New Beer Sunday (Week 650)

Score 3.84
look: 3.5 | aroma: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Clear light gold color with white cap and lacing.

Aroma of piney hops with hints of pineapple, papaya and passionfruit.

Taste is hop forward with light, fresh touches of the tropical fruits riding on a mildly sweet malt base. Not a complex brew but the flavors are distinct and work well with each other. Consistent flavors remain to the finish with lingering hops in the aftertaste that take on a lighter floral note.

Light medium texture with balancing carbonation.

I get a lighter, brighter flavor with diminished bitterness here than most IPAs. Overall it's a very pleasing effort that drinks easily with enough going on to hold the interest of those who seek more varied flavors in their beer.

 

Good morning everyone. Thanks Doc for getting us going today. I have a Saranac's new Haus Lager and it came out in a sixer of pint cans or in Saranc's fall case.

The story behind the beer is that at one time it was only given to the employees and now this recipe has been made available to the public for the first time. It's a Munich Helles lager. It also comes at the perfect time for me to ask dumb beer question number 12. How come no hops taste like apples? In all the discussion of teroire that we have had about hops and their attributes no one has asked this question. If they can mimic citrus, pear, and guava I would think that at least one hop and it's floral would be something like the native apple. Anyway, while this light crisp scent has become the bane of the brewer and the beer drinker as well it actually does have a place in the history of beer and brewing and although the bjcp will say NO NOT AT ALL. I say, and I am sure our @JackHorzempa would agree, that from Pabst Blue Ribbon to Michelob's Original Lager to Heineken, that light crisp scent is part of the history of beer. When I tasted it in Jack's recreation of the Michelob lager I was very excited and had to proclaim "This is not wrong!" In fact it was the verge of a difference in style, that happened because of the need to use native ingredients. It was exciting and gave the beer a different parameter as far mouthfeel too because it mimicked a light apple skin sweetness, it could be a touch more bubbly.

Why the talk on the American Light Lager if you are drinking a Munich Helles you ask? Well, because the American Light Lager is where the future of beer went for a while because of that scent and flavor. Also because I think that the light apple scent is in this beer and is related to the hop floral. It would also be somewhat historical in that regard with this recipe being from Saranac's brewing history. This beer may cross lines between the Helles and the Dortmunder lager. As far as the guidelines go the only way to tell is the original gravity as the Dortmunder style can start at 4.8%. So the finish will tell you the style. Is it fully attenuated?





Happy Much Ado About Lagers Sunday!

Pours golden amber and clear with a firm head of white foam that lasts well. Nose is mild, breaddy and clean. The hop is spicy and floral with a crisp light scent of apple. Like apple skin. Light herbal pepper and pleasantly sweet. Breaddy full flavor. Hop floral is the softness in the beer and is more forward than hop bitterness which is a touch more than low. The herbal is about the same as a mild pilsner like Utica Club. Maybe a hint more. Crisp bubble and a sweeter finish. The hops are German Magnum and Tettnang. Lager yeast.

I like this beer and I have made a sauce to go on some chicken. It's raisins, chipotles in adobo, cilantro, lime and cumin. Cheers!




Like yesterday.

 

I'm almost positive I had this at York River Landing in a bottle. Are you sure we didn't drink it together?

 

New Beer Sunday: A new Berliner Weisse (Florida style)

Mornin’ NBSers with a wave to fans of Berliner Weisse beers and a special thanks to @lordofthewiens for both the start and for sharing his reminders about the quirks of those whose company we enjoy.

Well the weather here today is to be unusually good, the humidity will be down, the temperature will be under control and no suprise thunderstorms--until tomorrow. So, time for an family visit to a nearby place with a petting zoo for kids and a really nice selection of both local produce, home baked goods, and some things brought over from the Amish country (e.g., big jars of pickled eggs--one of my remaining indulgences from bar hopping days of a mis-spent early adulthood ).

Turns out that by popular demand here I’m again fixing the Quiche Lorraine for breakfast. (Seems to have been a hit last week with one and all.)

Since I’ve now got to wait while the bake is happening, the time has to be filled some how. So...., why not spend the time with a new beer?

This morning’s new beer is the Pinky Swear from Coppertail brewery down in Florida. This is one of the first two beers I’ve ever seen from them around here, sooo….

As usual my review, still in progress until the beer is finished or breakfast starts, whichever comes first, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33064/225227/?ba=drtth#review

This is one of a series of beers released by this brewery. It's a series they call Florida Weisse. They start with the Berliner Weisse as a base beer and then seek to give each a unique Florida touch by adding fruit to the beer while it is maturing. When they name the beer, they include Florida Weisse on their label.

