New Beer Sunday (Week 694)

Cheers to you, @lordofthewiens , for the implied open-mindedness in this post. I really appreciate and respect that!

Also: I'm tremendously bad at golf. My nickname was always "Hackety-splash". I figure that's probably self-explanatory, yeah? Cheers to your enjoyment of the sport, but I am with @Ozzylizard - it's a squandered walk.

Good evening, NBS.

I've had something of a curious week and have a few beers (today) that I owe, at the very least, a brief review.

But, first, a quick run-down on the weekend (because the work week was tedious and loaded with actual work!). I attended a little whiskey raffle yesterday at the local Total Wine (Roseville, MN) in the hopes of procuring a bottle of bourbon - and possibly some beer. A bit of background: last year's whiskey release was combined with a special beer release - several bottles of Goose Island's Vanilla Rye were available, among other things. I missed that event, but was hopeful that this event might mimic it a bit.

Unfortunately, not so. But, I did win the whiskey raffle and came home with a pretty nice bottle...



This involved my getting up at 3am and arriving at the store at 4am, so Saturday was a bit loopy in some ways. I stood in line with quite a few friends, bought my bottle after the raffle was completed, and came home to do some running. I managed to break my record and run just a bit longer and faster (almost 2.5 miles of running), and my weight is looking good...

So I'm drinking beer again. That's the main triumph and happy note of the week. My knees and ankles don't feel great, but I chalk that up to bad form and lack of stretching. I'll work on that.

Today, I've cleaned a few beers from the fridge. I closed an in-person trade with a very friendly, cool local BA in @mplsbeerbud - and then I had a date cancel on me at the last minute. So I obviously began to crush some IPAs (that's proper form, correct?). Thankfully, @larryi86 had me covered with quite a few.

First up was a Manor Hill beer - Volume 11:



Like the Squirtle glassware? I do, too. The beer has quite a lot of pineapple to it - the nose and mouthfeel are clean, light, and express quite a bit of citrus and just a little bit of bitterness. Very good!

Next up was an IPA by Shared (brewed and canned by Tired Hands):



This fella was quite yeasty, though very smooth, sweet, and fresh. I liked it.

Following this, my friend Barrett and I (no, I didn't drink these alone - beers are always best when shared! ...and this was my cathartic afternoon activity, after all) switched gears to stouts. I have @Jason1221 to thank for this little gem:



Plenty of chocolate, vanilla, and a nicely creamy mouthfeel. It's a bit thinner than one might like, but it's not barrel-aged - it's still quite good. I suspect that throwing it in a bourbon or rum barrel would make this a world class beer. As it is, it's still delicious. Thank you, Jason!

From there, Barrett and I closed with an Eviscerated Pathway of Beauty - another gift from @larryi86 :



Being slightly forgetful, and not super bright in the first place, I neglected to take a picture of this beauty. Above is Barrett's picture. Is his beer photography better than mine? Probably. He is a millenial and has an iphone, after all. As for the beer - I'd ready plenty that psyched me for the experience. Eviscerated is quite chewy and thick, very sweet, with a great nose, taste, and mouthfeel. I think the oats significantly contribute to the thickness, in a very positive way, while it's obviously quite rich with citrus due to the single-hopping with citra. I am a fan.

Thank you again to @larryi86 and @Jason1221 - and cheers, NBS. Wishing you an excellent week to come!

 

Good evening NBS,
My busy schedule has kept me from posting on this great thread, but I managed to get a new beer in tonight so here goes. I was going in to Brooklyn for some family obligations on Friday and decided to pop into Other Half, and sure enough they had an IPA in cans available for purchase. Without sounding too much like a boy in love I was super excited as this is my first beer from this legendary brewery from my hometown. (I moved out just around the time they opened).
Well onto the beer.
DDH Oh Dream canned 6/5/18

16oz can into Libbey Tulip
Canned on 6/5/18
L- hazy pale yellow with quickly receding head
S- tropical aromas, pineapple, pine, slight cream
T- sweet & creamy malt base, tropical fruit bowl, pine, cream shows up again on the finish
F- medium-bodied, the obvious creamy feel, tingly carbonation
Overall a solid beer all around with no obvious flaws. I can't say I'm the biggest fan of the Lactose but they incorporate it well.

Cheers and here is to more NBS posts.

 

It's been a busy few weeks after buying a house. Hoping to get back into the NBS swing of things now.
I'm starting off with a Tipa from Buley Oak- Three Hour Tour.

Pours a hazy orange-gold, centemter head of large bubbles.
Smell is tangerine, lemon, fresh cut grass .
Taste is lemon, lime pith, grapefruit. bread and vanilla on the back. Very bitter but balanced nicely with sweet. Only slight heat.
Mouthfeel is thick and juicy.
Overall I'm really getting into the Tipa style, I love the density of flavors. This is a good example of the style, not my favorite but certainly solid.

 

Howdy from early summer in the Brazos Valley, where it's 85 and won't cool down into the 70s until past midnight. Fortunately, I found something to help keep me insides cool:



Twisted X's Gulf Kolsch

Simple, subtle, tasty ... not a single off note anywhere and about the only thing I might dock it for is it's ABV (it's 5.1% -- I'm forever on the hunt for true session beers much closer to 4.0%). Its hop flavor is very light, but the little nip of earthiness does do enough to balance some of the light-malt sweetness and builds over time, almost tasting like raw lumber in the aftertaste.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25622/303961/?ba=Premo88#review
4.0 (+7.8% rDev)

Did somebody say golf?

