New Beer Sunday (week 624)

Whoops! I was wrong. I've only had the Foret, but not the Foret Libre. Moving it to the "to try list."

 

That's a nice looking beer - and the chicken sammich literally has my mouth watering.

 

This is my first post to New Beer Sunday, a forum I eagerly anticipate each week. I will do my best to describe today's new beer, but please be forgiving as this will be my first attempt to put what I am tasting/smelling/seeing into written words. The beer I am trying today is Starr Hill Snow Blind Dopplebock. It was meant to be for yesterday's online tasting but for various reasons, I never got around to trying it then. So, here goes-

Appearance- brown/ruby hue, crystal clear, 1/2 finger head after a vigorous pour into a Duvel tulip. No lacing.

Aroma- starts bready, almost pumpernickel, followed by raisins and a little sweetness

Taste- closely follows aroma, starts bready, finishes sweet, with raisins there throughout

Feel- medium body and super smooth/creamy

Overall- very enjoyable drinking experience. My dopplebock experience is very limited, but this has me wanting to try more.

Thanks for reading and have a great Sunday, all!

 

Welcome to New Beer Sunday =)

 

Your worries seem unfounded, that was a fine job. I'd consider actually adding the review to the database as well. Some of us choose to get wordy (I won't mention names here ), but that isn't necessary for a useful review. Cheers!!

 

Hey what's going on?!

Well there's some sort of sport thing going on... something about a ball with a foot in it... OH I know! It's World Cup right? Football??? rright!!

I kid I kid...

As many of us in North America are getting our fancy to participate on, there will certainly be one thing lots of us doing..

Drinking beer. And probably lots of it.

I dig sports, sure, doesn't mean I was good at it (I should have been drafted in the English Premier League but that's another story), but I enjoy a good fair competition, and to some degree a good spectacle. Wasn't so much into the NFL (something people I knew sometimes referring to jokingly as the No Fun League), but having moved to the US sometime ago and always watching the Superbowl, (do I have to capitalized that?) being down here it's definitely a party that most partake in regardless of who you are cheering for. If you can't beat em! Join em! And Fantasy Football is great too!

Food items today will be on the easy street side, but I am making a big batch of Thai wings later. I even made homemade sweet chili sauce to go with them last night. Hopefully they will turn out well.

However, just starting off simple, and emptying out a bunch of shandys from my closet of late. Ended up aquiring quite a bit of these so let's start of easy.

What's new for our hero to start with today?

Eurodiesel Traveler Cola Shandy | The Traveler Beer Co.


The Traveler Beer Co. - Eurodiesel Traveler Cola Shandy by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass.

Amber bodied and cola brown colored appearance out of the bottle. Nice clarity to this with a minimal two finger head. Light topped head with a vanilla white like creamy appearance, not unlike a root beer float. Minimal retention but fine bubbled as it dissolves quickly to a simple collar.

Ok it smells like cola. That's about it, no hinting lemon or beer like character. I understand that this is what it is supposed to be but even other made up and commercial diesels I have had sort of resemble a little bit of beer character. Can't fault this though but I was expecting more variety, and at least isn't horrifically sweet smelling. Slightly above average, with maybe a faint hint of clove heat.

Palate certainly brings quite a twist (no pun intended). Decent bodied malt depth, with some very faint cola tiny carbonation mouthplay that provides a little cut through the thickness without getting overly watery or distracting. Cola nut flavors in mid palate, even a slight peppery like kick in the front tongue, but stays away from hard sugars and goes more towards light molasses and sweet brown spices. Finishes slightly lemony as well with a solid backbone.

Starts off kind of like an anticipated bust but actually manages quite well in the end. Certainly more enjoyable than all those hard root beers of late from the few that I've had.

look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5 | BA Generated Score: 3.49

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Alright! more to come later!

Cheers!

 

Trip In The Woods (Sierra Nevada) Narwhal Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels, 12.5% ABV, part of last year's three bottle box set that (primarily) saw distro to CA and NC ...



