New Beer Sunday (week 595)

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My first Sea Hag. I thought it was really tasty. Big foamy head and tropical smell, kind of floral and citrus. Tastes smooth and grassy slight bite maybe a bit thin but overall a nice IPA. Easy to drink and dare I say crushable

 

Much appreciated buddy, much appreciated.

 

Very nice beer! I had quite a few of these over the past few days (along with Sunshine Pils, Two Hearted, Newburgh Brown, etc...we had our own CANfest going ) and can attest to the crushability.

No beer for me today, though- time to get back to reality. But it's been great reading along with everyone this afternoon, and getting that 'normal Sunday' feeling as I wind down. Cheers, NBS crew!

 

#2, this magnificent beer from Belching Beaver Brewery.



The bomber describes it as a peanut butter flavored Mexican chocolate milk stout. Check, check, and check.

The pour yields less than a finger of tan head. The aroma is SOOOOOO peanut butter (note: I love peanut butter), and the taste is peanut butter, with the chocolate at the end of the taste - and there's a subtle spice withe the chocolate. Yum.

This is one of the better beers I've had this year. Rated 4.48.

 

New Beer Sunday: An interesting take on a new Saison.

Evenin' NBSers with special salutations to savorers of special Saisons.

Well the weather here today was much as several of you experienced, sunny, warm (but very warm), and humid. Naturally I arranged to focus my attention on chores that could be done indoors and/or errands that could be run in the car with the Air Conditioning turned up to full blast.

This evening's new beer is a fairly unique Saison, it's from Orpheus Brewing in Atlanta, GA and is named for a person from mythology named Atalanta. What makes this Saison interesting is two things. First it uses (but not overuses) some plum very effectively so that there is a hint of it in the aromas and a hint of it in the flavors. Second, a quick look at the Brewery website reveals that this was one of thier flagship beers when they first got up and running, and (ready for this?) they did not have an IPA among their flagship beers.

As usual my review, in progress till the beer is finished, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34960/122582/?ba=drtth#review

Basically this beer offers a nice combination of tart lemon and slight plum flavor that also allow some malt and yeast to be noticed. Definetly a warm weather refresher and keeper to have more of.

The music on the player this evening is also focused on some characters drawn from legends. The particular link below is to a Disney animation, using existing music and based on charaters from a class poem, that was first filmed/recorded more years ago than almost any one on this thread or site will be old enough to remember. (Why, it even predates the internet and @TongoRad, as hard as that may be to believe )

The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Cheers, all!

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @utopiajane for getting us started this week. Should be a semi busy week, got some reports due tomorrow at work. Not much else going on, another warm week ahead. Will be bike riding a lot this week hopefully.

New beers:

Very nice IPA. Fantastic head retention and dense lacing lasting the whole glass. Aromas and flavors of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, apricot, mango, lemon/orange peel, and pine; moderate toasted biscuit/light caramel malt; and herbal/floral/grassy hop earthiness. Moderate pine/rind bitterness; medium bodied; sticky/resin mouthfeel with balanced bready creaminess. Light-moderate increasing resin dryness; zero astringency. Zero warming ABV, very drinkable. This was really enjoyable. Nice mix of fruity/citrus hop complexity; with a solid malt backbone. I pulled a 12/2015 shelf date knowingly, and this is still delicious. 3.81


Interesting 250ml can format. Very nice American Barleywine. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, apricot, pineapple, citrus peel, raisin, plum, fig, and pine; balanced caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted bread malt; floral/grassy hop earthiness. Medium pine/rind/grassy bitterness. Medium carbonation/full bodied; balanced sticky/resins and creamy/slickness in the mouthfeel. Lightly drying with no lingering hop astringency or cloying malt sweetness. Light lingering warmth of 11.5%. This is a very well balanced American style. Really nice well rounded complexities of malt, hops, and yeast fruits. A smooth sipper. Likely having citrusy C-type hops, anything tropical is yeast derived. 3.9


