New Beer Sunday (week 619)

Prairie Artisan Ales Coffee Noir, 11.5% ABV, 60 IBU. Pours thin and black, with no head on an aggressive pour, no lacing. Nose is chocolate, bourbon, and slight coffee. Taste is sweet chocolate, coffee, bourbon, with light bitter close. Mouthfeel is OK as it is so thin, though carbonation is decent, which is surprising given the lack of head. Overall I'd rank this excellent - better than Vanilla Noir and Prairie Noir, about the same as Pirate Noir, and almost as good as BA BOMB and Pirate BOMB. To me, this seemed to be the sweetest of the Noir or BOMB beers I've tried. Prairie recently expanded their distribution here, and we now seem to get their full lineup.

 

Hope we've got some Coming to America fans here.

Been quite a year, folks, and I know I haven't been seen around these parts in ages. I probably won't be seen around much in 2017 either, at least that's the goal, as I am trying to contain both my drinking and spending considerably. However, I am going to drink well today and drinking well means drinking with NBSers.

As always thanks to @cavedave and @utopiajane for their unbridled commitment to this weekly thread. Very awesome and I do miss it.

Shout out to @2beerdogs because I miss you, man!

Miss the rest of y'all too, if for no other reason than the great reading, humor and thoughtfulness you bring into this thread.

I had the joy of visiting Beacon, NY yesterday to check out the Dia:Beacon and visit the main street (NY towns have really cool main streets) and that joy was multiplied when I drove another hour north of there to visit little Livingston, NY. Cavedave surely knows what is there as this area is, I believe, his stomping grounds. For the rest of you, it's home to a tiny brewery on the side of a county road called Suarez Family Brewing. Some may be familiar and I think all will be 2017's end.

I had a few of their beers on tap and bought some bottles to take home/age/share. They are doing killer stuff.

Here's a shot of yesterday's taplist:



And my review of Ms. Frank, Suarez's Franconian Kellerbier:

4.35/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Growler pour from a growler purchased yesterday, New Year's Eve, 2016.

A- Golden, copper with a light foamy, white head. Slight hazed look and spirited carbonation. 5

S- Grain sweetness, floral honey, lemony (?), grassy, slightly spicy hops. 4.25

T- Starts with sweet grain and floral honey. I continue to get a gentle citrus note, maybe lemon or tangerine. So clean tasting and yet rich and delectable. 4.25

M- Moderate carbonation that brushes the tongue and accentuates sweetness and graininess. Bitterness enters lightly on the finish along with a semi-dry and semi-sweet finish. So clean and easy-drinking and delicate. I love it. 4.75

Outstanding beer. Seriously.

Shot of the brewski in question:



Monthlong detox starts tomorrow and then a lot less drinking! Much love to all of y'all and if I'm drinking and it's a Sunday, you know I'll be by!

A great year to all of you.

 

Now up Pipeworks Raspberry Berliner, thanks @bstyle!
3.92/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you battle for this
22 oz bottle poured into a tulip

A- A clear ruby red with a two finger pink head.

S- Some tart raspberries, raspberry jam, some lacto, hints of wheat.

T- Tart raspberries, lacto, wheat, some raspberry jam, some lemons.

M- Smooth, light body.

O- A solid raspberry Berliner, easy to drink and enjoyable.

Cheers!

 

Probably my last entry for today before I go to my New Years event in a couple hours; this is Moat Mountain Imperial Stout, which clocks in at 9%. I've liked some of the recent stuff coming out of MM, especially their fantastic DIPA "Call it a Day," so seeing this in the cooler at the Nashua Craft Beer Cellar was exciting. Picked up a single to check out and review.

Pours an impenetrable dark brown/black with a nice ring of lacy khaki foam that bears some nice micro-bubbles. Though the head slowly dissipates over a few minutes in my glass, it does retain some solid legs. Oily looking and definitely has a thick complexion. In other words, this looks the part!

Nose is roasty, chocolatey and toffee-forward with an intoxicating dark fruit presence as well, almost giving me a "Russian imperial" stout feeling. I get light notes of dark cherry and plum combined with tobacco, smoky malt and campfire-roasted marshmallows. Slight coffee (mostly acidic espresso) as well.