Pours black (40) with a huge light tan styrofoam/ creamy head; no ruby see through; long lasting cap with solid veil/ring of lace; as beverage is consumed, moderate heavy lacing sheets the glass; if lacing were a bit heavier, a score of 5 would be appropriate. 4.75



Chocolate, subdued bourbon, and vanilla aromas tease the nose and engender expectation...4.5

Lite roast, chocolate, very lite bourbon, black pepper, vanilla, the barest hint of honey tease the palate; baker's bittersweet dark chocolate round out the middle; a simple creamy/chocolate malt with a shot of bourbon for good measure, round out the finish. 4.75

There is a light burn from the alcohol; still, lite honey coats the tongue imparting a silky feel; moderate minus carbonation and medium texture. It could be more viscous, but the texture is super silky. 4.25

Overall, feel could be more viscous yet it feels so good! There is a warming booziness that I like; layers of flavors - not just a Narwhal on steroids, but rather a well thought out/executed recipe for introducing more flavors, in a nuanced, well ballanced way. For example, the honey is a pleasant addition rather than a distraction; the barrel imparts little oak, yet vanilla shows up on the back end; the base/malt/chocolate combines seemlessly with the bourbon components, gracing effortlessly the cocoa. In short the BBA variant strays little from the the Homefront and indeed enhances the the overall. World class. 4.75

 

Greetings friends,
Thanks to Dave for another enlightening opening on this New Beer Sunday Super Bowl Extravaganza. And UNC/Notre Dame here in town due to water issues in Chapel Hill. I pull for Richmond, Wake Forest, and Guilford so all I want is a good game!
Here's our resident Heron, who has become fairly tame. I call him Bob. He's not as friendly as the Greylag goose, Chester by name, that used to follow my neighbor home from the lake and go inside for a friendly snack. But Bob has a healthy diet of small bass and bream and can stand in one place for 30 minutes or so, acting like a tree...then he strikes, swallowing his catch whole and quickly. He is a really cool creature to watch up close.
Today's beer is Ponysaurus Scottish Ale 6.3% in a sporty 16 oz can. This is a newish brewery in Durham and this is my first Ponysaurus brew. It pours a deep mahogany, pitching a short-lived frothy, bubbly tan head. The roasted malt notes are predominant right off, wafting out of this old Young's Mug. The flavor is roasted malts, smoky, and really very inviting.for several quick sips. It is not a huge beer, actually lighter in style than I prefer, but it tastes of good fresh malt nicely supported by a hoppy bite, keeping it from being "sweet" This is a nicely balanced beer overall, and the malt is front and center as it should be. This is a better than decent beer, but not my favorite Scottish ale. It is worth a try.

Here are a couple of tunes frrom one of the most under-rated artists of our time. Good ol' Tony Joe White! He did write Rainy Night in Georgia, and was way ahead knowing about trolls!

 

Fair review. I liked this beer a lot! I'm with you on assessment. Perhaps not for everyone, but there you go! Cheers!

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! I've been mostly absent from the thread lately, but I still keep an eye on you rascals. I'm just gonna float this balloon today, and we'll start focusing next week. NBS BIF #5 is on the radar!!!! I'll start a sign up thread next week, but, I strongly encourage ALL NBSers to join us in the jocularity that is a NBS BIF. Feel free to ask anyone who has done one, and if you're a veteran of these BIFs, feel free to encourage the others!

 

Howdy, doodies (and dood-etties ?) - I dunno - Howdy Doody was before my time...

Cloudy and appropriately cold here on LI - thank the Norse gods - and I've been drinking all morning lol - got up early, had coffee, grocery-shopped, came home, and popped the tab on a Captain's Daughter before breakfast was actually served... I know, right?

So... you know I like things like evil (who says that ?), vikings, the undead, bladed weapons, Game of Thrones, heavy metal, beer, and so forth, right?

Well, happy to say Navaja (no, not Navajo - very different meanings apparently *Google*)

...made its way to my area...

Navaja is a Spanish folding knife...

...apparently wielded by multi-limbed undead demons...

...based on the can art - which is awesome, 'natch...


Dropped into my Half Acre Kvelertak/D&D owlbear-meets-Cthulhu-themed glass...




Yes, there's a new beer review in here somewhere... Oh, here it is...

Featuring Golden Promise malts and Mosaic, Columbus, and Hallertau Blanc hops... 1/10/17 canning... Rich golden color, good clarity, two fingers of ivory foam atop, some lace lags behind inside the glass... Fruity, citrusy, floral, and herbal on the nose... Got wine grapes, grapefruit and pineapple right off the bat on the taste, with a robust, sweet malt undertone... Medium-weight, moderate carbonation; nice bitter roundedness on the tongue trails behind with a little pine tack left behind... Drying finish with a taut shellac on the tongue... A DIPA that's right up my alley...

Hey, that's my only new beer today - going to tour through some favorites throughout the day over in WBAYDN - and maybe take a nap lol - before the big game tonight...

Here's to new beer in your glass - cheers...

 

I'm glad to join finally today, as I've been up for a good while but we had an early hockey game, so just getting back now. Had to start the chicken wings on their steam bath before partaking as well.

So, first up today is a Deschutes Red Chair NEPA.



