New Beer Sunday (Week 687)

A Collaboratively brewed beer

Today’s beer is a beer brewed by Weihenstephaner & Sierra Nevada.

Generally speaking I am not a fan of collaboratively brewed beers since they typically are not beers that I am thrilled with. I have discussed this in the past using the ‘analogy’ of the old saying of: too many cooks spoil the broth. But I greatly respect the breweries of Weihenstephaner & Sierra Nevada so I am hopeful with this beer of Weihenstephaner Braupakt.

A short description of this beer:

“Though the hefeweissbier—called “Braupakt,” or “Brewery Pact"—uses the German Hallertauer hop and the West Coast Amarillo and Chinook varieties, it still complies with the 500-year-old Bavarian purity law that limits beer ingredients to water, malt, hops and yeast. It would have to, to be legally sold in Germany. The yeast strain, which lends apricot and banana notes, is the one developed by Weihenstephan years ago for its flagship Weihenstephaner hefeweissbier – the same one Sierra uses as its house wheat ale yeast.”

http://amp.foodandwine.com/beer/breweries/weihenstephan-sierra-nevada-brewing-collaboration

Well, let’s see how the ‘cooks’ performed with this beer.

Served in my Polish Pilsner glass:

Appearance:

A hazy golden/orange color with a HUGE rocky white head. This beer has excellent head retention.

Aroma:

There is a combination of banana, clove and in the background some citrus.

Taste:

Wow! The flavor follows the nose but with more expression. A complex combination of banana, spicy (clove) and some citrus flavors; it feels like these flavors come in waves. I found the spicy (clove) flavor to be particularly alluring.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with a smooth, soft mouthfeel.

Overall:

In the parlance of baseball this beer is a homerun! I found this beer to be superbly balanced in its flavor profile. This is the best Old/New World beer that I have had.


Cheers to the Weihenstephaner/Sierra Nevada team for crafting an excellent Hefeweizen beer! I suspect that this beer was the result of a long process with careful consideration of ingredient selection and brewing process decision making.

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @SierraTerence @Snowcrash000 @BillManley

 

Cheers you all and Happy New Beer Sunday! I have to say that I have been cooking up a storm lately and then I was struck down by an injury. Oh don't let the hyperbole scare you. A boo boo! Good sirs I have a boo boo. I was making a planter for the spring and I was planning to repurpose my 5 gallon beer fermenter to do it. I'll just cut that in half I thought and then I'll have not one but TWO planters! Well turns out that getting a hot knife through butter is a lot easier than getting one through that thick plastic. The friction took the skin right off my index finger on my right hand at exactly the point where every utensil I use rests. First it was oozy and now it's getting hard but I wash a lot of dishes and this is taking a long time.

Cloud Cutter




Pours hazy yellow with a fast falling head. Soft hops on the nose. Citrusy and a sweet malt cracker. Floral. Drinks spicy with plenty of citrus and fruit. A firm hop bitterness and plentiful crackery malt. Crisp. Dry and peppered at the end by hop pepper and herbal. Flower petal is sharp and bitter. Finishes malty though with citrus to linger. Simple, straight forward and gently hoppy. Soft floral hops on a crisp wheat cracker.

Ouch!



Happy NBS everyone =)

 

New Beer Sunday: A New American Pal Ale

Mornin’ NBSers with a heads up for those who like a well balanced “classic” APA. Also special thanks to @cjgiant for today’s start up.

Today’s weather is shaping up to be really nice around here with the forecast being for mostly sunny with temps in the mid 60’s. Going to mean that I’ll be stepping up the completion of chores around the yard and outside of the house today.

Taxes? Happy to say I got mine done a few weeks back and well in advance of the deadline. Even though the Gvt. wants the taxes by mid April I’ve sort of gone retro and mentally target the preparation date my dad used to have to meet, the 15th of March. While I don’t always make that self imposed target I’m usually done with taxes well before the current Gvt. filing deadline.

It's funny sometimes how things connect in life. The origin of this almost habit stems from when I was in High School. Once upon a time in High School I took a year of Latin simply because a teacher I liked told me that Latin would be a help in improving my English. In that Latin class I found out that the Ides of March was considered by the Romans to be a day to settle debts (which is probably why the IRS used to use the 15th of March as their filing deadline). So I sort of mentally mark that as my target date to be done with taxes. (I also have a sentimental attachment to that class because that’s where one of my most intense High School romances began. )

This morning’s new beer is the Mirror Pond APA from Deschutes.

As usual, my review, subject to revision until the beer is finished, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63/195/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors of this beer include some fruitiness, along with some pine needles, grapefruit and a caramel malt backbone, with all complementing each other in that none of them conceals any of the others. The caramel malt sweetness and the hop bitterness are pretty much equal players here, with each complimenting the other in such a way that the clean crisp long finish is neither harsh nor overly sweet. I expect to be having more of this one and may even add this APA to my regular rotation.

Cheers, all!