On the tongue, this is velvety and smooth with a thick palate that coaxes out flavors of dark chocolate, stone fruit, vanilla, tobacco, leather and wood smoke. I'm very impressed with this one! Looks like the reviews aren't great, but I think MM has been stepping up their game recently so perhaps it's a new recipe or something. If you see this around and you're a RIS fiend, I'd give it a good shot. It might surprise you! Soft, smooth carbonation and a very chewy body. I'm a fan and would recommend it to anyone looking for an underappreciated NE imp stout!

 

Just let me know when you're in the area!

 

Prairie Artisan Ales - Noir

Really nice full-bodied imperial stout. The bourbon is subtle and lots of nice vanilla is coming in from the oak. It doesn't drink like 11% ABV.

 

I'll wait at least until July when the temperature gets above zero

 

Central Waters Brewer's Reserve Scotch Ale

Thank you to @utopiajane for the lyrical kickoff. What a pleasure to see a video of one of your reviews today, matching the detail and exuberance of your written posts. I much appreciate all you, and @cavedave, put into making this thread what it is.

I'd hoped to join NBS much earlier today, but my wife made a split pea soup with ham before I could crack this one open, and I worried my sniffer wouldn't be able to fully appreciate what, as I expected, is an awesome brew.

Finally found Central Waters Scotch Ale while visiting relatives out-of-state a few days back. It pours a ruddy dark mahogany color with a half-finger of soupy tan head that leaves an uneven crown and little lacing.

It has a nice creamy, bourbon-and-malt aroma with toffee, vanilla and raisin notes.

It's slightly more bitter tasting than the sweetness of the nose suggested. Still toffee forward, but with a touch of tobacco and leather in there, with the dark fruit and some distant herbal hops, too, then a modest alcohol burn on the backend.

Medium-bodied, slightly creamy mouthfeel with modest carbonation. Drier finish than I expected.

A absolute pleasure to drink, and one I'd like to try right next to Backwoods Bastard some day soon.

I hope you all have an excellent 2017, with many excellent new beers. Cheers!

 

Well, I was keeping up with the thread, but we were over-run with in laws, outlaws, kids, the grandchild. The funny thing, nobody has come to see Karen and me since the little one was born...hmmmm...there's a new kidin town!

Anyway, there is a metric ton of lasagna left to add to the already existing leftovers. We didn't put much of a dent in the Christmas ham or the Thai we had last night...I am thinkng we can go two weeks just using Chef Mike, high setting, 60 seconds, mix, repeat...

I am not very good with expressing some things. I want to say how thankful I am for this thread and each perspn who contributes and shares. NBS is something I look forward to each week not because of the beers, but because of all the fine folks who take the time to share.

Ok...now for what might be my weirdest NBS ever. First of all, there are three new beers today so far. Yup...three...little ole one beer at a time Larry...

Stranger still might be what those beers are considering I have been drinking beer for a while and I hold this particular brewery in pretty high regard. I hit the Sierra Nevada Snow-pac...

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - what is there to say? It is an exemplary pale ale n every aspect. Floral, spicy, a little earthy and as smooth as silk. A bit of citrus. Everything is held up by very adequate malt. Smooth, balanced, flavorful.

Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout - big, bold, fresh coffee flavor with a great kick of bitterness. Bold, assertive coffee flavor with just a touch of chocolate and maybe a hint of cherry. Although the flavors are quite strong, it smooths out like a good coffee should. A little high on the carbonation, but I don't honestly care.

Sierra Nevada Single Hop Cascade - no idea how old it is, but it was in the winter mix. Frankly, it seems a bit under-rated here after a quick look at the reviews. I found it very clean, crisp, and suitably dry. Tropical, resinous, light with Pilsener-like qualities of biscuity malt and a touch of sweetness. Another balanced beer, mire than sifficient in the flavor department.

