New Beer Sunday (Week 690)

New Mother's Day beer:


Roughing it with a Live Oak Gold, a North German-style pilsener

It's another fantastic bit of bread malt-hoppy heaven from Live Oak with a decent amount of sweetness from the malt and a forceful bit of earthy bitterness from the hops. Compared to Live Oak Pilz, it's more earthy, possibly even more yeasty, not as grassy or green and not quite as "soft" or buttery in the bread malt. I'm winging all this as I take a short break from showing vacation pictures to Mom, so my formal review is pending, but it's at least a 4.0 and probably closer to 4.25 or beyond. Tasty and just enough different from Live Oak's year-round pilsener to make it worth trying.

Back to vacation pics for me ... Happy Mother's Day!

Cheers!

 

As you can probably guess from my comments, I enjoyed the beer. But for myself I wouldn't quite put it in White IPA territory since both the grapefruit and the bitterness were well controlled and didn't conceal the orange peel, etc. I agree that it's "not your father's Witbier" so I'd put it more on the Wit side of that fuzzy zone between a Wit and a White IPA.

 

Having had both the beer and similar reactions to it, I'm having difficulty waiting for the Oktoberfest collaboration beer to show up.

 

Ommegang Hennepin saison ale
..pours an attractive cloudy gold orange color
..medium carbonation with a just above medium body
..aroma is floral,yeasty,sweet citrus , and citrus rind
..taste is similar to aroma,slightly sweet with a spice bite to it
..overall it was refreshing,enjoyable,not overly complex but more than enough to hold my interest

 

Happy NBS. Trying this Omnipollo Shoutao. Cheers!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25314/292927/?ba=cindyjeffsmith#review

 

Happy Mother's Day to all BA Moms and Moms of BAs! Our daughter and her boyfriend are visiting and we took Mrs. Mac to a nice Mother's Day brunch. Then we all went to work moving stuff to our new house. The official move isn't till next week but we're trying to move as much of the non-furniture as possible ourselves. It's finally time for a new beer. This is Schneider Weiss's Tap X Aventinus Barrique 2018, a Doppelbock aged for 12 months in Kentucky bourbon barrels. It's fruity with lots of tart apple and pear. The bourbon notes are very delicate - and don't overwhelm the other flavors. Overall, it's an interesting beer but not worth the high price point of nearly $20. Here's my full review:

4.03/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 11.2 oz. bottle into pilsener glass. It pours a murky brown with orange hues and virtually no head or lacing. The most noticeable smell is oak, along with sweet malt, and tart fruit. I didn't notice any barrel notes in the nose. What an interesting taste! It opens with sweet fruit: apple and pear, then turns quickly sour. It finishes with bourbon notes that are very delicate and subtle. As the glass warms, the bourbon becomes more evident but it's never overpowering; rather, it compliments the sweet and tart flavors nicely. It has a light, crisp feel with mild carbonation, and the 8.2% ABV is barely noticeable. Overall, this is certainly an unusual offering. The flavors mix and compliment well. While not overly potent, I'd still describe it as an after dining sipper.

I hope you're all enjoying your new beer(s) today!

 

Happy Mother’s Day, NBS friends. I already called Mom and got the low down on “Life In Dayton” for the 3 weeks since I visited for my sister’s birthday party, which was a hoot. We enjoy chatting - we’re only 17 years apart - and she always gives me the dirt on my siblings, since I’m the oldest and in need of that leverage at my advanced age.

I have a trio of beers today, the first of which is my first from the brewery, and I believe my first from Rhode Island - it’s the “NBS Trifecta” (Registered Trademark ovaltine Inc) !!!!!



It looks like a glass of REALLY pulpy orange juice with a dollop of tan foam slathered on top, similar to many other beers in this style. The nose is the obligatory citrus bomb, with spicy nectarines and passion fruit - but do I also detect some malt?

The taste says I do! There’s piles of citrus flavors, but there’s a noticeable malt component as well, which is really nice - that gives this more body than many offerings of this style. Just a pleasure to drink. Rated 4.35.

 

Good evening NBS, hop everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Thanks to @lordofthewiens for getting us started off this morning. Another normal weekend for me. Got a lot of work to do this week to fix some issues at the assembly plant, so it will be really busy. Made a huge new beer haul yesterday, so I am going to be busy for a while. I was almost out of stuff last week; but I always have the hookups with my favorite stores, so I am not surprised. Found a ton of stuff I was looking for in the sour department. Other than that, got the laundry done for the week and bottles returned for recycling as usual.

