New Beer Sunday (week 623)

Ok, on to a new beer after running out to pick up my credit card that I accidentally left at the restaurant earlier this weekend. I know a few people reviewed this in recent weeks, but I cannot find their posts using BA's search. Maybe the beer wasn't in the text, but oh well. I'll just give my thoughts and anyone can chime in as they wish, as always .

This evening's beer is Allagash Hoppy Table Beer. I almost overlooked it in the cooler of the store side of the restaurant we just returned from. First off, the head grabbed just under half the volume of the glass with an aggressive pour. The first pour was crystal clear, the second had a little haze, so apparently there was a little bit of yeast in the bottom.


The head was still over half a cm as it settled while I typed this up, and seems to have settled in there. The nose has a little farmhouse nature to it. There's a tart fruit surface that I noticed first, but then a little musty to funky note. There's actually more of it than the Blackberry Farm Brett beer from earlier.

The taste doesn't show this funk, though. In fact, upon tasting I am thinking the hop notes are combining with the yeast notes to mimic a nice funky farmhouse ale. A grassy crisp opening stays grassy as the crispness fades into bitterness. The bitterness comes as woodiness, and I am left wondering where the tart fruit came from in the nose.

Re-smelling the beer... it's gone! The nose now has more of a floral to almost herbal note to it (along with the farmhouse notes). Oh well, onward with the palate...

This beer has a dry bitterness by mid taste. The Belgian yeast makes a little appearance just past this, but the wood and earthy bitterness gains the end game. A water-crackery malt note starts to invade the bitterness with more warmth.

A big cloud of lace now stares at me from the opposite side of the glass. The beer has balanced out a tad with warmth. My tongue tingles after every sip, and overall my palate feels a bit more refreshed than it did for the first half the pour.

I think I have hit the right temperature here, and will continue to enjoy this the rest of the way. There's a nice bitterness to this beer, one that is strong early and in tune late. There is the slightest note of a clashing flavor that I get when hops meets Belgian yeast, but tis only a small dip in the road on this one. Not a surprise Allagash has made a quality beer.

 

Happy New Belgian Strong Pale Ale Sunday!

Did a nice hike, around 36, sunny, still some nice patches of snow around. I thought it was years since I last had this brew, I was wrong. Either way, very tasty brew, glad to see it around here. The Bruery makes some very tasty brews, wish more of them were around here though.

Look 4.5 Smell 4.25 Taste 4.5 Feel 4.25 Overall 4.25

Revisit: 29 Jan 17
750ml
Capped
Bottled Conditioned
Bottled On: 10/06/15

Over a year on this one!

Poured into a chalice a very nice slightly hazing dark golden yellow color, very nice carbonation, with a very nice foamy/thick one-finger plus white head, leaves a nice pretty big oil slick, and leaves some pretty nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, yeasty, some sweetness, kinda floral/fruity, kinda hoppy, coriander. The taste is very nice, malty, very nice yeast note, with some nice sweetness, fruity/floral, slightly hoppy. Medium body, nice sweet/bitter/dry finish. Overall a very nice brew, definitely worth seeking out.

750ml
Capped
Bottled Conditioned

Poured into a chalice a very nice cloudy golden yellow color, very nice carbonation, with a very nice foamy/thick one-finger plus white head, leaves a nice big island in the glass, and lots of sticky lacing. The nose is malty, yeasty, sweet, kinda floral. The taste is very nice, malty, very nice yeast note, with some nice sweetness, fruity note. Medium body, nice sweet/bitter/dry finish. Overall a very nice brew, it's been quite awhile since I've last had anything from this brewery, always liked what they had to offer, now I only live a couple of blocks away from CL, hopefully they will carry other offerings from this brewery.

Cheers!

 

It's only right to partake in a beer like this waiting for the Royal Rumble to start. I only got a few tastes as this bottle was shared amongst friends but man did I enjoy it! This was very hard to come by and I was glad I got to share it with my friends that are really into wrestling. I'm just here to drink beer. Salud BAs

 

Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA. Decent, really do get a nice Jasmine flavor in the finish. As far as an IPA it's a little light and not a hop bomb by any stretch. Enjoyable and drinkable for sure. USA, USA, USA!!!!! Pix taken in my front yard in waistdee
Waist deep snow!!! Cheers!!!!