This particular Florida Weisse is nicely balanced with noticeable raspberry and lemon flavors playing nicely with the tartness of the Berliner Weisse. None of the aromas/flavors dominate, so that most of the time they are all present to some degree as they shift balance slightly over time. Eventually there’s a fade away into a nicely controlled combination of tartness and sweetness at the end but neither the tartness nor the sweetness becomes unpleasant as they move to the back of the palate and then slowly disappear pretty much together. This is a beer I’d definitely be willing to have again.

The background music on the player this morning is from one of the earliest of a uniquely American form musical entertainment, the musical.

Currently I'm listening to some exceprts from the original cast recording of Showboat, created by Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II and based on a novel by Edna Ferber. This song is performed by a woman named Helen Morgan (who I'd never heard of until coming across this recording).

Bill

Cheers, all and enjoy your day!

 

Westvleteren 8

Greetings from a train in Belgium, currently pulling into Ghent on the way from Bruges to Brussels. Just finished a tasty lunch at Cambrinus where I revisited Westvleteren 12 and tried 8 for the first time ever.

The 12, while delicious, was not as smooth and as mind-blowing as I remember it from several years ago. It may have to do with the cellaring or the batch or simply my state of mind.

The 8, however, was fantastic. It poured a muddy, ruddy brown with a fat finger of creamy, tan head that was very enticing.

Raisins, figs, prune, cherry and slight earthy hops showed in the nose. It was very similar tasting with a moderate bitterness and very clean finish, with just a hint of sweetness and bitterness duking it out. Incredibly well balanced in that regard.

Medium bodied, slightly chewy with heavy carbonation. Very, very tasty. My favorite of the trip thus far, and perhaps my favorite beer to date.

Happy Sundays to all of you. Be sure to check out the upcoming NBS BIF if you want a chance at a couple of the bottles currently in my bag.

 

Something old is ‘new’ again:

Let’s discuss the old part as in the oldest brewery in America: Yuengling Brewery

“It was the year 1829 when Americans were getting used to their newly elected president, Andrew Jackson, that David G. Yuengling, an immigrant from Wurtemburg, Germany, settled in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and started a brewery.

Originally named The Eagle Brewery, today the Yuengling Brewery is still identified with the qualities of strength and pride, symbolic of the American eagle. Each Yuengling label still bears the eagle trademark chosen by young David Yuengling so long ago.”

http://beerhistory.com/library/holdings/yuengling.shtml

From the Yuengling website:

“1829 Lord Chesterfield Ale and Porter are introduced and continue to be brewed to this day.”

So, according to the Yuengling website Lord Chesterfield Ale was an original beer of the brewery with production in 1829. That beer would indeed have been an Ale since Lager yeast had not yet arrived to the US. There are a number of accounts as to who was the first person who brought Lager yeast to America but I will discuss just one:

“It is widely held that Jonathan Wagner produced the first Lager made in North America in the year 1842 in a "miserable shanty on the outskirts of Philadelphia." (According to Beer, It’s History and Its Economic Value as a National Beverage By F. W. Salem).

The earliest that Yuengling could produce a lager would be sometime in the 1840’s.

So, what is the ‘new’ part you might ask? Well what is new for me is being able to drink Yuengling Lord Chesterfield from a can. Lord Chesterfield has been canned for quite some time but these canned beers were only available in cases (a suitcase) at my local retailers. While I enjoy drinking this beer, a 24 can purchase was more than I desired. Well, recently they started making Lord Chesterfield available in 12-packs so that was an amount I was willing to buy so today’s beer is a can of Yuengling Lord Chesterfield.

Two topics worth mentioning:

Can vs, bottle: I personally prefer cans over bottles because they are impervious to both light and air (oxygen). The impervious to light aspect is poignant here since Yuengling chooses to bottle Lord Chesterfield in green bottles which permit too much UV light to enter (which can result in skunking). If was the emperor of the beer industry all green bottles would be banned.

Lord Chesterfield today is a Lager beer since it is brewed using Lager yeast. From my perspective this is a cut & dry topic.

How does Yuengling Lord Chesterfield taste from the can? Well, a can into a glass?

Served in my 17 ounce Polish Pilsner glass:

Appearance:

Gold color with a BIG billowy white head. This beer has very good head retention and forms a Belgian Lace as the beer is consumed.

Aroma:

The most notable aspect on the nose is a subtle but noticeable hop aroma. This beer is dry hopped using Cascade hops. There is not much malt/grain aroma on the nose.

Taste:

The flavor is not quite as notable as the aroma. There is some aspect of malt/grain there and the hop flavor is more muted than the hop aroma.