 

Deep ruby reddish gold color with slightly off white cap.

Aroma of dark toffee and ripe stone fruits with an airy hop brightness.

Taste is very full but with a charming balance that's almost delicate. Like the resounding percussion of a concert grand piano that goes on to develop elegant subtleties. The heavier elements of dark malt are there yet the interplay of dark fruits (ripe black plumbs and figs) keep the strength moving forward with a fluid grace. Hops remain ever present like high notes that keeps the whole in balance.

Full flavor with balancing carbonation.

This is a powerful beer with presence, one I'd serve first to a new acquaintance who expressed a interest in beer.

 

Another great start to NBS, Craig. I'm actually getting a refund this year, after owing Uncle Sam each of the previous three years.
My wife and I are vacationing in New Mexico. It's only 6am here and, much as I like a breakfast beer, this is a little too early for me. Back later.

 

This is actually the beer that got me started exploring flavorful beers not long before I joined this site. A friend offered me one and that was when I realized that I no longer had to go to the UK to find beers I enjoyed drinking.

(It's also one of the several reasons I always chuckle a bit when folks on this site accuse those of us from PA of just being "homers" when we say nice things about our local beer scene and the beers, especially lagers, done here in SE PA. )

 

Good morning New BSers! Thanks, @cjgiant, for this morning's opening. Taxes are much less of a problem around here as we started using a tax firm a few years ago - the refund has been in the joint account for a couple of weeks - amazing how much less squabbling there is about interpretation of tax laws when someone else does it. Maria - sorry to hear about (and see) your injury - I guess you should have tried brewing another batch or two of beer! You might want to be careful with that chili oil, too.

Well, today's New Breakfast Beer is another from NBS BIF 007 and @Beer_Economicus:



Received in NBS BIF 007 – Thanks Darwin.
16 oz marked “Canned 12/6/17” on the bottom, stored at 42 degrees and served at 45 degrees in a hand-washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.25.
Body – Dark brown/black, opaque, effervescent. When held to the light, there is only penetration at the meniscus.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.8 cm, aggressive center pour), tan, medium density with rocks, good retention time, diminishing to an irregular five to ten mm frothy ring fed by effervescence and a thin complete layer.
Lacing – Good. Partial rings of tiny to small bubbles connected vertically by thin columns.
First pour – Brown, clear.
Aroma – 4 – Aggressive roasted malt. Fades.
Flavor – 4 - Begins with roasted malt and a touch of chocolate, slightly bitter. The malt and the bitterness carry through to the aftertaste, the chocolate just a fleeting memory. No alcohol, no diacetyl, and no dimethylsulfide. No distinct hop flavors or odors.
Palate – 3 - Medium, almost creamy, soft carbonation.
Impression and summation – 4 – A nicely bitter stout built on roasted malt. Somewhat of a one-trick pony but still tasty.
Rating 3.92, rDev -1.5%.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Weyerbacher tulip glass both given to me by @ jzeilinger one of the finest BAs and traders going. Pours a very near pitch black with a nice two plus finger sticky brown head that leaves big thick streaks of bubbles along the sides of the glass. 4.5

Smell is biscuity grain, cocoa bean, coffee, vanilla, leather, and toffee. 4

Taste follows but better, more roast coffee, cocoa, vanilla, a little biscuit, and toffee. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than medium, plenty of carbonation, a tad dry and that isn’t a complaint, it works very well. 4.25

Overall this is a very nice stout that drinks bigger than 7% but is actually easy enough drinking to have a few. Well done. 4.25

 

Great Divide Heyday Modern IPA
5.8% ABV

I’m not sure what “modern” means in this sense, I half expected it to mean it was a trendy “juicy” IPA. What it is is a very solid IPA with a lot of spruce and pine on the woody side, with an excellent balance of orange and grapefruit citrus on the backend. There is a touch of sweetness in the taste but I can’t pinpoint what it is — it’s not the proverbial tropical fruit though. What this beer lacks is bitterness, to my delight. Perhaps that’s what they mean by Modern. It’s woody and citrusy without the bite. I like this beer a lot, perhaps another go-to on my long list from Great Divide.

P.S. I love the can artwork.

 

Good Morning NBS
I skipped coffee this morning and went straight for juice

Thanks @superspak for entering this beer in the database, I hate that part.

I'm actually the first to rate or review this beer. If the brewery had done the right thing and labeled it with a canning date, I might have known to let it chill in the fridge for a week to settle down. The only reason I know the best by date is that the already broken 4 pack had a sticker on the can holder.
The review:
16oz can bb July 2018 poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 5.8% ABV. The beer pours mostly bright (ironically it's labeled as hazy) light straw yellow with nearly white head. The aroma is fruity with grapefruit and peach prevalent. The taste is juice-centric as well. It's just the slightest bit tart with flavors of citrus and peach almost completely dominating the light malt. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied, adequately carbonated and mostly dry in the finish. There is a sharpness in the feel that I suspect was not intended. Overall, good. This is and is not what I expected. It's a solid miss on advertised appearance (which is not an issue for me) but the implied juicyness is there (to the point where I feel the malt was forgotten).

