New Beer Sunday (week 625)

Should be back later on today, to join in the fun.

Cheers!

 

The "Classic C hops" usually refer to Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook. Cheers!

 

A ‘sound bite’ description I use for Altbier is that it sort of tastes like a hoppy Oktoberfest beer. Needless to say there is more to this style than that but if I had only a few words to describe it that is it.

Here is a good article from BYO magazine that you might enjoy reading: https://byo.com/stories/item/1205-old-world-alt

I recently homebrewed an Altbier (a Sticke version) but my wife drank the last bottle a couple of days ago. Otherwise I would have sent you a bottle or two (presuming my wife didn’t catch me).

I discussed an Altbier in a past NBS thread: Olde Mecklenburg Copper Amber Ale (Alt).

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-574.388204/#post-4532126

Cheers!

 

I had it for the first time eleven years ago when they released it for their 10th anniversary. I was already homebrewing Altbiers but the Victory Ten Year Alt inspired me to tweak my recipe to produce a beer more like Ten Year Alt. It took me 2-3 iterations (over a period of years) but I now have a homebrew Altbier that reminds me of Ten Year Alt.

Cheers!

 

Thanks, man! - lol - I was one for three

 

I should mention that Chinook is exchangeable with Columbus when referring to the 3 C's, but Stone loves their Chinook! Cheers!

 

New Magnificent Sunday

We spent all day yesterday in Steubenville Ohio for our swimming Sectional Tournament, so I have spent most of last night and most of this morning online looking at results from the other 5 regions. Our boys placed 3rd overall as a team, and we have 6 boys, and 7 girls advancing to the District Championships (also State Semi qualifying round) next week at Ohio State. My son is 38th overall in the state in our division, and is the 7th seed Friday in the breaststroke. He is also 13th in the butterfly. The most exciting part though is our boys Medley Relay. As of right now, we are 24th. The top 24 go to state. Going to be an exciting weekend.

On to the beer. Today's entry is another MI brew courtesy of @drunkenmess



3.91/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

There is a 2/9/17 stamp on the bottom of the 16 oz can that I will have to deduce is a drink by date since it has been in my fridge long before last week.

Poured into a large snifter, it is a glossy black with a substantial, fairly frothy, but well short of milkshake like, tan head. Retention is decent. There is a constant film on top with some spotty lacing around the glass as it works it's way downward.

It smells strongly of bourbon and oak. Slightly difficult to single out a whole lot else, but there is some noticeable vanilla, condensed milk, chocolate, and charred grain.

The flavor is pretty much dominated by whisky notes. A lot of charred oak, tannins, vanilla, and corn grain. You really have to let it warm to near room temperature to get much from the base beer. There is a significant amount of chocolate and bitterness. Probably partially from the magnum hops. The lactose really becomes more noticeable toward the end too. Otherwise, there is a nice amount of roasted barley.

The body still has a fairly creamy texture for a barreled beer, and it doesn't come across too heavy for the style, which at 9% it could.

This one is tough to score honestly. As a milk/sweet stout, I don't feel like the base is strong enough and with the abv level, it really becomes it's own thing (barrel aged beer category anyone??). That being said, it is still very good, and as a bourbon guy, I enjoyed the hell out of it.

On that note, "Cooperage" is a second hand barrel dealer, and I can't help but notice the 4 rose images on the label. Based on the high quality of bourbon character in this one, I think it's safe to say whose barrels were used.

 

Good afternoon NBS, thanks to @smakawhat for the rousing start and the reminders as to why NBS is still the place to share something new.
Snow again here in WMass, had a great time yesterday climbing Mount Monadnock, just finished bottling the annual Maibock home brew. Hit all the numbers and now for some lagering time.
The offering today is from Moat Brewing, the Czech Pils is well constructed, floral and straddles the borders between Czech and German in style. In any case a very well executed and delightfully drinkable offering.
Cheers all

Moat Czech Pilsner

Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing Co.
Czech Pilsener / 4.90% ABV

3.96/5 rDev +5.3% | Avg: 3.76
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a can dated 1/25/17 into a tall cylinder.
A - Excellent clarity, gentle meandering carbonation make their way top side. A thin snow white cap resides for a bit. Cirrus style lacing clings in thin rings.
S - Pilsner malts, without the floor swept touch, clean bright hop very floral and noble. Just a hint of orange blossom and cut grass.
T - A touch sweet at the start, the malt have a nice biscuit quality, delightful helping of hop flower, a touch of Diacetyl, well within bounds, honey and warm toast.
M - Dances across the palate, correct in scale, carbonation is superb, not an off putting component anywhere.
O - A very fine Pilsner from Moat, body is quite good, the floral hops add a nice snap to the offering.
I look forward to more.

