New Beer Sunday (Week 675)

AWESOME!

I hope you have fun! It seems you are hitting all the right places (@vabeerguy is the expert down there!). If you get a chance hit up Hardywood as they make some really nice stouts (especially the Bourbon Barrel Aged stouts).

I am so jealous!

 

Yes and very affordable compared to most of the doubles

 

Not sure waiting for WWE's yearly Royal Rumble counts as an an anniversary but I have been watching this for a long time. Old Royal Rumble matches were one while I was drinking/reviewing this most recent beer. Hopefully Shinsuke Nakamura wins and sets up a Wrestlemania show with AJ Styles.



4.23/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A: Beer pours a dark black body with two fingers' worth of a creamy tan head. Lacing and a faint amount of head remain while drinking.

S: Strong coffee aromas are the first thing I notice. Faint chocolate and roasty aromas are also present in the beer. The coffee smells are strong and slightly bitter.

T: A strong somewhat bitter coffee flavor commands the other flavors. The bitterness has some bite to it but not in a bad way. Roasty flavors and chocolate are noticeable in the beer as well.

M: Medium mouthfeel to the beer. The finish is very dry and mixes well with the bitterness of the coffee flavors.

O: Very nice beer. The coffee is up front on every aspect of the beer. But secondary notes help the beer. The dry finish and sweet chocolate feel blend nicely with the strong coffee.

 

Thanks for the review. I enjoyed youNEIPA comparison. For me the NBHazy Juicy IPA was quite tasty. After reading you review of the Kellerbiers I can't wait to taste the Southern Gothic as I know I really enjoyed the SA Kellerbier and if Southern Gothic is that much better I am looking forward to it. The pics were great but I would say from the pics that SA looks great. I mostly enjoy it when you use your Polish Pilsner glass (must be an ethnic thing).

 

What up, NBS?

Rainy and balmy here on LI - great wolf weather - just watched the first episode of Waco on "The Paramount Network"(???) - whatever the fuck that is - lol - great show so far, but I may be partial as I was very engaged by the Ruby Ridge and Waco Siege events back in the 90's - this here's a six-part mini-series (hour long episodes) - even my wife got engaged, and she's not normally one for these types of things...

Anyways, other than that, mostly drinking beer today (yea!) - and prolly watching some Big Bang Theory episodes - gonna take a pass on the millionaire game of catch they call the Pro Bowl (as usual), but I must say, I missed the Pro Bowl Skills Showdown on Thursday, and I think I would've enjoyed that. Apparently they had it last year, too - if its around next season, I'll no doubt give it a watch...

Alright, so that wraps up my NBS non-beer nonsense; now onto the new beer...

Infinity + 2

More next-level shit from Sand City... 9.0% abv DIPA, based on their second year anniversary beer, TWO, but with an additional dry-hopping of Mosaic... 1/8/18 can release... Unsurprisingly New England-styled, with a pale gold body, opaque, and a tall head of foam that showed nice persistence and left all sorts of lacy messes down the glass... Aromas and flavors flush with tropical and citrusy elements - pineapple, grapefruit, orange, and the like, all at play, presenting a mildly bitter and moderately sweet, juicy and slightly tangy brew... Feel was plush and soft, fuzzy and tingly, super-smooth and fluffy...

If you got your hands on some, you know what I'm talking about; but this little brewery in East Northport has no distribution to speak of, so hopefully you'll trust my judgment when I say its one of the best, and beers like this are a large part of the reason why...

Treading familiar terrain from here on out, so I'll catch you crazy kids over in WBAYDN...

Here's to new beer in your glass - cheers...

 

Richmond has really come on strong. The good beers are everywhere. While there I would suggest that you visit Hollywood Cemetery, just above the James River. It is an amazing place..

 

Hopefully SN is distributing Southern Gothic in your home state of NC (it is a limited distribution beer at the moment). If you see it I would highly recommend that you buy it.

Cheers!