 

Picked this up the other day when I ran into Trader Joe's for Avocados. Normally I'd make a hard pass on Green Flash, but figured if it helps support Trader Joe's, I'm in. Plus, it was tough to miss their advertisement (for once) considering an end-cap was several cases high. Either way, let's see what's going on here, after all, it's a collaboration between a brewery and a grocery store. Cheers!



Green Flash + Trader Joe's Fearless Fifty.

Pours a clear yellow with just a little fog to it. Head foams up to two fingers in height, and white in color. Head retention is a little strange. Most of the head deflates rather quickly, with large bubbles quickly replacing the tightly-laced head. Aroma is a lively saison, with notes of banana, clove, Belgian yeast, orange zest, and biscuit malts. Flavor profile is very similar, with notes of banana and clove hitting first. Belgian yeast with biscuit malts and a zing of orange zest keep this beer lively and fun. Mouth feel is medium-thin, with a bit of a carbonated, fizzy feel on the back of the tongue. Still, it slips down smooth. Overall, a flavorful saison with plenty of spunk and liveliness. The Belgian taste with a zing of orange zest really makes this one fun to drink.

Score : 3.75 | 4 | 4 | 3.75 | 4 | BA Score: 3.96 | rDev: +3.7%

Personal asides: This beer is quite lively. While it isn't a stand-out example of a saison, it does have a fun and funky flavor profile. I am pleasantly surprised.

 

Greetings All:

Oh Jane, I love your poem, but... "a snowy morning is always filled with delight" if you don't have to go out into the winter landscape and shovel said snow, endure freezing cold, drive on slippery roads, etc. Today is one of those "delight" mornings for me, but tomorrow will likely be "dread". I'll take a bright and sunny summer morning over winter any time.

Hoping for spring, today we turn away from the winter ales and have Upheaval IPA from Widmer Brothers.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/8/106024/

A good IPA, if a bit one-dimensional in terms of flavor. Long on bitterness, pine and grapefruit, short on sweeter bread and fruit flavors.

I stopped at one my favorite beer bars yesterday and noticed they had a number of Founders handles. A first for me, and I took the opportunity to try the All day IPA and Centennial IPA. Very nice beers. I'm looking forward to seeing more Founders offerings here in the northwest.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!

 

Small Faces........HELL YES!!!!! GREAT underrated band!!! Steve Marroit was a BAD ASS!!!!

 

Hair of the dog can cure that. ;-) Happy (belated) Birthday!

 

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars..... One of the greatest albums of ALL TIME!!!! Hunky Dory,, Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, Low.......dude put out some amazing timeless albums......R.I.P. Ziggy....

 

Today's beer is Dogfish Head Beer for Breakfast Stout. Completely new to me and excited to try it. I really like dogfish head brewery because they are great promoters of the craft beer industry, but unfortunaly I am usually a little dissapointed in their beers.
Look: Pitch black, tan head with some staying power. Also, a lot of lacing 5
Aroma: Coffee, chocolate, smoke, and roasted malt 4.25
Taste: Coffee, chocolate, anise, smoke, sweet in middle, but ends slightly bitter and dry. Very pleasant with some powerful flavors, especially the coffee flavor. Really like the balance between sweet and dry. 4.25
Feel: Great full low carbonation mouthfeel 5
Taste: Nice coffee flavored beer with a few other flavors going on as well 4.5.

Have a great week everyone. Enjoy your brews.

 

This one was a gift, given to me today. I know a lot of folks turn away beer gifts. Admittedly, I do have plenty to drink, so having another beer is a little over whelming. Never the less, it was a kind gesture. Figured I'd give it a go tonight to cap off the night.



Mother's Spiffy Britches.

