New Beer Sunday (week 588)

I hightailed it to the wild wegman's this morning Dave. And low and behold there was kale and lemons. I have a beer for later but first I have to run more errands and it is hot and humid here too. Holiday and graduation weekend so soon my town shall be empty =) Well I will still be here. Morning!

 

Good morning New BSers! @cavedave, thanks as always for your alliterative inauguration of today's festivities, throwing the first bottle, as it were. I hope the heat doesn't get too much for you - I always found a couple quarts of Gatorade helpful even though it's alcohol-free. We had some thunder storms here in NW PA last night - nothing too bad, at least where I live. Today is starting out foggy and cool - I hope it warms up into at least the eighties as predicted - I like a nice warm day, no doubt due to my reptilian ancestry.

We've begun a new building phase. I want a shed in which to keep my lawn/garden equipment. Of course, before that can be built, we have to have a couple of trees removed and our rental property needs the electrical service updated to 200 amps and adding another shelf in the bedroom closet suddenly became changing the doors from white louvered doors to stained oak doors which means all the casings, baseboards, and other assorted millwork will have to be redone. I HATE carpentry! Mrs. Lizard's father was a carpenter so she thinks, with some non-Euclidian logic, that I have the skill to properly shape and align portions of dead trees - it has nothing to do with having a Y chromosome! I am the original wood butcher - if bad carpentry were a crime, I'd be a serial killer!

But anyway, enough whining. Today's new breakfast beer turned out to be surprising good, despite the habaneros.



Last weekend I was working the Founder's booth at the World Expo of Beer in Frankenmuth, MI. We started the second shift on Saturday with nine bottles of this, and it went quickly - I didn't even have a chance to try it - but I wasn't too concerned since I knew I had a bottle waiting at home in the beer reefer. Mostly I was sampling the Sumatra Mountain Brown (which I couldn't find in any stores and was EXCELLENT), and was replacing empty with full bottles. Anyway:

Shelf beer from Indiana two weeks ago – refrigerated since
2016 vintage at 49 degrees into hand washed and dried JK snifter
Aroma – initially a burst of mango, diminishes rapidly
Head large (Maximum 4.5 cm, aggressive pour), fizzy/frothy, off white, diminishing rapidly to an irregular one to two mm frothy ring and no layer. (The head dropped from the top of the snifter to the photographed level in the time it took to focus)
Lacing – none
Body – light orange, hazy
Flavor – Begins with mango, sweet, ends with a little habanero flavor and burn; no hops, no malt, no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate – medium, light syrup, soft carbonation

A little mango is always good, a little habanero not necessarily so. However, the habanero is not so assertive as to make this undrinkable as many chili beers are for me – a little heat allowing me to enjoy this.

Appearance 3.5, Aroma 3.25, Flavor 4, Palate 3.75, Overall 3.75. Rating 3.72, Avg 3.64, rDev +2.2%

Generally speaking, I don't enjoy fruit beers, with the exception of a (very) few krieks and shadys. This was well balanced and didn't resemble eating habanero seeds and membranes as all too many chili beers do. I won't buy any more bombers of this, but an occasional four- or six-pack...

 

Ozzy I am with you on the fruit beer. I did not even taste the radler I bought. My son drank that and said meh but I think he liked it. =)

 

Off now to face a busy day that will also be the last day of our current heat wave here. Expect to be back this evening with a new beer (IPA) from a new brewery (Orpheus) that is new to being canned and new to showing up here in SE PA.

But before starting the errands and chores I wanted to especially thank @cavedave, who, in his last paragraph in today's start up, reminds us that this weekend, and Monday in particular, is a time to remember and honor those who made their final sacrifice on our behalf.

 

Thanks cavedave for starting NBS today.

Cheers!

 

Kicking off with a starter . . .

Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter IPA



Appearance: Clear, clean light yellow with thick fluffy cap and even lacing.

Aroma: Very clean hop aroma, strong yet restrained, very sophisticated. There's a rich fullness to the hop aroma without being aggressive in any way

Taste: Malt present yet not really malty, a supporting role for the main actor which is hops. Malt remains through to the finish without ever breaking out of it's confined space. Hops sing throughout but with a limited range. I won't say there is just one hop flavor, rather a well integrated hop flavor.

Overall: Certainly a beer worth drinking and worth buying again. Whether this will replace your regular IPA depends on how much one likes the hop profile, which is different from other IPAs I've tried.

 

Introduced in 1978. Brewed in India. "Alcohol does not exceed 8% by volume".

