New Beer Sunday (week 609)

New Beer Sunday: A Mono Blend Gueuze.

Afternoon NBSers, with special greetings to all you grateful guzzlers of good gueuzes.

Well the weather here was bright and sunny for most of the day so far, but also quite breezy, so the leaves they are a fallin' and a blowin' and generally making a mess that calls for breaking out the leaf blower sometime in the next few days.

Spent the afternoon watching the Eagles-Vikings game with mixed feelings during the 1st quarter (scoreless, lots of penalties, lots of turn overs) that improved as the game went on and the Eagles won 21-10. There has been a lot of speculation about what the Vikings would accomplish (with a 5-0 record and coming off a by week) against a rookie quarterback with only about 1/2 dozen pro games under his belt. With that in mind the beer I opened to go with watching the game was one that could either be said to be something to celebrate with or something to cheer me up a bit and make the day a bit brighter.

This afternoon's new beer was a unique Gueuze from Boon--the Vat 77 mono blend.

My review, pretty much finished, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47/150425/?ba=drtth#review

Vat 77, bottled 24 October, 2013, is a monoblend Gueuze with about 90% of it being a two year old lambic aged in foeder #77 at the brewery and then blended with some young lambic before bottling. It seems the foeder was made in 1906 and is said to be one of Frank Boon's favorites.

The beer has more sweetness than one normally expects from a gueuze and it seems to me that might be the result of the absence of 3 year old lambic in the blend. The aromas and flavors have some nice herbal, earthy funkiness along with what seems like some fruit in the background (mostly green apple for me). While the sweetness is always there throughout the beer, it doesn't really overpower the other flavors and there's a touch of both tartness and bitterness in the background. If you like Gueuze, I would recommend trying this if you can find it and I’m quite glad to have a second bottle to drink sometime between now and 24 Oct., 2033.

My very first visit to Belgium and Brussels was for one day only, but when the driver of the car I was riding in found out I had never seen La Grand Place, he insisted on stopping at one of the short streets leading into La Grand Place and having me walk into the area to look around (despite the fact that it might make me late for my appointment that day, for which he was prepared to assume all blame ). It was worth the stop. La Grand Place truly is a jewel of a place to be seen in person if possible.

While sipping this beer, and during commercial breaks in the game I decided to look on YouTube for a scenic tourist video featuring La Grand Place in Brussels to remind me of that visit and the first sights that met my eyes when walking out of that street and into the open area. While doing so, I also found on YouTube a Christmas time sound and light show staged in La Grand Place. While we’re not really very close in time to the Christmas season (except in some the stores that have put those decorations out for sale already ) the video was fun to watch and listen to. It is quite a show in a remarkable place.

La Grand Place

Cheers, all!

 

Happy Sunday, As of NBS.
Well it's a cold, windy, rainy-verging-on-snowy day here. Or it was. Now it has cleared up but it's still pretty brisk. I wasn't sure if my schedule would permit it, but I'm glad to be hanging around doing Sunday stuff and living vicariously through you folks' delicious-looking posts.



Today I'm going to try this new beer from Le Trou du Diable. It's a "stout IPA" brewed in some sorry of collaboration with Dance Laury Dance, who is apparently a punk band from Portneuf, QC.

I'm figuring that it's like a black IPA that is considerably roastier, the bottle isn't really a wealth of information and is actually a little annoying at how vague and hyperbolic it is, but I'm kind of a curmudgeon so don't take my word as gospel... I'll have to find out about it the old fashioned way.



It pours cola-black with ruby highlights an a massive, fluffy tan head that clumpily settles of five minutes or so leaving lots of concentric lacing circles in its wake. The aroma and flavor are both on the less roasty end of the spectrum. Think hefty brown ale. Not too sweet, though. The hops are like a bright streak in the roast character. Lots of citrus and earthy pine. Only a little resinous. Bascially a hoppy American stout. I liked it. Honestly I was kind of worried it was going to be like a IPARS or something along those lines. I'd have it again.

Here comes the sun!



Cheers, everybody!

Here's my review.

