nice balance before returning to a bitter, citric finish.

Mouthfeel is light yet sticky.

Overall, I'm the rare breed that enjoys the session IPA. Not all the time, mind you. I rated this 4.25 across the board.

 

Ok, back from Richmond, having tried many new beers at:

• Ardent Craft Ales - a brewery that grew from a homebrew cooperative, as I am to understand from their website. They used to (and I think still have a similar event) offer brew days open to the public where people could learn about the home brewing process. Their beers were fine but the rotating hop IPAs did seem a little grainy.
  
• Virginia Beer Company - definitely seemed like a nice hang-out spot (Ardent did too), and their production floor looks built for expansion. All the beers here were enjoyable with nice flavor, but I found them generally lacking a little in feel. Be interesting to see them grow.
• Strangeways Brewing - a repeat visit for us, again. This place does, well... strange beers and have a penchant for working with sours (Brettanomyces use is common). With the strageness come a level of hit and miss. The beers we tried went about 2:1 hit - at least to the point we'd have it again.
  
• The Answer Brewpub - this is the rename of Mekong Restaurant with the addition of a brewery by the owner. It is much more of a craft beer bar than a brewery or even brewpub, still. However, their tap selection is amazing; sadly only 2 of the taps were their own (they had 5 or so listed, and did have over a handful of other local brewery beers). Even more sad because those two beers were quite tasty.

At home, I have just finished taking all of the pins out of the dress shirts I picked up. I definitely deserve a beer after that. And I decided to forward the theme with a fruit infused beer. This one is from Southern Tier, called 3 Citrus Peel Out


I mentioned that I thought SA Rebel with grapefruit had a refreshing nature to it that made it more approachable to me, and I used the term soda-like. Even in my recollection, it wasn't as soda-like as this beer. The citrus fruit/juice additions are right in my face at first sip.

The beer is dramatically clear, straight golden with a frothy white top. Even with a nucleated glass, the head fades to a medium rim around the glass. Sticking my nose in gives me that citrus soda-like smell - grapefruit and tangerine I notice more than the orange. Really I can't get much else but the citrus melange.

The flavors seem to lean more on the orange and tangerine with the grapefruit playing in the background. By the middle of the taste, some bitterness comes in and it's more like I did a horrible job peeling my citrus and left a lot of white pith on before placing it in my mouth. Carbonation seemed more than I think it is due to my preconceived impression of that citrus soda. At this point it's quite light (I've been nursing it while writing) and gently rolls the beer over my tongue. With warmth, I do think the wheat starts to be noticed mid-to late taste.

Too much citrus addition for me. It doesn't quite get to radler status (which can be quite refreshing), perhaps due to the wheat and elevated ABV, but it is along those lines.

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and a special thank you & Happy Mother’s Day to today’s threadmother, @utopiajane, and to all mothers everywhere,

It’s been a pretty nice weekend here in the (PNW) Inland Empire. It got up into the 80s yesterday, and is supposed to reach 75 (my personal favorite temperature) and remain mostly sunny today. Yesterday, I did some housework and watched Life of Pi for the first time and was impressed. On Thursday, I hit a couple local places, then went to a benefit show at a local bar managed by a friend. His girlfriend has Stage 3 breast cancer, which is what the benefit was raising money for. My goal was to pop in, donate money at the door, grab a quick beer and head home (I was working a double on Friday, and had to wake up at 5). Well, what with all the cool friends who showed up and great music to listen to, I wound up not getting home until a little after 1AM. Work was fairly horrific, being hung over, with no sleep and a toothache, so I didn’t touch any sort of alcohol again until last night, when I knocked out a couple IPAs from the fridge, one of which made things a New Beer Saturday.

Last night I had myself a Sister. A Fremont The Sister, that is:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/20680/72584/?ba=woemad#review

I didn’t quite know what to expect. I’d tried The Brother twice and been underwhelmed each time. This wasn’t appreciably different in terms of age, yet was 10 times the beer that was. The Sister is a great PNW version of one of the fruity DIPAs that are so popular in the east.

Where’s Waldo? Earlier this week I got a tip, and found him in the old Broadmoor Dairy building, specifically in a tap at Blackbird:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/220/68269/?ba=woemad#review

Big, big, beer, yet surprisingly drinkable for all that, mainly because it’s got tremendous balance. Yep, the hype was right. Don’t know if it’s close to PtY the way some have said in their reviews, but I was very impressed.

Still working on coffee this AM. I’ll be hitting some more of the beers from @Ri0 and @SammyJaxxx, but might mix in one or two things I’ve picked up locally as well.

