New Beer Sunday (week 623)

At the risk of being overly didactic and technical, you still haven't .

 

I was unable to post my photograph using photobucket so I set up a new account with flickr.

For your viewing pleasure.

Cheers!

 

Beer Advocate doesn't really sort BBA beers or flavored beers separately, though- like they should. It leads to this sort of confusion, as well as really screws up the top beers lists.

In the case of Backwoods Bastard, the Bourbon Barrel influence obscures the base beer so much that it's like looking at something at a distance through a fog. Technically, yes you have seen it, but not really clearly. Not that it isn't a great beer- it's well assembled and tasty for sure- for a BBA Beer.

The point, I suppose, is to encourage you to look for Scotch Ales where the deep and rich malt profile is the true star.

 

I share your feelings about this style!

 

Starting my beer day with a little zip of coffee. I happened to see individual bottles of these on my way to the check out the other day, so I figured why not. Low expectations since it's a nitro, but I do enjoy coffee quite a lot. Let's start drinking.



Lefthand's Hard Wired Nitro Coffee Porter.

Hard Wired Nitro pours a cold black. Despite being a nitro, the head is hesitant to form, with only half a finger of tight, foamy white head rising after a very aggressive pour halfway through the bottle. Despite it's shyness, the head retains well. Lacing is nearly non-existent. Aroma is coffee with toasted and nutty malts behind. It has a little sweet hint from the nitro as well. Flavor profile is toasted, biscuit, and nutty malts, with cold brew coffee notes sweeping over the tongue from the middle of the flavor profile until the finish. Very tasty, although a bit watery. Mouth feel is a bit watery as well, but otherwise incredibly smooth with a little bit of creaminess to it. Be careful not to drink it to warm, as the nitro really starts to give it a watery feel at warmer temps. Overall, it's a very solid coffee porter. The nitro actually works well with this beer, although it does give it a sweeter twist than regular carbonation. That may be a turn off for some. Certainly a go-to for those seeking a smooth and creamy coffee beer.

Score: 3.5 | 4 | 4.25 | 4 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.12 | rDev: +1.2%

 

I've set up quite a stout day for myself, which leans towards the evil side..... Not sure if I'll make it through all 3 Evil Twin stouts, but here's the first.... This one made its way to me courtesy of @st9647v3 - thanks again!

Even More Jesus



I got a little aggressive on the pour, which generated a massive brown bronze head that left behind a clingy, sticky lacing. Nose is plenty full of molasses, followed by hints of chocolate, fig and a bit of alcohol nose heat. Taste immediately brings fig, hotness and a little molasses. As this warms up a bit more, some dark chocolate begins to work it's way in. What I am tasting is really full and begs of plenty of contemplation. Mouth feel is a major factor as soon as I take the first sip. Thick, syrupy and full. Like drinking an alcohol laden molasses fig cake batter or something. Finish is dry with only a touch of sweetness left on the tongue. In a world where a lot of stouts seem mailed in, this one is a well thought out work of mastery.

 

I wish you guys would stop talking about BB . I drank my whole case and now am weeping listening to this conversation. With that said you are both 100% correct on your points

 

@JakeScully

If I recall correctly, this is a case where the base beer is what you might think (and are not always correct), that the base beer is Dirty Bastard. The bitterness in that beer makes me skeptical but my failing memory, to quote @JackHorzempa does believe it was told this by a brewery rep.

Of course, is Dirty Bastard a representative Wee Heavy?? Debate...

 

... and not peated malt either (not that it can't be tasty though).

 

A sunny, cool winter day here in southern Maine. Typical winter for our part of Maine: snow, followed by melt, repeatedly. Right now hardly any snow on the ground.
We've had our new dog for a week. He and the other two are figuring out the pecking order, but I have to say the new one, Willy, is a real sweetheart. He's the third older dog we've adopted, and we've been rewarded with wonderful dogs each time.

My new beer today is The Stallion, brewed by Smuttynose (or Smuttlabs in this case). It is an imperial stout aged in red wine barrels. This particular bottle was bottled in January, 2016 and has an ABV of 11%.
In my Smuttlabs glass the beer is dark black with only the hint of a head.
It has an aroma of dark malt and sweet fruit. There is a hint of vanilla/oak.
Bittersweet chocolate taste up front, followed by grapes. Still the hint of vanilla. Alcohol is not evident at all.
This is a medium-bodied, delicious stout. I think the red wine barrels enhances the aroma and taste. I hope my beer store has some more of these.



Gratuitous dog pictures.
Sparky


Sophie


And Willy

 

But of course! On both counts .

 

Here goes my first time posting in New Beer Sunday. I've been reading through the various threads for the last few weeks and finally decided I should post something myself. I like the idea of having a new beer every Sunday so hopefully I can keep up with the upcoming threads!

For my first time posting I decided to go with a beer by one of my favorite breweries, Fantome. The beer is Fantome's Magic Ghost, which is a saison / Belgian ale brewed with green tea. What I find interesting is that no where on the bottle does it say that is brewed with green tea, I actually found that out from this website.



The appearance of the beer is totally different than anything I have ever seen (at least beer related). It looks almost like matcha tea. There is very little carbonation in the beer and therefore only a small head.

The aroma is equally interesting. Basically a mix of strawberries, apples, citrus fruits, green tea and a slight funky-ness. It smells more like a mixed fruit juice than a saison or Belgian ale.

The taste is very similar to the aroma just with a bit of spice and a slight medicinal taste. There is also some green tea bitterness to it. Also it tastes quite earthy/grassy but maybe that's just the green color throwing me off. The taste definitely developed from the first glass to the last glass (probably because the first glass had very little yeast in it and the last glass got a nice bit of yeast). At first it had an alcoholic after taste but once the yeast was in it smoothed that out.

The mouth feel is quite full and creamy but there is something slightly weird when it first hits my tongue. It's difficult to explain but maybe that's just because there is hardly any carbonation in it.

Overall it's an extremely interesting beer but I wouldn't necessarily seek it out again. I find Fantome's normal Saison and their Brise-BonBons to be more enjoyable and easier to find. What I do appreciate from Fantome is that every bottle seems to be different than the last, so you never really know what to expect.

Hopefully my post fits into the context of New Beer Sunday and although my reviewing "skills" are quite limited I'm hoping that this weekly thread helps me improve them. Cheers to everyone!

 

I'd say that's a swell first post. Welcome!

 

Debate? My response is no. Although we all love barrel aged everything, I can't in good conscience say that a BA'd version of anything is "representative" of the style. A lot of inherent character of any style gets muddled and trampled (IMO) amongst the barrel treatment. BA'd good? Usually yes, but not a strict benchmark for the style.

Edit* Damn! I read "dirty" and thought"backwoods"...... Is Dirty Bastard a good representation? Perhaps, but I prefer Skull Splitter as a reference point.

 

Welcome, new kid. That's a nice review.
Hope to see you some more.

 

Wow, that looks and sounds really good!! I will definitely keep it in mind if I am ever anywhere with access to it.

Practice makes perfect is true for lots of things. But it is especially so with something like reviewing beers or anything sensory related. It's also fun to practice haha