4.08/5 rDev +54%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Haywards 5000 has a thin, white head, a clear, yellow-gold appearance, tiny, white sediment specks, throughout, and some sheet lacing left on the glass. The aroma is of honey-topped white bread, green apple, white bread crust, malt, golden raisin, and rice pudding. Taste is of those elements, with sharp alcohol notes (think of V.S. brandy), some grain husk, honey, corn, and a touch of low-level, rounding hop bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium,and Haywards 5000 finishes crisp and enjoyable.

RJT

 

What is your favorite Summer (hot weather) beer?

Most of May has been on the cool side in Southeastern PA but the past few days have been brutally hot!!

The calendar says that summer is 3 weeks away but IMO Mother Nature is saying something different!

One of my favorite hot weather beers is a Kolsch. I was thinking to myself: Self, what is better than a Kolsch on a scorcher like today? I responded with the answer: Two Kolsch Beers!!

So, luckily I have two Kolsch beers available for enjoyment plus a bit of a compare & contrast exercise.

In my Straub Sunshine Sampler 12-pack I have three Straub Kolsch beers so I will drink one of them. I also have a homebrewed Kolsch which I will ‘brand’ as Jack’s Kolsch for my number two.

First a bit of discussion on the Straub Kolsch: This beer won a Bronze Medal at the recent World Beer Cup (WBC) competition. Congratulations to Straub!!

On the 12-pack box the following details are provided:

“Color: Straw

Malt: German Pilsner, German Heritage Wheat and Carapils

Hops: German Perle and Tettnang

Yeast: Kolsch Ale Yeast

IBU: 25

ABV: 5.0%”

I do not have a box for Jack’s Kolsch but some details:

• Malt: Weyermann German Pilsner malt
• Hops: Tettnang Hops for bittering
• Yeast: Kolsch Yeast (Wyeast 2565)

Served in my 0.4 liter Stange glasses:

Appearance:

Straub Kölsch: Medium Straw colored with a white head.

Jack’s Kölsch: Light straw colored with a white head.

Aroma:

Straub Kölsch: A delicate bready Pilsner Malt aroma.

Jack’s Kölsch: A noticeable aroma of bready Pilsner Malt accompanied by a white wine aroma (akin to a Sauvignon Blanc wine from the Pacific Northwest).

Taste:

Sraub Kölsch: Flavors follows the nose with bready Pilsner Malt flavors with just a hint of floral.

Jack’s Kölsch: Flavor follows the nose with the bready Pilsner Malt being prominent but nicely complemented by the subtle but very noticeable white wine flavor.

Mouthfeel

Straub Kölsch: Smooth/soft mouthfeel with a dryish finish

Jack’s Kölsch: Medium bodied and enticingly (on a day like today) crisp with a dry finish.

Overall

Straub Kölsch: A refreshing beer to drink on a warm/hot summer day. I can fully understand why this beer won a medal at this year’s WBC.

Jack’s Kölsch: Also a very refreshing beer. This beer has drinkability, or as the Germans say: süffig!



I am very thankful that I have two hands to enjoy both of these tasty beers!

Cheers and Happy Memorial Day everybody!!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @Sixpoint @patto1ro

 

Aunt Sally for me... On the fence so far... going to wait on a review until I've had a couple of bottles... Dry hopped sours usually do it for me but... This one isn't enough of either

 

Bells Hopsoulution
DIPA at 8%abv

My favorite aspect to this offering by Bells is the floral aroma, it's very pleasant and invites one to sip quickly. The beer poured a two finger head of small tight bubbles wihich dissipates to a light cap. The taste was bitter with a hint of sweetness backing up the hops, a real nice crisp mouthfeel, no pallet wrecker here. Bells says this release splits the calendar between Hopslam and Oracle, you could conceivably drink Bells DIPAs year round, I can dig that!

Off to Grand Rapids to visit my veteran nephew, and hit Founders of course, Cheers BAs.

 

No new beer for me this Sunday, hosting Memorial Day BBQ with a keg of Summerfest.

 

Great start @cavedave . Today NBS has a tad of a superhero feel to the opening:

I like it.

 

Great read. The carpentry part made me laugh, so the wife caught me on NBS instead of the report card work she thought i was doing.