 

Good afternoon NBSers, and Happy Mother's Day. I hope everyone has a great one. Nothing much in the works for me today, as my mom lives in Florida. I suppose a phone call will have to suffice! So I guess I'll be mowing the lawn and loafing in the garage. Starting out with this monster. It's about time we started getting AtG distro in eastern Kentucky! Viva La Grain!

Da Beer
Against the Grain: 35K
Sweet Stout, 7.0% ABV


Da Re...view
Can into a snifter. Pitch black in color, like a watery, spent motor oil cocktail. About 1 finger of khaki foam on top initially, which quickly fizzed down to nearly nothing. Cold coffee, sweet whiskey tobacco, roasted malt, bitter chocolate, and a hint of lactose on the nose. The taste follows along pretty well, with an exponential intensity. Big notes of sweet tobacco are plainly evident to me, as is bittered chocolate, roasted malt, and lactose. Loads of lactose on the back end, especially as it warms up. The mouthfeel is relatively dense and chewy, but still has noticable carbonation. Heavy for the style, but not overdone.

This is a weird one. It really presents as a RIS, but then has some redeeming qualities towards the finish that makes you say, "eh, I guess is is a milk stout". It's big & bold, and pretty damn tasty. I picked up a lot of tobacco in this, which might just be me. Either way, it's different, and it's good. The end.

Da Scores
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +0.5%

 

on to the next brew!

O Trabalho | Stillwater Artisanal Ales


Stillwater Artisinal Ales / Morada - O Trabalho by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass.

Real nice color. Deep mahogany brown, with a scarlet bottomed edge and some real fine carbonation that cuts through an almost purple line. Negligible head creation, but manages a topped tan thin top, bulls-eye middle being punched out and keep a constant collar.

Diverse aroma. Plum and milky chocolate with dry yeast funky tones abounding. A real milky sensing character but also with dry yeast that punches to cocoa powder, even powdered sugar character as well. Real nice balance of wild yeast and malt sweetness, bouncing nicely between fruity tones and good quality chocolate bar sweetness.

Palate makes some nice turns. Lighter fruity tones take the forefront on first sips. A good wash of plum and darker pitted almost berry fruit qualities. Grainy malt and powdered chocolate flavors as well, very much like the nose hints at with little surprises, but comes much later. Nearly gets into chalky character but luckily manages to not be too wet in feel. Faint purple grapes as well bordering somewhere between fruit punch and dry wine but not exactly nailing one or the other.

A pretty neat brew, pretty creative too.

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4 | BA Generated Score: 4.04

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Cheers!

 

Coolship Red from Allagash. Tartness from the raspberries and crisp finish. Also, oak comes through nicely.

 

Cheers! It's one of my personal faves

 

Happy Sunday Funday!! Especially for the moms out there, today is your day!!!
Been a dreary week here in CT, although I bleed blue & green, and am THE biggest Seahawks fan in the state, I could never live in Seattle if this is what the weather is like all the time!!
Spent the mornin re-doin the grout in my front entryway while I sipped on this guy.


Got this in a V-day box from the mrs. A year or two ago.
Look: pitch black like a nice stout color
Smell: straight port (the best way I can describe it)
Taste: I don't get he walnuts they say on the label, but a ton of dark fruits. Cherry blackberry figgy almost. I dig it.
Overall: if I could find this beer in the states I would always keep a couple in the fridge, worth a try if you ever come across one

See y'all next week, and as always "bottoms up"

 

On to the next beer, myself. I recently responded to a poster who was enjoying a Blackberry Farms Saison (I believe it was the Classic, which I love). Since I had a beer from that brewery in the fridge, I figured I'd pull it out for NBS.

This is Noble Cuvee Dry Hop Saison, from Blackberry Farm:


Little background - Saison is one of those styles I never really quite "got." But there was obviously something there, because I kept trying more. I seem to think there's a little variation in the style - some tend to be a little more fruity and floral while others tend to be more hay like, dryer, peppery and generally lighter. I find myself liking the latter more than the former, and to me part of the "lighter" part I like is that it isn't weighted down by too much hop bitterness.

So, my experience with "hoppy saisons" is that they have generally not been well-received by me. I tend to think you could just brew a Belgian Pale Ale and be done with it. So this beer is going to battle it out - a well liked brewery versus the "unnecessary" additional hops.

With the explosion of head, I had to perform multiple pours to get a full glass. This brought more cloudiness as I poured to increase the volume of stuff under that pillowy white head.

