New Beer Sunday (Week 649)

First half of a 32oz grumbler of Woodgrain Peanut Butter Milk Stout, 5.2% ABV. Pours dark brown and thick with almost no head. Nose is lactose, peanuts, and chocolate. Taste follows with very little bitterness, but slightly sweet. Peanut taste is pretty strong, not much chocolate. Mouthfeel is excellent, smooth with light carbonation. Overall outstanding, would get this again.

 

I'm back for another and will join the Christmas in July spirit with one I picked up at Transient in Bridgman MI a couple of weeks ago. Ralphie from A Christmas Story would approve of this bomber labeled Only I Didn't Say Fudge. It's an imperial sweet stout weighing in at 10% that I'm pouring in my Transient pub glass for the review. Let's check it out!

Pours a thick looking oily black producing a finger of mocha colored foam. It quickly settles to a thin ring with some very sparse lacing left behind. The smell is bakers chocolate, brown sugar, dark fruit and some tobacco. Taste is sweet chocolate and more sweet chocolate. There's some brown sugar, tobacco and a slight cake-like taste in the finish. The feel is oily but rather thin compared to the look. There's a semi dry finish that I'm guessing is from the sugary sweetness?

The label says imperial sweet stout and there's truth in advertising! It's really sweet fudge and little else. I prefer a darker and slightly roasty/bitter chocolate myself. If sweet chocolate is your dessert of choice, this is a beer for you. I gave it a 3.76 / rDev-2.3%. A twelve ounce bottle would have sufficed for me and I'll pass in the future.



Taking a break to watch the conclusion of the Cubs-Brewers game, then head to my bro's for a couple. Enjoy your day people! The official scorecard as always......

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34258/288178/?ba=Prager62#review

 

Thanks to @cjgiant for another great opening which brightened my morning. After an oppressively hot/humid week, we have had a glorious weekend - nice and dry with temps in the low 80s, blue skies, and expansive fluffy clouds. Work has been a PITA but I have managed to squeeze in a little time outside and now with this local beer:

Saison de Bois (Batch 2), Yazoo Brewing Co


According to the label, this beer is "our version of a rustic Belgian Farmhouse-Style Ale, brewed with pilsner and oats, fermented with a classic Wallonian yeast, and aged for six months in French Oak Puncheons. A soft mouth feel of wheat and rye gives way to a long, dry and tart finish." After enjoying this one, I'd have to agree.

look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This beer had a very hazy and bright golden color. A vigorous pour produced a thin white head that quickly disappeared, leaving scant wisps in the middle of the glass. The aroma definitely announced the funk in this one: grassy, floral, tart cherries, bready grain, and even some cigar ash at the end of the whiff. As expected, this tasted moderately tart with a nice complexity: fruity with tart cherries and pineapples, grass and hay, funky phenolics (including the tobacco ash), and a subtle breadiness. Medium-bodied and dry on the finish. Another outstanding ETF beer! Cheers!

 

The also make a beer called the Watou Tripel that you might want to try and find. Once, after finding a variety case of their with 6 different beers in it, I got to try both fairly close together in time and personally enjoyed the Watou Tripel a bit more than the St. Bernardus Tripel.

 

Happy Sunday, gang! And thanks to @cjgiant for a fine start to a lovely day. Yesterday, I stopped at Equilibrium Brewing for its Hoptimization 2 can release.They opened an hour earlier than usual and I missed the cans by about 10 minutes. The friendly guy behind the counter gave me a "tasting can" that I drank on line and I also had a pour inside. However, they still had bottles of Casey Apricot, a sour Saison with copious amounts of apricot. I'm usually not a fan of sours but this stuff is terrific! It features a great balance of sweetness and tartness and because it's unfiltered and unpasteurized it has a wonderful fresh feel. Sometimes things happen for a reason. While Hoptimization 2 is a great DIPA, if I had bought cans, then I probably would have passed on Casey Apricot. I'm glad something possessed me to buy two bottles. Here's my review:

4.41/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I had this the day after its release so it's very fresh. Poured from 750 ml bottle into Equilibrium teku glass. It pours a bright apricot color with a thin, milk-white head and lacing. It looks a little like orange soda. There's a lot of sour apricot on the nose, along with lemon peel, yeast, and Belgian spices. True to the label, it's very tart but the apricot is fresh and gives it a nice flavor. There is also a lot of Belgian funk particularly at the finish. For a Saison, the carbonation is fairly light which, along with the manageable 6% ABV makes for really easy drinking. I am generally not a big fan of sour ales but this one is the best I've ever had. It features the perfect combination of sweetness and tartness. I'm a big fan of Equilibrium's DIPA's but Casey Apricot really proves the brewery's versatility and creativeness.

I hope you're all enjoying your new beers today!

 

I'll gladly accept anything these folks make.

 

I'm on a roll today so NBS beer #3 is a brewery only offering from Otter Creek.



Ella IPL

Otter Creek Brewing
American Pale Lager / 5.50% ABV

3.93/5 rDev 0% | Avg: 3.93
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

L- The beer pours a clear and golden. The head is a solid 2 fingers of white. Lacing is decent and persistent.
S-The nose is interesting. There are tropical notes interspersed with some catty dankness.
T-The taste has some light pithy bitterness, but is somewhat one note in flavor. It's not a bad flavor by any means, but there isn't a whole lot going on here in terms of complexity.
F- The mouthfeel is medium. Carbonation is on the lighter side. There is a slick coating mouthfeel I get in lagers that are not overly carbonated.
O- Enjoyable if not overly complex. A beer with some hop flavor that could be enjoyed in multiples. I like this far better than most session IPA's.

