New Beer Sunday (week 591)

Review to follow after we kill the bomber

 

Today's "new" beer for me is Weihenstephaner's Hefe Weissbier. No doubt, it is an incredibly old beer considering it's made the "the world's oldest brewery". So, let's get into it.



Look: Pours a frosty straw color. The head is thick and white, and retains moderate to strong. A nice thin ring of foam sits on top of my beer after a few sips, with any lacing kicked up during the sip sinking back into the ring.

Aroma: Very delightful and playful with the quintessential notes of banana and clove playing a major role. A little Belgian yeast and pollen notes round it out nicely. It reminds me of summer nights spent in the farm fields here in the Midwest.

Taste: A good variety of notes are delivered, and all in balance. Those notes include banana, clove, Belgian spices, yeast, and a hint of pollen/flower. There are complexities that can be sniffed and sipped out, and yet it is just a plain ol' good beer to drink on a hot/warm day. An aftertaste leaves some Belgian yeast and spice on the palate between sips.

Mouth feel: It's well done, with a smooth, velvety texture, and a medium thickness consistency. It certainly keeps it fun and lively to drink.

Overall: This is a beer for any day drinking. The complexities in the aroma and flavor mean it can be sipped and savored or put down in under 60 at a barbecue. Very tasty and fun to drink.

Scores: 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.39

 

Greetings friends,
Happy Father's Day out there to all you pops!
OK, I've learned I need to try the Von Trapp beers some day. @cavedave, @TongoRad, and @JackHorzempa have convinced me in various ways that these brews are for me. I would bet that they would be a household staple if they were available in this neck o' the woods.
I lost my Dad in 1976 when I was 25. He was able to carry WW2 with him for 31 more years. He was a true hero and a great guy!
I wanted The Winstons original, but this cover is great. Have a great day and try not to drink too much....phhfftt!

 

My second Short's and again I am disappointed. Guava is there in the aroma but almost non-existant in the flavor. Flavor is floral and vegetal with a long bitter linger.

 

Certainly not me, with the Greek Euro Adjunct Lagers I've had that are imported to this country!

Congrats on finding some treasures. I think you're a lock for rarest beers in today's NBS.

 

I swear by breakfast burritos when hung over, or not hung over.

 

Happy NBS from a hot southern WI. Had fun swimming with my kids all afternoon yesterday and plan on keeping it a low key fathers day. I like to drink Saisons and Wild Ales when the temps get into the 80's and today will be 90.

Almanac is new to WI, so this bodes to be a good summer for me. Delores is a clear apricot with a thinner 1 finger white head. Spotty lacing and fair retention. Bright fruity notes of melon and apricot along with yeast. Flavor is big on the yeast and clove with a good amount of melon. Hints of apricot and peach compliment a weak spicy finish. Feel is light and bubbly with good carbonation and a dry finish. Very pleasant Saison that was a delight to drink on this hot summer day.

 

Smartest thing MickeyD's has ever done is make Sausage Egg McMuffins available all day. I don't know how much crack they put in each one, but it's just the right amount.

 

Hopefully you can try some of the beer brewed in IA. It's always in bombers and delicious! Zeelander is brewed often and one of the best.

 

Nice to hear.

A beer buddy just gifted me with a bottle of that and now I'm looking forward even more to drinking it.

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers,

Thanks to @utopiajane for getting us underway, and Happy Father's Day to Dads everywhere. Just got off the phone with the Old Man, myself. It's currently in the mid 50s and sunny in the city that will be crawling with Hoopfesters next weekend. I'll be in Olympia celebrating the new(ish) niece's 1st birthday and hanging out wiht my parents and my brother's family. Probably no NBS, though I'll be taking some beers, such as a Selkirk Abbey Cuvee de la Nuit Profonde as a late birthday present for my bro.

Didn't have much in the way of new beer until Thursday. I went to The Observatory to see Helms Alee (great band, btw; think sludgy, stoner rock mixed with shoegaze and MFF harmony vocals. The woman who drummed/sang was particularly awesome), and had myself a couple new beers from Whistle Punk (still brewing out of the Hansen Bros.' garage, I think): A Cream Ale and a Mosaic Saison. The Cream Ale was exactly as advertised, but the Mosaic Saison, dry hopped & with 3 different yeast strains, was a case of too much going on that kinda canceled one another out. Also had Everybody's Brewing's Sprinkles , a sour that was casually tasty - quite good while missing greatness.

