New Beer Sunday (Week 677)

Greetings friends,
It's a blustery spring-like day at 68 degrees with a swirling wind and weather on the way. Nice start on the day all. Thanks to @cjgiant! I love to read this stuff and I feel as if I know so many of you. This is a good thing.
Today's beer is Burial Hawkbill IPA. It's a hazy one and interesting for sure. It pours a hazy clumpy turbid bit of ale. It keeps a beautiful little white cap stretched across a smoothie like surface. After about three nice sized sips, the lacing is really lovely and fun to watch and wait to see what's next. Deep citric fruit and pineapple aromas, with some rich wit like spicy malt rather than wheat. The flavor does follow the nose, with the nose more fruity than the palate. There is a slight chalkiness near astringency which is actually very nice given the big fruit and sweetness at first. At 6% this is a full flavored brew in the modern popular mold, and it is quite good, well made and easy to drink. I will buy it again at some point. There are many other IPAs and IPA styles that I really like better than this rendering. But I do like this beer and Burial overall.

I went over to the Greensboro Coliseum on Friday and bought great tickets to Paul Simon's stop here on his farewell tour. Our family has grown up with this music, the kids loving Graceland to this day. I first remember hearing Sounds of Silence as a 13 year old, on a school bus, on a transistor radio, at the corner of Friendly Avenue and South Elam, very near the coliseum where the show will be on June 19th. This music rings at the core of my memory and life. It makes me happy!

 

Thanks to @RedhawkPoke for this entry today, from NBS BIF #6. While 42 degrees at 3;14pm may not be the ideal time for a Gose, this still a very nice brew. I think it would be a good choice for tubing down the Nooksack: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30356/196618/

 

Back with the official New Beer of this Sunday, and it's a big 'un, courtesy of @bl00:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/345/184932/?ba=woemad#review
14.3%! Dear god!
I made the mistake of not letting it warm up before drinking. Initially, I thought, it's okay, but the bourbon totally overwhelms everything else. Well, given a little time, it warms up to be considerably more complex. Quite drinkable now, but I bet it'll be amazing in a year or so, so I'm definitely on the lookout for another. Thanks, Dan!

 

A-A very nice hazy amber color with head and lacing.
A-Aroma has spicy and malty hints.
T-The taste follows the nose with spicy and malty flavors.
M-A robust medium bodied beer with a decent amount of carbonation.
O-A well balanced well made beer.

 

Fair State Giantsbane Imperial Stout, 8.0% ABV, 50 IBU. Pours black with a one finger tan head. Nose is coffee and chocolate, taste follows, with moderate bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel, overall excellent. Simple but cool logo and can.

 

Now up some Weyerbacher Cinnsanity, has a friend tell me it was pretty boozy when it was fresh, so finally cracking a bottle to see how it has calmed down. There is barely any booziness, still a total cinnamon bomb.
4.15/5 rDev +7.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle poured into tulip

A- A murky ruby red with a twin finger off white head

S- Tons of cinnamon, bourbon, some oak, dark fruits.

T- Cinnamon, cherries, bourbon, some vanilla, caramel malts.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- Smells like Big Red gum and taste reminds me some of cherry pie with a lot of cinnamon.

Cheers!

 

Happy NBS, everyone. I'm late to the party today. We spent another Sunday getting the house ready to sell and I also spent some time prepping for a professional exam - something I never wanted to have to do again but necessary to take advantage of some business opportunities.

Today, I'm reviewing Habonde, a BA English Barleywine brewed by Czig Meister in Hackettstown, NJ. I've said before that I was initially disappointed with Czig Meister when it opened but it's really stepped up its game and is showing its versatility with different styles. This is a very good Barleywine especially as it warms. The barrel is really strong on this one. I now seek out Czig Meister's offerings and am glad to find them without having to go to the brewery.