 

Congrats on the standing Go Team!
Cheers

 

Happy NBS! I see we have some great reviews already. Warmer and sunny in S. WI today. I have seen reviews in previous NBS threads and have been looking forward to this 30th anv. beer from Alaskan.

Perseverance pours a dark coffee brown with a 2 finger light tan head. Great retention and some swaths of lacing. Aroma is smokey, roasted malts, bitter bakers chocolate, charred wood, and some light sweet notes of caramel and milk chocolate. Starts off with a bitter roasted malt and bakers chocolate. There is some sweetness in the middle with milk chocolate, honey, and caramel. The finish is more bitter, with coffee and charred wood. Medium bodied with great carbonation, rich and smooth mouthfeel. Excellent RIS from Alaskan.

 

Howdy all and NBS sundry!

Temperatures hit the low 80s this week here in the Brazos Valley — in fact, it's 80 outside right now. Winter in Texas. It's been windy but not rainy, and there's some nasty pollen thing in the air giving me a hell of a time with the allergies. Our poor plants also seem confused as all get out. My bougainvilleas are fine, I think, but I worry for the fruit tree people. I don't think the fruit bearers like to be this confused.

My new beer is from a brewery most of us have sampled from:


Schlenkerla's Helles Lagerbier

The description says this beer gets its smokiness without using smoked malt, and the smoke presence is definitely subdued compared to Schlenkerla's smoked marzen (for example). The aroma is more like maple-smoked bacon or smoked ham than anything woody, and the flavor is equally as tame, though the smoke flavor may come a little bit closer to lightly smoked oak than the aroma. The pale malt presence is big and doing a decent job of mixing in with the smokey notes — there's enough sweetness in the nose that I can detect a typical bread-malt note. The bacon-like aroma is a highlight for me. No peat anywhere, neither aroma nor flavor.

The flavor seems a bit awkward, like the individual pieces are fine but not marrying so well together. @TongoRad (and anyone else), thoughts?

And as I say it's not doing this or that, I'm giving this sucker a 4-rating. In the end, it *is* tasty and hitting that smoke-lover's spot enough of the time. The flavors seem to be building well and growing on me.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/263/29145/?ba=Premo88#review
4.02 (+1.3% rDev)

Looking back at my other reviews for Schlenkerla beers, I may have to do some adjusting/re-reviewing. I think the other beers I've tried from this brewery were better than this helles, yet this helles now has the highest score. That's surely a reflection of my growing love for the smoked beer, so I'll do the hard work of buying some more Schlenkerla brews and revisiting that smoked weizen and marzen. *sigh* It's a tough job trying to keep one's BA.com database in order.

I recently got back my work of art from the framers.


Hope your Sunday is going well!

Cheers!

 

Last week, I reviewed The Alchemist's two most well-known offerings. At the time, I figured I'd had enough quality hops, so I paused my reviewing for another day. Turns out the third can I had gotten from their stuff had gradually shifted towards the back of the fridge during the week, so I'm just now getting into it. Figured this would be a great choice for my first contribution to NBS this week.



The Alchemist's Crusher.

Poured slowly straight into a 12oz snifter, a hazy, opaque fiery orange liquid turns to white foam at the top. Head formation peaked at three fingers, with just below exceptional retention. Lacing is prevalent after each sip. Aroma is decidedly light bodied, but hoppy. Orange peel, lemon zest, and grapefruit give a citrusy, fruit quality to it. Faint biscuit malt notes add a little strength to the aroma. Flavor profile opens up slowly, with notes of orange and lemon zest right on the front. As the flavor profile crescendos, and hits its stride, notes of grapefruit, and papaya add to the citrusy flavor. Biscuit malts mingle at the back, providing a little extra oomph to the otherwise hoppy flavor profile. Despite all the hops, flavor profile is balanced and - pardon the pun - crushable. Mouth feel is smooth, with a medium-thick thickness. It slips down smooth and clean. Overall, a delightfully quaffable hoppy beer. With the ABV sitting at 9%, and the overall balance of this beer, this may be one of the more dangerous beers out there.

Score: 4.75 | 4.75 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.75 | BA Score: 4.63 | rDev: +2.3%

Personal reflection: This beer is dangerously great. Having tried The Alchemist's year-round offerings, this is my favorite. I will say, having drank the other two a week ago, it may not be the most fair comparison, but I do find this beer absolutely delicious. I'd say I'd take this over Treehouse offerings, but I still want to try several Treehouse beers This may be my favorite DIPA I've ever sipped on though. Cheers.

Also, credit to @moonbrews for getting this can (and the other Alchemist offerings) to me. He's a stand-up BA member.

 

Another new IPA what a shock! From Twin Elephant Brewing True Believer a 7% ABV brewed with Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe hops and a lot of them. This beer was poured from a 32 oz Growler that was filled on Friday. There is a thick white head over the hazy orange body. The aroma is strong full of citrus and other fruit. There is a malt backbone along with the hop flavors. The mouth feel is full and the finish is a bit bitter. This beer goes down real easy. This growler will be GWTW in 15 more minutes. I guess it's hard to make an IPA that will stand out in the sea of IPAs we have these days. This one does not but it is enjoyable to drink and that's what counts.