Yesterday was a fairly epic beer day. Hearing from a fellow local BA on the NW forum that Fort George's much-anticipated 2016 3-Way IPA was available at the Rocket Market, atop Spokane's South Hill, I went in yesterday morning and was told they were out, but then the beer guy said he wanted to double check and came back with the last 4-pk they had. I grabbed it, bought some funky cooking ingredients not found elsewhere such as tamarind paste and picked up a coffee and a pasty to eat in Manito Park. Afterwards I realized they'd only charged me for one of the cans ($2.99) instead of the whole 4-pk!

On my way home I stopped at Growler Guys and picked up a grunt of Speedway Stout and then hit Huckleberry's - easily the most traffic'd place for craft beer in my part of town. All beer and wine was 20%, so I picked up some stuff for my Dad and my brother, then decided (while considering it a waste of time) to ask if they had any 3-Way. They did, just hadn't gotten around to getting it on the shelf, so I picked up another 4-pk. Amongst the various bottles I picked up, plus some good coffee for a late Mother's Day present for my Mom (I'm really not a bad son; my folks have been on a mega-trip for over a month), I failed to notice until looking at the receipt that they also charged me for one can instead of the 4-pk (and this time 20% off!).

Last night after work I finally stopped by the Steel Barrel Tap Room. It's a "brewery incubator." Basically, several nanobreweries (currently two, but apparently they plan to have as many as 5) agree to share brewing space in one portion of the building, which houses a 7-barrel brewing set-up, with a bar featuring 30 taps, with a restaurant specializing in ceviche in the rear. I had my first ceviche ever ("Jalisco style", featuring Red Snapper) with a Gose and a "Farmhouse Funk Ale", both brewed by Young Buck Brewing, and both were excellent.

I plan to hit a raspberry sour from Wander in a little bit, as it's pretty low impact, alcohol wise. Then it's off to work until the evening, when I'll be coming home to that Speedway Stout.

 

Happy Fathers day NBS players. Just a beautiful day here on the island. Sunny, warm, with a nice cooling breeze which seems to be keeping the humidity down. A pretty busy afternoon lined up. Hitting my fiancé's side to see here pops and then heading out to the north fork of li to visit my folks who are up for a bit from fl. Not sure how many posts I'll get in today because of it but I'm hoping to hit Greenport Harbor on my way.

My new beer today is Altbier, a german style pale ale, from Prost brewing in CO. Another pull from my beer of the month club thing. No apparent bottle date, and no abv listing either. This site has it at 5% thou.

A dark amber pour with decent clarity, medium carbonation, and a frothy off-white head. The nose smells of malt, funk, wheat, and sugars. It's rather interestingly floral and it really seems to present an interesting drinking experience to come. The drinking starts of tangy with spicy wheat, and lots of caramel malt. Dry, slightly bitter hoppy, and also rather clean on the finish. Nice flavor notes of bread, sour mash, oats, toast, and a slight sugar sweetness. Mouth feel is on the lighter side but it holds up well with all the spicy tones.

Overall, not a bad beer at all and I'm enjoying it. Lots of interesting flavors going on that really harken back to the German style but still remains very refreshing and sessionable. I don't have to throw out the other two bottles. I'm in a solid 3.5 range.

 

Next up is a Founder's Mosaic Promise.



Golden and hazy with a small white head with just a bit of lacing.

Big wallop of onion and garlic, more than I've ever gotten in the nose of a beer. Almost savory this thing. Hard to get anything else, but I swear I'm getting a smidgen of dill?

Taste is big garlic, then onion. Then rye. It's like liquid savory snack crackers.

Slightly bitter finish, not overly dry and of medium body. Not bad. More complex than most Mosaic brews I've had.

 

Almanac's fairly new in my area as well. I've only had one beer so far (Paris of the West), but I'll get around to more (now that a certain enormo-box of midwestern goodness has been eradicated!).

