New Beer Sunday (week 593)

Hey what's going on!!!

I will be joining you a little later, as I am working on new beers shortly, gotta take a trip with my growlers soon for new beers!

In the meantime great brunch going on down here at the beach... see you all soon!


3 Monts at Back Porch Cafe for brunch in Rehoboth Beach

 

Good morning NBS (or by the time I get this typed up, early afternoon)! Happy holiday weekend to all, hope you get a chance to join friends and family for some good food and of course, some good beers. Maybe even convert one or two of them; never know until you try .

Today, I am going to have a beer I have seen reviewed at least once here on NBS, and I think twice. I bought this about a month or so ago in hopes of doing it for NBS back then. But there it sat in the refrigerator this weekend, begging to finally get its day in the Sun. Unfortunately there is no sun out yet, but fortunately that means it hasn't brought its heat. Regardless, this is Sixteen Counties by Allagash:


The beer pours with an orangish hue to it - as you can see. Back inside, though, it takes on a slightly more yellow look to it that what the photos suggest. Also looks quite hazy with a glance, but keeping condensation off the glasses is hard, especially after a night rain. For instance, after wiping the glass, I can easily (though not clearly) see carbonation streaming to the top of the glass in it.

The initial head gobbled up more than half the first pour, and about half the second pour, and it receded slowly. The glasses took an ounce each at most between each picture to keep them photogenic . Creamy after a quick settling, the head never got below a think half cm or more cap. Lacing was quite heavy.

The nose was shy about revealing much. Eventually it subtly let me know that it was a Belgian-style ale (well, the label told me that also). While I do get the esters from the yeast, I mainly get a spice. There is a definitive note of bread to me, maybe a cross of a spice bread and banana bread.

The taste is not as subtle as its partner sense. The nose, however quiet about the aspects of this beer, never actually lied. The flavors are pretty much as expected given the nose - a bready opening rich in herbal notes, with an underlying earthiness, almost like an rosemary focaccia bread.

The oat comes next, combining with the yeast in a way that is the one off-putting thing to me. Gratefully, a turn towards the spice notes saves my palate, and attacks it at the same time. Carbonation has been pricking my tongue the entire sip, and the added spice note accentuates this feeling.

Near the end is a turn back to herbal, and even lightly piney. This is also where I start to get a little stone fruit, which fades until there is a light banana flavor in the very end. My tongue still tingles fairly well after the sip, like it does after a little dose of black pepper crosses it.

There's quite a bit to take in in this beer. I think it is a nicely made brew, and rich in a variety of flavors. That one note in the middle throws me off, though. Funny how that can work. Even though warmth (or maybe submission by my tongue from the spice) helps smooth it a tad, it's just a small "flaw" that makes me not fully embrace this beer - and will almost certainly prevent me from buying this again at its price.

 

You need the Captain Marvel decoder.

This information seems consistent with the date you found:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/genesee-production-code.420463/

Suggesting the beer was bottled 22 Apr this year.

 

Is that the codename we're using to avoid non-PNWers getting wind of it?

 

Always enjoy your prose on Sunday mornings. This is another fine example that had me smiling as I read it. Cheers!

 

Well, I'm just trying to be a cool kid and use the dank acronyms; owf.

 

The one that releases next weekend?
Well, luckily at this juncture in time, due to line length and the proximity of my residence I can maintain my place in line and still sleep in my own bed. No tents for this guy! (at least not for this purpose. Mountains? Whole another story...)

Nah, but I was actually pretty bummed when I found out that the release had been pushed back from the 29th to next weekend as, through a blip in scheduling (too many people using their PTO for summer weekends, so we needed coverage) the scheduler has me working that night, despite the fact that I had scheduled myself to have a whole stretch of days off. I'll probably stop in before work to try and grab a bottle if they still have any, but gone are my visions of enjoying a pour at the UBG at the same time, or any chance of showing up before late in the day.

Oh well. Hopefully it will work out and I'll be able to nab a bottle or two, but if not, at least I got to try it at the HHC. And if one 4oz pour in the middle of an extravagant event among several dozen other similar pours (and the attendant memory reliability) is any indication... that thing is worth every single scrap of hype it has received and more.