 

Starting my Sunday at Bellefonte since they are tapping a few new beers today. First one is Holy Molé Stout brewed with cinnamon, chocolate and habaneros.

4.18/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

On-tap, poured into a mug. Black with a small mocha head. Smell is a lot of cinnamon, chocolate, some roasted malts, slightly smoky with a touch of habaneros. Taste still has a good amount of cinnamon it is more balanced than it is in the nose, cinnamon, chocolate, some roasted malts, habaneros have just enough kick in the finish to let you know they are there but doesn't over power the base. It has smooth, medium to full body. A fun Molé Stout with a good kick to it. Another solid stout from Bellefonte.

 

Thanks for the information.

Do I recall correctly that @utopiajane might have reviewed that on her channel??

Appreciate the reflection on your reviews. Sounds like one of those Rauchbiers could easily make it into a Throwback theme over on WBAYDN, though who the hell knows when one of those will pop up .

Just finished a mid-pour of this beer from Lost Rhino:


This is Bretty McBrettface, and if anyone gets the reference (without clicking the link), 1000 @MUTINY points to you. Apparently this beer's first release has a similar timeframe to said reference.

Anyhow, this is a Brett pale ale that I hoped but didn't necessarily expect to live up to Little Brett from Allagash (which is actually a dry-hopped sour, if I recall). My expectations were met, unfortunately, as Lost Rhino's beer seemed to be the mirror opposite of the Allagash brew, with the tart to sour Brett grabbing hold more than the bitterness of the base beer.

I've actually really enjoyed Lost Rhino's sour series, and this beer wasn't bad. I just felt there was more sour, less funk, and an underrepresented pale ale. The pale ale bitterness did come out a little more later, at least.

Drinking a Tmavy (dark Czech Lager) now, but that's not new to me (though I do really enjoy it!).


(@JackHorzempa - did I see that you brewed one in this style recently??)

 

Being a German company the beers and chocolate are mostly good to excellent. They also have Belgian and Dutch macroish lagers that are good as well. They do have seasonal beers, and the various German brats (in season) are outrageous values- the packaging is in Bavarian flag colors. Good Wisconsin cheeses are always a great deal. The American micro brews are generally specially made for Aldi and are just OK.

 

Hello New Beer Sunday. Reading the posts so far has made sitting in my dad's cold, dark, very quiet hospital room much more pleasant. I might be joining you all later on, after I bring her home. I might make a quick trip over to Wisconsin to pick up something along the way. we'll see how it goes. Keep celebrating and enjoy NBS.

 

Now up Bellefonte Cherry Sour, not feeling like taking the time to added it and right up a full review, but will type a quick summary here. Smells a lot like their Tarte Saison with a touch of cherries, but unfortunately the cherry flavor comes accross as a little fake and chalky in the taste. It not a bad Sour, but Bellefonte has brewed better sours. Would rate it some where around a 3.75.

 

I'm at Rebel Kettle with the family enjoying lunch and the third in their C-Street series. Great beer described as a dry hopped, citrus forward American IPA.




On tap at the brewery in a 12 ounce tulip. Pours a very nice orange/amber hue with minimal head but excellent lacing. The smell is very strong citrus, mostly orange and grapefruit. The taste begins with bitter orange hops with lemon following and dry, bitter finish. The mouthfeel is slightly slick and very smooth. Overall an excellent beer and great addition to the series.

 

Happy Sunday NBS players. A pretty wet and dreary day here on the island. Had a bunch of freezing rain this morning and now it's onto just flat out rain. I can't even get outside for the god damn picture. I cannot wait for feb. to be over. I'm not going anywhere today and am simply going to relax, watch some tv, and drink some beers.

My new beer today is Sumi Zest, an imperial stout brewed with orange zest and vanilla, from Grimm brewing co. The brew checks in as a jan 2017 vintage with 11.5% abv. This was apparently brewed at beltway brewing in va.

A slick black pour with sublt carbonation and a fast tan head. On the nose I get malts and slight citrus fruit. The drinking begins with roasted chocolate malts upfront. Amazingly smooth on the flow. The orange and vanilla hit as a subtle kiss on the finish of every swallow. It really does take on that orange creamsicle flavor but it's not overpowering. Tons of flavor notes with malt, oats, chocolate, smoke, orange, vanilla, sugar, toffee, caramel, and dark candied fruits such at figs, and raisins. The mouth feel is on the moderate side. A lush feeling with a slight stick to it. The flavors really linger after each sip. The abv is dangerously non-existent.

Overall, just flat out impressive. I could drink this all day. I'm in the solid mid 4's all around here,