New Beer Sunday (Week 634)

Just wait to find singles, 2 or 3 will be enough. It does age fairly well but doesn't just keep getting better like WWS. Fresh I enjoy and same with a year or two on it, but after two years the hops fade too much and it become super sweet (too sweet).

 

Happy to be getting this to try, been wanting to for awhile, delivers nicely!

Lindley Park | Olde Hickory Brewery


Olde Hickory Brewery - Lindley Park by imbibehour, on Flickr

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Poured from the bottle into a snifter glass. Bottled August 3rd 2016.

Muted head creation, a little weak but manages a nice pencil thin collar, and faint whispy non oily top. Body color, your standard stout darkness. Not ultra dark, but a good simple opaque nearly black body gives its presence.

Very interesting aroma. Smokey hits and roast dark chocolate really open up. This brew is a little different than your typical barrel aged stout. Has that smoke salt like quality, and some tasty dark chocolate notes on the nose. Rich and full rounded but hints a little salty with not much barrel tones coming out. Still very enjoyable, and more importantly memorable.

Palate brings a real decent experience. Deep dark chocolate, with a bit of body than your average stout. Rich dark chocolate, particularly on the swallow and aftertaste that really lingers. Rich bodied, but also really simple flavors, almost a little one dimensional. Touches of molasses bring a little bit of twangy flavor, but some of that smoke seems to be lost as well.

This is a real decent barrel aged stout that I could come back to again and again anytime. Has a bit of one note hit, but dang it's a good one.

look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 | BA Score: 4.22

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Cheers!

 

New BA Imperial Stout Sunday (Week 634)
Sooo it's about 75 degrees, perfect for a barrel aged imperial stout is my thought. Hoping that change of pace can also happen in the Rangers game tonight. Heartbreaking loss in Montreal last game. Go Blue. This is from the generous @Buck89 , still opening beer from NBS BIF 5, and still more to open. Haven't sipped it yet letting it sit as I write this, gonna just give opinions as I get em and put it in the database later. Astronaut Status, from Wiseacre. Lets get a sniff or four.

You can see from pic that it is a gorgeous beer, that thick lt. brown head is still happening 5 minutes after that was snapped.

Med. strength aroma, but what an aroma it is. Vanilla, whiskey, dark chocolate, cocoa, burnt caramel are all in this very soft and enticing aroma.

Wow full flavored, with vanilla creaminess and whiskey warmth at the helm of a ship sailing sweet seas of thick malt goodness. There are darker notes that shine through in varying flavors and intensities along the way, but the captain of this ship is Sir Caramelmalt Vanillaandwhiskey. Just when you swear this is too sweet you get hit by dark chocolate and burnt sugar, or expresso coffee and bitter herb. Nicely morphing it is, through a variety of interesting delicious side flavors.

Very viscous though it only has a medium body and is easy drinking to a fault, with a finish that is undoubtedly too sweet, but redeems itself with a panoply of interesting flavors that accompany the oversweet linger.

Quite enjoyable beer that is an amazing beverage taken on its own terms. And is kicking my ass too.

Hope you also have a Great American Beer in your glass. Cheers!

 

I'm back with the last in today's trifecta of new beer. Next up is a bomber with no visible date or abv. that was released at Four Fathers in Valparaiso yesterday as part of their 3 year anniversary celebration. It's Lucy & Ethel DIPA brewed with brown sugar by the amazing ladies of Four Fathers Brewing. Judging from the faces on the label it appears to be the wives of the brewers/owners. Let's give it a pour in my Four Fathers hop bomb glass for the unveiling.

It pours a dark gold with a brownish hue leaving a baby finger of soapy white lingering foam. A moderate amount of lacing is left as it settles. The smell is mild floral/perfume, cotton candy and some banana. Taste in one word is SWEET! A hint of floral and mild citrus emerge after the diabetic palate assault. A tiny bit of banana and clove as well. The feel is thick and creamy with some bitterness in the finish.



This is without a doubt the sweetest DIPA I've ever had. The brown sugar completely overwhelms most of the hop profile making it a pretty one dimensional sugary mess in my opinion. The look and feel were it's greatest attributes. While not a drain pour, it will be an easy one to pass on next time. I made the mistake of buying two. I'll let it sit and open it down the road for science. As it stands my score is 2.95 / rDev-6.1%. I'm hoping the barrel aged Sloth Love Chunk I also purchased yesterday helps me to forget this!

