New Beer Sunday (week 608)

Mornin' NBSers,

Looking forward to hearing about all the goodies and surprises we can anticipate folks to be telling us about today.

Interesting question about appearance and taste @cavedave, so thanks for the start up and the thought for discussion. Turns out that just a few days ago, I happened across something that changed my thinking a bit on this topic.

It seems that while most folks don't think appearance matters much, it actually matters more than many of us have realized (including some of the pros who can actually make a living researching such things). Here's an interesting read on the topic which is well worth the time for a quick look see.

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/12/what-you-see-is-what-you-taste-says-scientist/

Expecting to be back this evening, after chores and grocery shopping, to report on what I think about the Rodenbach Grand Cru. I suddenly realized one day that this one was on my "must-try" list but that I hadn't tried it yet. So today is the day. Going to use one of my Duvel glasses (if only because appearance does seem to have some effects after all ).

Cheers, all!

 

So I took gathered a bouquet of flowers along the way . . .



Score 3.96
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Light limony yellow color with white cap and lacing.

Aroma of fresh cut flowers from a bed next to a citrus grove. Flowers and lemons aren't the heavy hitters though, I find the yeast and hops most prominent yet neither really show up later.

With the first sip I thought I was drinking flowers. Citusy, floral, slightly tart, bright acidity, lightly malty with an uplifting sense of airness. Very pleasant brew that to me doesn't really taste like beer but that's not what it's designed to do. We don't expect the floating notes from a violin to have the deep percussion of a piano so we accept things for what they are. This is different and I applaud the effort. There is a slight nutty roundness in the aftertaste ending with just a prick of hops which is really the first time I noticed hops in the flavor.

Enough texture to call it medium, there is malt body rising up on gossamer wings.

Sort of the antithesis of a heavily flavored stout, this is an exceptional brew from the other end of the spectrum. In appearance, flavor and follow through it has the lightness of an airy summer day but at 7.4% it's a baritone singing the lyric tenor line. This brew combines skill, complexity and an almost audacious presentation like the mailed fist of an armoured knight presenting a bouquet of flowers to his lady love. Tenderness without weakness served up with gentle strength.

 

Good morning @cavedave and than you for the beautiful start to this lovely day. My son is spending the weekend so i am cooking. I loved the look on his face when I said we are having this big bag of kale.

Birdland Red Footed Booby

Turbid and with a slight blush I assume because of the raspberries. A matte orange kissed by a bit of the raspberry's color. Opaque with a creamy head of tannish foam.

Raspberry tops the nose and spice from hop that a good fit. Soft floral and a nice firm slightly less prominent banana. Nice! Clove gently in the background. A bit of bubble gum and the wheat shows itself tall and golden.

A little tartness to the finish. Bubbly. Good crisp finish with a balanced bitterness that does not ride over the entire beer. The hop is herbal twiggy sharp and peppery. The raspberry is the dominant flavor then the hop herbal.

Cheers you all and Happy New American Raspberry Wheat Ale Sunday!





Head in the clouds

 

Interesting article. Randy Mosher wrote that "anyone who has ever judged a flight of beers knows what kind of powerful seduction the eyes are capable of bestowing. A little paler or darker than the category description, and you start tasting things that may not actually be there." Tasting Beer, Storey Publishing, p. 35 (2009).

 

Glad you brought that up. I'd totally forgotten about that comment (it has been a few years since I read the book ). It would seem from the National Geographic brief overview I linked to that there are some more general effects that may apply to the rest of us as well, and that it isn't just restricted to beer judging and having several beers sitting in front of us.

 

Good morning New BSers! Well, once again, many thanks to @cavedave for getting us started. Does appearance matter? Well, it's part of the rating system, so obviously, Yes! The best thing about my beer today is its body's appearance. Does it effect how a beer tastes? Much as I dislike the concept, perception does matter. A clear kellerbier by any other name would not taste the same (Sorry Bill). But then kellerbiers are usually served in ceramic mugs so you can't see the lumps and lagers are served in glass so you can see there are no lumps. Give the customer what they want. Just my two pfennigs.