Nose is floral to a degree, but dry grass is also big. There's a distinct note of tart fruit like passionfruit that comes through as well. I am missing any true farmhouse notes, but a peppery spice note shows up as an accent.

Taste brings us into the barn with hay and a lightly musty wood taste. Herbal to grassy bitterness plays along as well, and this is where the beer could lose me. The label mentions the hop profile - Syrian Aurora, German Select, Tettnanger, and East Kent Golding, some of which I recognize as being more classic old world hops (I think). Perhaps it is what the classics bring to this beer that keep me interested in this beer.

However, I still think they don't need be in this beer, or could be a considerably lesser component of it. The good thing is they don't destroy the base beer, and the hay, grass, and peppery notes still have their place in the brew. A very nice beer, staying true to the flavor profile I've enjoyed from BFB while managing to through in extra hop bitterness that may appeal to hop heads (the beer is currently rated higher than the Classic which I enjoy much more).

 

Well, I can't claim to be a true native, having generally lived between 200-275 miles from Seattle for most of my life (between 1-6 I did live outside Tacoma), but often the rain is more like a mist. Days when it's been punishing, tears of god-type rain are not that often in my experience, and when the sun comes out it's beautiful enough that all is forgiven (though it's sometimes too bright; it's long been said that Seattleites own more sunglasses per capita than anywhere else on earth. No idea how someone can determine that, but I've been hearing it my whole life). However, my brother was living in Seattle in the early "oughts" during a record-breaking stretch of consecutive rainy days (something like 4 1/2 months), and he was surprised to find it did indeed get to him after a while. He grew up on the dry side of the state and viewed rain as more of a novelty up to that point.
edit: BTW, a port-fortified Belgian beer sounds awesome! I may have to try to bug one of the local bottle shops about that beer.

 

Thanks for the awesome kickoff @utopiajane!

Before heading out to the MIL's place...it never hurts to steel the nerves a little. Therefore, I present for your viewing, reading, and dancing pleasure...Three Floyd's Alpha King IPA Pale Ale.





Wow...talk about blurring the boundaries between Pale Ale and IPA...this beer completely eliminates the vast majority of differences.

Pours a murky dark, burnished-gold with a stiff collar of Navajo-white foam. Head retention would best be described as 'persistent' with a great deal of Belgian Lace.

Aroma is filled with sweet caramel and a concentrated reduction of pine needles.

Entry is soft, with CO² seemingly happy to hide in the shadows while the inherent sweetness lights up the tip of the tongue.

Midtaste features a beautiful malt complexity perfectly balanced by a melange of floral hops.

Finish is thick with dankness...almost giving the impression that hop oils may be part of the recipe.


As hoppy as this beer is, the true champion is the well-crafted malt bill. As much as I normally don't embrace too many C-Malts in my Pale Ale/IPA tastings, the folks at FFF pulled this off in a masterful way.

Now...go enjoy Mother's Day!

 

I really enjoyed the Classic Saison from them that I received from @richj1970 in the latest BIF. Very good stuff!

 

Happy Mothers Day fellow NBS'ers
New American Wild Ale Sunday
Boulevard Tell-Tale Tart

3.69/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12oz bttl
into Libbey Tulip
L- pours a hazy amber, thin foamy head which dissipates into lacing
S- slight sour nose, with hint of sweet malt
T- real mouth-puckering tartness that overtakes the taste buds and goes down in a malty finish
F- nice smooth medium bodied, creamy feel just goes straight down
O- pleasant sour which other than tartness and malt doesn't impart too much flavor

 

Well, I've only lived out here 15+ years now, so my experience is limited. But, basically the rain you're describing doesn't happen all the time. It starts the second Saturday of October, and ends July 5th. Then it's summer.

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A partly cloudy Mothers Day here in theFourth Corner, after a stunningly beautiful mid-spring day yesterday. I'm house sitting this weekend for a friend, and she took the dog camping with her. That means I am only responsible for 2 cats and 4 chickens. Chickens are weird. Very weird. Damn tasty eggs though!!!

Made a doughnut run earlier this morning, and looked for a new brew. Didn't want a sixer, cuz I've got some other brews here, but the grocery store doesn't sell singles, so I was forced to look at the hated 22oz section. Where I found this beer from a well-regarded PDX brewery. It's a little bland, but solid enough: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33058/216601/

Might be back later, if I can find a new thing around town. Cheers all!