Here's my review:

4.24/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from 750 ML bottle into Czig Meister pint glass. It pours a murky brownish orange with a thin, milk-white head and lacing that dissipated quickly. It has a fragrant nose featuring caramel, brown sugar, and fairly strong bourbon. As the glass warmed it became more aromatic. It's decidedly bourbon forward and less sweet up front than I anticipated but as the glass warmed I began to taste more brown sugar and caramel, along with oak and plum. But the bourbon gives it a more sour taste. It has a pleasingly creamy mouth feel with moderate carbonation, and if anything it drinks above its 10.6% ABV. Habonde is most definitely a sipper. This is my first Barleywine from Czig Meister and I have to say I'm impressed. We're not talking §ucaba but it's well-crafted and thoroughly enjoyable. Czig Meister has really improved generally and I like the fact it's showing its versatility with this fine English Barleywine.

I hope you're all enjoying your new beers today!

 

That is a PHENOMENAL Hefe, IMHO. One of my favorite examples of the style - including Hefes from Germany.

Yep, I typed that.

 

Cheers NBSers
I’m having Storrowed a DIPA from Trillium. ABV 8.4 16 oz canned 2/2/18
A little background about the name before my notes
There is a road to Boston I traveled on every day for over 30 years when I worked in Copley Sq Boston,called Storrow Drive. It’s quite picturesque in the spring and fall. It parallels the Charles River, Harvard U. on one side of the river and Boston U. on the other side.
There are always crew teams rowing in the river visable from the road and in the warmer months BU girls always sunning themselves on a grassy knoll beside the road as well. The sidewalk that runs from Cambridge to Boston along Storrow Dr is a haven for joggers, bikes walkers and roller blades.
At least once a month someone gets “Storrowed”, that’s when a 13 foot truck tries to go under a 12 ft bridge. The mass pike has an exit onto Storrow so if you’re a truck and miss 1 of the 200 or so low clearance no trucks allowed signs, this happens to you..,,



When the students start arriving for school at the many colleges along Storrow dr in August the incidents usually ramp up. This was one of the lucky ones

They stopped before it was to late.
This is how Trillium promoted the beer

Now my review
It poured yellow orange with a thin fluffy disappearing head
The aroma was pineapple, grapefruit and mango with a hint of peach. They came across as being sour smelling to me
It is definitely a fruit bomb, it was slightly sweet to bitter in the mouth. Pretty balanced and rich tasting and easy drinking. I drank it fairly quickly for me, it was one of those beers that one sip leads to another if that makes sense.
I liked it a lot and I hope they keep it around.


Great can art

 

Yeah, I had heard and read that from a lot of folks. It lived up to it's billing, for sure!

 

Having read all of Robert B. Parkers Spenser series, I almost feel like I know Storrow as well as a local.

 

Happy New Wee Heavy Sunday!

Pretty nice day on the Western Slope, sunny, around 33 at the trailhead. The snow is sticking up there, no mtn biking for awhile. Having a pretty tasty brew from a long time trader/buddy, he has been known to put something pretty fuckn' awesome at times in the box. Been a little while since I've had a Wee Heavy, always enjoyed AleSmith Wee Heavy, one of the first I've ever had. My first from this brewery.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24529/319829/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Damn, dude. What a line up! Carton coffee beers are some of my grail beers. Absolutely adore coffee, and I've heard loads of great things about Carton's offerings. Thanks for sharing!

 

Buffalo Bill's Winter Ale

This is an odd one. If I remember correctly, the six pack holder said "imperial ale" rather than winter ale.

On my first sip, I thought "damn, this is a barley wine." The bottle essentially claims it's a winter warmer. If I was mayor of Beer town, I would outlaw the winter warmer as a style tag. Anything labeled a winter warmer (phony style ) would get immediately reclassified as a strong ale, barley wine, spiced beer, or pale ale depending on the beer. Anything but winter warmer. It's listed here as a "rye beer" since it has rye in it (I didn't notice) and it's listed as an "imperial IPA" on another unnamed site. They kinda judged it harshly as an IPA on that site. What's in a name? When it comes to beer opinions, apparently a lot.