 

Great post. Had me laughing out loud (which may have been disconcerting to the neighbors, but oh well. The guy has a friend over regularly that truly can't talk without shouting, and the girl laughs like a drunk hyena, so it's all good). Nice to see someone besides my friend and obscure music fan Matt has heard of Nouvelle Vague.

 

Glad you enjoy it! I often feel overly self indulgent and rambly about it, but after a long sit down with myself have long since decided that it is a valuable outlet, and even if it is self serving and overly wrought, dammit, it's still honest expression, and I'm just going to type whatever crosses my blood brain barrier and finds its way through my arteries and veins and out my fingers. I think when Bruce Lee called honest expression 'very hard' he was talking about more than just physical difficulty. It requires a certain level of vulnerability and acceptance and


...and there I go again.

Point is, enjoy your Sunday everyone!

 

:-)

And some of us are matching your cool by letting you think we don't understand, but "...the Shadow knows!"

 

I know I've seen that in person somewhere recently (a couple Jolly Pumpkin beers are here but not in much volume or variety). Maybe it was on my last beer run to Idaho, but just in case, I might run up the hill to Huckleberry's later on today and see if they have it.

 

Good afternoon NBS, hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July weekend. Probably only going to have one NBS entry today since I'm having friends over for burgers and dogs on the grill. Enjoying a bottle of Evil Twin Même Jésus Plus.
4.34/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

11.2 oz bottle poured into a teku

A- Black with a three finger mocha head.

S- Chocolate, some hints of roasted coffee, bandy, touch of toffee, hints of oak and vanilla.

T- Chocolate fudge, cocoa, bandy, charred oak, roasted coffee, touch of dark fruits. Flavors are very well balanced, coffee and charred give just enough bitterness to balance out the rich sweetness up front.

M- Smooth, medium to full body, slightly chewy.

O- Another solid offering in the Jesus series.

Cheers!

 

First NBS offering today is a classic from days of craft beer yore..



Harpoon Ale

Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall
American Pale Ale (APA) / 4.90% ABV

3.77/5 rDev +6.8% | Avg: 3.53
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Enjoy by 10/15/2016

L-The beer pours a clear light amber. The head is bright white and one finger high. The head recedes leaving spotty lacing and some legs while drinking.
S-The nose starts with some malty notes transitioning into some spicy hop notes.
T-The taste mimics the nose exactly in that the malt hits the palate first followed by spicy hops.
F-Carbonation is fairly light, but crisp. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side.
O- BA lists this as an APA, but Harpoons website lists it as an amber which is more in line with the color. This beer is very tame by todays standards. Still their is something in its balance and light mouthfeel that really appeals to me as a session beer that can be consumed in quantity without palate fatigue setting in. It's worth a trip down craft beer memory lane.

 

Happy NBS Independence Day edition gang. A very comfortable start to the day along the southern shore with partly cloudy skies and the temperature at 74. I got up before sunrise today to water some plants and walk the dogs, then went out for breakfast. A little BBQ action later today, but it's time to park it on the patio with a new beer!

Starting off with a new shipment of Juice Box Tangerine IPA from 450 North Brewing Co. in Columbus Indiana. There's no date on this pint can and the abv. on the label is 6%. I'm pouring it in my Weyerbacher tulip for our Sunday ritual. Let's check it out!

Pours a cloudy dark reddish orange leaving a generous two fingers of creamy white lingering foam. The smell is grapefruit, a hint of tangerine and some malt. Taste is grapefruit forward followed by some heavy floral notes. The tangerine emerges in the finish. The feel is quite acidic, bitter and very dry.



I love Stone Enjoy By Tangerine so when a saw a new shipment of 450 at my local store this was a easy call, especially at $9.99 a four pack. It's a beauty of a beer in appearance that falls a little short in the smell and feel areas. The acidic feel is right on par with grapefruit juice. That aside, I'm good with the flavor and I'll drink more of it this summer. Once again I had the privilege of adding a new beer and my score was 3.98.