Have a great evening and start to your week. I leave you with this as I settle in the cave for the remainder of the day.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34776/217214/?ba=Prager62#review

 

Folk wisdom says not to plant or drink all of your Last Snow before Easter.

4.46/5 rDev +0.2% | Avg: 4.45
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
I don't mess with mother nature. This is my Last Snow. The strong coconut aroma carries over to its taste, really overshadowing the coffee. I usually prefer an unadorned Porter, but when I'm in the mood for coconut in one, this is hard to beat.

 

Two years to age an IPA sounds like a looooong time, but it's a really high ABV as I recall. That ABV had me wondering how it would stack up over the years. It's one of the few I feel like I can wait to pick up in single format since the alcohol should protect the flavor profile better than others. I've already traded for WWS and Beer for Breakfast. At this point, I really just want to try the minute series and WWS Vanilla when it comes out.

Thanks for the advice and notes!

 

For what it's worth, 120 is my second favorite DFH "Minute" IPA, second only to 75 Minute which is a rare release (not consistent from what I understand) and it's supposed to hold up really well. I've only ever had it on tap, but it's an awesome experience. It actually feels hoppier and brighter to me than 90 ever has, but I guess mileage probably varies on that.

Fuck it, I have two more in me today. The weather is nice, I'm in a good mood and my next (and final) two are meant to be taken as a "battle of the beers" since their style and fruit addition are the same. I just so happen to have one 16 oz can of both this and the next entry in the fridge... who will win? Guess you'll have to tune in to find out... this is...

EPIC NEW BEER SUNDAY BATTLE OF THE PASSIONFRUIT-INFUSED GOSES!

In the red corner is Two Roads' Passionfruit Gose, from their Tanker Truck Sour Series. As the legend detailed on the back of this can goes, this was kettle-soured in the brewery's own tanker truck, which is actually a converted milk tanker! Featuring what the brewery calls "a nose of BIG tropical fruit," this gose is poised to dominate the competition... or is it?



Pours a glorious opaque golden color with a thin yet retentive ring measure about a quarter-finger. This tenacious little guy sticks around for the entirety of my drinking experience; quite a feat for a lacto-soured beer such as this. Not bad looking, and I like that it appears more golden in the waning hour of sunlight we're quickly approaching, but overall it isn't too special. I don't expect goses to stand out in this realm, however.

The nose is very passionfruit and guava-forward with a somewhat plastic/rubber/latex-like element that becomes a turnoff very quickly. Yikes. I like the tropical and fruity element of this, but that latex glove-like note is really off-putting to me. Perhaps it has something to do with the passionfruit, though, because I feel that some ripe fruits can have that weird sulfurous/plastic-y smell to them, especially to discerning noses. Moving on...

Flavor is nicely sour, maybe even shockingly-so, with complex tropical fruit notes ranging from guava to mango with the requisite passionfruit sweetness reining things in. Super salty towards the finish with a lot of thirst-quenching minerality and a complex savory aspect, providing a unique foil to the bright, juicy fruit pervading the palate. Feel is heavier bodied than most modern goses, with hefty tartness, authentic fruit and a nice malted wheat base. Very tasty stuff. Pity about that weird nose. Hopefully the contender beer does not suffer such pitfalls! Only one can win in the EPIC NEW BEER SUNDAY BATTLE OF THE PASSIONFRUIT-INFUSED GOSES!

 

Awesome stuff, dude. I really appreciate it. 120 Minute is at the top of my list since it seems to be the Dogfish Head IPA I hear about the most. Whether that is justified or not, I intend to find out for myself

Thanks!

 

Another Happy New RIS Sunday!

This is definitely a BIG BREW! Lots of shit going on with this one, very tasty. Thanks goes out to @thebeers via NBS BIF#5. Thanks Arthur! Some interesting NHL games going on today. Rockies win again.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28091/100566/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

New Beer Sunday: New Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Evenin' NBSers with special regards to pursuers of Russian River beers.

Well we had a lot of warm sunny weather here today but it's cooling off a bit now, starting to get a bit cloudy and we may get a bit of rain.