Good looker, just a slight hint of haze in an otherwise pretty clear, orange body. Head formed nicely. Maybe a little beige, foamy and good amount of lacing.

Nose is big vegetable, like cooked corn, until a little sweetly wrapped pine creeps in

Taste upfront has a nice piney bitterness with that vegetable thing happening slightly. Next up is a caramel sweetness that lingers along side the bitter finish, which exits on out with dryness and leaves a hint of sweetness on the tongue.

 

Does that mean you are viewing Hardywood, Adent Craft and the VA Governor as being either Gypsy Brewers or Contract Brewers who only used the facilities and didn't share info/techniques/ideas with Stone or accept input from Stone?

 

Happy NBS! Great start by @cavedave but I have one comment.

NO I do understand your point and think it could work for others, but not me.

Another weekend is quickly passing by, but I have made the most of it. The kids and I went sledding yesterday (saucer sleds are still the best). It is still incredibly fun even at the age of 40. This afternoon the kids and I will be visiting the school swimming pool for a few hours of fun and exercise.

Right now I am enjoying a delicious new beer from Epic, Double Barrel Big Bad Baptist. The color is midnight sky black with a thin 1 finger tan hear. Nice retention that fades into a cap and leaves generous blobs of lacing on my glass. The aroma is very nice with roasted malt, hints of coffee, bourbon, vanilla, dark chocolate, cocoa, marshmallow and thick caramel. The taste is complex with the roasted malts, coffee, vanilla and bourbon, dark chocolates with a nice caramel finish. The double barrel blends in so nicely with the base stout to create a memorable drinking experience. Medium body with creamy, smooth feel. Carbonation is spot on. This one surprised me and is on par with Central Waters Anv. Stouts.

 

Kane Brewing Company's Hop Lab (double dry-hopped with citra),
-tap pour at Agricola in Princeton, a pretty and bright orange-amber with some haze. -One cm of sticky fluff on top followed by fine lacing. The aroma is orange-citrus and flowers from a distance. The flavors are BIG with citrus hops, lemon, orange and some tropical notes. The malt body includes a dry, cracker-like aspect. The finish is crisp and clean.

This sounds like a pedestrian review (not a writer), but this is one of the best beers I have ever enjoyed. I had two to be sure. If it was available in my local alehouse I would make a daily visit for one. -truly superb

 

I've always shied away from gluten-free beers, as I don't have a medical reason to avoid gluten, but that may change. A Seattle brewery called Ghostfish is now being distributed to Spokane and they've got some interesting styles in their stable. Might have to actually try one.

 

I have to admit I have been patiently awaiting this!!!!

 

The original photos with the glass have disappeared in cyberspace.

This brew delivers on the promise of a Girl Scout cookie in a can. I would prefer more mouthfeel for a stout. Enjoy at temperature.

 

Good morning NBS, welcome back @cavedave, I appreciate your discipline! In your stead @utopiajane and @JackHorzempa kept us informed with wisdom, history, and great reviews as always Cheers to you three!
Home in WMass after a few frosty days of field work in northern VT, and happy for it. Todays offering is from De molen a rich palate pleasing smoked Double Bock, lush on the palate and full of aromatics. In many ways reminds me of Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock, with a bit more fullness on the palate.
Cheers all

Ball & Chain

Brouwerij De Molen
Smoked Beer / 7.10% ABV

4.01/5 rDev +1.5% | Avg: 3.95
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from an 11.2 oz bottle dated Feb/6/15 into a Spaten cylinder.
A - Hazy backdrop of saddle leather hides delicate carbonation, an aggressive pour yields a thin cap. Evidence of the cap clings loosely to the glass during the experience.
S - Broad leaf tobacco, cigar wrap, smoked ham (no joke), with some warmth, a nice toffee component manifests. Malts are on full display with this offering. With a bit more time, a dark fruit slices through, warm figs, wrapped in smoked meat. I had to say it.
T - Sweet light brown sugar, near perfect construct for the style, then the malt complexity. The complexity from Smoked Pils, caramel, chocolate and roasted malt is a real joy. Flavors range maple candy to Katenspeck, all this seamlessly.
M - Start is smooth, surprisingly soft water style, the palate response is toward the sweet side, battles a bit with the olfactory impact of the smoked malts. A full coating of the palate the gentle carbonation leaves in place. the linger is long and luxurious.
O - A smoked delight, the brewer really pushed the fullness of the style on the palate, and created a real tension between the smoked malts aromas, versus the palates response to sweet maltiness. Not an offering for the faint of heart. That said worth seeking out

 

These two are gluten reduced but not gluten free.