Pours a hazy orange with two fingers of off-white head. Head foams up quickly with strong retention and lacing. Aroma is full of spicy and earthy hops, with a strong biscuity, bready malt presence. Flavor profile is spicy, earthy, floral hops, and biscuity and bready malts. Malt presence is strong, but it helps bolster the hops nicely. Mouth feel is thick and filling, with a grainy, pleasant texture. Overall, a huge IPA from Mother's. Between the thick feel and the spicy hops, this beer carries a lot of weight.

Score: 4.25 | 4 | 4 | 3.75 | 4 | BA Score: 3.99 | rDev: -0.2%

 

CHEERS TO THAT BRO !!
RIP ZIGGY !! ❤

 

New American Brown Ale

It's been too long.

I decided to take an evening off from the adult soccer league to do a proper review and participate in this week's festivities.

Today's beer was another winner. Bumpy cake is a bit of a Detroit thing. This beer certainly did it's confectionery counterpart justice.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/41783/255201/?ba=GRPunk#review

 

Getting a late start for NBS but been busy catching up on chores around the house.

Today's new beer is the Stone collaboration - Megawheat.

Lots going on here, but it boils down to a well executed IPA with a very unique aroma and flavor. Nice for one bottle but not for regular purchase.



Poured from 22 oz bomber dated 1/6/2017.

A: Crystal clear sunshine yellow with two finger white head. Lasting retention and lots of lacing.

S: Bright citrus with a significant grassy note. Herbal hops with hints of pepper.

T: Tangerine and lime with dank herbal hops. White pepper and leomgrass. Contribution from the wheat is apparent and makes for a unique flavor profile.

M: Medium body with average carbonation. A bit more heft than a typical IPA, but smooth and easy drinking.

O: A clean well executed IPA which is no surprise from Stone. Not something I would turn to everyday, but glad I tried it.

 

Good Evening NBS and thanks Maria for the excellent review and kickoff. Your dough looks perfect!
Proclamation continues to brew some fantastic beers and I'm lucky to have them just a short drive away. Plans are in the work for a bigger facility so I'm really taking advantage of their under the radar status before word spreads.
Todays beer was a special limited release that I tried the day they canned it.
I like to sit on these really hoppy brews for a week or so. Just seems like most settle down and the flavors tend to marry after a short period of rest- with exceptions of course. The brew:
Proclamation Mouth Breather DDH Mango IPA
A- Pours a cloudy golden yellow with a 2 finger head that disappears quite rapidly settling to a thin ring with scant lacing.
A- huge fruity mango, floral and grassy notes and a sauvignon blanc grape like quality. There is also some sweet citrus- maybe tangerine. Really nice aroma on this one.
T- Of course sweet mango, some bread notes and the white grape. Lots of green pungent hop notes, along with citrus pith balance out the sweetness of the fruit. Full flavor that rounds out and lasts for what seems like minutes. Tasty juice.
M- The medium body is slightly slick but is lightened by the prickly carbonation that dances on the tongue. None of the 7.5% is detectable. Very easy to drink.
O- I've said on these parts before I'm not big on the fruited IPAs. However I did enjoy Finbacks version of a mango IPA. The mango seems to compliment the tropical fruit notes of the hops. There is no notes on what type of hops they used but I would venture to guess any one combo of Galaxy, Citra and Amarillo possibly small amounts of Mosaic- though I'm far from and expert at identifying hops. Overall another fantastic brew from Proclamation - which it wasn't limited. Cheers all! have a great week and as always thanks for listening. NewOldVinylSunday spinning XTC's Grass- from the album Skylarking produced by Todd Rundgren.

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @utopiajane for getting us started off this morning. Not much going on here, did some laundry today and got a full CO2 tank for my keezer yesterday. Got some more new beers from the store today. Looking to start brewing again soon, haven't done an all grain batch in a while. Was thinking about making a coffee porter or something similar. Probably draft up a recipe during the week in my free time. Need to fill an empty keg for a while now. Just another busy work week ahead.