Mouthfeel:

Light-medium body with a medium-dry finish.

Overall:

Within the context of an AAL beer this beer is a joy to drink. The highlights are the hop aroma and nice head retention. If you are looking for a nice thirst quenching beer in these ‘Dog Days of Summer’ this is a good choice.

Cheers!

P.S. I highly recommend this article by Lew Bryson about Yuengling: http://allaboutbeer.com/yuengling-so-much-better-than-it-was/

@Giantspace @RobH @zid @FBarber @Bitterbill

 

Good morning BAs, time to get this new beer thread started!

1st up:



A: Poured into a snifter, dark brown color with slight head. After a few sips, somewhat of a limited lacing.
S: Coffee, chocolate and vanilla aroma.
T: The coffee taste was rich, as was the chocolate flavor, the vanilla was subtle but definitely stood out. The oak aging adds character, that I felt was lacking in previous editions of the WWS, making this one much better.
M: The body was solid, but not overly thick, just very well balanced and just to my preference.
O: The beer is very well balanced, easily much better than previous editions and one does not notice the high alcohol content. And as it warmed up the beer got better!

ps-My sincerest of apologies! I was not aware of proper protocol.

 

Maria, I am not aware of any hops that have an aroma/flavor description of apple but new hop varieties are coming out regularly so maybe someday there will be one?

The AB (Budweiser) lager yeast produces an ester that provides a subtle flavor of apple.

Cheers!

 

I am green with envy. Prost.(going to read the Lew)

 

2nd up:


A: Golden yellow color with a nice head. Great lacing.
S: Nice toasted caramel and floral hop notes.
T: Very nice caramel taste with rich floral hop notes.
M: Light, clean and crisp with good carbonation.
O: Well balanced and very drinkable!

 

Tom, today will indeed be a beautiful day! If you can forget about your honey-do list for a day permit me to suggest a visit to the Bethlehem Musikfest. That is where I will be: drinking beer, eating wurst and listening to music under the spreading leaves of the trees in Liederplatz.

Prost!

 

Great read about Yuengling and it's history. (Thanks for that, we can always count on Bryson's work.)

I would say that the Yuengling tour is much as he describes it, you don't see a sanitized presentation and look at a bit of old equipment. You are right in there where you can look and sometimes touch and feel how things get done, and have been done for years, in that brewery. Despite having been on multiple brewery tours that one is still my top rated one for both what we can see and for the real sense of history that is almost alive. It's almost hard to believe that some of what you see there is still pretty much as it was when the brewery was new...until you realize there's no ways such thing as the stained glass and some of the piping simply would not be there in a modern brewery.

 

Appreciate the recommendation. We did discuss that option for today but since we're being joined by a close relative's eight year old daughter for a few hours of babysitting and family activities while the mother heads out to fly to the west coast....

But prior experience tells me you and the wife will definitely be enjoying your day. Bethlehem definitely knows how to hold a big fest!

 

Just picked up two 4-packs of this and tried my first bottle last night. Superb!! I was already a big fan of WWS, but this is amped up with tons of vanilla and oak barrel to create a truly unique experience. So good. Get some despite the cost if you love big stouts! Just don't operate any heavy machinery after consuming a bottle

 

Not to worry. As one of the former designated starters used to say, welcome to our virtual bar and thanks for your contribution.

 

Edit: One thing that sticks out in my mind aboot Yuengling is the importance of having succession plans.

 

Having been to Yuengling and done the tour, I can assure you that if you get to Eastern PA and pass up the brewery tour you will definitely be missing something worthwhile.

 

Happy New Beer Sunday everyone. Today I am trying the "Passion Tang" from Lervig. It is a sour ale brewed with water, malt, oats, hops, passion fruit extract and yeast.



The appearance is an opaque light brown/ dark orange color with a small white head that faded pretty quickly.

The aroma is mainly sweet passion fruit with a bit of sour yeast and some malt.

The taste is an interesting mix of sour and sweet. The passionfruit flavor is really sweet but there is an ever present sourness from the yeast that balances it out. There is a great balance between the sour and sweet but it leans more towards the sweet side. It tastes similar to drinking passionfruit juice with a sour kick to it. There is also a slightly funky/earthy taste to it and it leaves the mouth dry and craving another sip.

The mouthfeel is similar to a mix of juice and sparkling water.

Overall I think it's an interesting beer and a solid sour beer. If you like passion fruit you will definitely like this beer and as someone who likes passion fruit and sour stuff, it's a great combo. It's definitely not as tart as a Geuze but the sourness is still there.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday and their new beer(s)!