New Beer Sunday (Week 660)

Cheers @lordofthewiens and thanks for getting NBS going this morning. I was never good at telling actual jokes. I am pretty good at accents, and languages and puns though. My latest comedy endeavor is the mexican grandmother accent while I cook. In my house the biggest belly laughs were always of the norm crosby type. Remember him? He used to get the words just a little wrong.

Happy New Beer Sunday!

This is Victory's Home Grown Lager.




This beer uses an array of IPA hops and to my delight I think they did it wonderfully. For malts pils and carapils. Hops are centennial, mosaic, azacca, cascade, chinook, citra. Abv is 4.8 percent.

It is lovely to look at. Pours pastel yellow with a fat head of white foam. The nose is citrusy, lemony, spicy on a firm cracker. Notes of fresh orange and sweet herbs. Drinks bubbly. Crisp cracker softened by hops. Clean piney flavor. Expert finish. All kinds of hop mouthfeel and flavor but no too much bitter. The pine is almost crunchy tasting. Victory has cleverly shown you the part of the hops you don't usually want in the lager. lemon pine and citrus. BA is calling this and american pale lager and ratebeer is calling it an india pale lager. Both are apt and if there was new category or a reason to call it that this would be the exemplar. I did not say much about the malt but without it and the way it unfolded so cleanly. cracker flavor with only a tiny bit of depth. The perfect pilsner malt brought to a kind of sublime softness with out oily bitter or anything harsh. Drinks like a citrusy lager.

Cheers everyone!

 

Jake, are you going to tell us a little something about your beer?

 

A Cold Shower!?!

Well since today is going to be a hot day, maybe a cold shower beer is in order?

Today’s beer is Sixpoint Köld Schauer – a Kolsch.

On the back of the can it lists: “BRACE YOURSELF for an icy torrent of pure suds, KÖLD SCHAUER is great for the old lather, rinse, repeat, but there’s no shrinkage in the flavor department. It may be warm fermented, but come on in…the beer’s Köld.”

There is even a reference to a Seinfeld episode in that above write-up!!

On the front of the can it lists some stats:

· 4.9% ABV

· 23 IBU

· 5.4 SRM

· Ale

On the Sixpoint website there are more details:

“KÖLD SCHAUER is a light, snappy, fresh Kölsch with a distinctive honeydew melon aroma from Huell Melon hops. Huell Melon is particularly great in lighter styles… and the combination of the distinctive kölsch yeast, pilsner malts, and the complexity of Huell Melon hops is awesome. The Huell Melon hops are 100% sourced directly from Hopfengut farms in Tettnang, Germany. Our dude Lukas Locher runs this amazing farm over there, and they’re one of our best partners. We source all our Tettnanger hops for The Crisp from him, and actually get around 80% of his total crop each year!

A light, fresh, and clean kolsch beer. KÖLD SCHAUER is snappy and light on bitterness, with a distinctive honeydew melon aroma. Key Ingredients Huell Melon hops are fruity on the nose, then genuine kölsch yeast helps malt flavor pop.”

I will not be lathering up for today’s taste testing but I will indeed do some gulping.

Served in my Polish Pilsner glass:

Appearance

A deep golden color with a BIG fluffy white head. This beer has nice head retention and a pretty Belgian Lace is formed as the beer is consumed.

Aroma:

There is a combination of fruity hop aromas and some Pilsner Malt aroma; there is a hint of spiciness as well.

Taste:

Flavor pretty much follows the nose with the fruity hop flavors dominating. The Pilsner Malt flavor is noticeable but it is in the background. There is a notable bitterness which is a lingering bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Medium bodied with a dry-ish finish.

Overall

I enjoyed drinking this beer.

This beer is a ‘non-standard’ Kolsch beer. The hops play ‘first chair’ in this beer with the hop aroma/flavor dominating the flavor profile. The bitterness is much more perceptible than the published value of 23 IBUs and it has a lingering presence. The Pilsner Malt flavor is in the background. I recommend this beer to folks who enjoy hoppy Kolsch beers.

Cheers to Sixpoint for producing another intriguing beer!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @Sixpoint @ecpho

 

Great joke even my wife got kick out of that one!!!

 

A couple times a year (and I mean twice) my local gets a few cases of Belgian beers through a special deal his distributor has with an out of state distributor. These beers are fresh but I get the impression they come from broken cases or something because they are such a mixture and he doesn't know what's in the shipment until it arrives.

Ok, a Sunday joke. What do you call a sleepwalking priest . . . a roamin' catholic.

On to the brew . . .





Score 4.02
look: 3.75 | aroma: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Very attractive deep ruby color with gold highlights. Large, clumpy, bumpy voluminous Khaki colored cap with good lacing.

Clean, sweet aroma of tart cherries.

