New Beer Sunday (week 602)

Happy NBS everyone. North Jersey never experienced any effects of the coastal storm and it's a perfect last summer afternoon to sample a new stout. Last week, I was wowed by Double Nickel's Marbled Buffalo BA Rye Ale and I had high hopes for Buffalo Nickel, the BA Imperial Stout. It's good but not at the same level. For some reason, I'm having trouble pasting my review today. You can find it at https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42881/214697/?ba=MacMalt#review

 

I love Ellie's, it's a really solid beer! What kind of flavors/aromas does the hemlock give? Like herbal or wood?

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @cavedave for starting us off in the right direction, as always,

Mostly sunny in the capital of Spokanistan, though the morning temperature ominously hinted at the cold temperatures of the onrushing seasons. It was high 40s when I went forth for breakfast and a few groceries, and still only about 60 when last I checked. It's been a bittersweet week for me, as I didn't get a job I've been jumping through hoops for the last couple weeks, but on the positive side of the ledger, the commute would've been somewhat grim.

Today I'm toasting the beginning of college football, especially since the relevant gods have smiled upon the two teams I follow. A special shout out goes to my plucky EWU Eagles, who bagged the comparatively colossal FBS school that's about 60 miles to their south. There's a good chance an avatar change will be happening shortly, once I find a suitable pic of Cooper Kupp.

What am I toasting with? A 2016 vintage BBA Imperial Stout from the NW corner, last survivor of a box of goodies received from @beertunes.





https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34416/191912/?ba=woemad#review
Not what I'd call a great beer, but it's very nearly there. If I could grab a bottle locally, I'd lay one down for aging. I'm curious what one would be like a little less raw.

Probably my only NBS beer today, as all I've got meeting that criteria is another huge stout, which I think I'll leave til next Sunday.

 

I'll stray from Michigan and head to Tennessee for one. This one comes courtesy of @Buck89 - thanks again for this beauty!

Big Juicy Dank by Mantra Brewing




Looks the part of an aggressive IPA as it creates about an inch of beige head over a translucent, dingy orange beer.

Immediately I get orange rind from this thing as I breathe it in. From there it fades off into a little grassy, and just a little peppery.

First thing I note is a pretty aggressive level of carbonation that does a good job of diffusing the orange presence, which sure enough, is therr. I've had several IPAs that suggested a juicy character, but this is the first that really delivered. Beyond orange I get just a bit of grassiness that the nose spoke of with a bitter finish that reminds me of actually eating an orange rind.

Finish is thin, neither dry nor "wet" and leaves very little aftertaste.

Terrific beer!

 

Beautiful holiday weekend, jazz fest in the D, mountain bike ride, beach with a beautiful lady ( ok, my wife) and picked up a six of Bells Octoberfest, priced right at $8.99. Pours a deep copper color with a minimal head that disappears immediately leaving just a few small bubbles pushing up. Very difficult to discern any aroma, maybe a little earthy, bready, grain. Taste is same, not too much going on here, pretty thin and other than the beautiful copper hue, I'd pass these up all day.

 

I felt the smoke overpowered this beer

 

Hermine has been nothing if not vexatious. When we left the South Jersey Shore yesterday, a day early, around Noon, the winds were gusting strong, the ocean was angry, and it looked like a bad storm was coming. North Jersey was fine when we arrived home and is gorgeous today.

 

We may both have had sour stomachs yesterday following our respective teams' performances on the gridiron!

 

New Saison/Farmhouse Ale Sunday

Happy NBS everyone! For my first new brew of the day, I had a bottle of La Moneuse from Brasserie de Blaugies: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/825/6436/?ba=bluejacket74#review



I thought it was a good earthy/yeasty saison, really enjoyable.

Last weekend I was with some buddies in Put-in-Bay, Ohio, which is known for Perry's Monument:



It's also known for lots of bars! Not many places there have a decent craft selection, but it's getting better. New to the island this year is the South Bass Taphouse:



Here I'm drinking an Old Firehouse Probie Porter, it's a good vanilla/coffee porter that I drank quite a few of last weekend! If you're ever on the island, make sure to stop in. It's not a big place, but they have a good selection of Ohio brews on tap and in bottles/cans.

I'll be back in a bit with another new brew!

 

Hello gang! It's nice to finally be able to join you on this holiday weekend edition of NBS. Where did summer go? I enjoyed a beautiful relaxing day paddling the Galien River in Michigan, lunch at Greenbush's Clean Plate Club, and stopped in Michigan City for a release at Burn 'Em brewing. Let's open one that I picked up today and added to the data base.

Popping the cap on a 500ml bottle of Funk Project No. 4. It's a French saison aged in red wine barrels with lacto, brett, and finished with red pluots. A collaboration with Transient Artisan Ales. Let's pour this baby and see what awaits?

It pours a murky caramel color with a slight amber hue leaving a finger of light tan lingering foam. The smell is funky brett forward with a hint of plum. Some wood and perfume emerge in the back. Taste is funky/sour to start with brett and lacto. It slowly opens up to earthy wood, plums and red wine tannins. The feel is slick and light with a slight carbonation tingle to start. It's not overly sour and finishes like a dry red wine.



I'm still a rookie with this style, but I've been eager to experiment so this seemed like a no brainer. It may not be world class but I'm happy with my purchase. My only slight disappointment was the smell which seemed one dimensional with lacto and lacking in fruit or wine barrel. That aside, the taste and easy drinking feel more than compensated for that. My score is 3.94.

Taking a walk to my bro's next for a little taste. We have to revel in these fine days that will surely dwindle in number soon enough. Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend, here's the official scorecard and a pic from this mornings paddle.



https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35718/247615/?ba=Prager62#review

 

Now up Finback Oscillation 005, reminds me of the small pour of Moss/Oscillation 003 I had at the brewery last weekend.