I never saw Buffalo Bill's beers in NY before, or anywhere else for that matter. And then someone else posted another one of their beers in this thread earlier (if I remember correctly). Have they gone to the next level of bottling and distribution? I don't know.

The beer is a copperish beer that's very clear. That first sip made my hairs stand up. Intense. Once everything settled down, I did not like this one. Taste is of apricot and honey... and booze. Big booze. Blah booze. I still think this drank like a barley wine, but it really needed some better malt character to stand up here regardless of how one considers it.

 

Greetings from snowy South Bend, NBS friends, and thank you @cjgiant for the introductory post. I’ve been muling “share” beers for awhile, but the first number of times was via automobile, which is simple.

My first haul on a plane was November 2014, when I muled 4 Pseudo Sue bombers (back when Pseudo was only brewed in Decorah and only available in bombers) to Aruba to share with my “beer sensai,” a guy that started me tracking beers on an Excel spreadsheet back in 2009, which was such a pain in the buttocks that it eventually led to me becoming a more participatory member of this site in January 2015.

As we all waited for our bags, I was as nervous as an expectant father. No worries - all 4 bombers came through unscathed, and we enjoyed an excellent beer multiple times that trip - my beer sensai, an accountant by trade, even gave me a hug at the end of the trip, much to the surprise of everyone, including his wife, because he is NOT a hugger. Beer - the hug creator.

I have a couple of beers tonight. First up, a Belgian IPA that is not identified in any way as such.



4.19/5 rDev +6.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pour is a hazy golden color with a voluminous white head. The first aroma I note is Belgian yeast - funky stuff, but there is no indication anywhere (can, website, reviews) that this is a Belgian IPA. Uh oh - did I get a skunky beer?

Nope. The funky Belgian yeast is very present on the taste, and there’s a very nice citrusy hope flavor, too. I don’t know if this was meant to be a Belgian IPA, but it gives every appearance of a very good one.

 

They've been in NY since the dawn of the craft age, pretty much. This one was once very popular:

 

My best memories were riding it to get to the old Boston Garden with my Dad because he didn't want to pay the toll on the Mass Pike, cheers

 

Hello, NBS. To answer the question posed at the beginning, I had some cans burst in airline transit. So now it's bottles only for me.

Onto this well-traveled bottle.



Boon's Kriek, 2015 bottle, aged for me elsewhere. I acquired it last month. BB 12/07/2020.

Pours lovely ruby color. Translucent, but just barely. Didn't notice much yeast at the bottom, but there are more than a few floaties swirling around in the bubbles. Small pink cap leaves a little strips of lacing and sticks around.

Smells of sweet cherry juice. I don't notice any sour or tart smells.

Tastes of sweet cherry juice. No sourness, a slight tartness on the tip of the tongue. Slight oak tannins. Lively carbonation, and very fine bubbles.

Nothing at all "beery" about it. Straight sweet cherry juice, but really smooth and delicious. Really good kriek.

 

Capping out the night here, as I continue to sift through photos. Bit of a funny story with this one, as it was one of the first beers I attempted to trade for, and failed. It was around the time I joined and started up my trading. Now I was able to buy it within my distro, as Brooklyn arrived in Missouri last year.



Brooklyn's Black Ops.

Pours black with a finger of khaki head. Head retention is good, with no lacing left behind. Aroma is robust and bitter notes of bourbon, barrel, char, and caramel, roasted, and toasted malts. There is a hint of molasses to add a kiss of sweetness, but nothing big. Flavor profile is dark, roasted, toasted, and caramel malts to open, before fading into bourbon, barrel, and a kiss of char. Molasses, caramel, and toffee add a little sweetness, but overall the beer carries a bitter quality. Bourbon is pleasant, without being boozy. Mouth feel is thick, velvety, and creamy. Overall, a huge barrel aged stout. While this year nails in at 10.7%, it drinks as if it's heavier - not to say it's boozy, just that it packs a punch.

Score: 4 | 4 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.18 | rDev: +1.5%