 

Cheers you all. I have been cooking and I went a bit of a different way today. I have a rye pale ale from Wyndridge. Mosiac rye ale.

Happy Two Beer Sunday!




This was burnt orange with lots of bubbles rising to show you its clarity. Thinner tan head of foam that lasts . sheeting lace to shimmer and cling as you drink.

Nose is breaddy with rye and soft with spice. Orange is fresh and in the background at first. This smells like a crisp rye cracker.

Taste is hearty and full of flavor. Bubbles are crisp and bring out the suculent orange against the breaddy rye. Hops show you their herbal lightly. Hop oils blend with orange peel for a pithy bitter finish. this beer is dynamic with complimenting textures. peppery spicy rye and peppery spicy hops. twigs earthy pine and gooseberry. Long ago I became desensitized to pine. There are piney hops in here that seem to show abundant spice. A touch cool.

 

Nicely done review!

 

I've only had Friday Night Pints from them. It was just an OK beer.

 

Afternoon NBS and thanks again to @cjgiant for the words that inspire us all. Another 25 miles on the bike on this absolutely beautiful day in the Northeast. Dry and 80 degrees and I am thirsty. First up:
Aeronaut Intergalaxyc T.R.I.P.
Imperial Session ale (hmmm) hopped with Galaxy.
Pours a burnished gold with a nice pillowy white head that hangs and leaves plenty of lacing. Looking excellent.
Aroma is of tropical notes; passionfruit and some pineapple. Pine, stonefruit and some vinous white grape notes fill the nose. Also some underlying fresh cut grass.
Taste follows with tropical fruit, peach/apricot, red grapefruit, pale malt and a rounded sweetness that finishes nicely bitter- pine and rind.
Feel is medium to light body, light tiny bubble carb, flavor lingers, oiliness coat the back.
Super beer from Aeronaut if you dig Galaxy. I can see vaguely understand why they call it an "Imperial Session Ale" I drinks super easy at 6.5% and expresses the Galaxy hop quite well.
Maybe I will find another can. Aeronaut is hard to find in these parts. Well worth the "Trip" if you can find it. And BTW its named after the album T.R.I.P
From Lights Out who Id never heard of pryor. Included a track....hey not bad.
Thanks for taking the time!

 

Brent went too young. It seems there's not much of a future in selling life insurance to keyboard players in the Grateful Dead.

 

Good afternoon and happy New Beaten Path Sunday! To be perfectly honest, I don't know how I'm still alive after last night. I don't know how I feel this good either! So good in fact, that I'd like to mirror @cjgiant 's light and bright introduction with an equally bright and brilliant beverage, and one that I take as being appropriately named considering my first full day into early retirement. Sorry for edging you out by 335 days @lordofthewiens , but congrats on advance! Alrighty, Beer:30 courtesy of @WesMantooth . Thanks again Corey.

Jackie O's
Off The Beaten Path 1- Saison Style Ale bottle conditioned with mixed culture





A: Sunshiney light straw color blanketed by a pillow of tightly bubbled white foam. Small bubbles never stop dancing from the bottom of the glass to the top. The cap is impressive and refuses to recede.

A: Freshly cut grass is complimented by lemon, soap, and a hint of sweaty funk. I love how some trigger words still get me excited!

T: All that aroma seems to be mopped up into a rag and squeezed into the glass with no variable outshining the other. A hint of peppercorns, hay, and earth take stage in the finish.

F: Those dancing bubbles play a big role in the feel. Light and refreshing with a crisp mild tartness, and a residual earthiness that stays on the lips.

O: I'd say we have a winner for the Saison lovers out there. A fantastic Saison, very true to style and very easy to drink. On a hot day such as this, I could see myself addicting ly going back for more.

After my official review, I gave this a 4.28 with and rDev of +2.4%

Cheers everyone, and I will see you all soon!

 

In honor of @cjgiant

There is a light that never goes out

-- The Smiths

 

In honor of @cjgiant

To quote The Smiths: There is a light that never goes out ...

 

Congrats on your retirement!
Hoping you enjoy it!

 

New beer.
New beer.

A: Clear yellow orange body, lacking head.
S: Apple fruity scents.
T: The taste is very complex, both very cider like and also oaky. F: The beer is light, with a nice lasting sour flavor.
O: Very well balanced beer with good subtlety and with a nice strong complex character. I enjoyed it and will get this again given the opportunity.

 

The wife and I took our girls our for some midday kayaking on a picture perfect summer day. After I made some chicken fajitas for lunch, it was time for another cold one.

Tuna from half Acre pours a clear pale gold with a nice 2.5 finger white head that leaves a good amount of lacing. The Mosaic hops are noticeable, citrusy and floral. A piney aroma moves in with the sweet malt. The Mosaic hops yield flavors of citrus, with lots of floral and pine notes, and a crisp light bready malt in the middle. Slightly medium feel with good carbonation and a bitter, dry finish. This beer is very drinkable and is a great thirst quencher.

 

New to me at least

 

My wife just pointed out that I forgot the picture!