New Beer Sunday (Week 661)

Hi everyone!

Beautiful fall day here in NH, hope everyone is doing well.

I'm watching the football game, go Pats! Drinking a Freedive IPA from Coppertail I received from @jhartley

Brew pours a pale yellow straw, mostly clear, frothy white foam a few fingers deep settles into thin collar.

Nice citrusy aroma, lemon zest and grapefruit rind followed by some pine, grass and a hint of crackers malts.

Flavor is floral, citrus, light grapefruit bitterness and crisp malts.

Moderate carbonation, crisp lighter than medium body. Easy drinking brew.

Nice, mellow, refreshing and balanced.

Thanks!

 

I agree, i felt like it was more of a hoppy tropical pale ale. Glad you liked it.

 

New Beer Sunday: A new American Style Stout

Evenin’ NBSers with a special call to seekers of unusual stouts who want to try something new and different. Also special thanks to @cjgiant and @HorseheadsHophead for today's start.

Well the chores and errands are finished (a bit later than I expected). The weather here today was as predicted, sunny and in the mid-to upper 70s. While there are still a few things to do to get ready for winter (e.g., cleaning the gutters), the “heavy lifting” (that I can do myself rather than call in a pro, e.g., some minor maintenance on the aluminium siding) is pretty much finished so it’s time for a 2nd new Stout of the day.

This evening’s new Stout is the Black Forest Cake with Cherry from Victory. As usual, my review, subject to revision until I finish the beer (and the six pack), can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/345/303464/?ba=drtth#review

The aromas and flavors of this beer include the expected roasted coffee and dark chocolate with it's touch of sweetness, but there’s also some Cherry mingled in, even to the ending in the back of the palate. That ending is also partly about some slightly burnt bitterness that helps provide a nice dry ending and a counter point to the remaining Cherry.

Continuing the musical project of listening to Original Cast Recordings of American Musicals, tonight I’ve got Wonderful Town on the player. Included in the original cast was Rosalind Russell.

Conga!

Cheers, all!

 

Well it has been a moderately lousy weekend around here. Too much tension in the house and we will leave it at that. I don't think the football game we are watching is going to help much.

This isn't helping much either.



I can't decide if it is bad or if I just don't like it. It may be a victim of if some is good, ten times too much has to be better? The spruce is strong enough that it tastes like the tree...sap, bark, wood, and all. I have cut my share, so have a good idea... Yet underneath that the base beer is obviously very good. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and quite smooth.

Whatever is going on with this, it is not an enjoyable experience overall. My impression is it has too much of something that should be used in moderation. Not quite sure how I will be rating this beer.

 

@utopiajane almost had to spank my bottom one day. I had know idea, all is good and sometimes they are running late and we are thinking shit it is after 7am. Cheers

 

Hidey-ho, evening NBSites!
I have been having a busy last few weeks. That has meant lots of running around and not trying as many new beers as I should. On the plus side, I should be getting more beer money as a result. On the minus side I haven't been having any "real" weekends so far this fall. Oh well, you can't win 'em all, hopefully one of these weeks I'll get to schedule in a lazy football-watchin', beer drinkin' Sunday afternoon. But it is not today (at least not as much as I'd like). I also feel like I'm slacking a little because I took two little trips toward the end of the summer and so I really feel like I have been slacking on trying new local Quebec beers. As such, I am trying to clear out a backlog of big, boozy beers brought to me in both boxes and bags by badass BAs.
This week's contender is "Company" a quadruple from a brewery in NH that makes killer beers (from what I've tried at least). It is a quadruple aged on toasted cherrywood that was soaked in white rum from a local distillery. They make a stout using a similar process (with whiskey and maple wood) that is up there with my favorite Imperial stouts of all time, so here's hoping that this one follows in the other's footsteps.

This is a big, bold beer that is enjoyable and has a lot going on without being over-the-top. It looks fairly nice in the glass. It is one of the clearest quads I've ever had. The aroma and flavor both cover the toasty/earthy and boozy/fruity ends of the spectrum. The rum is present but as more of a suggestion. The wood is similar it is noticeable as a sort of aroma in the finish. Personally, this is a little sweet for me (even for a quad) but it is a very nice beer.

If anyone wants, my review is here.

I wish you all a fine week!
Santé!

 

I, too, thought that was one of the best barrel-aged beers I've had. I recall giving it high scores.

LOL - sheesh, I am thinking now I should be scared. I know both Dick and I try to get started early, but I am not going to be able to beat 1am... almost never.

 

I love the red rock of Utah. Beautiful and terrifying pics of the canyons!

 

To paraphrase Ernie Banks, "Let's make it three!" Thank you guys for giving me reason to crack open and review this yearly offering by Deschutes. We were at the brewery in downtown Portland last week about 8 days ago, now. If I had tried this before then, I might've bought another, depending on price.