Enjoy the new beer in your glass today friends!

 

Happy Damn You for Being with the Best Multiple New Hookers with Tea on Sunday When There's Beer, Bro. Woody! (Week 687).

Yeah, I also procrastinated last week & got bit by the IRS, but I filed & I am moving on. Maybe I'll also shoot for 15 March next year, like @drtth .

As to @cjgiant 's mention of "ticking", that is part of the beauty of The CANQuest (tm): CANs do NOT tick, they only Crack! & Glug, therefore I am NOT a Ticker, but a CANQuester (tm).

I begin with a rant - This, from my review of Best Damn Original Hard Tea: "Sadly, this one has me a bit twisted up! I saw it at one of my locals during a recent visit & brought it home with every intention of adding it to The CANQuest (tm), but when I got on this site, it did not exist. I have no CANpunction about adding a valid new beer, plus I submitted what I transcribed off of the CAN for the "Notes/Commercial Description" portion of the entry & took a picture of the CAN which I then resized & saved. In the interim, this site was not loading properly for me for a few days & when I was finally able to get on and submit my pic, somebody else submitted a picture of a bottle! 8={} Please don't do that! If you see my username as the "Added By", know that I will be submitting a pic soonest. I do not review ANY beers until a pic has been taken, resized, submitted & approved. Lesson learned. I will not build any new beers until I have a pic ready to go." Lesson learned! This one is all me - added, pic taken/resized/submitted/approved & now I am its first reviewer.

And so I beCAN the day with: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29/340233/?ba=woodychandler#review

followed by: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/696/9801/?ba=woodychandler#navigation

which may not have been precisely a "New" beer, but my original review makes it impossible to determine serving style. Ah, my salad days as a reviewer ... Does anyone else miss "Serving Style" on this site? That is part of the reason that I try to incorporate such in my review - so that I know whether it was a bottle or CAN (I rarely review draft or cask these days). [Edit: Whoops! My original review was a bottle, but today includes the CAN.] Plenty of Hookers to follow!

 

Ouch! I wish you quick healing and no need for any more any more contributions to New Wound Sunday!

 

Good morning NBSs!



A-Pours a a dark brownish amber color with a nice silky head and lacing
A-Aroma has decent whiskey with some slight maple hints
T-The taste follows the nose with generous and abundant whiskey notes and some nice silky maple flavor
M-A light bodied decently carbonated beer
O-Another good beer from a consistently good brewery

 

Thanks to @cjgiant for the great start to NBS today. I have a new brew for later on.

Cheers!

 

7.8% alcohol. Brewed in Arkansas.

 

Happy Sunday, NBS crew! Finding a new Foreign Objects brew always makes for a good day. I’ve yet to find one from them that I don’t like.

Chaos Therapy - Foreign Objects
Ale with Hops - 5% abv
Canned 3/26/18 (27 days ago)
Purchased for $6.49 at Beer Heaven
Score: 4.34 (+5.9% rDev)



L - 1-finger ephemeral offwhite head bubbles away in under a minute, leaving behind a murky yellow body.

S - tropical fruits galore! Melon, grapefruit, mango?, a little pine.

T - bitter grapefruit is the leading player here. Tropical fruits are present but in the background. Also getting some straight-up orange. Biscuity middle, with some dirtiness that I associate more with Veil. Finishes dry. Moderate-high bitterness, zero sweetness, zero booziness.

F - medium body with below-average carb. In line with the style.

O - reminds me a lot of their earlier Green Galaxy. On the more bitter end of the NE IPA spectrum, but I personally like em that way.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Weyerbacher Tulip Glass not sure when it was canned but recent. Pours a very murky darkish orange with a nice finger plus sticky off white head that leaves nice medium lines of lace behind. 4.5

Smell is mandarin orange, caramel, toffee, apricot, some pine notes, and some grapefruit rind, very solid nose and balanced nothing too dominant. 4.25

Taste follows tropical orange, apricot, pineapple gives way to some caramel, toffee, biscuit with a nice piney grapefruit finish, very subtle bitterness. 4.25

Mouthfeel is medium, moderate amount of life, not dry but a little stickyness from all the fresh hops, and very drinkable. 4.25

Overall this is very tasty, a nice hoppy red from a fairly young brewery. I can’t wait to watch them get better and better every batch. 4.25

 

Sorry to see that!

I had my share of incredible injuries (which even doctors could not believe!) so I feel for you!

The cut looks nasty (but I had worse), make sure you wash it if it gets dirty and apply a lot of antibody cream every once in a while, and let it dry out naturally whenever possible (no bandages or cover, as it would help with the healing). Here's hoping you can properly handle a beer glass! Cheers!

ps-sorry if I sound to pushy, that's my being a parent kicking in!