Taste on entry is a restrained tartness that refreshes rather than puckers and serves as a launching pad for the complex flavors that follow. Mostly what I get is an array of toffee malt and a lot of dark fruit sensations that don't disclose what variety of fruit (figs, black plums and dates come to mind) because everything is so seamlessly melded together. An overriding taste though is dark ripe cherries. A tart sort of dark cherry but cherry none the less. These flavors start together, stay together and last into the aftertaste.

Full texture with balancing carbonation.

For an Oud Bruin this tastes remarkably fresh. Maybe it always does, this is my first one of these, just an observation. Some other sour ales I've tasted (domestic and import) had an almost throat stripping acidity and the mild tartness of this one enhances it's drinkability.

 

Mornin' all,

Just finishing a cup of coffee and peeking in before starting a busy day, but I do expect to be back later on with some thoughts about a new beer.

@lordofthewiens, a good idea for today's a start and theme, a bit of humor is always welcome these days.

Since the coffee is almost finished, here's a short one.

"Do you know why Blonde jokes are so short?"
"So Brunettes can remember them."

Cheers, all!

 

My favorite beer joke:

An Englishman, an Irishman, and Scottish man are drinking in a bar.

A fly lands in the Englishman's pint. The Englishman is incensed, and pushes his beer away and orders another.

A fly lands in the Irishman's pint. The Irishman looks at the fly, shrugs, and just drinks the fly down.

A fly lands in the Scottish man's pint. The Scottish man is furious. He picks out the fly, and violently shakes the fly over his pint glass while screaming, "Spit it out ya wee bastard!"

Cheers!

 

Great joke, and you beat me to it!!

 

A bit of the backstory on that beer. If it weren't for a particular guy in Philly you wouldn't have that particular beer in your glass.

http://www.globalbeer.com/belgian-beer/monks-cafe-flemish-sour-ale

 

Saw a girl texting and driving the other day and it really pissed me off.

So, I rolled down my window and threw my beer at her.

 

5 Alpine Beers align in descending order of greatness. 15 October 2017

Pure Hoppiness | Alpine
4.36/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Lucky find as a single at WFM in NJ. Worth it. My first Alpine. Try 24.

A. The beer is a cloudy, sediment laden orange body with a 1 finger dense-white head that fades slowly and leaves a trickley lace on the glass. Poured into Duvel Tulip - my fave glass.

S: The aroma bursts with piney, grassy hops with compliment of citrus sweetness.

T: Follows smell. The taste is dominated by abundant, nuanced piney, grassy, and bitter flavors of hops, but the hops are complimented by citrus sweetness and a malt backbone. Above all is the fresh juiciness, and abundance of the hops and then how it's well-balanced blend of hops bitterness, pepper, with citric sweetness.

M: Juicy, fresh, smooth and crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, clean finish.

O: This gets better as it warms and the further you go down the glass.
Hard to follow. World Class. I bought one, you go buy 24!

Duet | Alpine

4.34/5 rDev 0%

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


I found this to be a favorite west coast IPA. Up there with Stone, Green Flash, etc. Try 24.


A: Pours with a fluffy 1 finger head with ample, ciderish sediment along with a brassy, honey colored body, and lasting lace.


S: Abundant hops to start, then pine, mixed lots of citrus and must. Earthy, vivid.


T: Starts with fresh wet hop and follows into pine hop resins. Complex juicy citric, tangerine fruits, and dancing into peppery bitterness and more Juicy and grassy hops. A veggie blend. Not much malt.


F: Good feel, light syrup, with decent carbonation.


O: Feels bright and tingly. Finishes clean as well. Try 24.


Hoppy Birthday | Alpine
4.15/5 rDev -3.5%

look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25


ALPINE can do no wrong in my beer book.

A) Not much of a looker. Clear mid amber with mid carbonation and a short white head, leaving only a little lace.

S) Moderate and complex ,varied aromas of tropical fruits on the nose—mangos, grapefruit, maybe apricot.

T) The taste follows nose, continues with complex flavors of grapefruit, mangos, stone fruit, grasses, and dank pine, the latter being most prominent as it warms. A Caramel malt base also ripens in the finish balanced by the right level of bitterness.

F) Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels more like a stronger IPA, making it one of the most flavorsome Session IPAs.

O) Complex, rich, multi-flavored. Try 6.


Truck Trail | Alpine
3.9/5 rDev +8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Love this brewer and wonder what they can do in a basic apa. Hoppy to see in cans.
A) Pours crystal clear, dark golden amber body with white, one finger head that films and dots lace.
S) - Aroma & taste like Sierra Nevada PA with suitable pine notes and citrus, flowers, and malty sweetness.
T) - Piney with sharp citrus notes on top of a sweet and bready malt base. Finishes with a spice bite and more pine. Fresh and sharp, better as it warms.
F) Light-to medium body, creamy in mid flight, and nice bitey, dry finish. Good appetizer or food beer. Upgraded as I contemplated. As good as any APA.
O) As another BA wrote, it's a SNPA clone, but more expensive.