 

That's quite a generalization you're making on NY fans there. I was born in NY and raised in the Metro area and I can say from personal experience most of life long Giants (or Yankee Fans) are decent fun loving fair fans. Yes we have our assholes too. But most of the old timers are great fans. And their radio stations are much fairer in their overall view of sports and not one sided. I find many of the NE stations so biased in their views. But just my opinion.

 

I think that the problem is that often these people are the easiest to hear/hardest to ignore. Then people just assume that that represents the majority.

 

Awesome Fuckn' Brew!

Cheers!

 

Moving along to the stout's first cousin, Porter.

Adroit Theory Black Celebration(rum barrel) Imperial Porter



Fizzy beige head fades fairly quick, taking with it it's lace pal for the most part. Body is pure blackness.

Nose has elements of fresh stream water, noble hop, and smoke.

Taste is all over the place. That noble hop thing, tartness, some sort of berry, smoke and earth. Upon exit, a bit of ash and alcohol.

Body is silky upon entry and thin on exit, leaving behind a touch of that alcohol.

Very complex and a little evil. Both qualities I've come to expect from Adroit Theory.

 

So, we're doing IPAs today. Here's #2. Finback's Oscillation. Lot's of tropical fruit and a nice malt base. Really good. Here's my review:

4.25/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Can dated 10/5/ 2016. Poured into IPA glass. It pours a murky, orange-amber with two fingers of fluffy, milk-white head and lacing that resemble gelato, with excellent retention. It has a nice smell of tangerine, pineapple, and grapefruit. It's really aromatic. The taste features the sweet, tropical fruit: Lots of pineapple, mango, and tangerine. It has a nice malty backbone and the balance of tastes is outstanding. This ale is medium bodied and carbonated and the 8.5% ABV is just right for a DIPA. If you like a fruitier IPA, then Oscillation will not disappoint. It's a quality beer from a quality brewer.

 

I assume you don't mean NESN !!

Actually, in an eye-opening experience, I found Yankees fans at the old Yankee Stadium to be very good baseball fans. They were into an early August game vs the Rangers from pitch one.

And agree with your overall sentiment - we all have, for lack of a better term, aggressive fans. But most are fine. I even once wore a Red Sox jersey into an interleague game at Citizens Bank Park (but only b/c my dad was wearing his Richie Ashburn jersey ).

Wow! Lots of Adroit beers today, I would've never guessed .

 

Honestly the greed in the NFL is part of the reason this is happening IMO. I know the tickets at Met life (I like to call it Giants Stadium still) became so expensive many of the life long fans, and I mean 40yr plus had to sell their tickets due to exorbitant pricing on seat licenses. You had to buy season tickets plus pay a one time fee according to how good the seats were. I heard pricing on licenses was 50 grand plus on a good seat. It forced alot of good fans out or they sold their tickets to"the assholes"

 

As a person who was born, and spent the first 40 years of my life in Upstate New York, my hatred of all things New York Shitty is well earned. But, I actually did give the Yankee fans credit, it's the actual Yankees that suck.

 

That's fucked up! As far as I know, this does not happen in baseball or hockey. Not saying it couldn't in the near future...... The winter meetings (Baseball) are going on this Dec. I've heard nothing about it on MLB Network for awhile, but when it was talked about, there was some pretty important shit going to be discussed, even heard that there might not even be any baseball starting on time in 2017. Still, baseball players have the biggest contracts of any sport.

Cheers!

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! a partially cloudy afternoon here in the Fourth Corner, after a very chilly start to the morning. The sun was out for a bit and warmed things up, but is now playing hide n seek. Worked a beerfest in my town last night, and my brewery and one other were the only ones not represented by the Inbev distributor here in town. There were some nice brews on tap, and the event, in it's first year, was underattended, but still raised some money for the Boys and Girls club, ReBound (an organization that helps folks who have suffered recent, sudden losses), the SportsPlex, the venue where the fest was held. It's where the local indoor soccer field and hockey rink are. My favorite was probably a Tart Cherry Kettle Sour from North Coast. I also blended some of that with NC's Pranqster, a tasty combo if I do say so myself.