 

Good Morning NBS.
What a fun beginning. I tried a few new beers this week and I hope to add that to, and bore you all with, my diatribe later.
But today, I will be drinking in the glorious cacophany of pipes and drums. Memorial Day weekend is always made a little more special in Orange County with The Scottish Games, held at the OC County Fairgrounds. I know their are countless cliches about the torturous bellows of the bagpipes. But to me, the sound is a soul stirring, sometimes solemn, sometimes rousing, and it connects to past ages. Most people believe bagpipes originated in the Brittish Isles. In fact most evidence points to an orgin in North Africa.
While I will probably not find any "new" beers at the games, I'm sure...I'm VERY sure I will have a beer or 2. A banger, a meat pie, and a beer are perfect accompaniment to Scotland the Brave.

Happy NBS, and Happy Memorial Day! Take time to honor those for whom the day is for.

 

Thx @jzeilinger for this very nice stout. Poured into a stimmed goblet at near room temperature. Pours a very dark brown with a two finger tan head, that leaves behind some solid rings of lace. 4

Smell is roasted oats, vanilla, dark chocolate, biscuit, and dry coffee grounds. 3.75

Taste follows loads of dry oats, biscuit, toffee, vanilla, and dry expresso. 3.75

Mouthfeel is not quite medium, good amount of life, definitely a bit dry, and drinks easy for over 8.2. 3.75

Overall this is a nice stout, I would have liked a little more body, but a nice beer. 3.75 Sorry I would have gotten dealer onto it and taken more pictures, but the family stayed over night at a friends house.

 

I'm among those who hate bagpipes. Our Highland Games are next weekend, and I often volunteer in the beer garden, slinging some brews. In an odd development, the bagpipes don't bother me, as the sound is constant, and becomes white noise after a few minutes.

Off on a tangent story here. One year I was slinging beer at the games. A local brewery makes a strong Scotch Ale for the games, and much of it is consumed, often by folks who maybe drink the more lighter end of the beer spectrum on the regular. So, the guys from the Vancouver BC Polce Pipe and Drums were having several lovely beverages this day. One gentleman was having a bit too much fun, and I had to tell him that we weren't going to serve him for a while, or maybe anymore. Well, he gets all excited, grabs a few of his cohorts, and they all start berating me, and basically threatening to arrest me the next time I go to Vancouver.

I let them rant on for a couple minutes, hoping they'll run out of steam, and drift away. No such luck. They actually get more aggro. Finally, I reach my limit. I ask them how well they know American law. They respond with a "we're cops, we know law, serve us beer" line. I tell them that in America, citizens are allowed to carry firearms, and in WA, we don't even need a permit to carry, and did you guys bring yours across the border today, because I damn sure have mine with me, just for jackasses like you. You've never seen a group of guys shut the hell up so damn quick. It was so funny, I almost broke out laughing, which would have broken the image. They back off a few steps, and start chatting among themselves.

As it happens, in the beer line was a local guy I know, a bagpipe player actually, who happens to also be a Superior Court judge. 3 of the cops crash the line to start giving me more shit. I catch the eye of hizzhonor, and ask, loudly, "Judge, do you happen to know the penalty for bringing a weapon across the border"?

They look at the slender gentleman, in his full-on regalia, and as he starts to answer I say quietly, "yes, that's the judge who will put your asses in jail for a long time, if I don't shoot you first". They became the most well behaved group of the day in a hurry, as they drank their root beers. Good times.

 

I don't know what happened yesterday but I clearly became so intoxicated that I ended up listening to Duran Duran on vinyl. I mean really. Let's forgive and forget, shall we? Thank you, I'll try to not do that again.

There are only a few things in life I enjoy more than a good hoppy wheat ale. I've said it before, the hoppy wheat style might be one of my favorites, at least in my top 3. Today I'm drinking my $6 bomber of Anderson Valley Hobneelch'n. It clocks in at a beautiful and perfect 5% ABV.

Look: The creamiest, foamiest cap of light cream colored sea foam sits on top of a semi-clear sunburnt orange body, which constantly feeds the head with rising bubbles from the Lagunitas large mouth glass.

Aroma: As the beer warms, the malts really get more bready and I truly do smell doughy buttermilk biscuits up front as subtle citrus peel blends with soft pine notes later.

Taste: Biscuits and wheat crackers up front soon get crushed by lemon and orange zest. The finish is piny and hoppy without being bitter. I can't tell you how much I enjoy that. It finishes very clean with subtle white pepper spiciness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, slightly creamy and smooth. Semi-dry.

Overall: 3.93 rating. Pretty solid all the way around. A lot of hop flavor without killing the palate.

 

Looks like you get all the good cases Jack.