OK...three beers, all very good, from a brewery I respect the hell out of, but I don't drink nearly enough of their products. They put out large quantities of very good beers, readily available just about anywhere, and the regular offerings are reasonably priced. Are there "better" beers...hmmm...got into that discussion with my son today. Technically, yes there are, no question. But here is what I think is a good question...are there better beers that I could afford to drink lots of every day? My thinking is there is a "value proposition" here that is difficult to beat, not that I am telling you folks anything new!

Cheers and all the best wishes to my NBS family for the newly hatched year!

 

My last bourbon barrel beer is Central Waters Brewer's Reserve Quadruple.

I was foolishly expecting more similarities with Black Note. The first sip of this involved palate shock due to its differences. This gives some merit to BeerAdvocate wanting these beers categorized with their "base" style rather than in a barrel aged catch all.

After I adjusted to it, it wasn't a bad beer. It doesn't stray far from the Belgian characteristics you'd expect. I'm getting grain, grape juice and cola... so it's not for those opposed to sweet beers. I like it, but it doesn't feel particularly compelling as either a bourbon barrel beer or a Belgian "strong dark."

 

Happy New Year everybody! Great start today. I'm enjoying my next to last day of a long holiday by doing a little cooking alongside a few chores.

A couple of days ago my son and I had a wonderful afternoon in NYC. We hit up a really cool game shop and then I was able to introduce him to some genuine Szechuan cuisine; it felt like old times for me. He used to be my partner in crime when it comes to chowhounding, but we haven't done anything like that in a while. Hopefully we can make it a more regular thing over each break (my ulterior motive being how those Szechuan peppercorns become addictive, and you need to go to the source to get a fix )

So here's a beer that brings some of those old chowhounding days to mind, hitting up taco joints and enjoying some Jamaica from the drink fountain -

Singlecut Kim, a hibiscus sour lager.
My initial thoughts about this sort of ingredient are about how it usually needs something to make it pop- either a pinch of salt or a squeeze of lemon. In the case of this beer, the tartness complements the hibiscus perfectly.

Initial aroma is bready and slightly fruity (berries, mostly ), with some slight spice and flowers underneath. This follows through on the clean and bright palate, quenchingly tart. Some astringency does show on the finish, which is to be expected with this ingredient, but it's mostly controlled by a demi-sec feel to the residual sugars.

I really like this as a sour beer, and it's very well balanced in that regard. But unfortunately the floral character of the featured ingredient is too muted, and it just comes off as an accent instead. B+ (3.85)

 

New Beer #2, this one a collaboration of two breweries from a place I visited recently, Portland, OR. We (sorta obviously) get one of the brewers around here, and in fact they are building a new brewery in SW Virginia in the near future, Deschutes. They did a collaboration with Hair of the Dog, a brewery we considered making a trip to, but timing didn't quite work out; there's always next time.

I also noticed this beer popped up on either the best beers of 2016 or best collaboration beer thread (or both) that popped up a week or so ago. Let's see if Collage 2 might run to the early lead of best new beer I had in 2017:


The beer itself is a blend (hence the name Collage) of 4 beers: The Abyss and The Stoic (from Deschutes), and Fred and Doggie Claws (from Hair of the Dog). The first two are beers that are aged in Pinot barrels (Oregon being well respected for their Pinot Noir wines), while the last two are aged in Rye Whiskey and Cognac barrels, respectively. The Deschutes site sems to indicate expecting oak, caramel, and dried fruit, presumably along with the vanilla, and molasses listed on the bottle.

The beer pours a deep ruby-tinged brown that ends up with dark brown, but obviously clear body. Head doesn't build too much, the photos showing about what I got (but that head lasted until I got those shots). For a barrel-aged 14%, that's not too bad, especially since the froth ends up in a medium thick rim that takes up residence at the edge of the glass.

It seems to me that the barrel notes play much more into the nose than any beer-induced scents. The mixing of the beers works well in producing a cohesive nose with the various types of vessels playing off each other nicely. The slightly tart wine barrels seem to provide the backbone. There's also an interesting chocolate note that might indicate some influence from the Abyss (the only stout in the mix). There is also a little sweetness that seems like a cognac to me, though it has some barleywine aspects in there. Okay, so maybe I talked myself into the fact that some of the beer comes out in the nose.

