New Beer Sunday (Week 672)

Not a snowbird, but, I got a lot of cold and snow over the past 2 weeks. I live in coastal New England and watching Plymouth Bay freeze over with ice, then get cleared out from a strong Nor'easter and then re-form. IT' S COLD HERE!

My new beer is Relic Brewing's Death of Venus. My son found this brewer and I have liked some of their other brews, a good find.I like stout's, so here I go on this one....

CANNED 12.15.17
POURED 1.7.18 into a Teku glass

Solid dark brown liquid, two finger brown foam cap settles to a dense layer which eventually becomes a ring

Fragrant aroma of cocoa, chocolate, sweetness, whiff of tobacco

Taste of roasted malts, cocoa, bit of char, bit of espresso bitterness.

Not as sweet as I anticipated , actually a bit bitter and astringent. The bitterness melts away as the beer warms, becomes smoother. I don't think stouts should be served ice cold, but, we have record setting low's in New England. Could use global warming around here soon...send beer to help me survive this brutal arctic cold blast...

Good beer

 

Dave, when my Mom was growing up in the '30's and '40's her family had a cottage in Rosendale where she would spend the summer. She used to tell us about the caves up there and how the locals would cut ice in the summer. There was one cave near her house where mist would come out of the mouth due to the difference in temperature.

 

I would suggest something near Georgetown, S.C. I like the area for being like it is for a long time. Oak Island, N.C is also very cool down where The Cape Fears spills into the Atlantic. I'll be back with a review and pictures and music. Cheers all!

 

Happy Sunday NBS players. Brutally cold here on the island with a bunch of shit snow. Gots me thinking about becoming a snow bird myself. Just have to get rid of this whole job thing. We'll get some relief this week as temps return more to normal and even hit into the 40's on Friday. Been inside watching football and taking it pretty easy on the drinking today.

I actually don't have that many new beers in the fridge this weekend. I thought about running out this morning but that just didn't happen. My new beer today is another one that isn't exactly in my wheel house but @GreenBayBA was cool enough to include it in a trade box. It's Raspberry Tart, a fruit beer, from New Glarus brewing. The brew checks in at 4% abv with no apparent bottle date.

A ruby red color on the pour with good clarity and a frothy white/pink head. The nose is sweet with the berry. To me is smells like cranberry juice. The drinking starts out super sweet upfront with the strong and concentrated flavor of the raspberry. A very smooth flow and finish. The mouth feel is light with a good amount of carbonation that makes it refreshing and crisp. I can gulp it down like water.

Overall, for what it is it's pretty good. I'm just not exactly sure how this is actually a beer. It drinks much more a kin to a hard cider. I'm not gonna score it because I really just have nothing to compare it to. However, I would have no problem drinking it again.

 

I have a friend who grew up in Tillson and claims to have gone through the caves as a child from Rosendale all the way to Kingston. He claims to have forgotten the way since then, and also claims Dept. of Defense has installations down there nowadays, as reasons not to take me through. I bet your Grandparents have some great stories from Rosendale back in the day, they were such an eccentric artist community, and in fact it still is to a degree.

 

Johann Buys a Broat, a DIPA with mandarin orange, pineapple, and vanilla from Aslin.

Poured from a 16 ounce can into a Teku glass.
L: Pours a dark orange murky color with about 2 fingers worth of white head. Some particles can been seen floating around and some sedimement settles on the bottom of the glass. 4/5
S: Smells great, lots of fruit. The mandarin oranges and pineapple that were added come through but the orange is prominent. Vanilla is noticable as well. 4.5/5
T: Mostly orange and other citrus fruits and bitterness that fades as the beer warms. The vanilla is noticeable on the finish. 4.5/5
F: Light to medium carbonation that results in a creamy mouth feel. 4.25/5
O: The first few sips were heavy in the fruit with the vanilla coming through as it warms up. There's a lot of juice flavor and the vanilla is a nice addition. 4.5/5

 

I wish I had learned more when I was a kid since those generations are all gone now. That part of my Mom's family were mostly Irish and lived in Shawangunk, Marlborough, and later Newburgh. It's part of the reason I have such a warm place in my heart for Orange County. The other reason, of course, is the beer: Rushing Duck, Equilibrium, and Pine Island. A little slice of heaven that's only an hour away!