A side story to this beer is that I was going to post it on yesterday's WBAYDN thread when I was out kayaking, but fate and circumstances said otherwise. I was paddling through a narrow portage between lakes that led me to a small railway trestle with a notoriously low clearance. It was even lower yesterday because of higher lake levels. In my attempt to hunker down in the cockpit I managed to knock the beer in the water before I could grab it. Bad judgment as I should have put it in the cup holder. Yesterday's WBAYDN loss is today's NBS gain!



I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend. Get out and enjoy as summer passes way too quickly! I'm going to finish this and contemplate my next choice. Here's some more reading material and a photo of sunrise today while walking the mutts.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35021/238822/?ba=Prager62#review

 

3.06/5 rDev -10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Left Hand Good JuJu Ginger has a medium, off-white head, a mostly clear, orange-gold appearance, and very little lacing left behind. The aroma is of ginger and pale malt, and the taste is of pale malts, with ginger. Mouthfeel is light to medium, and Good JuJu finishes crisp and highly drinkable.

RJT

 

Is that a Millenium Falcon bottle opener?

I think I know what will be included in my next birthday present to my brother (or myself).

 

Welcome Back!!! I was glad to see you again. Good reading.

 

new special lager beer sunday



poured out straw or yellow with a nice sized white foam head
tropical fruit notes, passion fruit, spruce
not grassy, which says it was not too time exposed in dry-hopping
light / medium mouthfeel, creamy smooth
a great drinking beer that will not wear out your palate drinking a few.

cheers! back in a flash!

 

I've worked my way to the 1,000th rated / had, so I figured I'd break out a big one for the number.

Even though I've BIF'd a few of these, I've actually never had one.

Hardywood Park Trickery



Looks regal upon pour. Forced the head a little, but the result was a huge reddish brown foam head, sitting on top and opaque black stout. The lacing is pretty much no existent, but mainly due to the weight of itself I guess. If I tip the glass I get a solid curtain of lacing that quickly collapses.

Nose is spellbinding with so much happening. Caramel, molasses, chocolate and finally, that barrel presence with some heat, and a little hint of apple.

Taste is like a big, fat dessert. First thing that hits is that caramel, then the molasses and it wraps up with the heat and an exiting nondescript bitterness.

Body is a little deceptively thinner than you'd think but not disappointingly so - just think enough to not be way too cloying. only aftertaste is a little bitter chocolate. Nice finish!

Glad to have finally had this, as it makes an excellent landmark beer.

 

Howdy all and sundry! Cool start (WEIZEN BAM!!!) as always ... and look at all the pilseners, today and of late.

The Texas summer continues with no break here in the Brazos Valley … been in it for about month, got two more and some change to go. The best we can hope for is a bit of rain now and then, which we did get earlier this week. Those drops are a glorious sight this time of year.

I popped open this brew after the late shift early Sunday morning, well into official NBS range of course:



Birra Del Borgo’s Prunus, an ale brewed with cherries

I’ve tried a couple other brews from this Italian brewery, and Prunus follows in lock-step with the others: standard “sour” notes dominated by fingernail polish remover and tart lemons mixing with the fruit of choice; a lackluster pour bordering on outright flat; and a light but still crisp mouthfeel that is pleasant. This one does have both a nice bit of cherry flavor and a growing musty barn/oak wood flavor that’s helping minimize a not-so-pleasant dull aftertaste that’s mostly dirt and somehow medicinal … or like a bunch of dead prunes with all the sugar sucked out of them.

All in all, not bad. I believe the brewery has been bought by AB-In Bev, but I tried not to hold it against this particular beer (plus, I bought it *before* the buy-out, so ... )

The review:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14046/139569/?ba=Premo88#review

3.63 (rDev -4.5%)

Huevos the Puppy Dog is hanging out at my place for a couple weeks or so. We’ve got a cool deal now when I get off the late shift: The nearby historical cemetery has been turned into a historical park complete with lots of lighting, so now we can venture into it safely for his nightly walk.





The photos aren't great, but the idea is sorta there ... sorta?

My fridge is now empty of new beer, so I’m going to sit back and watch you cool cats do your NBS magic.

Cheers!