My initial impression was that this was a pretty complex beer (though not in any subtle ways). Subsequent sips tempered that, but only slightly. At the opening, there is a chocolate cocoa note. This has a little bit of dark fruit sneaking in behind it. I think I know where the beer is heading when I get a little vanilla from what I presume is the rye whiskey barrel.

Usually I am used to this leading to the whiskey alcohol note, but this beer takes a turn I didn't expect. Instead I get berry note and a little return of the opening chocolate flavor (which seems to play a complimentary role throughout the taste the more it warms). The berry transitions into a deep red wine-like flavor with a hint of woodiness.

This beer is bold in flavor but not heavy on the palate by any means (medium). The carbonation keeps this from being watery or syrupy, though it is a bit coating on the tongue. Having had the two Deschutes' beers in the past, I felt this was mildly familiar. I enjoyed the transitions this beer went through and that the beers seemed to blend together quite nicely. Definitely a strong contender for favorite new beer for me this year.

Edit: as to the site's tasting notes, I can see oak, vanilla, and maybe molasses, a little bit of dried fruit, but not quite what I consider caramel (though maybe something between caramel and molasses).

 

I await that comparison .

Random (to you guys) thought:
Why do coasters have to have sides?!?

Ok, I should ask, why don't I pay attention when putting my glass down on the coaster when I am right next to my computer? I think I avoided much damage, though the touchpad wasn't acting right. Hopefully letting whatever might've gotten in there dry out will help .

 

TIme for another new beer...

Ex Machina | Back East Brewing Company


Back East Brewery - Ex Machina Russian Imperial Stout by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the can into a large snifter glass.

Creamed top, faint tan to espresso light colored head highlights presented off the pour. An easy finger is made with a slow fine appearance, and easily settles. Body is simple dark walnut brown, and quite opaque. Very impressive appearance.

Aroma is a bit more subtle. Lightly fruited ester is a dominant note, with faint hints of roast in the background. A sweetness comes off similar to strawberry a bit, but slightly more sour and acidic.

Palate brings a whole different level. The fruity and lighter body hints at more of that to come but on first sip the beer strongly switches gears. Large amounts of dark chocolate, almost silky mouthfeel with a great dark coating in the palate. Light hints of warm coffee, but with a bigger bitter chocolate kick for an accent. Clean aftertaste nearly hits of smoke, but also tobacco flavors also.

Great solid Russian Imperial.

look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 | BA Generated: 4.13

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Cheers!

 

Happy New Year!

Happy Almost New American Impy Stout!

Went on a nice little hike today, cloudy, around 33, still snow in a lot of places. Not a new brew, but definitely a new vintage. FUCK! what an really awesome brew, been a while since last I've had it. Watching some football. Adding a little extra today!

Look 4.75 Smell 4.75 Taste 5 Feel 5 Overall 5 (4.93)

Revisit: 1 Jan 17
2016 Vintage
16.9 oz. Bottle
Bottled On: 11 Oct 16 1553

Been A Long Time Coming! Probably around 8 years ago!

Poured into a Westy chalice a very nice dark brown/black color, very nice carbonation, with a very nice small, fizzy, creamy tan head, which also leaves a very nice medium size oil slick, and some sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, with some very nice chocolate/toffee notes, very nice touch of vanilla, some licorice, very nice bourbon note, slight oakyness, dark fruit. The taste is fuckn' awesome, malty, slight roastyness, very nice chocolate/toffee notes, awesome touch of bourbon, oaky, some licorice, very nice vanilla sweetness, cherries, figs, plums, grapes, raisins. Full Body, ABV hidden very well with this one, pretty complex brew for sure, very nice smoothness/silky. Overall, what can I say, this one definitely hit's the spot today. Definitely the best brew for me this year, lol. Glad to at least get to try this brew out, even though I paid big time for this bottle (what people said). Highly Recommended!

Thanks to beerwolf77 for this brew.