New beer:

Very nice APA. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, passion fruit, mango, lemon/orange peel, citrus rind, pepper, and pine hops; with moderate honey, biscuit, light caramel malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Moderate pine/rind/spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium bodied; balanced sticky/resins and grainy creaminess in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing resin/rind dryness; touch of lingering hop astringency, but hardly anything major. Extremely dank, juicy, and bright on hops; nice malt backing for bitterness balance. Was not expecting this to be as piney and resinous as it was, but I really enjoy it. Pretty quickly drying palate, but refreshingly drinkable and crisp. Glad I grabbed a 6 pack. Definitely one for the piney IPA/Pale ale fans only. 1/10/2017 can date. 3.9


This was delicious! Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, lemon/orange peel, and pine hops; with moderate honey, spicy rye, toasted biscuit, and light caramel malt balance; with herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Moderate pine/citrus peel bitterness and rye spiciness on the finish. Medium bodied; balanced bready creaminess and hop stickiness in the mouthfeel. Touch of resins and increasingly drying finish; zero hop or rye astringency. Extremely refreshing, drinkable, and well balanced. Total gamble on this one from the singles fridge since they don't can date, but it tastes pretty darn fresh! Bright citrusy hops with balanced rye malt presence. This is literally the only Arcadia year round beer I haven't reviewed; and this is an instant favorite for a rye ale. One of their better offerings no doubt. Would buy again, no complaints. 4


JP/Anchorage collab with Raspberry/lime peels and MI grown hops. This was awesome as expected. Aromas and flavors of big lightly tart raspberries, lemon, lime, strawberry, grapefruit, citrus peel, pear, apple, melon, white wine, oak, peppercorn, and pine; with some moderate wheat/crackery malts; with hay, straw, floral, grass, and light leathery/funky yeast earthiness. Moderate peppery brett and tannic oak spiciness; with some pine/grassy bitterness on the finish. Touch of lingering tartness. Light-medium bodied; moderate hop/yeast stickiness, oak tannins and light acidity in the mouthfeel; with a fair amount of grainy wheat. Fairly crisp feeling with quickly increasing sticky/tannic dryness after the finish. On the low end of the sourness scale on the bottle; this comes off as a very Brett heavy saison with great balance of fruit and citrusy hop character. Refreshingly drinkable with pleasing tartness. 4.1


Cheers, be back a bit later NBS.

 

New beer #3 Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break Raspberry Umami. Really enjoying this, I have always been an IBB fan and this doesn't disappoint!

4.54/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

22 oz bottle poured into a teku

A- Black with a two finger dark mocha head

S- Roasted coffee, raspberry jam, some chocolate, touch of oak and vanilla.

T- Roasted coffee, milk chocolate, sweet raspberry jam, some vanilla, touch of oak, touch of caramel malts.

M- Smooth, creamy, full body.

O- A great, tasty twist on IBB. Raspberries work really well with the the base beer, worth picking up.

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Cheers!

 

Hello my fellow New Beer Sunday fanatics. So happy to be here once again, after work to enjoy a new beer. I've been thinking about popping open this beer all day at work. I picked it up in Hudson, Wisconsin yesterday, and am very excited about it.

Une Annee Le Seul X

It is an American Wild Ale fermented with passion fruit. 6.5% ABV. The fruit really hits you, and so does the sourness. Very well balanced, and very delicious. I will be picking up more from Une Annee the next time I cross the St. Croix.

Review
4.5/5 rDev +7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This pours a very cloudy golden color, almost orange. The head was minimal when poured from the bottle, but there's nice carbonation in the glass. The nose is very fruity (passion fruit), and it isn't mellow - it smacks you upside the head with a 2X4. The taste is sour, and strongly fruity. The fruit hits hard, but pleasing. Really good balance between the fruit and the sour. The feel of this beer is fairly thick. You also feel he carbonation as it goes down. The bubbles tickle the throat. Very solid beer, and I highly recommend it.

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Cheers, and see you on the next beer.

 

I'm back for another with a bomber of Lumberjack Breakfast coffee and maple imperial milk stout from Hailstorm Brewing of Tinley Park IL that I purchased at Binny's Beverage Depot yesterday. The bottle date is 1/18/17 and the abv. on the label is listed at 13%. Let's give it a pour in my 14oz. stout glass for the taste drive!

