New Beer Sunday (Week 650)

I had it at the brewery two years ago. Unfortunately I didn't review it (sorry, @cjgiant) but I rated it a rDev -10%. I remember not really liking it.

 

You shook up the can.

 

New Beer #2. Time for a saison break!


Holy Mountain - The Ox
Oak-Fermented Saison

Look - 4.5 | Smell - 4.25 | Taste - 4.25
Feel - 4.25 | Overall - 4.25
Total 4.27 (+1.3% rdev)

Thank you @larryi86 for hauling this back from Seattle!

L - the beer bursts from the bottle with great vigor, resulting in a massive creamy head. The beer itself has a darker golden hue.

S - Oranges, lemon, and oak.

T - A lot of balance going on here. The orange zest makes itself known, but there's a lot of funk and wood here that battles back. Slightly tart.

F - Medium. Carbonation is a little lower than I expected.

O - A perfectly balanced brew, and ideal for a summer's day.

 

I TOOK DOWN THE BOMBER ON MY OWN. YEAH!!!!!

 

Up next is another gift from the very generous @sharpski , a rum barrel aged coconut stout. A very enjoyable brew: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29271/97223/

 

Great read Jack. Thanks

 

Boys if I remember correctly the bourbon version isn't all that much better. In fact I think it may have been a little worse.....

 

Time for another new beer. This one continues the ongoing "war" of Lion versus Bear, Leo v Ursus, good versus... good, maybe in this case??

Back when I played golf, I was competitive mainly with myself (one of the great things about golf) - though also with the one good golf friend with whom I played multiple times a week. I started from a better (more experienced) place, though together we both took on becoming much better. He did eventually become a better player - but until I conceded that fact, I wanted to beat him every time we played. Even after conceding it, I wanted to beat him, but I didn't get upset like I did before.

Now, I never really got too upset, I'm a pretty laid back guy in general - but the rounds did actually become more enjoyable when I let myself root for him to do well.


I wonder if the premise of this Firestone Walker series name has the same "healthy competition" at its heart. If I recall, the co-owners have their differences, and this might be a play on that. This Leo v Ursus is the second series that makes its way to our neck of the woods regularly, along with the Luponic Distortion series. I think both were a sound decision as an option that satisfies the part of our beer community always looking for the "new."

But specifically Adversus, at just a month old:
On the battlefield of looks, clarity holds the high ground and takes a considerable, but not complete victory over haze. In a small surprise, a large number of white-clad forces are deployed to try to win the high ground of the surface of the beer. The army of bubbles that envelop the enemy, successfully holding the flanks of the battle field even after the center of the field clears up a bit.


Skirmishes occur in the olfactory arena, but none of the combatants really engage their enemies. Here, the malt seems to fall back to any challenge, and the juicy scouts prevail against some token shows of force by cattiness, allowing their main body clear passage.

The cattiness recruits some green fruit skin to its side, allowing the battle for the palate to be a little more contentious. Malt's interference tends to help the newly combined force, but it's not enough to sway the battle. An initial push by cattiness and skin almost reaches mid-palate, the battle heating the battlefield slightly. Fruit takes the brunt of the attack, but bides its time until its foes start to weaken. Tropical company is tasked with doing most of the damage. Melon and citrus rind stand guarding the rear.

The entire war is fought by the book, with clean battle lines and fairly smooth operations across the board. Once the accord is signed, there is just a little bitterness. Perhaps if there was more bitterness, the battles would have been more epic. A technical review of the described battles is available, if you desire.

 

Ran down to the local shop to do a little early BIF shopping and found a new local that I hadn't tried yet. Blew the keg a few ounces short, so got it for free. Bonus.

This is Rocket Republic's Cosmic Cookie - a spiced brown ale. Simply put, this is oatmeal raisin cookie in a glass. If that's your thing, this is a winner.



Poured on draft at local shop.

A: Dark brown with 1-2 finger white head. Decent retention and light lacing.

S: Straight up oatmeal raisin cookie. Oatmeal, raisins, all spice, and a little cinnamon.

T: Following aroma, tastes just like the cookie.

M: Medium body with average carbonation.

O: Not something I would want everyday, but as a treat this is extremely well done.

 

My annual "mostly beers from Michigan" NBS. Kicking it off with this Right Brain Concrete Dinosaur.



Nice deep dark brown color, not muddled or thoroughly opaque. Brash head recedes to a thin beige sheet, accompanied by an incidental amount of lacing. Nose is rich and brilliant with what I guess is that the thing (full disclosure, not sure what rye really should smell like) but it's sweet, has a grain bill, carries some bit of pine mixed with tangerine. Taste is also especially brilliant. Sweet tangerine for a split second before big bitter earthy really settles in. Finishes up maybe a bit hot or spicy or something, but doesn't leave a ton behind in the otherwise dry exit. Something about this reminds me of Levitation, so that is pretty cool. Haven't heard any ballyhoo over this, which is unfortunate, because it's a damn decent beer.