2009 Vintage
Bottled On: 11/12/09

Poured into a chalice a very nice black color, nice carbonation, nice little fizzy tannish head, oil slicks and minimal sticky lacing around the edges. The nose is sweet/roasted/malts, slight alcohol, nice bourbon/oak note, toffee/chocolate/coffee. The taste is absolutely delicious, slightly sweet, roasted malts, vanilla, nice oaky taste, tons of toffee/chocolate/coffee, a slight dry finish. Alcohol gives a great warming feeling. Full/Medium body, a very nice smooth/silky brew, ABV hidden very well, for a brew this high in ABV. Very drinkable, an awesome Imperial Stout from GI, highly recommended. Thanks Todd for the new version.

Thanks to msubulldog25 for this brew.

2006 Vintage

Poured into a chalice a very nice black color, nice carbonation, nice little fizzy tannish head, oil slicks and minimal sticky lacing around the edges. The nose is sweet/roasted/malts, slight alcohol, nice bourbon/oak note, toffee/chocolate/coffee. The taste is absolutely delicious, slightly sweet, roasted malts, vanilla, nice oaky taste, tons of toffee/chocolate/coffee, a slight dry finish. Alcohol gives a great warming feeling. Medium body, a very nice smooth/silky brew, ABV hidden very well. Very drinkable, an awesome ADS from GI, highly recommended.

Cheers!

 

Will miss your contributions but your health is more important. Cheers!

 

My friend who is into bourbons is a big EH Taylor fan. I grabbed some for my GF's father this year and found it quite enjoyable myself. Haven't seen it to purchase for myself in the local ABC store, and since I do not go often, not sure when I'll be able to grab it. Missed this year's BCBS (didn't try), but glad my friend got a bottle that he has indicated he would share, especially after reading your review.

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the their New Year's holiday. I still get tomorrow off, so my weekend is not over just yet. Thanks to @utopiajane for getting us started off this morning. Took a week off reviews for the holiday's back with family, but I came back with a trunk load of new beers. I ended up with about 2 cases of single 12 ounce, and 1 case of bombers from my trip. I am really overloaded now, so I really need to get to work on these. Review 5000 will be in a few weeks. I probably already have the special bottle in my possession at the moment. Other than that, I got a new desktop computer for Christmas and it is already setup and ready to go. So much faster than what I had before. It was making me crazy trying to wait for that thing to load every day.

New beer:

Delicious pale wheat! Impressive head retention and lacing down the glass. Aromas and flavors of big lightly tart blueberry and lemon; with wheat, cracker, biscuity malt balance; and some herbal, floral, grassy, light peppery hops. Light herbal/grassy balancing bitterness on the finish. Medium bodied; nice grainy wheat creaminess in the mouthfeel; slight hop stickiness and fruit acidity. Minimal dryness. Highly refreshing and flavorful! The balance between malt and fruit flavors is pretty much perfect. Just enough hops for overall balance. Very impressive for the style. 3.9


Really nice coffee porter. Aromas and flavors of big nutty medium roast coffee, caramel, brown sugar, cocoa, brown bread, vanilla, toasted biscuit, and light herbal/spicy hops. Light herbal hop and roast bitterness on the finish. Medium bodied; nice bready/grainy creaminess in the mouthfeel; slight chalky roast and hop stickiness. Lightly drying. Really spot on English porter all around. Great balance between the coffee and malt flavors; just enough hops for bitterness balance. Really delicious! 3.9


Cheers, be back in a bit for more reviews!

 

I gotta say that it's good to see that bottle of Olde Hickory Lindley Park! Lindley Park is a great old Greensboro neighborhood close to UNC-G. The area is nice and has been a cool spot for many decades. That Lindley Park piece of the label depicts the stone neighborhood sign. Cheers and cheers! Lindley Park Imperial Stout comes from a very nice original collaboration between a great retailer and a great brewer.

 

EHT has been around a long time. I wish the shit was cheaper. I've had this bottle for well over a year, probably going on 2. The BCBS is very nice, well at least to my liken. Very Nice Brew!

Cheers!