Pours a rather flat looking oily black leaving a centimeter of mocha foam. It rapidly settles revealing some light lacing. The smell is maple syrup, bakers chocolate and coffee. There is a slight fusel alcohol smell in the back. Taste is dark chocolate, sweet maple syrup, coffee, tobacco and some vanilla. A hint of char is in the finish. The feel while oily is very flat and under carbonated.



I've had a few beers from Hailstorm and had high hopes for this one. My expectations were somewhat dampened by the flat undercarbonated feel. It tastes like a beer that sat out for many hours. That aside, the smell and flavor is quite pleasing. Perhaps this was a bad bottle? If not, I'm hoping the carbonation issue is adjusted on future batches as this could be something special in my opinion. My score is 4/5 rDev-2.0%.

Time for some mindless TV down in the cave as I finish this bomber. Have yourselves a great week and thank you for the always thoughtful reviews. Here's mine......

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34315/264816/?ba=Prager62#review

 

Good evening, my NBS friends. Tonight I'm going to sample a couple of new beers to me from a brewery that I love.

First up, this deceptive DIPA .....



The brewery is one of my favorites because they brew really great stuff, and because they brought a friend of mine to his knees (almost literally).

This buddy is an inveterate Crown drinker. I've seen him pound 6 Crown doubles, and you'd think he was drinking iced tea if you watched him from a distance.

But one night when we were out for dinner, he wanted to drink beer with me. I was drinking Sculpin (the first time I tried it), so he had a Sculpin
(and declared how pungent it was after his first sip), then a 2nd. We tried to leave then - and he couldn't walk without leaning against the wall.

So we sat and drank water for an hour, and we've got a story we both still tell 4 years later.

So I'm a BP fan boy, and this is another beer from them that I enjoy. It is probably the clearest DIPA I've seen - it's as clear as Mrs O's daily bottle of Miller Lite.

The aroma is very reminiscent of the aromas I associate with the ubiquitous Mosaic hop, and so is the taste - but the malt is something in the Pilsner range because this is pretty dry for a DIPA.

Which is how this can sneak up on you - it'a an 8.5% ABV beer that has all of the flavor of a DIPA, but not the associated heaviness.

This has widely varying reviews , but I'm enjoying it - it's a beer ninja because it'll sneak up on you and whomp you upside the head. Rated 4.21.

 

I've been kind of back-and-forth with Almanac's dry-hopped sour stuff, but I'm gonna give this one a solid chance despite how I've felt about some of the past offerings. Generally, I have felt like they were good but not quite worth the price of entry (just about $1/oz).

Almanac Mariposa (dry-hopped sour blonde aged in wine barrels with mariposa plums)


So, I guess my first duty when reviewing this is probably to find out what exactly a mariposa plum is, eh? I know mariposa is the Spanish word for butterfly, so let's see...

Apparently, they're very meaty and sweet with a typically-juicy bite to them. I'll choose to believe that, as I've never actually been a huge fan of plums!

Pours kind of ugly, as expected from my previous engagements with the Farm to Barrel series. It's a rusty water color with near-complete opacity and a very thin ring of fuzzy white foam. Very homebrewy looking, but it's really what's inside these (and many other American wild ales) that typically counts.

Nose is amazing, actually. Gets to the essence of a juicy plum pretty much perfectly. Some apricot jam, black cherry, lemon and raspberry notes in there as well. Not sure what this is hopped with, but it seems rather new-school considering the complex array of fruit-like notes that are displayed here (turns out it's Azacca/El Dorado). There's even a little bit of fresh-cut grass and pine here underneath the fruit. Seems like it could be moderately tart. Rather clean as well and not showing off too much Brett influence in all honesty.

Flavor is tart and very juicy upfront with a quick and shocking sourness that leads into a middle that pushes some vinous notes, plum, lemon and tangy cherry. Not much bitterness at all, but there are some light tannins from the oak. There's some funk here unlike in the nose; kind of rustic but overall highlighting the plum/stone fruit elements. Feel is medium with a solid chewiness to it thanks to the density of the beer brought about by all the remaining proteins and yeast in solution here. Carbonation is on the higher end with a very solid, mildly-pushy effervescence that provides a detailed display of all the nice flavors in this beer. Honestly, this one is pretty great to me. Some of the ones I've had with too many different fruits involved feel too muted and end up losing me, but this is a pretty great expression of the mariposa plum. I might have to try plums again soon... maybe I'll like 'em this time around!