4.29/5 +0.2%
4.25/4.5/4.25/4/4.25

16 oz can, dated 8/2/16, poured into a teku

A- A slightly hazy golden copper with a three finger white head

S- Pineapple, ctirus, hints of tropical fruits and melons, some sweet caramels and
lighter pit fruits, touch of resin bitterness.

T- Some tropical fruits and citrus, big bitter piney and dank hops, hints wet grass, nice caramel malt backbone to bring it all together.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A solid DIPA, a little sweeter than what I've been enjoying lately but still tasty stuff! Very happy I was able to pick this up, worth seeking out.

 

An incredible couple of days here in central CT weather wise. Been extremely busy this weekend. Worked about 17 hours on Friday, slept for 4 hours and then went to my buddies house around 6:15 Saturday morning. Ever year a few of us throw a pig roast at our friends house (he does most of the work, but a few us help). Was there all day helping set up, cook the pig, clean up etc (got home about 1:30am). Then went back this morning for a couple hours to help clean up a little more.

It was a fantastic day, weather was great, and our homebrewed IPA was a big hit with the people at the party. It was a long day and definately am feeling it a little bit today.

The homebrew was a Citra and Columbus IPA. Personally, Columbus might be my favorite hop. It's not my favorite on its own, but works so well with other hops. Pig was delicious and there was a ton of great food. It was nice seeing people that I do not see as much as I would like.

Now for today's beer. This is another beer brought back from VT by my sister and brother in law. I have never tried it The beer is Hill Farmstead Sumner. It's an Americale Pale Ale (5.2% ABV) brewed with Mosaic, Citra, and Simcoe hops. It's rated a 4.24 here on beer advocate.



LooK: Light orange, very hazy, thin quick fading head, with lots of lacing 3.5
Smell: Tropical hops and pineapple are the strongest aroma at the start, but also mild resin in the aroma as well, there is also a mild aroma similiar to grape, a little orange once it warms a bit 4.25
Taste: Citrus, tropical, piney, Spicey with a nice pleasant, but assertive bitterness at the end. As it warms up it becomes more orange/tangerine like in flavor 4.5
Feel: Light mouthfeel, nice prickly carbonation 4.25
Overall: Another really good beer from Hill Farmstead. Probably would not buy again due to the high price, but very glad to have a chance to review it. 4.5

Calculated score: 4.36

I have been lucky to have some Trillium beers, and Hill Farmstead beers in the last few weeks. I think I like Hill Farmstead beers more then the trillium because they seem to be more complex in flavor. I think this is due to the lower concentration of hops (or less stuff in suspension, or both). In Trillium Hoppy beers, I tend to get one intense flavor most of the time. With Hill Farmstead I get multiple flavors and it changes a lot more as it warms. This makes the beers more complex and enjoyable for me.

Have a great weekend everyone

 

Happy Labor Day weekend, NBSers. It's a beautiful day in south central Minnesota, so we took advantage and jumped on the boat .....



Ranger sometimes thinks he's part dolphin, so Mrs. O keeps a sharp eye on him. He's looking back to me for help. Sorry, little fuzzball, you're on your own.

On to today's first beer, this was a "Beer Of The Month" selection that Mrs. O purchased for me.



The name of this is appropriate. Hopped with Summit hops, it's got a citrusy piney flavor that meshes really well with the toffee and caramel flavors from the ample malt base. It pours a beautiful nearly translucent copper color, and yields 1-1/2 fingers of tan head. The aromas match the taste.

I must admit, I had minimal expectations for this, but I'm really enjoying it. I could sit around a campfire as summer yields to fall and the nights cool and enjoy a few of these - and then dive into a pile of s'mores. Hey, wait a minute .....

Rated 4.02.

 

We enjoyed the visit 2 weeks ago, Small Talk is incredible.
Lets coordinate on another visit.
Cheers

 

Time for an Okto from Port Huron. A dark amber/bronze with a nice 2.5 finger tan head. Leaves a collar and some lacing around the glass. Aroma is grainy malty, and sweet bread with a smattering of noble earthy hops. Good amount of malts, grain, sweet bread and hints of caramel. The noble hops are both spicy and a bit strong for the style. On the lighter side with good carbonation, clean and crisp. Smooth and easy drinking even on a warm day. It was decent, but I personally would like it a bit dryer and slightly less hoppy.

 

Good evening BA, today's New Beer, Sixpoint Tesla.



I have had several IPL's at this point, and for the most part they have all been a success, or at least drinkable. I consider Sixpoint to be producers of well made beer, if I like a style and Sixpoint brews a beer in that style there's a good chance I like it.

The pour is a nice golden amber, thin one finger head, splotchy lacing, lasting halo. I'd like it a little more heady with a little more lacing, but it does look ok.

The aroma is malt forward, bready with some toffee. Hops are herbal and mild citrus. Smells like I need to dive in and try it.

Taste kicks off with citrus and toffee sweetness. The toffee lingers as the background for a display of herbal hops and finishes the beer sweet but not cloying. Lager yeast makes itself known and lends well to the herbal hops. Very slight bitterness.

The mouthfeel is thinner but quite smooth, reminiscent of a cream ale. Carbonation is a little low and tingly.

Overall, it's a well made beer, the same as I expect from Sixpoint, it's not mind blowing, but I could drink a six and not complain. They did a great job matching up the lager yeast with the hops. It does finish a bit sweet and the carbonation is a little low. Definitely grab a single, maybe you'll go back for more.

Cheers!
Marc