I linked my review, but I'll describe my thoughts against you other fine BAs here:
I got some initial heavy lacing on a fallen creamy head, more moderate to spotty later. The cola pour was near black in the bulbous glass.


I had an interesting reminiscence of a banana split (with roasted nuts) early in my inhalations of this beer. I was getting more chocolate than spice, although the rum barrel did eventually come to me.

I agree with @jdell15 that the rum barrel came out a bit more than the bourbon barrel. I am not a rum barrel fan, so luckily I started noticing the spice a bit more (though I presumed it was all cinnamon by the flavor, only thinking after the fact the light heat was from cayenne). The cocoa was always a backbone, but also gained a little strength as it warmed, thankfully taking some attention away from the rum barrel.

A agree with you both that the medium feel was nice, but perhaps at the slight side-effect of being just a little drier than I'd have liked.

Cheers, all!

 

Happy New English Barleywine Sunday!

Having another new brew today, my last from NBS BIF#6, @MastaaaGrillaaa for the chance. Another tasty brew from this brewery.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1432/84565/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Another brew from @jhartley This one will probably take me through the night.

Umatilla Coffee Barley Wine from The Brew Hub

Bomber poured into a snifter, brown with a deep ruby tint when light shines through it. Aggressive pour leads to a foamy tan head that settles into a tiny collar.

Aroma is rich Coffee, sweet malts, caramel and some dark toffee.

Flavor is sweetened cold brew coffee, rich roast, caramel and bittersweet coffee beans.

Lower carbonation, just over medium body, bit of syrup.

Pretty dangerous ABV for a sweet coffee. Smooth, rich, tasty!

Thanks!

 

Hey all, happy NBS! I’m just settling into a couple of new brews after a day of family activities and weekend chores. My first one for the night is Starr Hill Last Leaf, a decent enough brown ale with maple syrup.



Here’s my review. Cheers!

3.63/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Look- crystal clear, mahogany brown, 1 finger head that fades to nothing, minimal lacing

Aroma- hard to get much of any nose out of this, but I'm getting faint notes of fresh bread, maple and vanilla

Taste- a little better here, getting toffee, maple, vanilla, and wheat bread. The maple is predominant but not overwhelming or too sweet.

Feel- light bodied, moderate carbonation

Overall- decent maple-forward english brown ale. Good drinker for a fall day.

I hope everyone is enjoying their beers today!

 

Glad you enjoyed it! I still have one for myself in the fridge.

 

I’ve got one more new one for tonight. It’s a BBA Imperial Stout aged with cocoa nibs from Block 15- Super Nebula. A friend gave this to me when I was out in OR, recently. I’m glad he did because it’s pretty god damn outstanding!



My review:

4.5/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Look- pitch black like motor oil, light brown 1 finger head, a little lacing

Smell- bourbon, wood smoke, chocolate, and vanilla. Also something fruity in there, maybe fig?

Taste- similar to the nose, leads with chocolate, smoke, vanilla and that fruity thing mentioned in the nose. the bourbon comes in the middle and finishes the taste out, along with some lingering chocolate.

Feel- medium to full bodied, very creamy

Overall- very complex and enjoyable. Flavors compliment each other really well.

 

Dogfish Head - Oak-Aged vanilla world wide stout

Oak and vanilla are not overly strong, but it does wonders to tone down the 16% abv. I found the original version to be obnoxious and rubbing alcohol like, but they did a great job smoothinf ir out here. No formal review on this one, been too into the game.

 

I tried this for the first time earlier this week and liked it enough to go out and get a 6 pack.
The appearance is slightly cloudy & straw colored. The nose is not really very notable. i.e. Not a strong aroma. The taste is well balanced hefeweizen with a bready, malty flavor with hints of banana. I'm not really picking up that "band aid" flavor or aroma. It's only slightly tart. Not nearly as tart as the Boulevard Tank 7 that I had earlier in the evening. Is it right up there with offerings from Weihenstephaner etc? Probably not. But it is a refreshing and well balanced brew.

 

Lucifer Belgian ale brewed by Het Anker. Pours a cloudy gold orange color with thick lasting foamy head. Yeast aroma plus a sweet almost bubble gum smell. The taste is similar but despite the sweet smell there was a very slight bitter hop presence. Had an almost champagne like carbonation with an easy to drink feel. I had low expectations but this turned out to be a pretty solid ale

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest.

Today we have the Anniversary Lager from Leine.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/279990/

I like some of the Leinenkugle beers, but the twist off caps put me off a bit. Makes me wonder if they are really a craft brewery. Probably not. But this lager is tasty and very appropriate for the fall season.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/710/279990/

I had the brew kettle fired up this afternoon doing a milk stout. Something to drink for the Winter Olympics in February.

Until next time,

Happy Trails!