New Beer Sunday (Week 640)

Good morning @lordofthewiens and thank you for getting us off to a great New Beer Sunday on this Memorial Day weekend.

I'm thinking of a style of beer . . .

So clean you can almost smell the water

The color of a bar of gold as though it were made of sunlight

Elegant, dapper, contemporary.

Happy Old German Pilsener Sunday

Ayinger Bavarian Pils




Nose is sensationally breaddy even richly so. Peppery spice tickles the nose. Cool minty herb and restrained floral.

Taste is crusty bread. This pils has something extra. A good depth from the malt that is achieved by the crust you can taste on the bread. Cool hop herbal softens the middle as hop pepper tingles with the bubbles to show you an assertive bitterness. Crisp bubble that does bite. I think this beer shows the level of carbonation the Americans were originally trying for in their original pale lagers. I also think this is the extrme carbonation for the style which is moderate and when it is high it can seem too much. This beer does not give up any malt flavor in the finish. So clean you can almost smell the water.

Exceptionally pale for so hearty a beer. Pale gold. Fat white head adorns brilliant clarity.

Elegant, dapper, contemporary.

The reason you might call the pilsener the champagne of beer is because of it's color. It does resemble champagne. So do it's bubbles.

The color of a bar of gold as though it were made of sunlight.

Cheers BA!

 

Starting local . . .



This morning it's Old Capital IPA

Score 3.89
look: 3.5 | aroma: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Hazy, deep, apricot orange yellow color which is more attractive than it sounds. Clumpy, bumpy big white head.

Strong aroma of juicy, fruity hops with some sort of grapefruit/pineapple thing going on.

Taste is surprisingly mind considering the aromatic hop hit. On entry the hop flavor is apparent without hop bitterness. Malt is almost equally present but it's the flavor, and I mean flavor, of hops that abound. IBU is listed as 70 and I believe it and would've expected a ton of bitterness but, not. It's as if bitterness has been stripped out and flavor left behind. Starts, continues and finishes dry leaving a refreshing zing of hops in the aftertaste.

Texture is medium with balancing carbonation.

After finishing my review I checked to make sure about the IBU and was surprised to find the brewer describes color and hops using the same words I did. My reviews are a matter of first impressions and I draw comparisons with what springs to mind. My Son says my brain is a junkyard of esoterica. I tell him it's a repository of wisdom and he should be listening rather than talking. Any parent understands that.

 

Sounds like a great beer. I love quite a few American versions of lagers and Pils like most do, but they do not IMO come close to the better beers that come out of Germany. I just don't get that bready chewy mouthfeel and the dense thick creamy head and they finish clean and crisp. The one that comes closest is the beers from Old Mecklenburg from Charlotte.

 

A happy Sunday to all. My entry to NBS is Awake from Night Shift, a coffee porter. Ironically named as we really want to be asleep but are compensating with an early morning share. Pours black with a slight reddish hue, minimal tan head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing. The smell is absolutely incredible a fresh, great dark roast coffee with a hint of chocolate and roasted malts. Unfortunately it smells better than it tastes as the coffee does not come through as strong as in the aroma. Addotional flavors of dark chocolate, slight char, roasted malts and a mild nuttiness. Mouth feel is on the thin side, lightly carbonated, light bodied for the style. Overall I'm slightly disappointed, although good, Awake falls far short of Founder's Sumatra Mountain Brown. Cheers!

 

Walk On The Wild Side!

Today’s new beer is going to be a walk on the wild side for a number of reasons and the beer will be Draai Laag R2 Koelschip.

The brewery’s name is Draai Laag which is Dutch and an online translator literally translates this to Turn Layer which doesn’t make much sense to me so instead:

“I’m told the Draai Laag name translates, roughly, to “turncoat.” That’s half a nod to Millvale patriot Simon Girty (an ancestor to Millvale native Hock, by the way), who has a beer named after him, but also a reference to Draai Laag’s against-the-grain mentality .”See more at: http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/B...f-Draai-Laag-Brewing-Co/#sthash.aU26Pqgh.dpuf

So naming a brewery “turncoat” is pretty wild don’t you think?

The other wild aspect is that this beer is spontaneously fermented using the yeast and microbes floating around near the brewery’s location of Millvale, PA.

Below is how this beer is described on the Draai Laag website:

“R2 Koelschip Ale

Koelschip

Made With: Wild Angels Strain

Using spontaneous, open fermentation to collect wild yeast cultures native to Pennsylvania, R2 Koelschip is crafted with indigenous strains to create a tart, refreshing Belgian style Farmhouse ale in dedication to our first coolship (koelschip), nicknamed R2.

4.2% ALC./VOL

Bottles Available 1 PT 0.9 FL. OZ Original Gravity: 9.5 P (1.038) Apparent Degree of Attenuation: 84% “

But does all of this wild stuff translate to a tasty beer? Well, let’s pop the cap and find out.

Served in my Gulden Draak Tulip glass:

Appearance:

Amber/Copper colored with a HUGE white head which dissipates quickly. I have never witnessed such a big head dissipate down to nothing so quickly. This aspect is indeed WILD!!

Aroma:


The first thing I smell is a combination of earthy & funky (phenols). In the background is some fruitiness: a combination of apple and pear.

Taste:

The flavor very much follows the nose with the earthiness and funk taking center stage but the fruitiness is perceptible as well.

Mouthfeel:

The high level of carbonation yields a prickly feel for the first few sips but this aspect calms down a bit towards the end of the glass. The body is light – medium. The finish is somewhat crisp.

Overall:

I enjoyed drinking this beer. With the aspects of highly carbonated, crisp finish, and fruitiness in the background this beer is reminiscent of a hard cider to me.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @zid

 

Nice to hear that the funky, earthy aspects of the flavors have moved a bit more forward than they were last November when I described this beer.

At that time I used 2 pours of 250 ml each with the first pour being carefully decanted so I could check out what the differences might be with the yeast being poured as well. (From the picture it seems you poured the whole bottle at once.)

The major difference I picked up between the first and second pour is that the fruity aspects of the flavors were a bit sharper and cleaner in the first pour than they were in the second pour.

Definitely thought it was a tasty beer and that this relatively new brewery has lots of potential.

 

Good Morning NBS



Today is my birthday, but I'm in between nightshifts so one and done today. Today's new beer is La Maison from Taxman. It is a self described "farmhouse ale brewed with honey."

12oz canned 4/25/17 poured into an Orval chalice at fridge temp 7% ABV 25 IBU. The beer is an orange golden color with short lived white head. Aroma is Belgian yeast and honey. Taste is more Belgian yeast and honey. The finish is pleasantly dry and the 25 IBU are present at the end. Mouthfeel is soft with good carbonation. Overall, good. Another affordable, fresh Belgian beer from Taxman, but nothing to set the world on fire.

I will say, this improved as it warmed revealing more clove, pepper and softness. Drink well NBS.

 

Nice start @lordofthewiens and appreciate your acknowledging why we all have this 3 day weekend, classy Doc! So this was one of many in the 26 pounder @Lingenbrau sent last Monday. Poured near room temperature into a 16 oz Magnify Snulip glass vintage 2017. Pours near pitch black with a massive two finger mocha head that leaves loads of spotty lace on the sides of the glass, as it at snail'space settles into a thick layer of khaki bubbles and leaves a thick ring around the edge of the glass. 4.75 Smell is deep dark chocolate fudge, roasted expresso, vanilla bean, oak, and little hint of leather. 4.5

Taste follows rich dark chocolate, dry coffee, oaky vanilla, and just little leather very faint, but I get it a little. 4.5

Mouthfeel is very chewy yet creamy at this temperature if you catch my drift, fairly carbonated for this style, a little dry, and very approachable at 9.3% ABV. 5

Overall this is world class maybe a tad one dimensional, but it is flat out tasty. Reminds me a lot of Chocolate Yeti. I love this brew, thanks @Lingenbrau for this amazing Imperial Stout! 4.75

 

Happy Birthday!

 

Good morning, NBS! Got a day ahead of us that involves going to a winery that we believe has (finally) started offering its own beers, as well. The purpose is not for the beers, really (and we go with tempered expectations, as this is a winery first), but for an enjoyable afternoon with friends. But since there will (might) be beer, I will be happy to report back.

There is no question that we have beer here at the house. More than likely in an amount considered "too much," but that's a better problem than the alternative. Today's offering is another from Aslin, though it is not a turbid IPA. It is a variation on their milk stout How Now Brown Cow - this time with coffee and maple (on the label) and bacon (mentioned in their social media release). That release stated:

The beer did pour like dirty oil sludge from the can. It's harder to tell if Aslin goes for the same turbid look in their dark beers, but since every other beer I've had from them is usually cloudy, I wouldn't put it past them. Much like the last HNBC I had (with the coconut that @jvgoor3786 disliked), the head on this thing breezes through after being introduced; maybe not as quick as @JackHorzempa described in his beer, but I am looking an a unmarred dark brown surface right now.

The nose does smell like breakfast time at the local IHOP. Maple came to me first, but has seemed to fade slightly as I type this up. Coffee has replaced it - or at least evened the score with it. I can't say I get bacon specifically, but there is a little something in there to complete the diner-like reminiscence.

The beer is not as sweet as I expected, there's even a hint of old milk in there. This is not the main flavor, but it draws my attention a bit. There is a smoky note that doesn't quite seem to be from charred malt - so maybe the bacon - upon which the maple and then coffee are layered. These all end up working fairly well together, and while overall it still is on the sweet side, its well contained. Feel is sort of flat, but it leads to a silky feel more than a watery one.

I am torn by the light souring note and flat look and the otherwise fairly well constructed flavors of the added ingredients on this one. I might need another to truly nail down my rating and review.

 

Funny, one of our older surviving locals has a beer called Old Capital that is one of its three original beers. Keegan Ales, in Kingston, NY (former capital of the state) is the brewery

 

Great start @lordofthewiens and a Happy Beerthday to @jkblr

Was gonna take the advice of @TongoRad and venture out to Catskill Brewery this weekend, but alas it is not to be for various reasons. Definitely have a new beer(s) for today though, and I certainly will be eagerly opening it later. Until then will have to make do with some vicarious enjoyment.

 

Thanks to @lordofthewiens for getting NBS started this week. Will be back later on with a new brew.

Cheers!

 

Happy New Beer Sunday everyone! Today I'm drinking an "Intense Red Oude Kriek" from 3 Fonteinen.



The appearance is a dark red with a fast fading, pink foam head to it.

The smell is funky, vinegar-y, and full of fresh sour cherries.

The taste is similar and upfront the funky/ brett-y flavor dominates. There is a puckering tartness to it that is perfectly balanced out by the cherry flavor at the end. The cherry flavor is quite complex and tastes as if you are eating fresh, slightly sour cherries. Somehow it goes through the process again with the upfront sourness of the cherry gives way to the smoother, sweeter end of the cherry.

The mouthfeel was medium and neither too thin nor too full.

Overall this is the best Oude Kriek I have ever had. The cherry flavor is not fake like some other Krieks and in my opinion the balance between tartness and sweetness is spot in. Every sip is a small journey, where all the flavors involved end up balacing each other out and leave you wanting to take another sip. An outstanding beer.

Cheers to everyone else on this great New Beer Sunday and hopefully everyone enjoys their beer(s) today!

 

I really like the Ayinger caps - they're just pleasing to my eye. The beers aren't too shabby either!

 

Haven't confirmed their reference but Washington, MS, a suburb of Natchez, was the Capital of the Mississippi Territory from 1802 until 1817 when Statehood was established.