 

Quite a pleasant day here in the kingdom. Working on clearing the construction zone for the upstairs bathroom in a shoebox project. Did a second revision of the design with the design guy to see if it saves on the overall cost. Should have costing by Monday...then it gets real.

Not enjoying the beer I am drinking. It is a Munich helles lager, South Side Pride from Baderbrau. It is far from bright and clear, does have a huge foamy head that falls to chunky rafts. The smell and taste are where it really fails. There is a vegetative off taste that is noticeable. A metallic tang that is unpleasant. The malts are nice, some sweetness, and a bit of peppery spice. The feel is sharp on the tongue and bloating to the belly. Feeling this will land around a 3.0.

I did fiind something for tonight that I hopefully have not been sitting on for too long.

 

Back for another because I've got em and need to free up fridge space. I recently purchased this 12oz. bottle of Goose Island Cooper Project No. 2 barrel aged blonde dopplebock dated 30 MAY 17 with an abv. of 9.2%. Let's give it a pour in my Goose Bourbon County/Barrel House glass to see what awaits?

Pours a clean transparent copper color producing a creamy white finger of foam. It slowly settles to a thin layer with some moderate lacing left behind. Tiny carbonation bubbles can be seen drifting to the top. The smell is fruity/floral with bourbon, biscuit and wood. Taste is surprisingly smooth bourbon forward along with bread/biscuit, floral, oak and a hint of butterscotch candy sweetness. The feel is full bodied and creamy with some noticeable alcohol heat.

A fine beer in my opinion that has a surprisingly big barrel presence compared to Cooper Project No. 1. A palate pleasing mix of bourbon heat cooled off by the slightly sweet floral base beer. I was cautious after my first disappointment with this series and only bought a single bottle. Needless to say I'll be out looking for a few more. My score is 4.34 / rDev +7.2%.

Going to finish this while watching the conclusion of another good Cubs-Nationals game and head to my bro's to celebrate his coming birthday on Tuesday. I've got a nice surprise for him! Stay tuned.... Have a great day of new beer adventures, I leave you with this.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1146/291158/?ba=Prager62#review

 

Serving up a new beer in a new glass. Muled both home from a recent trip to higher altitude. Miss the mountains, fortunately I brought back some mountain water + malts and hops to ween myself off the trip and back into the desk jockey life.



Upslope's Champagne Saison w/ Nelson Sauvin.

Pours a bright straw color with a little haze to it. Head foams up to two fingers of white foam, with good retention. Lacing is splattered about as the beer disappears. Aroma is straw, floral, herbal, and flowery hops. Additions of yeast spice, clove, and light alcohol add to the intensity of the aroma. Flavor profile is yeast spice, and clove - which both remain strong throughout the experience. Straw, floral, herbal, and flowery hop notes mingle in and out of view, but work to spin up a tasty, evolving flavor profile. Mouth feel is a little fizzy, effervescence, with a medium thickness. Overall, lots of hoppy flavors going on here, which work well with the saison and champagne characteristics. It drinks fairly slow, and makes for a wonderful sipper.

Score : 4.25 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.07 | rDev: +0.7%

 

2 things:

A: Y'all are shopping for this thing already? Daaaamn boyz and gurlz!!!!!

B: Is that bartop an old gym floor? A brewery near me http://www.northforkbrewery.com/ has the floor of an old school gym. It's really neat, seeing the different markings in different spots.

 

Good Afternoon NBS,
Although it's only the beginning of August, today's been quite cool. Crazy that we will be at fall before we know it.
Either way my new beer today is designated on this site as a Belgian Pale, not sure on all the Belgian Styles but there has got to be a different one for this. It is a straight up sour.
Ommegang Pale Sour Ale


L- apricot color, slight haze, thin white cap with good retention eventually turns into ring of lacing
S- grape must, funk, white wine
T- sweet crisp malt, immediately met by a sour-grape tartness, that goes down in a funky finish along with some more grape
F- feels great on the tongue, light and crisp, but not light bodied, perfect carbonation, I could drink this all day
O- as mentioned above I could drink this all day, one slight prob the ABV is 6.9%. great beer though not sure why it is a Belgian Pale Ale

Cheers to the New Week!

 

Greetings and thanks to Lordofthewiens for reminding me why I don't play golf: I have a rather low frustration tolerance and the game seems tailor made to put me in a constant state of being Steve.

I had the good fortune to visit the new Alchemist brewery this weekend while up visiting friends in Vermont. It's a gorgeous building with a busy but friendly and laid back vibe. Inside there is a dedicated counter where they pour free samples in actual, appropriate glassware (which I liked enough to buy two of) and they pointedly do not even accept tips (though there is a donation jar for a local charity). I've seen videos of the founder talking about how much he values his employees and the work environment in general, so I think this is because he takes it upon himself to pay them a fair wage that he believes does not require tips to be worthwhile. Perhaps I'm being naive, but it truly does seem like that kind of place. Free stickers and coasters too which many places charge for even though it's basically advertising.

