New Beer Sunday (week 609)

There is what I found interesting thread that included the workings of Grimm and Beltway starting about here. Assuming the presumed Grimm account is truthful (and I have no reason to believe it is not) - the account seems quite active on the regional forums.

 

Even if you're not a baseball fan, but especially if you are, you've got to love the World Series participants this year. The Indians haven't won a World Series in 68 years, and the last Cubs win was in 1908. Hell, the Cubs haven't even been to the World Series in 71 years. Two good teams, two good managers. Should be fun!

My new beer for today is Brett Sematary from Cambridge Brewing Company. According to the label, "Brett Sematary originated in oak barrels beneath antediluvian beams, on a foreboding-looking New England night in 2015."

In a goblet the beer is red/orange color with a tiny white head. It has a very funky and spicy aroma. There's a lot of funk in the taste, some cinnamon and nutmeg, and some vanilla. It is pleasantly tart and a pleasure to drink.

 

It's a beautiful, vibrant October morning in my little corner of paradise and time to celebrate just being alive . . .



Score 4.03
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beautiful clear gold color with a constantl stream of tiny bubbles rising from the base of the tulip shaped glass.

Aroma is a combination of toffiesh malt with hops backing. Clear, clean aromas with neither hop nor malt dominating the other.

Taste is full on without going over the top. Oh it has all the elements of what I think of as marzen/fest beer, full malty body, rich without sweetness, restrained dryness, hops over, under, around and through accenting everything, just a marzen but a highly polished complex one. Hops come into play mid palate and finish quietly in the mildly rich aftertaste. No one's asking but if they did I'd say don't change a thing.

Texture is mouth filling medium rich.

Overall it's a class act, just enough without being too much, easily the best of the amber domestic octos I've had this season.

 

That's a beautiful picture!

 

Hey what's going on?!

Ah another weekend upon our hero. Looks like we finally kicked out Summer here, but it didn't go lightly with it still being 85 for a high last Friday. Things are much cooler, with my garlic planted, and plants inside the house. Friday had a good party with the book club with a Portuguese theme making Caldo Verde, Mediterranean Salt Cod, and some Chorizo and Peppers stew.

Back in home turf and still missing the beers in Minneapolis particularly Town Hall. Got that all logged but still much more brews to catalog. At least my trip was recorded for good posterity.

So settling in nicely this morning and enjoying myself. So what's new for out hero today?

Cascade Elderberry | Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub


Cascade Brewing - Elderberry 2015 Project by imbibehour, on Flickr

Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass. Vintage 2015.

Slightly fizzy sounding out of the bottle, filling the glass with a dark purple, almost eggplant color with very dark red edges. Faint amount of carbonation just barely seen through the body, rising to meet a very creamy tan head of a finger. Has little retention but quick re-population, but eventually settles down to a nice bowled small collar, and puffy island center.

Big fruit aroma off this that goes in many different places. Thick rich hints of berried and dark fruit, strawberry, blackberry, fig and raisin. Controlled light sweetness with a bit funk and playful malt sweetness of dark caramel to match. Lots of real nice flavors coming off this, with a rich warm sensation.

First experience on the palate is a very lively amount of carbonation. A bit nearly out of control carbonation that makes the mouth explosive on the palate. Very nicely tart and low acidity with wine like fruit flavors and a good Belgian dark ale malt and sugar presence. Slightly gaseous finish, but big basket berried flavors, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry collide and make for a lot of fun. Slight nutmeg like sweetness as well seems to sneak in, with an almost winter warmer like quality.

Very nice brew, barrel aging doesn't seem that apparent and terms of mouthfeel and added flavors, but a still very solid wonderfully fruited wild brew.

look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 | BA Generated Score : 4.29

 

Not to be a buzzkill early in the morning, but let me get this out there: FUCK the Cubs!!!!! If you've noticed how Red Sox fans became overbearingly obnoxious after they started winning, just imagine how bad those blowhard FIBs are gonna be if they win. Go Coyahoga Indigenous Peoples!

Carry on with your regular NBSing!

 

Hmmm, if my Psych Professor was right, Freud would have loved chatting with you about this hostility and it's hidden significance deep in your unconscious.

 

New IPA Sunday





Lopez Island Watmough Bight

Happy Sunday, BAs! Thanks to @utopiajane for the excellent start, as always.

I've been enjoying fantastic new-to-me beers all week thanks to the generosity of @kemoarps as part of NBS BIF, including some exceptional ones from Holy Mountain and Fremont.

I decided to save this one for NBS because of its rarity. Lopez Island has just one beer listed on this site, and it isn't this one. This particular bottle traveled by boat, plane and truck to get to me, if not some other modes of transportation.

I also love the bottle art on this one. It reminds me very much of the artwork on Bar Harbor Brewing beers (think Cadillac Mountain Stout). Another island-based beer maker, they were the first brewery I visited back in the go-go '90s, before they were acquired by Atlantic Brewing, and were still operating out of the owners' basement. Good times!

Anyhow, I really appreciate the opportunity to try this one.

Watmough Bight pours a hazed, gray-hued orange color with a half finger of sudsy bright white head that leaves thick lacing.