@SierraTerence

 

My contribution to today's theme might be a bit tenuous, but bare with me...
Anniversaries. Annuals. Year-oriented thinking. Gotta establish the chain. Err... somewhere in there. So Reuben's decided to launch a rotating IPA using the odds and ends of hops they had laying around (or something? That's kind of the takeaway I had regarding the origins of this brew, but even a slow shift is a long shift), and so will be recreating Bits & Bobs every year with a new recipe, based on whatever odds and ends those may be. This year is their inaugural offering of this veritable vestige of variable vagaries. The zeroth anniversary if you will.


(I know, I know... vertical orientation. I've got excuses, but I'll need your patience for the rest of this post, so, well, it is what it is)

Bits & Bobs by Reuben's Brews

Bits and Bobs pours a generic clear golden colour with visible carbonation even beyond the laser engraving of the glass. The head looks impressive initially in the image, but it settles in pretty quickly to the balding pate of a rim with an inner island, but individual bubbles that seem disinclined to coalesce into a unified force, despite where they were fifteen seconds ago.

Nose presents primarily with sweet tropical fruits and a resinous bent around the edges. There's a more specific and encompassing characteristic here that I always have a hard time actually describing. I think I've accused mangoes of being involved in the past, and potentially sap or pine in extreme cases. I sense it in a large number of multiple IPAs (triples, to be specific tend to have a significantly higher ratio of this flavour I can't quite name). If it weren't already a descriptor for something very different (and a negative one at that) I'd be inclined to mention bubble gum while trying to triangulate my feelings on this unnamed flavour (it is not the yeasty/estery bubblegum off flavour of hefes et al. I just lack the vocabulary/imagination/descriptive capabilities to really describe what I'm tasting).

Flavour is easy to describe: it's what the nose said.
Sweet tropical fruits (particularly mango and _______________ the unnamed) are balanced incredibly well with an almost resinous sappy pine-iness maybe?
Basically makes me think of a really well made classic west coast IPA, with a bit of tropical sweet to maintain the balance of the force.

Thin side of medium bodied, and full of the kind of carbonation where you don't feel any individual pinpricks on your tongue, but get kind of a stimulating blanketing.

I really like it overall. It will be interesting to see how this loosey goosey label evolves over time depending on which hops happen to be around in the new year.
Cheers to the Reuben's crew on another great beer!



And cheers all y'all. Enjoy this marked passing of time, in whatever way seems necessary, appropriate, or even just damn satisfying.

 

Thanks Sam Adams. Now millions of Americans can again -- as with Oktoberfests -- get the exact wrong impression of what Kellerbier is .

 

Good morning all, and thanks again Craig for the opening reminder to write formal reviews. I have a couple of anniversaries coming up, and while yes I am still a slacking pig-dog, I am reviewing a little lately...and I have great aspirations to write more this year.

Today’s newbie is one of the few highly touted beers from Funky Buddha that I have never had - “Maple Bacon Coffee Porter (2018)”:





The brewer suggests on the label to drink fresh (check, released about 2 weeks ago) and in a snifter (check) at 50 degrees ...

Poured at 55 degrees, the liquid is black with grey/ruby-brown edges (40-); some clarity under cap of fast, fizzy mixture of small and large bubbles/tan head that completely disappears quickly;no cap no ring; a few spots of lace; very thin, fast running legs on swirl. 3.75



Strong maple syrup nose up front; crisp fried bacon, burnt brown sugar, chocolate. 4.25



Maple syrup, molasses, burnt brown sugar, soy, grilled meat, very crisp black bacon, lite char; watery fudgy base backbone in the background; toasted sweet brown bread. 4.0

Thin, medium light almost watery feel; minimal carbonation; some graininess to texture. 3.75

Overall the aromas are as advertised; the appearance is nothing special; warmer, there is an artificial liquid smoke taste that lingers under the maple and the brown sugar’s almost cloying sweetness; a perfectly Ok artificially flavored porter...prologue-I chilled the bottle and I’m drinking the second pour at 51 degrees and the liquid smoke flavor/linger is not as pronounced. 4.0

In sum, I recommend that if you get a bottle, follow the brewer’s recommendation and drink cold! Most tap rooms serve their offerings super cold, and this flavorful maple porter should drink fine. Nowhere near as robust or for me as enjoyable as Morning Wood, or CBS, but a worthwhile porter to experience.