Since we're on the road, today's beer is not one from monkeys with cutlery but is one I picked up Friday. We don't see Flying Fish in NW PA and after my last experience with them (Exit 18) I wanted to try another of their brews. I first had their stuff probably greater than ten or so years ago, before I started my database,so I have only vague remembrances of their goodness (or lack of). Today's beer, therefore, is:



$ 10.55 (Including tax)/ six pack ($ 0.146/oz) at Denny’s Beer Barrel
Bottle dated 12/28/16 at 40 degrees into a hand washed and dried JK snifter
Aroma – weak dark fruit and cinnamon (?)
Head small (< one cm, aggressive pour), light tan, fizzy, gone in seconds leaving an irregular one to two mm ring and some scummy-looking bubbles
Lacing – none
Body – red-amber, clear
Flavor – sweet and cloying, some dark fruit, again with a hint of cinnamon; no malt, no hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl.
Palate medium, watery, fizzy

A below average attempt at a dubbel but at that price point not unexpected. After Flying Fish’s excellent Exit 18 Baltic Porter it was still somewhat of a disappointment. The best thing about this beer is the color and clarity of the body!

Appearance 3, Aroma 3, Flavor 3, Palate 3, Overall 2.75, Rating 2.95. rDev-16.9%

What can I say? I like dubbels and this one just isn’t up to standard. It might, however, be a decent gateway beer for BMC drinkers trying to transition into craft.

 

Although I did my review of that beer 7-8 years ago and was a bit more positive then than I might be now, my general reaction to Flying Fish beers is that most of the regular line up is a reasonable combination of price and flavor and can be fine for a social occasion with a wide variety of guests. However, most every one of the Exit beers I've tried are at a whole different level and some are home runs.

 

Damn. You people are so early.

Cheers!

 

Mothers MILF (imperial stout)
4.72/5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

L - 4.5 - poured into a tulip glass. Dark rich body with thin khaki head
S - 4.25 - BOOZIE, super intense
T - 5 - rich dark chocolate all the way through. Slight hint of malty bourbon and vanilla. Delicious.
F - 4.75 - super smooth beer. No carbonation. Very light coat. Goes down extremely easy. So good
O - 4.75 - terrific beer. Pretty black body. Delicious beer. The first Stout I've had where the chocolate is this intense. So good. And then this beer goes down so easy, crazy smooth which is really impressive with it being 11%. I'll defiantly be looking for more of these. Cheers!
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Left Hand Brewing Company Milk Stout
4.69/5
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

L - 4.25 dark black rich body with thin caramel head, no lacing
S - 4.5 maple, vanilla, chocolate, if cream has a smell then this is it!
T - 4.75 again, the maple and vanilla is intense and then there is a slight cocoa at the end
F - 5 this very well may be the smoothest beer I've ever drank. Nevermind, it is. Zero carbonation. Awesome. Silky smooth You won't be burping with this beer!
O - 4.75 great beer experience. So good. Form the sexy black body to the rich aromas and flavors and the silky smooth finish. This is a great beer
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Tired Hands Brewing & Extreme Exuberance

Tired Hands is having a ‘special’ release day today: two versions of their Imperial Stout branded as Only Void. I have heard rumors that some people intend to get there at 6:00 for a noon opening (this is just posted in a BA thread: “Currently 15 chairs in line as of 6am.”). That is indeed Extreme Exuberance!!

I have had the pleasure of drinking a can of the coffee version of Only Void in the past and it is indeed a tasty beer. Is it a beer worth waiting in line for 6 hours!?!

Well in honor of those folks that are willing to wait many hours inline I will drink a can of High Road.

A description of this beer from Tired Hands:

“High Road was brewed with spelt and hopped intensely with Mosaic, Citra, Simcoe, and Centennial. Constructed to stamp out the negative static that has become so prominent in every layer of society, and especially in our noble industry. If you ever feel the need to go negative, speak ill of someone's hard work, or become defensive about a technique or process, remember: NO IDEA IS ORIGINAL. LIFE IS A MIRROR OF CONFUSION. NEGATIVITY IS A PRISON. TAKE THE HIGH ROAD.”

But how does the beer drink?

Served in my Spiegelau IPA glass”

Appearance:

Pours a hazy golden/orange color with a three finger white head.

Aroma:

Wow! There is a complex hop aroma here. Some tropical fruit (mango, pineapple), some citrus, and even some resin.

Taste:

The flavors follows the nose: a tasty combination of tropical fruit & citrus with a again some resin. Just enough malt to provide some balance.

Mouthfeel:

A nice soft/creamy body with an off-dry finish.