This was a thoroughly busy day today. It was a day for a family get together. After a herd of kids finished their Easter egg hunt and started on some chores it was time for the adults to put together a nice "lupper" (late lunch and/or early supper) before everyone went heading off for home.

This evening's new beer is called Salvation and is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale from Russian River. (The Philadelphia area is quite fortunate in that it's the only place east of Denver where Russian River regularly gets distributed, but that's much too long a story to tell here.)

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/863/13742/?ba=drtth#review

The aromas and flavors of this beer are full of rich chocolate sweetness, raisiny dark fruit along with hints of spice and earthy bitterness. There’s a long dry ending with some of the flavors persisting in the back of the palate for a very long time in the dry ending. Looking forward to picking up another bottle.

Cheers, all!

Edit: I see a few other folks have been able to report on one of the -ation beers from Russian River.

 

Howdy, NBS, and Happy Easter to those who celebrate! I spent the weekend with family in the Catskills and am only just now getting home. Last night was a blast with poker and 8-ball well into the wee hours, sorta making up for the fact that today was a dry day due to the driving.

I did have a beer planned for this evening, but am just feeling too wiped out, unfortunately. But I will give you folks a heads-up on a tasty one that we did sample yesterday. Or was it technically Sunday? Let's go with that...

(not my photo)
Radiant Pig Save the Robots IPA
The aroma was pretty fantastic, lots of tropical fruit (especially papaya) and tangerine. The palate isn't as lush or complex as the nose lets on, and finishes a touch too dry for my tastes, but it's easy to drink and goes down quick. Definitely worth a try if you're into these kind of IPAs.

 

Hello New Beer Sunday.

I just got home a bit ago after taking my mom to lunch today. Damn, the food was amazing. I wish I could have had more, but after 2 plates, that didn't really have a lot on them, I was totally stuffed. After lunch we went back to her place and were looking through old pictures. I found a couple, that I took home with me of Thanksgiving 1974, where my grandpa was holding me. I had a big smile on my face. I guess I was a happy toddler, at least till my sister came along 4 months later, then it went all downhill.

So, home, and beer time.

007 Spy-PA from Spilled Grain.

I added this to the system Friday, and decided to pop it open today. It's ok, but nothing special. I was hoping for more from it.

3.63/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

This beer pours a lighter amber color, with a 1/2 finger, white, frothy head. There's a lot of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass.
The nose is slighter than I expected. There is the standard citrus aroma from an IPA, but it really muted.
The taste is, at first muted, but a second, or 2 later the hops kick in a bit. You get some pine, some citrus, but it isn't very strong, just like the nose suggests.
The feel of this beer is a bit thicker than the the previous attributes would suggest. Its not a watery beer. There is some body to it.
Overall, it's ok, but nothing to write home about.

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See you all for the next beer.

 

IIRC, "technically" it was Sunday in Australia...

 

Currently on my second, finishing pour of Perrin's No Rules Vietnamese porter, featuring turbinado sugar, cinnamon, and coconut; aged in bourbon barrels. 15% abv. Not sure what makes it "Vietnamese" other than the movie reference. Hoped it featured Vietnamese coffee, but I couldn't find any such indication on the label or their website...

The label alludes to Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) from The Big Lebowski...

"Smokey, this is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules..."

"Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules?"

Translucent brown on the pour, black in the glass. Produced a brief, slim dark foam head; left no lace down the glass. Aromas of molasses, vanilla, and maybe licorice. The flavors were similar - sweet, and with the addition of vague impressions of deep dark, spiced and booze-soaked fruit and something chocolaty. Feel was thin and flat, a little sticky on the finish. Despite having all the trappings of a big hit, this beer was not to my tastes...

Hope y'all had a happy holiday if it applies - here's to new beer in your glass: Cheers...

 

Nice looking smoke ring

Cleaning solvent is a pretty good description. I think this beer is exceptionally boozy this year.

 

Here comes the other contender in the EPIC NEW BEER SUNDAY BATTLE OF THE PASSIONFRUIT-INFUSED GOSES! In the blue corner is newcomer Finback's "I Feel The Universe," a 5% brew of similar pedigree to its competition. Will this young'in beat out its opponent, or will it be left in the dust? Only one way to find out...!