Enjoy your Sunday - Cheers!

 

New beer #2. @VABA may disagree, but this is now my favorite beer from the 4-way IPA pack.

No Middle Ground - Sierra Nevada
Coffee IPA - 6.9% abv
Bottled 12/19/17 (40 days ago)
Score: 4.04 (+4.1% rDev)



L - 1-finger dense offwhite head atop a brown translucent body.

S - coffee, citrus.

T - Burnt Folgers grounds at first. The coffee taste here is surprisingly strong. Citrus is faint in the background. Good balance between malt and hops. Not overly sweet or bitter, with only a mild alcohol presence.

F - medium body and carb.

O - I don’t like this as much as Stone’s Mocha IPA, but this is very decent on its own merits. It strikes me as more of a coffee ale than an ipa, but I am enjoying every sip.

 

First up today Funk Silent Disco, thank you @CanConPhilly!
4.12/5 rDev -1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you CanConPhilly for this
16 oz can, dated 11/29/17, poured into a teku

A- A hazy golden orange with a two finger white head.

S- Citrus, stone fruits, resin, some caramel malts.

T- Citrus, hint of lime zest, some citrus rind, hint of melon, some stone fruits, resiny finish, touch of sweet malts.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A solid IPA, finish is more of a classic IPA instead of a hazy IPA.

 

Ballast Point High West Victory at Sea. Deep solid black color. Feel-about medium as well as average carbonation but there is a bit of a thick creamy feel to it.Aroma- definitely as advertised, vanilla,coffee, mocha, and a very heavy bourbon boozy smell. Taste- completely follows the nose,first though the bourbon booziness punches you in the taste buds. This is definitely a sipper that works well with letting it warm up. The vanilla then coffee comes through very well as it warms up. Overall- this was sort of like a decadent rich dessert,perhaps too strong on the bourbon but still a great decadent treat

 

Happy NBS! I'm enjoying my Sunday while it lightly snows outside. I'm also trying to be a super dad by fixing my daughter's RC car she bought yesterday with her own money. Super glue seems to be holding up, so we will see.

Celebrating Central Water's Anniversary as I always do with last years beer, Nineteen. The beer pours a dark black body, opaque with a one finger tan head, good retention and spotty lacing. Smell is distinct bourbon richness, roasted malt and coffee, milk chocolate, hints of oak and vanilla. Nice bourbon presence from the start with rich chocolate, caramel, vanilla and roasted malt, hints of coffee bean and oak. Mouthfeel is medium-full bodied, good carbonation, creamy with a richness to it. Just another outstanding anv beer from CW.



Cheers!

 

Sand City is on a list to be at a 'Day Of The Juice' festival here in Atlanta at the end of March. This review will have me heading to their line pretty quick.

 

Sierra Nevada celebration. Pours an orange rust color. Feel- just above average carbonation and body. Aroma is definitely hops with malt in the background. Taste is very similar,citrus and bitter but the malt was used really well and softened the hops really well. Overall- my simplistic review doesn't really do this beer justice. I am not an ipa fan and I would most definitely get this again,another great beer from SN

 

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Not just a new beer and a brewery but a style I did not know existed. Fools Gold a Peanut Butter Heffeweizen from Rusty Rail Brewing in Mifflinburg PA. I did not expect to like this beer much and I was correct. This brew pour a bit darker than most Heffs, It has a nice white head that sticks around and leaves a nice lacing. The aroma has some banana but is mostly . peanut butter The mouthfeel is light and the finish is a bit sweet. People including myself eat peanuts with beer so I'm sure some would enjoy this beer but it's not for me. By the way it's 8% ABV and I did finish the bottle.

 

A PB hefe! I'll take one.



Cheers! I have tried the PB porter. Many times with my very own local bandwagon brewpub that is closing it's doors being one that I thought was quite good.