Willy | Alpine
3.59/5 rDev +7.5%

look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5


Emphasis on light. Light colored, light flavored, gentle wheat ale.

A) Pours a translucent light yellow gold. Head is loose and small with only a few dots of lace and no retention.

S) Lemony citrus and wheat malt, Classic but thin.

T) White beer, wheat and lemon on base of nuts and mild sweetness. Hop character light and noble. But clean, better as it warms.

F) Crisp, refreshing, dry finish, light bodied - sauvignon blond like.

O) Clean, light AWA that meets the brewer's goals, but not mine.

 

Good Morning NBS
The only joke I've got this morning is the punchline from yesterday's WBAYDN post. No heavenly lightning bolts, so here I am with a new beer.


12oz bottle (date is unreadable, but this fall's vintage) poured into a.5L krug at fridge temp no ABV listed on bottle. The beer pours a deep dark reddish brown with abundant light brown head. The head settles to a nice 1/8" cap with no lacing. The aroma is nutty with a burnt sugar presence. The taste is dark nutty sweetness that somehow finishes with a nice spicy hop dryness. Mouthfeel is medium to thin bodied, well carbonated, dry and a little grainy. Overall, pretty good. I never know what to expect with a Dark Horse beer. This is fairly traditional, albeit dark. Similar to Spaten, which is high praise from myself.

Oddly, I had to drive into Kentucky to find this, meaning it passed right by me, but landed nowhere in southern Indiana. I'm out. 4 more night shifts to go. Cheers!

 

Another Alpine beer you might enjoy is HFS. I had a sample pour at a beer event in Warminster, PA yesterday and I enjoyed drinking it. The guy who poured it said it is a new beer from Alpine; I suspect this means a new Alpine beer to the area.

Cheers!

 

A-A hazy golden color with a slight head, a little lacing and a nice amount of carbonation.
S-A nice fruity scent with some subtle brett notes.
T-The taste follows the smell, with fruity hints and slight brett notes.
M-A light bodied farmhouse ale that is smooth drinking.
O-A wonderful beer, with a great balance, decent amounts of carbonation and a gentle character.

J-My wife went to Virginia Tech, mainly because she fell in love with the fall colors. So last year I decided to take a trip to Vermont so she could see the colors (but mainly for the beer! ). So we drove up in a snowstorm in March, we were lucky as I have all-wheel drive, but the whole way up I could not tell why she was in a bad mood. So we stopped at a few breweries (her mood was getting, if I may say so, nasty, you would think after a quarter century things would settle down! ). Anyways, instead of staying at the cheap motels, like I like to do, we stayed at this incredible Inn (can't remember the name!). So after all that driving and having a few when we got to the hotel we hit the sack and I pretty much passed out (her face did not look happy as I blacked out!). Next morning I was in a great mood, but my better half was not talking to me. After a while my wife asked me to get her breakfast and bring it to her in bed, which was the least I could do, all things considered. She asked me to bring pancakes with a side of wild blueberries and plenty of syrup, and asked for a Sip of Sunshine beer. I thought about it and thanked my lucky stars. But just so I would not forget she specifically told me, not once, not twice, but a million times to write it down, so I wouldn't forget. I said "I love you so, that I will not forget!". So I went to the car, but I could not remember which beer she had asked for! , so I picked up a beer. So after waiting patiently, I came back and shouted out, "Honey here is your Bacon and Eggs with the Julius!" She looked pissed and shouted back where is my French Toast and the Heady Topper!"

 

Well, Jack beat me to the only pub joke I can remember, so I'm onto the beer review - La Calavera Brewing Coop.'s "Wood Series: Disorder", an Imperial Amber Chilli Ale, Whiskey Barrel Aged, from Gerona, Spain:





Pours an opaque dark amber, almost brown (30-)with creamy ecru head; two fingers+ foam; long lasting cap; solid ring; moderately heavy lacing; good clarity under cap. 4.5



Caramel malt, hint of whiskey and black pepper nose; booze and spicy pepper exhale. 4.0

Chillies peppers, semi sweet caramel malt, black pepper, booze, and oak; peppers finish. 4.0

Heat from the chillies, medium lite body; tingly pepper tongue coating; some dryness from the barrel, yet somewhat smooth; moderate carbonation. 4.0

Overall, chillies forward but still well balanced - the peppers are clearly the focus, but not overwhelming - notwithstanding the tingle/burn on my lips and tongue, the malt provides sufficient support; like if Stone's chillies ales were more balanced...just saying. 4.0

I like and would drink again, but at 7 Euros for a 37,5cl bottle, I'm one and done. Cheers!

 

Oh to get my hands on those cans.