 

Greetings to all on this Mothers Day edition of NBS, especially our gracious hostess @utopiajane for setting the tone on this fine day. I slept in a bit after a pretty full day yesterday hosting a Kentucky Derby party. Went out grabbed breakfast and hit up some garden centers for flowers. I'm going to roll the dice and hope we've seen the last frost around here. I need some color around the landscape once again!

Enough banter, it's time to get back on the trail of goodies sent by Poohbah @cavedave in the last round of NBS/BIF. Popping the crown on a bomber of Siberian Black Magic Panther by Westbrook Brewing Co. The bottle date is 1/28/16 and the abv. is 12%. Let's pour this big bottle in my trusty stout glass for the Sunday taste drive!

It pours thick and black as night leaving a small finger of mocha colored foam. Used 10/40 motor oil comes to mind! The smell is candy syrup sweet with dark fruit notes of figs, dates and raisins. Some molasses and a hint of smoke emerge in back. The flavor is sweet chocolate forward like a liquid brownie. Figs, raisins and dates work their way through the sweetness. It finishes with molasses, tobacco, some woodiness and a touch of smoke. The feel starts oily, but quickly turns rather dry from the sweetness.



This is a very worthy decadent beast of a stout! It's just a touch on the sweet side for me, but not overwhelmingly so. It really shines at the recommended serving temperature of 55 degrees. I'm finishing glass number one and already feeling a warm glow. This is a great bottle to share. I'll bet it cellars well and would love to hear any feedback in regards. This one is a winner for me, the score was 4.2 / rDev -3.2%. Thanks again Dave for the very generous multiple box bonanza of beer!



Going to dig for a little motivation, plant some flowers and do a little yard work on this seasonable May day. Have a great Sunday/Moms Day. Hope to return with another later. The customary link below.......

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24134/212198/?ba=Prager62#review

 

First off, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, especially my wife! My new beer this Sunday is Lost Abbey's Track 10 from their Box Set series. 13.5% imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with oodles of fresh coffee and cacao nibs added




L -4.25. Big jet black pour. Perfect inch of mocha-colored head. Slow dissipation; settles into a tiny ring of bubbles.
S- 4.5. Perfect blend of oaky bourbon, bitter dark chocolate, and espresso beans. Also get a bit of raisin in there as well
T- 4.5. Good balance of coffee to booze. Blends well. Chocolate sweetness now instead of bitter. No trace of 13.5%. Well hidden
M - 4.25 light-heavy bodied. Not motor oil thick. Lighter carbonation.
O - 4.5. Really enjoyed this one. The coffee was fresh and sharp while the bourbon was not overdone. Meshed well together.
Overall weighted rating is a 4.46

 

For my second NBS beer of the day, we move up the IBU scale slightly to this brew from Otter Creek.



Otter Creek Fresh Slice

Otter Creek Brewing / Wolaver's
Belgian IPA / 5.50% ABV

3.71/5 rDev -0.3% | Avg: 3.72
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Bottled 04/07/16

L- The beer pours a clear golden with a frothy 3 finger white head. No floaties as have been noted in previous iterations. Lacing is excellent with islands all around the glass. The head recedes to a thin film at the edges with a large thick central island.
S-Belgian yeast esters blend with a sweetness from the added clementine. Over that is the hop aroma, which when combined with the clementine and belgian yeast, lend the beer an almost perfumy quality.
T- Taste follows the nose. With the combination of hop, clementine, and yeast having an almost perfumy quality. I can appreciate that in the nose, but find it less appealing in the taste.
F- The beer is well carbonated, but not overly so. The mouthfeel is fairly light. The beer is intended for summer sipping, and the mouthfeel is appropriate for this.
O- As a seasonal beer this beer meets the brewers intent nicely. If you like the perfumy characteristics imparted by Belgian yeast mixed with american hops than you will enjoy this. For my own palate however, I would recommend Steampipe over this particular beer in terms of summer quencher.

 

Enjoying a rainy, lazy afternoon. A second new beer entry - 'La Avenida', a brown ale from Albur Brewing Co., Guadalupe, Mexico.



Ruby brown to brown pour (24+) with beige head; good clarity and long lasting cap; spotty lace at best. 4.0

Semi sweet caramel malt and roast malt. 3.5

Roast malt and coffee flavors; semi sweet caramel malt with lite bitter roast finish. 3.75

Lite mouthfeel; moderate plus carbonation. 3.50

Overall, fine roast malt, but with a bitter minerally linger. 3.75

A pleasant enough lite brown ale from Mexico, but the linger knocked it down a bit. Cheers!