 

Howdy NBS-ians!
It was cold again here today and it has been for a while now. I actually really enjoy cold and snow but the last few days have been pretty brutal. Either way, it makes me feel alive and all it took for me to see how nice it is to have noticably distinct seasons was living a few years where it is always warm. Still, though, it's pretty damn chilly. The good thing is that it encouraged me to brew a batch of beer Friday night to ward off cabin fever for a while. It was a ton of fun as usual and is currently smelling delicious and fermenting happily in my closet. It seems to be the happiest attempt to date so I am excited for that.
Now I've finished up chores and so I'm gonna further stave off cabin fever by watching football and trying a new cold weather brew. I'm really excited to finally be able to try this one. Let's see how she goes.

Wow... This is a hell of a beer. I can't say I'm surprised, though.

It is nice looking and is damn fine in every other aspect as well. A clean, rich coffee flavor held up by fine renditions of all the other component flavors. Ridiculously drinkable too for the ABV. A delicious beer that I'm thrilled to have finally tried.

My full review is here for the curious.

Cheers!

 

Greetings from Tennessee, BAs. Temps hit the mid-40s this afternoon and it felt like summer! A nice lazy Sunday has facilitated my recovery from celebrating the Titans' win and watching the Preds late game on the West Coast. Today's new beer is kind of like comfort food and fits in perfectly with the day - to me, a milk stout is the beer equivalent of mac and cheese. Anyway, onto the new beer:

Moloko Milk Stout, Three Floyd's Brewing, Munster, IN

Proper glassware for this one.


It looked fantastic in the glass with an opaque dark brown color. A normal pour produced a large and fluffy tan head that gradually settled, leaving rocky foam and splotchy laces. The aroma was exactly as I expected with milk chocolate, roasty malt, and a faint floral hoppy note. No surprises on the first sip: roasted malt, chocolate, some char and toast all within a slightly sweet milky background. The hop presence was moderately bitter which kept it from being too sweet but also detracted slightly from the main flavors. A great feel, slightly heavy and silky. This was 8% but the alcohol was well-hidden. A great sipper, just a touch too bitter. Cheers!

 

“Oh my God Jim! What did you do to my good pairing knife!?”
“Nothing. @cjgiant fucking broke it.”
“Is that red stuff wax?”
“No, it’s fucking Red Kryptonite.”

[ 10 second pause ]

“This is about one of your little beer advocate friends isn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah.”

As far the beer Powers of Observation from Ocelot Brewing stored inside this red sealed fortress of solitude?
Absolutely amazing!
Delicious!
Almost more like an Imperial Stout and soooooo good! The cherry component is perfectly balanced with the chocolate. Bourbon is subtle but it’s there and the big bottle comforts me. Love this beer.

Wife tried it...
She loves it too...
Hopefully she’ll forget about the knife if I share some with her...buuuuut I don’t want to share!

So good. Thank you @cjgiant! Hope you got one for yourself...and the GF.

Cheers all!

 

One more new beer today...

The review:
12oz bottled 10/11/17 poured into a DFH branded teku glass at fridge temp 10% ABV. The beer pours dense very dark brown with quickly fading light brown head. The head disappears leaving a pencil lead sized ring and a few random bubbles. The aroma is chocolate and grape jelly with a hint of roast. The taste is dark fruit first, then red wine with barrel aged notes of oak, vanilla & slight tobacco closing up. The mouthfeel is medium to thin bodied, adequately carbonated and mostly dry in the finish. Overall, conflicted. It's a enjoyable beverage, but not much of a RIS. The thin body and total lack of head are big detractors for me. This seems more like a robust wine with wort added than a beer.

That's all folks, my will to review another beer is gone for today. I might, however, have a few over on WBAYDN. Cheers!