It has a fruity aroma of apple juice, mango, papaya and yeast. These carry over to the taste, where they're coupled with a nutty malt character that, honestly, doesn't meld very well to my taste. There's a mildly bitter aftertaste.

The mouthfeel is somewhat heavier than expected, pretty slick and wine-like, with a very slight prickliness to it.

Sort of reminds me of a better version Short's Soft Parade without the berries. It's got this part beer, part white wine, maybe even part cider thing going.

I probably wouldn't travel to Lopez Island just for this, but if you're ever out that way, it's certainly worth a try.

Thanks again, Kestrel. Enjoy your afternoons, everyone. Everyone except diehard Vikings fans, of course.

 

Why certainly!!

Cheers!

 

If only we knew where @beertunes really stood on this point...

Actually, I'm with him on Red Sox fans. That was once a team I was fairly sympathetic towards, but their fan base has turned me off ever since.

 

The Belgian pale ale category here is designed to be inclusive of Belgian "blondes." If there's a line between blondes and saisons, then some beers will certainly blur that line. By default, anything labeled a blonde by a brewery will probably go in the "pale ale" box.

 

My first NBS entry is this single hop IPA from Burlington Beer Company.



Canned 10/05/16

Vic Secret IPA

Burlington Beer Co.
American IPA / 5.90% ABV

4.09/5 rDev -3.1% | Avg: 4.22
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

L- The beer pours the color of pinapple juice. There is a modest 1 finger head of fine white bubbles which recedes to a thin film. Lacing is spotty.
S-The nose hits quickly on popping open the can. The initial impression is sweet pineapple, but pine resin enters shortly behind that mixing with the pineapple.
T-Much like the nose there is pineapple initially on the palate. This is quickly overwhelmed with a robust bitterness which lasts throughout the rest of the sip.
F-Carbonation is light and the overall mouthfeel is medium.
O- A single hop IPA which does a good job of showing off the characteristics of the Vic Secret hop. I'd recommend it if you want to experience the Vic Secret hop in isolation.

 

I would like to see the Indians win it. If the media, MLB Network, and others were not jumping on the bandwagon, I would also like the Cubs to win, but..... seems they cannot do anything wrong. Go Indians! Congrats to who ever wins though.

Cheers!

 

No, I sent the Son of Freud to @jhartley as part of the BIF. Plus, I'm a Cards fan, and so I am bound by duty, honor, and just plain right-thinking Americanism to hate the Cubs.

 

Last week I opened Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze and Tilquin Oude Gueuze.
This week I'm opening Tilquin Oude Mure.

Here's my pic of my label-less bottle. The label came off at the store and I bought it like this, but I trusted them without question. I've put an image from the web below mine so you can see the bottle as it should look.




In relation to their gueuze, this fruit lambic is more of the same. It's very funky and woody. The big (and obvious) difference being the addition of blackberry to the beer. The tart blackberry flavor has certainly melded with the base beer. The blackberry flavor is quite nice and the beer is great but I prefer the regular gueuze. This one's great strength is that it goes down incredibly easy for a beer that explodes with character.

Cheers!

 

I am rooting for Th' Inn-Dinnz in memory of Great-Uncle Max, a long-suffering fan. However, I would not be adverse to an off-Broadway revival of "The Bleacher Bums" or even a repeat of the original PBS version. BTW, nice with "FIB"s. Did you know that "IOWA" is actually an acronym? It all brings to mind Carl Sandburg's "Chicago".

In the interim, while it may be New Beer Sunday (Week 609), for me it is New OktoBierFest Sunday (Week TBD). I am engaged in the #OktoberfestChallenge2016 with some fellow imbibers and have spent this week divesting myself of Oktoberfests which I have previously reviewed (although they still count) & now I am ready to dive into the following:

Peak Organic Hop Harvest Oktoberfest
Victory Festbier
Lakefront Oktoberfest
Roy Pitz Gobbler Lager
Great Lakes Oktoberfest
Brooklyn Oktoberfest
Flying Dog Dogtoberfest
and
Newport Storm Oktoberfest

in no particular order. I will report back when I finally run out of gas/steam or beer, whichever comes first!

 

Let's just send him a case of Old Style Oktoberfest to get in the mood!

 

Afternoon NBSers getting started this morning with another great beer from @jhavs. Little Rooster from Trillium, so far all of the beers I have tried from them have been great and this is no different. The balance in the flavor is great, in many beers one flavor will overpower another but the hop/citrus flavors are well balanced. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!!!

Appearance 4.25 - Pours cloudy hazy orange color nice thick white head that dissipates after a few minutes but leaves nice strings of lacing down the glass.

Smell 4.25 - Lots of citrus, orange, mango, pineapple and hints of grape. Hoppy smell blended in well.

Taste 4.5 - Nice citrus flavor the kiwi is a little more noticeable in the flavor. Orange and mango little more hop flavor than the smell lets on. Great flavor nice balance between the hops and citrus.

Feel 4.25 - Medium body very well carbonated very juicy feel.

Overall 4.35 - Another great beer, flavors mix well and the feel is very smooth.