That's all for this week, NBSers! I'll be back again next week, most likely... until then, cheers and have a good week!

 

Great looking dogs and I love that glass......


Enjoy

 

NBS #3 of the day ...! Guess who I got this one from. That's right, @FBarber !

My now 9 month pregnant wife saw this and aggressively forced me ( ) to open it so she could try it. Not gonna lie though, I was a little scared for a second. Did someone mention "dessert beers" as a theme for the day? Alright...I'll oblige.

New Glarus Brewing Co.
Rasberry Tart.




I even did my very best to follow the "Framboise for Dummies" instructions on the label. So again, with better light:


I don't have a classic framboise flute, so I used my 0.3L Deschutes flute after weighing my options. I'm going to keep this review very, very simple. First off, I love the bottle. Classic, simple, and a natural bees waxed cap. Very nice!

OK, this beer is beautiful. Bright red, smells and tastes exactly like what you would hope for. Sweet and tart rasberries through and through. It TASTES like it LOOKS! Long story short, I'd put this right there up against the classic framboise's such as Lindeman's. It's a little less carbonated than the classic Belgians, but I think, again I say think, prefer it this way. Cheers and thanks again Frank!

 

New Beer Sunday: An American brewed English Stout

Evenin' NBSers, with special salutations to silent seekers of scarce stouts.

Time to relax a bit after a day full of errands, including doing my turn at ticking off the grocery shopping list.

This evening's new beer is a high ABV English Stout called "The Wrath of the Lamb" from the Apocalypse Ale Works down in south centeral Virginia. It was a gift from a family member on his last visit here during the holidays.

As usual my review, in progress until the beer is finished can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31089/200562/?ba=drtth#review

The bottle is from the 2015 bottling so the beer has about 14 mos. of bottle age. The aromas and flavors contain some dark fruits, some dark chocolate and some almost burnt dark roast. On the whole a drinkable English Stout that tastes fine but is also a stout that doesn’t challenge with complexity. I think the brewer was shooting too hard for it's imperial strength ABV and so the beer doesn't seem to be fully integrated and balanced in the way several lower ABV English Stouts are. So, while I found the beer to be worth trying, it isn't a beer I enjoyed enough that I’ll be spending any time and or money on trying to find another bottle when we make our next trip to Virginia.

Cheers, all!

 

#2, this will be short because I've got a plate of pasta looking me in the eye. This beer ..... defies description.



It looks like a fruit beer, sorta smells like an oatmeal stout Lite, tastes very much like an oatmeal stout with chocolate - and beets (which mutes the chocolate) - and feels VERY much like an oatmeal stout.

It freaked me out a bit to look at it and taste it concurrently (it was like thinking about a Pepsi when you're drinking a glass of milk), but it's a good beer, IMHO. Just don't look at it. Rated 4.0.

 

Southern Sixer IPA from Highlands. These folks have upped their game in a major fashion. Majorly dryhopped and slanted toward the hop side of the force.

 

I love Raspberry Tart! Wisconsin Belgian Red and Serendipity are just as good, kind of feel they don't get the attention they deserve.

 

Moving on:

This was delicious. Beautiful thick lacing and lasting head retention as expected. Not quite opaque. Aromas and flavors of big milk chocolate, cocoa, nutty coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, toasted bread, and light smoke; with a hint of herbal/woody hops. Light herbal/spicy hop and roast/coffee bitterness on the finish. Medium bodied with a great creamy/silky mouthfeel. Minimal chalky roast or sticky hops. Slightly drying from lingering hop/roast bitterness. Very smooth and easy drinking. Great coffee/malt balance and complexity. Would definitely grab this again while it's around. Lots of singles on the shelf right now. Spot on American porter to style. Less roasty than their Milk stout, with more dark malt sweetness. 4.03