 

Enjoying this Prairie Noir. These folks know stouts! Cheers.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30356/88291/?ba=cindyjeffsmith#review

 

Glad you and the wife enjoyed. At least there was no blood involved, and I bet that's actually why you wished I had one for myself - to go through the hell of wax removal
We were smart, we got ours on tap at the brewery, where the guy actually pours it and brings it to you.

Of note, the base beer won bronze at GABF this year, a beer I rated right near a 4.

I had this on tap, but failed to review it. I recall getting a roasty stout with a large bold red wine component from the grape must. It was a tad weird, and agree with your conflicted opinion on it.

 

Good afternoon, all, and Happy New Homage Beer Sunday! It's positively balmy today here in the Cedar Valley, which has seen a 55-degree temperature swing over the last couple of days. That put us at just above freezing this afternoon. The warm midday sun has melted the last vestiges of snow from the back deck, and hopefully enough from our recreation trails to keep the damn slednecks off. Now on to the beer. I ran across this New Albion Ale while I was in Columbus in October and tossed it in with a mix pack of Ohio-brewed beers. As it turns out, there's a lot of interesting history here. According to Wikipedia::

Although the original brewery went out of business after only six years of operation, New Albion Ale is now being produced by the Platform Beer Co., Cleveland, OH. From the brewer's notes:

New Albion Ale® is the Original Craft Beer. In 1976, Jack McAuliffe quietly started the American craft beer revolution when he opened the New Albion Brewing Company®, America's first post-Prohibition microbrewery in Sonoma, California with this flagship beer. Brewed solely with American Cascade hops, this golden American Pale Ale has a distinct hop note and a subtle piney character that is as enjoyable today as it was when it was first introduced. Together with Jack's daughter Renée (DeLuca), Platform Beer is proud to bring back Jack's pioneering brew. Pay homage.

This beer was introduced in cans in October 2017, with simultaneous release parties in Cleveland and Columbus. What does this mean? It means I could've sampled it fresh because I got this can in October. This sample was a little malty, but there was still quite a bit of piney aroma and flavor as well as a little resiny and spicy bitterness on the finish. Still a solid performer, and I will hunt this down again. 3.69/5 (rDev +2.2%)



Kaito, basking in the sun and Buckeye representin'.



Cheers!

 

Had one of those from @Prager62 this past summer and it was perfect on that 90 degree day. Worth trying again in the summer. Ha! Summer. That’s funny.

 

What’s up BA? Hoping your Sunday is going well. Spent part of the afternoon watching Molly’s Game. Solid flick.

Today’s new beer is Hop Bullet from Sierra Nevada, and looks to have been posted at least once already today.

My thoughts are pretty much in line with most others. Solid beer but nothing flashy. Reminds me of old school west coast classics. Worth the $10 sixer for sure!



Poured from 12 oz bottle dated 12/19/2017.

A: Clear honey yellow with one finger white head. Lasting retention and moderate lacing.

S: Soft aroma with a blend of honey and floral hops. Hints of citrus with pineapple and mango. Fresh pine.

T: Following aroma with honey, pineapple, mango, grapefruit, and pine. Subtle herbal and pepper notes.

M: Medium body with prickly carbonation. Finish has lots of hop bitterness with a touch of sweetness to balance.

O: Very nice DIPA even if it’s on the low end of the ABV for the style. Solid beer without blowing me away. Good value for the price point.

 

New beer from 5 Stones. 5 Stones recently expanded into a new brewery "farmhouse/barn" right outside San Antonio in New Braunfels. They also brought in the head brewer of Jester King. So you Jester King fanboys pay notice to 5 Stones wild ales coming out this year. I am also glad 5 Stones is starting to drop only doing overpriced bombers and have started canning sixxers of this and some four pack saison/wild ales coming down the pipeline.