New beer:

Daily lager review. Really fresh(for an import), 12/19/17. This was excellent! Fantastic head retention and thick soapy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of cracker, white bread dough, toasted biscuit, and light nutty malts; with some herbal, grassy, peppery noble hops. Light-moderate herbal, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body, and moderately crisp/clean finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing lingering bitter dryness. Very flavorful/refreshing, 4.9%. Never watery. Perfectly clean lager flavors, zero fruitiness. Very clean and nicely rich pils/Munich malts, great noble hop presence and bitter balance. This brewery is on point every single time! Pristine German pilsener. Would grab again while it's fresh. 4.03


Nickel Brook Belgian pale ale. Excellent stuff. Great head retention and thick foamy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of lightly tart lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, pineapple, passion fruit, melon, red apple, white grape, citrus peel/rind, peppercorn, hay, straw, herbal, floral, and grass; with some cracker, white bready malts; light musty Brett funk and yeast earthiness. Moderate peppery yeast spiciness, herbal/grassy/citrus peel bitterness; and light Brett tartness on the finish. High carbonation, light-medium body, and moderately crisp finishing. Balanced grainy malts, sticky hops, and light resins/acidity in the mouthfeel. Moderate increasing bitter/spicy/carbonated dryness. No astringent flavors. Refreshingly smooth, 5.2%. Not sure how old this is, but I can tell it has had some time on it. Really great well rounded Brett complexity, balanced Mosaic/Hallertau Blanc hops, and a solid pale malt backbone. A very well executed 100% Brett beer. 4


Cheers, be back a bit later NBS.

 

Founders Dank Wood




Has a deep copper tone
A nice tan fluffy head
Great head retention 4.0

Odvious wood notes
Nice malt notes as well as roast notes
Could be more vibrant on the nose 3.75

Prominent Carmel , smoke, wood
It's all in there, rich tasting, chewy
Smooth not bitter. Again iget some nice carmel tastes with this beer. 4.25

Full mouthfeel, clean finish. 4.0

The bourbon works well with the malts. Great character. Not too sweet.
Loved it really. I'll buy more than 1 next time. 4.25

 

I'm pleased to hear your thoughts about this as I've been considering giving it a try.

I also don't think you need to worry about it not being "something special," if only because others have "been there, done that" on purpose while exploring AALs.

I personally that found reviewing an AAL for NBS a few years back forced me to confront at least one of my own rating biases. E.g., I realized that I had given the AAL I was discussing that Sunday a lower score than I had given just the day before to a different style beer, but I realized that the descriptions of the appearance of both were basically identical. Talk about rating bias...

 

#2, this is also a brewery “New To Me,” and it’s courtesy of my beer nerd friend @Ozzylizard (as was the glass used for beer #1) from NBS BIF #007.



I am a notorious overrater because I love (most) all beers and all styles, but I’m usually within the random distribution deviation (5 or 6%) on most beers, but not on this (IMHO) glorious beer - I’m 20.4% above the BA rating for this, but that’s okay. This scratches my barleywine itch.

It pours a rich reddish-brown with a big ol’ bubbly tan head and nearly clear. Gorgeous beer. The nose has toffee and caramel notes - and a big fruity component. I am beyond intrigued.

The taste ..... stupendous, IMHO. There’s the significant malt notes with the toffee and caramel, but the fruit comes forward even more - beyond the stone fruit, I get cherry, and tart blueberry notes that mix really well with the malt flavors.

I only wish I had a 6er of this to age, because I think it would be even better with some whiskers. As it is, I rated this 4.42 (vs the 3.67 generated by previous ratings).

 

Last one, this is a 3rd brewery new to me.

In one day.

How is that possible?

Props again to @Ozzylizard for the beer AND the glass.



A burnt orange slightly hazy white headed beer in my glass - count me in. Add a shovelful of grapefruit on the nose combined with a subtle caramalt aroma, I’m chomping at the bit.

And the taste supports my eagerness - the grapefruit is up front, and at the tail end of the taste, too, but there’s that caramalt note that really elevates this. An outstanding flavored APA, IMHO. Rated 4.25.

 

Mother's day festivities is over, so I'm visiting one more new one.



Hoppin' Frog's Rocky Mountain D.O.R.I.S.

Pours black with a finger of caramel foam. Head retention is fair. Aroma is roasted, toasted, and caramel malts. A little whiskey with a touch of heat follow it up. Caramel is present as well. Flavor profile is roasted and toasted malts with a background of oats, caramel, and toffee. Whiskey is present, but kept in check, just adding a little extra complexity to the flavor profile. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a velvety, fuzzy texture. Overall, a good stout with a kiss of whiskey. Nice depth and complexity. Dropped overall score 0.25 for lack of bottling date.