Nice German Pils. Aromas and flavors of lemon, pear, cracker, and lightly toasted bread; with herbal, grassy, and light peppery hops; and a bit of yeasty earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy bitterness on the finish. Light-medium bodied; crisp, clean, refreshing finish; balanced grainy malt and hop stickiness in the mouthfeel. Moderate dryness. Well balanced Noble hop and Pils malt flavors. Not as flavorful as other German pils I've had, but it checks off all of the right style boxes. Not as "lager clean" as I'd like; a bit of DMS and acetaldehyde, but hardly enough to become an issue to enjoyment. Nicely done. 3.68


This was delicious! Aromas and flavors of big tart/sour raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, cherry, lemon, green apple, red grape, white wine, and oak; moderate cracker, bready, lightly spicy rye malts; with some hay, straw, and light lacto funky yeast earthiness. Moderate fruity/lactic tartness and light tannic oak spice on the finish. Medium bodied; balanced acidity and grainy malt creaminess in mouthfeel; touch of wine tannins. Never puckering or astringent on sourness. Refreshingly drinkable. Great balance of fruits, lacto, and wine barrel; with a nice rye malt backbone.Very impressive kettle soured fruit beer. 4


Cheers, have a good night NBS

 

It is for sure, we just won't admit it. I certainly see it used like on the can far more than the opposite... and I don't mean just here.

You know how some people like to tease @marquis when he starts to talk about beer as opposed to ale? We should be sympathetic. We're witnessing a shift, and all of the correctors are swimming upstream.

 

New Schwarzbier Sunday



Wiseacre Starless

Happy Sunday night, BAs. Thanks to Maria for the great start and to everyone for all the excellent posts. I have in-laws in town this weekend, who just went to bed, so I'm still making my way through the thread while I enjoy my first new beer of the day.

Starless pours a very dark reddish brown with three-plus fingers of dense tan head that leave heavy lacing.

It's got a malty, nutty, almost creamed-coffee aroma.

Sweet tasting, with light caramel malts and very light coffee. Slightly bitter, lightly charred aftertaste. Just a hint of that tang I like in Kostritzer.

Medium bodied -- maybe a tad creamy for a lager -- with modest carbonation.

Very easy drinking and pleasant with just enough depth to keep me interested. One I'll definitely come back to. Glad I picked up a sixer.

Have a great week, everyone.

 

I would have enjoyed that event. Are Arquebus and Blunderbuss "finished" differently every year for bottling or were the beers at the event extra special?

 

I have a Serendipity in my future, that I am very much looking forward to!

 

Your hound dog Otis looks an awful lot like the rescue dog my daughter...rescued. They told her beagle...so not true. And housebroken...also untrue! What strikes me is the feet...the long toes. Here is her Duke...he has regained health and filled out since this picture. Duke seems more coon hound than anything else, but I dont know them very well. Grew up with beagles, and certainly this is no beagle! Id guess he is 35-40 pounds, about 26 - 28 inches tall, graceful walking and running. But the feet are what seem very distinctive to me. Stubborn, willful, but totally devoted to my daughter.

 

It's a lion! Looks like one cool cat.

I'm about a minute late to this party and got a bunch of catching up to do ... so far I've seen too much to keep track of. For now I'll just point out @Prager62 is a photography bully whose incredible work conjures up feelings of photography inadequacy on this end. Bully!!!

OK, I got a New Beer this late Sunday:

Jester King's Fantome Del Rey (a farmhouse/abbey ale hyrbid inspired by a collaboration with Brasserie Fantôme in Soy, Belgium)

Also, a Jester King beer ...

... with a cork ...





Fantome Del Rey is incredible!

It's a bit shocking because I was warned about this brew. I think it went through a "ropy" stage in the bottles, and the truffle honey is controversial (supposedly) -- some people hate truffles, some people love them, some people who *do* love them don't want them in their beer. Plus there's that green bottle, granted a very dark green bottle, but skunk haters abound and can't get behind a nice little light-strike in their farmhouse brew.

My reply to all that: Whatever, dude!