 

my edition to this new beer sunday thing



saw Sam Adams and the can stating that the haze was from hoppiness and I just thought if you have to tell us that on the can then...
so I thought this would be just an average 2IPA, and it was! but average doesn't mean bad, just not great. here's the review:
pours a hazy orange with a large head that really stays for awhile
smells include big citrus notes of orange , apricot , some pineapple
and also a dank earthy smell
first sip leaves big bitterness in mouth, orangy citrus and grapefruit emerge from from bitterness
to provide some balance, however it's boozy and has IMO too much alcohol.
big mouthfeel, chewy, creamy, bold and aggressive. oily coat.
I would put this beside Evil Cousin from Heretic brewing and Marz liquid dreams.
but does not meet the lofty standards of half acre Double daisy cutter, ninja vs unicorn
or dark horse double crooked tree. has potential, but too much alcohol for me.

cheers!

 

This brewery just opened in Concord, New Hampshire (USA) in April 2016 so pretty much everything from this brewery is "new" for me. It is Litherman's Limited Crisped C.R.E.A.M., with a 5.6% ABV. It is a cream ale. Weirdest color. Kind of a milky yellow with a modest head. They use rice and it shows. Full of rice and cereal grains. Light body. Toasted malt flavor with a low hop profile in both the taste and aroma. It's OK but don't go out of your way for it.

 

Hey y'all I am now drinking a VonTrapp Vienna Lager, and am happy to report my local has re-upped all the Von Trapps, and this delicious and refreshing liquid excellence is far from a new beer. BTW the description given earlier by @JackHorzempa is spot on.

I do have a new one though, and it is in the fridge. Sad to say it is one I wanted to save until December, but which certain problems have convinced me to drink sooner rather than later. Okay that was kind of a mystery, but it will all become obvious in a while. See ya then!

 

As someone who is seemingly unable to resist beer with coffee and who loves Baltic Porters, you just put this on my radar in a big way!

 

Greetings NBS afficianados and a Happy Fathers Day to all you BA dads. Thanks to @utopiajane for the always stellar job of setting the tone. It's another partly sunny hot day with low humidity that is further drying out the landscape. A lazy afternoon here after a busy one yesterday should make for a few reviews. Let's kick it off with a bottle of Stone Mocha IPA from the six pack I scored last week. It has a bottle date of 05/27/16 with Enjoy By 09/24/16 and an abv. of 9%. Say what you will about Stone, but they hide nothing when it comes to freshness. Let's give it a try!

Pours a transparent dark gold with amber hues leaving a few centimeters of quickly settling off white foam. A very pleasing beer to the eye. Smell is a mild but pleasing mix of coffee and tropical hops. I'm picking up some passionfruit, grapefruit and a hint of cacao in the back. The flavor is huge coffee followed by juicy passionfruit, grapefruit, pineapple and finally a hint of cacao in the finish. The feel begins creamy and oily, then finishes bitter and dry.



Wow, this is one interesting beer! I had reservations about not only coffee in a juicy Stone DIPA, but cacao as well. I trusted my gut and Stone's reputation for quality and picked up a six. A smart move as I really like the interesting mix of coffee, tropical juiciness and chocolate. It works in a bizzare way that defies explanation. You can definitely taste everything that's advertised on the label. It may be a bit of a polarizing beer because of the unorthodox mix, but I would recommend giving it a try. All said and done my score was 4.12 / rDev +3.3%.

Have a great day, enjoy your beer, food and family time. Here's the official scorecard with the numbers......

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/233603/?ba=Prager62#review

 

Another one from Tallgrass Brewing, Top Rope IPA


Appearance: Hazy light gold, moderate white cap and lace.

Aroma: Conifer, a bit earthy, something almost like old leather but pleasant. Citrus also, perhaps some floral. Little malt apparent.

Taste: For a hop forward brew this is well balanced. Malt missing in the aroma comes forward in the taste. Hops dominate but don't conceal the malt which comes across as rather dry with a little sweetness but not much. Lively, clean flavors that play their roles well. Finish is dryish and bitter with a lingering aftertaste.

Texture: Reasonably full in feel, it's got some heft to it.

Overall: I like this, well, as much as I care for other IPAs. I might like it better on draft.