Pours a darker copper-orange color than the previous beer, with a thin, non-retentive head that sinks to utter nothingness in my glass. Even though it's a bit higher in SRM, however, there's a bit more translucence here as well. Maybe a bit more nuanced grain bill? Definitely doesn't seem as wheat-forward, or there would probably have been more head buildup and retention. Even though my pic here gives it the benefit of the doubt, I will say that there isn't even the faintest suggestion of a foamy collar atop this beer at this moment. Interesting, indeed...

What I'm mainly concerned about in the nose here is that latex-like/rubber/plastic note I noticed in the Two Roads Passionfruit Gose, so I'm obviously going to try to hone in on that... let's see here... yeah, it's kinda there. Nowhere near as prominent, though, but I do pick up a slight backing note that feels latex-esque. Perhaps something about passionfruit itself interacts with lacto weirdly to bring about this aspect? I can't think of any other reason why that would happen, honestly. It's too weird to not comment on, though, in my opinion. Other than that, this has a bit more coriander and spice, slightly muted in terms of tropical fruit backing notes but also a bit more juicy passionfruit essence to it somehow. This also comes across a bit more oceanic with some slight mineral-y funk that actually gives it some unique character. Hmm... interested to see where this goes from here.

Palate is tropical and passionfruit-forward, as expected, but with a spicier bite and a bit more malt heft than the competition, Two Roads, provided. Chewy, saline and round, yet interestingly crisp and complex. I get a bit less sourness and tart aspects here, but the trade-off includes more fruit flavor and a more convincing feel. It's a bit more well-rounded, I guess I should say. Palate is sliiiiightly lighter than its competition, but not enough that it would put it any better or worse off, comparatively-speaking. The spice and (what I assume to be) the slightly more complex malt bill really help this one get an edge. Also, it's decidedly less latex-biased in the nose than its red corner competitor. Though this one was a little bit more expensive, I reckon it's also a bit better. Less available, but you get what you pay for... in my opinion, Finback's "I Feel The Universe" is the winner of the EPIC NEW BEER SUNDAY BATTLE OF THE PASSIONFRUIT-INFUSED GOSES!

Thanks for following along with my inane beer ramblings and my desire to make things even nerdier by matching up similar beers in goofy face-offs! Y'all are the best! See you next time!

 

Outside the Loop #1 Honey Rye.
This beer is a collaboration with Foxhole Brewing in Wilmar.
Not bad beer. Nice flavor. Nice body. Glad I got it.



4.01/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

This beer was brewed in collaboration with Foxhole Brewing in Wilmar.

This beer pours a nice golden color with a 3 finger, frothy white head.
The nose is somewhat sweet. It is a honey rye, and the sweetness is from the honey.
The taste is got a nice sweetness to it. Not overpowering, but the right amount. There is a slight aftertaste that is from the rye.
The beer has a nice body.
Overall, a good choice, and I'm glad I got it.

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Last new beer of the night is Toppling Goliath Tsunami, thank you @Ri0 for this!
3.91/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Thank you Ri0 for this
16 oz can, dated 1/30/17, poured into a pint glass

A- A clear copper with a two finger white head.

S- Mandarin oranges, some caramel malts, some citrus, floral.

T- Sweet bread, some oranges, citrus, floral hops that turn to some wet grass and onion in the finish.

M- Smooth, light body.

O- The finish is a little off putting to me, maybe I should have drank this sooner. Other than the finish I enjoy the rest of the beer.

Still in a ska mood with the vinyl, cheers!

 

Howdie from McKinney, TX, NBS podnahs. I have a couple of beers to review tonight. First up, this new IPA from Bells that's only available in Texas.



4.02/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had to try this after I saw it was Bells' introductory beer into the Texas market. It's a beautiful copper color, slightly hazy, light tan head. The aromas are slightly astringent citrus and tropical fruits.

The taste is very dry and astringent, with the citrus flavors providing some body. Glad to try this and VERY glad Bells is now in Texas.

 

Probably no surprise to some who have seen my antics over on WBAYDN, I applaud your fun at doing a little Throwdown Passionfruit Gose. I enjoyed reading about it, too.