Overall:

This is a very tasty DIPA. I enjoyed the combination of tropical fruit, citrus, and resin. The highlight of this beer for me is the soft/creamy mouthfeel. The alcohol is very well hidden in this beer.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @mythaeus @telejunkie @RobH



I will not be waiting in line to buy Tired Hands beer but instead will be attending today’s Oktoberfest celebration at Stoudts Brewery and listening to some music by the Alex Meixner band:

 

That was my gateway beer into Belgians back in the early 2000s. Haven't had it for a long time, and I'm pretty sure I'd share your opinion of it after having had Westmalle and others. May pick it up for Throwback Friday anyhow if I can find a single.

 

Good morning advocates and thank you @cavedave for getting us started. This morning as I prepare for my youngest son's 15 birthday I am enjoying an excellent beer sent to me by @jhavs from the BIF MWK. I have to say every beer I have had so far has been world class and this one is no different. I cracked this Tree House Haze and all I can say is WOW!! I have not had the pleasure to try any of the NE IPA's until now and they are amazing and like no other I have tried. Thanks again @jhavs for the amazing beer and the sweet Hill Farmstead glass I am enjoying it in!!!! Hope everyone has a great Sunday.



Appearance 4.5 - Pours cloudy pulpy orange color, looks like a glass of orange juice. Nice white head great lacing.

Smell 4.75 - Mango, orange peel, grapefruit, pineapple and peach. The hops are coming through nicely as well.

Taste 4.75 - Very juicy topical IPA sweet and very nice hop flavor. The best way I can describe this is someone added fresh hops to freshly squeezed juice. Amazing flavors and very well balanced. Plenty of orange and pineapple as well as mango papaya and grapefruit. This is dangerously drinkable and no sign of the 8.2% ABV.

Feel 4.75 - Medium body very smooth. Although it is medium body it still has very full and creamy feel.

Overall 4.71 - This is an amazing brew, it hits all the notes from the tropical smell and taste to the well balanced hoppiness and smooth feel.

 

Shiner Homespun Cream Ale 5% ABV

I don't quite have the grasp of the cream ale.
It's not a style I particularly like or dislike, and it doesn't seem to be very popular.

The beer is a very pure, clear deep golden color, and with my Samuel Smiths nucleated glass, it really is gorgeous as tiny bubbles constantly rise from the bottom, merging into a frothy, sudsy cream colored soapy top. Excellent jagged lines of random foam lacing cling the the glass.

The aroma is malty and sweet with a very husky, corn aroma. Under the style description for cream ale here on Beer Advocate, it says some brewers may use adjuncts such as corn or rice. On the back end it trails into a slightly grassy, subtle hop note.

The beer tastes malty and sweet with notions of barley, grains, and perhaps corn coming to mind. It finishes with a balancing hop note.

The mouthfeel is spectacularly creamy. In fact I keep wanting to use "creamy" as a taste descriptor! Very smooth.

Overall, this is a nice beer that takes some time to grow into for me. I didn't think I'd like it after the first few sips but now as the beer is half gone, I do find myself appreciating it. I've stopped reviewing beers, ending at 1,200 but I would rate this around a 3.89 overall rating.

Not a lot on the docket today. Yesterday I was quite productive around the house. Today will be reserved for this six pack of cream ale and seeing how the Chiefs do in Oakland.

 

Appearance is very important for me. It's second only to taste.I look at a beer much more that I smell it, and I see it longer than I taste it. It's the main reason I'm not a fan of the American Orange Ale; those beers may look pretty for an orange juice, but they are ugly beers. A Tripel in a tulip with over an inch of head is much more attractive that that same Tripel in a shaker glass with no head, no?

 

NBS BIF #5: The BIF with no name (yet). As of now, I'm looking at a Mid-February "interested in the BIF?" post on NBS to see who wants in (hint; it's all of you), with a sign up deadline of the end of February. That gives us March for Hints shenanigans, leading to an early April Share Date.

There will be some format changes next time, I encourage anyone even mildly interested to start the the current round H&H thread, starting with post #1771 on Page 45 here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...ives-nbs-bif-4-hintz-and-haulz.447425/page-45

Please give me feedback on what you think is best for the BIF. Thank you in advance!

 

Appearance and flavor can be interrelated- usually are, actually. That's why I don't get all this talk of how "it's only appearance". It's not- those particulates are having an impact. And if it's yeast, that's a gigantic negative one.

 

I new someone would open the particulates thing and it to me is a huge turn off. I just have a hard time drinking a glass of beer that looks like a snowglobe. This years DoubleDose from Otter Creek / Lawsons has this problem big time.

 

Tasting beer blindfolded is a real palate tester. Dark can taste like "roast" or certain malts, but not necessarily. Visual assessing and every type of anticipation happens instantly.