First up today is from @superspak 's NBS BIF box, a nicely done sour red ale: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22564/234037/

The Seacows are playing the late game tonight, so I think I'll just hide out here on NBS until it's over, so I suspect you'll be seeing more from me.

 

How's it going BA? Missed a couple NBS because I was working on the addition. Getting dark earlier now though. Have a new sour under the microscope tonight. Foundation Pomology: Cherry. A golden sour ale barrel aged on fresh Maine sweet and tart cherries. Clocks in at 6.3% ABV.



Pours a deep red, mahogany color with a finger of off white, almost pink, head, quickly subsiding. It has a light haze to it.

Aroma is filled with crackers and oak and hints of cherry. The nose picks up the tartness.

The first sip has a immediate pucker, not harsh, but definitely tart. Cherries, oak, a good bit of tannins, hints of vanilla and almond. The flavors are subtle and well balanced playing through the tartness.

Mouthfeel is thin with bright and tingly carbonation, champagne like. The tannins finish the beer dry and lead you into another sip.

I think it's an excellent sour, perhaps not the best, but executed very well and flaunting subtle and delicious flavors. It's beauty is in its simplicity. Definitely worth a try.

Cheers!
Marc

 

The hardest part of traveling for me is always saying goodbye to my puppy dog. She's going to have an absolute blast staying with my parents up on the island: running free, chasing rabbits playing with her best friend (my Mom's pup) and generally being spoiled by those who spawned me.
But it's still hard saying goodbye.

So continuing to work through all the east coast goodies sent my direction by @TongoRad in that awesome series of NBS BIF#4 boxes he sent along, I tapped first into Allagash's Farm to Face.
A wild ale brewed with peaches, I enjoyed it immensely.



Body presented as a muddy yellow, with a massive billowing white head that settles in and laces the glass quite nicely.
Aroma was inviting if a little nondescript. Tart mineral and lemon with a little bit of yeasty spice. I could make myself imagine peaches if I tried but otherwise they really just aren't there.
Flavour follows the same blueprint: nothing that really makes it UNIQUE per se, but just really really well executed and very tasty. Very tart lemon and green apple and the like, and nary a peach to be found.
The description I just gave does not do this beer justice. It is a very tasty and enjoyable brew, even if it doesn't step up and offer anything boldly unique. Thanks Michael for sending this one along!


(because peaches and georgia and... nevermind.)

 

I use to be a RedSox fan (1962 -2014), until when they got rid of Nieves. I'm a Kansas City Royals and Colorado/Grand Junction Rockies fan now. First time ever since leaving RI (1975) that I've been a local fan again.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that this is the new RedSox curse!

Cheers!

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention that this is the new RedSox curse!

Cheers!

 

Been playing Fallout 4 and reading Nick Offerman's Paddle Your Own Canoe all weekend. I decided to get out and go to Costco, and found a 4-pack of IPAs from Stone. Considering all 4 are new-to-me, I figured why not. After all, it was cheaper than the bourbon I was considering. There is no way in hell I am going to try all 4 tonight so I opted for the lowest ABV of the bunch. Here we go.

Stone's 20th Anniversary: 5th Anniversary IPA.



Pours a clear bourbon color with two fingers of off-white head. Head retention is great, as should be expected from a top-end IPA. Lacing at this point (last 6oz of the bomber) is nearly non-existent, but was prevalent at the start. The aroma is punchy and hoppy, but not overwhelming. Notes of pine and floral bark out first, with more subtle notes of tropical fruits and toasted malts. Malts shine through nicely in the flavor profile, from the start to the finish. Hop notes are abundant, without brutally assaulting the taste buds. Specific notes include tropical, and pine. Very sticky, and long lasting flavor. Mouth feel is filling, while maintaining an extra-medium consistency (not quite medium, not quite medium-thick). Very robust for an IPA. Overall, it's a great IPA with great experiences beginning from the first pour.

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 4.00 | BA score: 4.08 | rDev %: +2.3%

Music while writing this: