New Beer Sunday (Week 642)

lordofthewiens · Jun 12, 2017

Dwood1466 said: ↑

I must start this post saying that this is my first NBS post.. it's taken a while to work my way up. So take it easy on me!

I don't usually drink on Sundays but thought I could use it today. I decided that this weekend would be a good weekend to shift gears in my nursing practice and spend Friday-Sunday observing/working in a psychiatric ER in a mental health hospital. It was quite the experience as this is something I'm usually familiar with. It was a wonderful experience and I urge anyone (whether in healthcare or not) to become more familiar with mental sickness and help change the stigma against it.

Okay enough of the weekend. I decided to get an exceptionally dark beer to try out, even though it's supposed to be 99-103 degrees in the next week out here in west Texas.

For those who don't know, The Temptress by Lakewood brewing is just about unanimously known as the "stout of Texas". But with good reason, it's a very well balanced stout with a Belgian twist, as the owner is originally from Belgium. The best part about this stout is the many variants they put out. These include raspberry, mole, sin mint, and bourbon barrel aged (which typically sells out within hours in DFW). Beginning this year, Lakewood decided to bourbon barrel age all their different variants in very small batches. So I was lucky enough to stumble across the bourbon barrel aged raspberry variation of The Temptress (somehow in west Texas). So here it is, weighing in at 13.0%, poured from a 32oz growler.

Appearance- 4.0- poured from a growler, to a jet black appearance. Head clears within in a minute, inviting you do indulge immediately.

Smell- 4.75- really is hard to describe how much the smell made my mouth water. Initially got a whiff of fresh raspberries, followed by a quick reference of dark chocolate, just to be rounded out of a subtly boozy bourbon note.

Taste- 4.50- taste just about directly mirrors the smell. The Temptress already has layers of flavors, imagine adding raspberry and age it in bourbon barrels. Tastes like a chocolate covered raspberry to be finished with a boozy kick.

Feel- 4.25- feel was quite chewy, as you would expect from a BA stout. Yet just left me desiring something a little thicker. Was expecting it to be a bit heavier.

Overall- 4.5- this was a true treat for me. It combines my two favorite variations of the beer. So complex and deep. I know production was very limited, so I was ecstatic to try it. Very drinkable for a BA stout at 13%
Click to expand...

Great review!
Hope to see you back here again.

TheDoctor · Jun 12, 2017

zid said: ↑

This is Hopfenstark's Boson de Higgs

The brewery is in Quebec, but this can appears to have been contract brewed in the US by Dorchester in Boston. I never heard of Dorchester before. It looks like they were added here last year, and their website mentions contract brewing right on the landing page.

You can see that this beer is called a "BerlinerRauchSaison." They are going for a hybrid here. The result tastes exactly like what you'd expect it to. It's a smokey wheat beer with a bit of lemon flavor. It's wonderful. It works because it doesn't taste anything like a beer made from disparate elements. What style would I put it in? Perhaps Lichtenhainer isn't a terrible fit. Oh wait, that's not a "style" here. It's listed here as a Berliner Weissbier. Historic Berliner Weissbier is a relatively good fit since Berliner Weisse was brewed with smoked malt in the first half of the 19th century. When people say that anything that seems new to beer probably isn't - they're not kidding. For anyone curious, I'd recommend this beer to lovers of smoked beer before lovers of Berliners. The smoke is a major player here... and that's great because the smoke is so smooth.

@TongoRad
Click to expand...

I was hoping I'd see that one show up here at some point soon. They just started putting it in cans really recently. It makes me happy that they're doing well for themselves and your post also solved the can mystery for me. Makes sense that it is contract brewed. Otherwise I'd be really bummed that we didn't get them here.

TongoRad · Jun 12, 2017

zid said: ↑

This is Hopfenstark's Boson de Higgs

The brewery is in Quebec, but this can appears to have been contract brewed in the US by Dorchester in Boston. I never heard of Dorchester before. It looks like they were added here last year, and their website mentions contract brewing right on the landing page.

You can see that this beer is called a "BerlinerRauchSaison." They are going for a hybrid here. The result tastes exactly like what you'd expect it to. It's a smokey wheat beer with a bit of lemon flavor. It's wonderful. It works because it doesn't taste anything like a beer made from disparate elements. What style would I put it in? Perhaps Lichtenhainer isn't a terrible fit. Oh wait, that's not a "style" here. It's listed here as a Berliner Weissbier. Historic Berliner Weissbier is a relatively good fit since Berliner Weisse was brewed with smoked malt in the first half of the 19th century. When people say that anything that seems new to beer probably isn't - they're not kidding. For anyone curious, I'd recommend this beer to lovers of smoked beer before lovers of Berliners. The smoke is a major player here... and that's great because the smoke is so smooth.

@TongoRad
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up, but I've been enjoying it since April. Maybe I should've given you a call out back then . Glad you're enjoying it!

New Beer Sunday (Week 642)

lordofthewiens Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,225) Sep 17, 2005 New Mexico
BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

TheDoctor Grand Pooh-Bah (3,484) Mar 7, 2013 Canada (QC)
Pooh-Bah Trader

TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,884) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
Society Pooh-Bah Trader

About

Contribute

Fun

Boring

New Beer Sunday (Week 642)

lordofthewiens Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,225) Sep 17, 2005 New Mexico BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

TheDoctor Grand Pooh-Bah (3,484) Mar 7, 2013 Canada (QC) Pooh-Bah Trader

TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,884) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey Society Pooh-Bah Trader

lordofthewiens Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,225) Sep 17, 2005 New Mexico
BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

TheDoctor Grand Pooh-Bah (3,484) Mar 7, 2013 Canada (QC)
Pooh-Bah Trader

TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,884) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
Society Pooh-Bah Trader