Fantome Del Rey truly blends church and farm. There's plenty of Jester King's farmhouse signature aromas and flavors, musty old barn, nearly-dead-from-age hops, a pinch of lemon, a pinch of lemon peel. But the dark candi sugar, truffle honey and malt bill give this beer a true abbey ale feel. If this makes sense, I'd say over half of it comes off like a big sweet fruity dubbel. Mixed with the farmhouse flavors, it's a tart dubbel.

If it were any sweeter or any tarter, it wouldn't work. I wonder if I opened this on the EXACT day it would be this good. Who knows? But I'm glad I skipped dipping into my hoard of German imports (got a couple I want to bug you about when I open them, @TongoRad ! ) and opened this one.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24018/228467/?ba=Premo88#review
4.8 (+17.9%)

Cheers, late night NBSers!

 

Thanks! I think? I try to mask my linguistic inadequacy by casting a spell with imagery. Who knew the time spent in art school years ago would come in handy creating and posting beer porn? Cheers my friend!

 

"Sassamanash" as per label "Limited Release 2016."
Imperial Cranberry Stout Aged on Red Oak
10% abv
New incarnation, old name.
Different hops, different grain bill, different abv than the original, and cranberries instead of cranberry juice. Oh yeah, aged on red oak!



4.14/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Vigorous pour yields a 1 & 1/4 inch medium to dark tan head, dark (almost black) brown body, and minimal lacing that is gone within minutes. Nose of chocolate, slight coffee, and a little dark fruit. After warming the wood comes out. Taste follows with a nice cranberry tartness and a little vanilla and milk chocolate as it warms as well. Feel is a bit lacking, too bad. Overall, this is real nice. LET THIS WARM...

 

Non-Bottle Sunday

Old Nation M43


The hazy New England IPAs are all the rage right now. I've only been able to have one and this time before, and that was a heady topper at least 6mos old that I received as an unexpected gift. So naturally I eas pretty excited to see the buzz around a Michigan brewery's version of the style. They released at the brewery and a handful of stores near mein the metro Detroit area. I picked up one 4pk of 16oz cans to split with my #beerfriendforever...

The appearance is turbid, as expected (mandatory?). The aromas are not exactly jumping out at me, but the whiffs of orange juice clearly dominate. The tastes is as if someone perfectly mixed OJ and soda water. I don't detect any alcohol at all. It says it is brewed with whear and oats, and the texture certainly proves that to be true, but there is also a little bit of carbonation zing. There isn't much bitterness on the finish, and what is there is very OJ-esque.

Overall, i enjoyed every sip, but I think I prefer a mote traditional IPA with a crisp bitterness and at least a smidgen of malty beer flavor. When you factor in the price ($16/4pk 16oz cans for 6.8%abv) and the struggle it takes to get some, this scores as a "definite try", and "improbable rebuy."

Rochester Mills Magnificent


Bourbon barrel stouts are so two years ago, I know, but it met the criteria of the theme (was it really a theme without this beer, though?). This beer is from Rochester Mills. It is an imperial milk stout aged in bourbon barrels. It came in a mixed 4pk of bourbon barrel aged beers (along with an imperial amber, an Irish red, and a brown ale). While the variety packs were everywhere, it was kinda hard to find a single of this one.

Thr appearance is dark with the typical khaki head, as you can see. The aroma doesn't have one element standing out, but the bourbon sweetness is there and is well integrated with the dark roasted malts. The tastes is just as well integrated, but the bourbon sweetness is the one flavor that is there from start to finish with the roasted malts playing the supporting role. The feel is not light by any stretch, but the density is definitely a milk stout and not an RIS. It is creamy and soft, but it doesn't really coat the mouth and the flavors don't linger that long. Overall, it is a very good beer. The flavors are all there, but the robustness and the texture stop a touch short of being great. Another "definite try" and "improbable rebuy".

Cheers, NBS!

 

Duke sure looks like a Treeing Walker Coon Hound. Otis is a tall boy, weighing in about 78 lbs. The very long and powerful "bear" claws are very distinctive to the breed. Loving, mostly gentle, and excellent with kids, Treeing Walkers are real comedians, and boy can they ever "talk".