Aroma - bright tropical hops smack you in the face as soon as the top is popped

Appearance - look at the photo. Looks very much like a hazy NEIPA or NE pale ale

Taste - like over ripe tropical fruit, some citrus, and light bitterness

Mouth feel - pretty damn good for a pale ale. Feels like some double IPAs

Overall - a very solid pale ale and bargain at the $1.79 I paid for a single. Sixxers are under $10. But, like my IPAs I prefer more citrus/pine/bitterness then the soft bitterness and tropical mango/papaya flavors of this style.

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @lordofthewiens for getting us started off this morning. Finally back to my normal weekly schedule after the holidays last week. Did a double load of laundry and did my usual bottle return/beer haul this morning. After my Ohio visit I have a ton of beers I need to review, it has been a long time since I had this much stuff. A little overwhelming honestly haha.

New Beer Part 1:

Very nice session IPA. Amazing head retention and lasting thick lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of lemon, grapefruit, orange peel, citrus rind, pepper, pine, herbal, and grassy hops; with moderate wheat, cracker, white bread malts; and some yeasty earthiness. Somewhat muted aromas. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation, light-medium body, and moderately crisp/clean finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very flavorful/refreshing 4.4%. Interesting combo here. Topaz/Mt. Hood hops, Kolsch yeast, and Pils/white wheat malt. Simple but it works well. Very well balanced/clean, well restrained yeast esters. Would buy again. 3.91


Very nice imperial amber. Flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, apricot, melon, lemon zest, orange peel, light pepper, and pine hops; with moderate caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, and light nutty malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Similar/muted aromas. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; bready Munich malt creaminess and some hop stickiness in the mouthfeel. Slight resins, increasing dryness, no hop astringency. Mildly warming 8.3%. Nice well rounded complexities. Balanced Amarillo/Styrian Goldings hops with Munich/Crystal malts. Very easy drinking, never aggressive. A bit juicy feeling. 3.88


A bit of age on this Berliner. Sept 2016. This is fantastic! Great head retention/lacing for the style. Aromas and flavors of big juicy/tart/tangy passionfruit, fruit skin, lemon, lime, peach, pear, apricot, pineapple, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berry, green apple, citrus zest, hay, straw, grass, oak, and pepper; with some wheat/crackery malts; and musty lacto funk. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang; and light yeast/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation, light-medium body, and moderately crisp/clean finishing. Balanced grainy malts, lactic acid, sticky hops, and oak tannins in the mouthfeel. Moderately increasing tart/tangy/carbonated dryness; zero puckering sourness. Super refreshing and flavorful, 4%. The balance between fruity hops, passionfruit, oak, Lacto, and pale/wheat malts is damn near perfect. Outstanding! 4.25


Cheers, be back a bit later NBS!

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @lordofthewiens for conducting us all aboard another NBS train.

Gray and drizzly, making the snow outside quite slushy where it has not melted or been cleared off the sidewalks.

Last night I had five new beers, one of which I still need to add to the database. If you're interested, feel free to look in my reviews, I'm feeling too lazy just now to go post them. One new beer of the last week definitely worthy of mention was CBS, which I had a snifter of on New Year's Day. I wasn't in a reviewing state of mind; I'll just say it deserves it's hype IMHO.

Today, after digging out my old coffee maker due to the failure of it's fancier, more expensive successor, eating a light breakfast, getting a porchetta roast (actually two small roasts) going in the slow cooker, watching some football and eating a pastrami and swiss sandwich, I had my first new beer of this 1st Sunday of 2018, courtesy of @bl00:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25811/315205/?ba=woemad#review
Most unusual beer I've had in a long while. The lactose sugar really does make this DIPA hint at the flavor of a fruity dairy dessert. Not much hop flavor, though. The adjuncts pretty well drown them out. Maybe I should have saved this for dessert. Thanks, Dan!

Time will tell if I come back with another one. I've got plenty on deck.
Cheers!

 

Happy New American Porter Sunday!

Was surprised to see no snow any where at around 5300-5500, some sun, around 40, trail was wet in spots, getting muddy in some spots. Having a very tasty brew @colby600 my first from this brewery. Watching some NFL and some Shameless new episodes.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31805/75446/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!