Excellent saison. Aromas and flavors of big lemon, pear, plum, apple, white grape, orange peel, peppercorn, clove, dandelion, hay, straw, herbal, wood, leather, and some light honey/toasted bread malt presence. Nice peppery spice and herbal bitterness on the finish; touch of tartness. Medium bodied; with some herbal spice stickiness and light grainy creaminess in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing dryness. Very smooth and minimal warming ABV @8%. Seriously well done. This is a saison brewed with dried dandelions, and it really has a nice distinct character going on, with great standard Fantome house flavors I've come to expect. Still trying to get my hands on some Ete, it'll happen eventually. I've had all of the other seasonal Fantome's, and the classic (which I am looking to revisit as it was like 5 years ago). 4.1


Cheers, have a good night NBS

 

Good evening everyone!

The reviews and the beers are looking excellent so far. Like @utopiajane and many others, I have really been digging @zid 's saison thread. Between working all day in the hot sun and seeing all the great saisons in here, I decided to pop open this beer that I just got from an excellent BA up here the other night. Thanks Jacob!

I think that this is one of those new-fangled super hoppy saisons. I personally think some of them are basically IPAs, but I'm not complaining. I'm feel like I've seen Trillium's beers even called farmhouse beers before, so that should give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

Anyway, this is from a brewery called Beyond The Pale out of Ottawa. They make some pretty well-regarded beers it seems. Especially hoppy ones. However, Canada being Canada and Quebec being Quebec you can't get them here. So I am thrilled to get to try something so new and exotic and hopefully refreshing. Here's their blurb:

It drinks really well and I am glad to have the opportunity to try it.

Pours lovely with a big saison-y head. Right on opening you get punched with a spicy, almost-tart citrus pungency. The aroma is definitely one of the highlights of it. Pungent, citric, juicy, sweet, peppery, zesty yeast. Masterfully blended into a united smell. The flavor is similar to the aroma, but the yeast steps up and the hops seem to step back. Lightly peppery with a funky hop dankness and bright citrus in the background. The real winner here is how tasty and drinkable it is; with a nice velvet feel. Really creamy with a well-hidden 7.7%. All in all this is a really tasty melding between an IPA and a saison. The rye and yeast make it nice and spicy, the yeast and oats make is super creamy. Lots to like. There are starting to be lots of those. I am not complaining, I like them, but I don't want to see the day when there aren't any simple, not-super-hoppy, not-creamy, low-ABV saisons.

Here is a bonus picture of a pretty cool-looking beetle I saw today. No idea what it is, but I thought it was real pretty! Haha



Hope everyone has a great evening. Cheers!

Here's my review.

 

It has some low ratings, but for an AAL on a hot afternoon, it isn't bad....

 

Apropos of nothing, this just popped up on my FB, and it made me laugh, so here ya go:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7ASOcX/www.baetzler.de/humor/meat_beings.html?ref_src=fb

 

Back after a low-key dinner. I was going to make a Mexican-accented meatloaf in the crockpot, but I found I didn’t have a crucial ingredient, and by the time that was rectified, there was not time to cook it and still eat at a decent hour, so that’s rescheduled for tomorrow. I made do with a bowl of canned chili, with a little shredded cheese thrown on that melted slightly and pleasingly.

Now I’m hitting an Imperial Stout from Beer Valley, which is not a mythical Shangri-La catering to the lupulinly inclined, but a brewery in Ontario, Oregon. Beer Valley is a brewery that I haven’t sampled the wares of in a while. I find they make decent beers but unessential beers, rarely justifying the price their bombers are sold for, and this one is no exception:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14984/33629/?ba=woemad#review

It makes me think of a more bitter, more unbalanced version of Old Rasputin. It’s entirely possible it would benefit from the nitro treatment, but must say I’m not finding it terribly compelling, outside of it’s appearance and ability to reproduce a head with a little shake despite it’s massive strength.