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4 | BA Score: 4.2 | -0.9%

Personal notes: Think I broke my laptop...? Also, kinda bull crap Hoppin' Frog doesn't put dates on their bottle. The beer page for this one was made in '16, and says "limited" so chances are those beer is "old". Dropped the score 0.25 in overall to account for this poor packaging.

 

First time getting my hands on this, it definitely lives up to the hype.

Almost not head on the pour
No light coming through this
Smells of dark chocolate, bourbon, toffee, brown sugar
Taste is toffee, caramelized sugar, dark chocolate, some dark fruits, and a nice bourbon flavor
Overall definitely world class, everything you want in a BBA stout. 4.75

 

A-Pours a nice hazy golden color with a nice head and lacing
A-Aroma has citrus hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a nice citrus flavor
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A good drinking IPA

 

Home after closing the store and ready for MY weekend to begin. I will be trying to get through a few new-to-me Jackie O's offerings starting with their Berliner Weisse.



5.2% abv.
Bottled in 2017.
Moderate to vigorous pour yields a fluffy white head over an ever so slightly hazy golden body with scant lacing. Nose of wheat, slight funk, and a bit of citrus. Taste mirrors nose very nicely. Very enjoyably refreshing and not too tart with a finish of slight breadiness. Nice feel and overall a great job from Athens, OH. Cheers!

4.21/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

A-Pours a very nice light amber color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has delicate hoppy hints
T-The taste follows the nose with nice a gentle hoppy flavor
M-A light bodied well carbonated beer
O-A very well balanced nicely balance beer

 

Goose Island Fulton Street Blend Blonde Ale, 4 months old, coffee is AWOL, meh; 3.05 over-all

Pours an effervescent bronze with a thumb+ of pearl colored head. Decent head retention & lacing

S: Some Coffee notes, a little grassy

T: Pears, breadyness & a touch of green apple skin, plus some dryness, where is the coffee? More dryness, pear, a little grassyness along with more green apple. Finishes dry, grassy with green apple

MF: Light/medium body, firm carbonation

This was pretty boring and the coffee was a no-show, thank goodness I only purchased a single! I now see it was bottled in January, did not hold up.

Happy to Mother's Day to all. The Powell Family had a nice day, we went shopping for a Bike for Mama Powell & had a Nice Lunch at a place that Brews their own. Beer was probably the weak link for the place, but small sample size. Will go back, it was a fun place. I try to impart the importance of this days to my boys. I lost my Mom when I was 19 & still not sure I am really over it. So if you can; give Mama a hug!

 

4Hands Madagascar

Evening, BAs. Saw someone else drinking this in that other thread, and thought it was the perfect time to crack open my bottle, which came my way from @FFFjunkie as a tag back in the NBS BIF.

Madagascar is a milk stout brewed with vanilla beans and aged in bourbon barrels. From what I've read elsewhere on this site, vanilla bean prices are through the roof right now -- so this is clearly very chichi. Who knows if a vanilla-heavy brew might one day be an even bigger extravagance than it already is?

It pours a very dark chestnut brown with two-and-a-half fingers of mocha-colored head that leaves sheets of lacing.

It has a delicious aroma of cocoa, brownie batter, vanilla, leather, toffee and bourbon in the nose. Really great stuff.

It's lighter tasting than the nose suggests (and also than I expected, assuming at first that this was an imperial stout). Chocolate, vanilla and milk are the most prominent in the taste, with a little nuttiness, leather, tobacco and earthy hops behind to balance out any sweetness. Slight alcohol behind.

It has an appropriate feel for a the style, but, IMO, it's thin against all these flavors. Also a bit sticky, with modest carbonation.

A little more heft in the body and barrel heat would make it better, to my taste, but this still has a really nice balance of flavors -- especially in the aroma. As a milk stout, it's excellent. Thanks, Dan, for the chance to try it.

 

Poured into 13 oz Tired Hands Teku glass canned on 5/4. Pours like glass of fresh squeezed OJ, with a finger off white head that leaves big thick streaks of lace as it slowly settles. 4.75

Smell is guava, mango, mandarin orange, pineapple, and a hint of grapefruit. 4.5

Taste follows loaded with tropical fruit front to back, exactly what the nose would have you expect. Really nice. 4.5

Mouth feel is bigger than average, soft mouthfeel with the perfect amount of carbonation, not dry but a tad sticky, and very drinkable and I can’t find the ABV for some reason? Guessing 8% 4.5

Overall this is just really juicy and amazingly tasty. 4.5