They were out of their two most famous beers (Heady and Focal Banger) but i was able to snag some of their newer IPA called Skadoosh which clocks in at 7% ABV. I've always considered the Alchemist to sit almost perfectly at the midway point between the West Coast and NE style IPAs which just so happens to be my favorite point on that spectrum.





This pours a mildly hazy honey color with a dense thin head that doesn't stick around too long but comes back easily with just a swirl. Very thick lacing coats the glass after each sip. It has the huge nose that you expect and that I still remember being blown away by the very first time I ever had Heady Topper. When you get right down to it, for me it's the nose that really sets this style of IPA apart from what came before it. Citrus is foremost here rather than tropical fruits which is perhaps surprising since I believe this is primarily a Mosaic beer. There's a pleasant undertone of wheaty/bready malt as well.

The mouthfeel has a bit of softness but still has some crispness and does not feel nearly as thick as the NE posterboys like Treehouse. It also seems a bit more carbonated than average which might be where the perceived crispness is coming from. Taste is citrus and citrus peel, somewhere between orange and grapefruit, a little earthy pine, a bit of cannabis, and with a definite bitterness towards the back end. You're definitely tasting some malt here as well which also sets it apart from others further along the NE spectrum.

Overall another great beer from the Alchemist and it was great to check out their new digs. Cheers all!

 

For some reason August brought cooler temps. While I appreciate it, it's a bummer when vacation starts in a couple days and we've been dreaming of beach days.

Cooler weather begs for my NBS beer. Perfect timing at my local beer shop.



(No beer consumed by this stinker, although I anticipate a problem in 12-13 years!)

Sierra Nevada/ Brauhaus Miltenberger Oktoberfest collaboration.

Beautiful copper body and white 1.5 finger head. Biscuity, grainy nose. Taste is doughy, caramel, honey and nice floral hops that balance out the sweetness. Super drinkable with a crisp finish. I could drink boots of this. Pröst!

 

Happy Sunday, new beer drinkers and commentators. And a big thank you to @lordofthewiens for today's intro. I actually enjoy playing golf but it's just not my game. I used to play in a number of outings hosted by clients of our firm and have lots of stories highlighting my ineptitude on the links; some of them border on slapstick. Maybe some day I'll be able to concentrate enough not to embarrass myself.

Both today's beer and brewer are new to me. Due to the vagaries of distribution and state lines, I'd never had anything from Kings County Brewers Collective in Brooklyn, even though it's no more than 35 miles away as the crow flies. This is Straphanger, an honest to goodness American Adjunct Lager with an ABV of 4.9% It's an unfiltered rice lager but you can't compare it to Budweiser. It's much more complex and flavorful. It may be the ultimate lawn mower beer. Here's my review:

3.69/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Can dated 7/17/2017. Poured into pint glass. It pours a hazy straw color with a thin, milk-white head and soapy lacing. The smell reminds me of Budweiser, probably due to the rice. I also smell some faint cereal and light hops. The smell is where the comparison to Bud ends. This is much drier and hoppier. It has a faint taste of lemon peel and a slightly bitter, slightly sour finish. Only as the glass warmed did I note any sweetness from the rice. Because it's unfiltered and recently canned it has a super fresh taste. The flavors are much sharper and more distinguishable than in mass produced AALs. It has about as light and crisp feel as imaginable. The carbonation is pleasant and at only 4.9% you can drink it before, during, and after cutting the lawn. I commend Kings County Brewers Collective for taking on a much derided style beer and producing one that's truly "craft:" flavorful and really enjoyable to drink.

Cheers, friends, and enjoy your new beers today!

 

Happy Sunday BAs, very glad i had a chance to enjoy this brew, gifted from a colleague, Old Nation, Boss Tweed, DIPA at 9.3%. I popped the top and the aroma nearly filled the room, huge pungent tropical fruit, mango, tangerine, taste following the nose, nice hop profile and just enough bitterness to set it apart from being another smooth NEIPA. Creamy mouthfeel, medium carb, a tad sweet but a fantastic brew I hope to have again. Seek this one out BAs

 

I stayed pretty calm on the course, but I had a few volatile friends through the years that did some outrageous things in anger. One day, my friend David was having a great round, popped a driver over the top of a 90 degree dogleg left. On a 440 yard hole he had a 110 yard sand wedge downhill to a dangerously tricky green. Well, he chili-dipped his wedge into the pond fronting the green and reeled of a string of world class profanity. He reared back in a furious anger, ready to fling his beloved wedge into the depths. He stopped "mid stroke", put his wedge in his bag, pulled out his 3 wood and sent it forever into Davey Jones' locker. His now famous quote, "I've always hated that club", is a group favorite to this day!