Wow, for the first time in a long time, I have no more beer on hand that I’ve not had before. From here until payday, I’ll just have to make do with the Topcutters in my fridge. I’ve been in worse predicaments…

 

I just got home from a service for my best friend's brother who passed away this past Tuesday. Grant was a good friend of mine and we all had a great visit with the family, friends, and many who simply liked him, but didn't know him well. It is an odd feeling now that we've "said" good-by, because he really is still with us. Good fortunes with your good-bys and count your blessings and keep helping the younger ones try to understand.

 

Back for a final review after resetting the palate with some food and water. I'm going with one that I was excited to find at a Michigan store on Friday as I missed the brewery release a few weeks ago. It's a pint can from Tapistry Brewing in Bridgman Michigan called Heart of Napalm. The date on the bottom appears to be 06/23 and there's no abv. on the label, but it's listed at 10%. Let's check it out.....

Pours a dark amber color leaving behind a finger of light tan foam. The smell is caramel malt heavy with some faint citrus and floral notes. There's a good dose of fusel alcohol in there as well. Taste is once again malt centric with burnt caramel, some mild grapefruit and floral. There is something oddly medicinal in the finish. Perhaps the alcohol? Feel starts on the slick side but quickly turns bitter, hot and astringent.



Wow, this is one hot and malty mess. Is this a barleywine or triple IPA mislabeled? I really like their Reactor IPA when it's fresh or their Citra Pale on tap so I had high hopes for this one. My expectations for something tropical and dank were scorched like the earth during this recent drought. The name of this beer is apropos and if that were a score I would give it a 5. Unfortunately my score is a 3.08 / rDev -27%. I'm scratching my head now after reading the other reviews. I'm going to pass a couple along for feedback and let one sit to see what happens down the road?

Have a great week, let's do it again next Sunday! Here's my gigantic negative rDev review in scorecard form.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32326/154109/?ba=Prager62#review

 

Sucka, those could be F41's!!!!

 

Small Town Not Your Father's Root Beer, 10.7% ABV, 10 IBU. Pours, looks, and smells like a root beer. Taste is typical sugared root beer, with vanilla and is alcohol heavy. This is sweet, though less than the 5.9% ABV variant. Mouthfeel is good for what it is - a root beer. Overall decent for the style, better than the other lower ABV root beers I've tried. This is the best alcoholic root beer I've had, though probably would be better off drinking a sugar-free A&W and a shot of root beer schnapps. The 19.5% ABV variant of this must be a booze bomb, but I'd be willing to take one for the team and try it!

 

Look down on my beer choices all you want. If having a supply of Topcutters on hand is pitiable, let me wallow in that pity.

 

:-)

The answer to the question, "Who wants to meet meat?" can be found in a very short science fiction story by Damon Knight called "To Serve Man." which provided the basis for an episode of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone.

Pretty sure a free copy can be found on line and downloaded.

 

Way to be a team player! Attaboy!!! Rub some dirt on it!

Seriously, there's, a 19+% version? Holy shitballz! Gonna have to find it, just cuz.

 

Which reminds o

Which reminds me of a meme I saw a couple days ago, from a Pink Floyd fan: It always bothers me when I see vegetarians eating pudding.

It's funnier with the pic.

 

Are you trying to say a nearly 11% root beer isn't a booze bomb?! I've had the entry level version (thought it was the best tasting root beer I'd had in a while but in no way a beer), and Id be lying if I didn't say I might buy one of this if I saw it out of sheer curiosity, but I have a feeling it's a hangover in a bottle.

There's a 19.5% version? Dear Lord!

 

Greetings All:

Checking in from eastern Washington with this Oregon brew, Long Ball Golden Ale.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/43/111662/

It was pretty good, and I know a little about the region and the minor league baseball team that inspired it.

Late afternoon thunder storms rolling through. I have some vacation time coming this week, and new beers are definitely on the itinerary.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!