All of this mess from today's practice at Texas A&M's campus course:


(aerate much?)

before above; after below



clubs always congregate outside my bag during short-game practice

Started playing golf a week before my 16th birthday; I'm still playing at 46 and plan on playing until I'm not able. With a handicap in the high 3s, I have the magical 1.4 handicap index still dangling in front of me, teasing me into chasing the dream of qualifying for the U.S. Open. I'll try to qualify for next year's Texas Amateur and might consider playing in two or three other stroke-play events, but the main goal forever remains to have fun no matter the score, and at 46, I'm a champion at doing that compared to my younger self.

Blame @lordofthewiens for all that golf talk. He brought it up!

Cheers!

 

I love this!!!

 

Hello New Beer Sunday!!!

A bit late tonight. I had my nephew's high school graduation party earlier today, so a good excuse to get out of work. After I went to visit some friends in St. Paul, and dropped off a card for their HS grad.

Between the two things, there was a stop at Lonsdale Liquor, and this new beer I picked up there from Montgomery Brewing in Montgomery, MN



Batch #23 Black Ale. 5.5% ABV and 34 IBU.

I must admit that this beer seems to have a lot more than 34 IBU based on the feel on the backside that is quite full of hops. Overall, a good beer. The only downside is that there was no aroma at all, at least none I could detect.

3.63/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This beer pours pitch black. The head is crazy - 4 finger, and it wasn't an aggressive pour. The color is brown and the retention is good. There is some lacing on the glass.
The nose is well, nothing. I get nothing in the aroma.
Taste - The beer has a lot more flavor than the aroma for sure. I get a malty presence up front. Slightly sweet. On the backside I really get hops, and these hops do linger. It is a pine type hops.
Feel, maybe a bit watery, but the hops do linger and I can feel it going down.
The aroma is poor, but the flavor does make up for it a lot. A delicious beer.

I might have one more, but we'll see.

 

Squeaking it in at the wire. Polycephaly 3 Jackie O's - Winking Lizard collab from @WesMantooth I think it lost a good bit of carbonation, but the soul is still there and awesome. Complex as all get out. Cinnamon vanilla decadence.

 

It's been a busy day for me today but finally getting around to posting a review for today. I spent the morning at my mother in law's installing some security lights for her, she lives alone and has had someone beating on the wall of her house outside of her bedroom window in the middle of the night. Hopefully the lights will scare them off, allow the trail cam to get a good picture, or atleast illuminate her target should it happen again.
Had a few beers around the pool with my neighbor while the kids played but neither were new, we had a small release of Old Nation's M-43 in GA this week so I shared those and Creature Comforts released my favorite DIPA this week so had to enjoy those poolside as well.
It started to thunder so we cleared the kids from the pool and headed inside to share this beauty courtesy of @2beerdogs in an overly generous LIF box from the BIF.

My first Bruery offering.
Pours a dark brown almost black with two fingers of tan head.
Smells is dark roasted malts, cocoa, and vanilla.
Taste follows, strong roasted flavors, cocoa nibs, slight bitterness. Not picking up much from the orange zest, maybe a hint on the backend. The vanilla is definitely there and I believe helps keep the bitter notes balanced out a bit.
I like a nice full bodied stout, this one fits that bill for me. Smooth texture. Good carb levels.
Overall an impressive beer.
Thank you Derek for this one, looking forward to getting into the others.

 

New American-Made Kolsch Sunday continues on the late-night tip:


Officially four wide now on Kolsch lane ... just trying to impress @TongoRad

OK, but seriously, I'd have lost the rent gambling on whether Southern Star or Twisted X made a better kolsch, because I was certain Southern Star would win. Wrong. Humidity is a tasty enough beer and might (*might* -- it'd take a good @JackHorzempa / @utopiajane jam session to figure this one out) be the more authentic-to-style kolsch, but it's so generic. There's almost no distinguishable note I can name in the flavor except "beer" ... maybe some cracker malt, maybe some rice or neutral grain, maybe a hint of earth or black pepper but all these are incredibly light flavors. The nose shines over the flavor, for it has a right-off-the-bat lemon peel/grassy note mixed with a lot of malt sweetness that's very nice.

Good beer and maybe what I'm tasting is a much healthier but subtle earthy hop note junking up the malt sweetness my sweet tooth craves?

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16759/328128/?ba=Premo88#review
3.74 (+4.2% rDev)

Midnight the Cat tried to help with the review but mostly begged for food:


Cheers!

 

Well Hello Late Night NBS.
Coming in a little late, in more ways than one. School is out, and I should be partaking more than I am, but...
Tonight is the night I finally pop New Glarus Cherry Stout from our very own @FlintB . Received in the NBS BIF #6. Sorry I did't experience this one earlier.

4.32/5 rDev +14.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to FlintB for this New Glares gem.
Now I don't know how much of a "stout" this is, but she sure is a beauty.
A deep brown tinged amber in the sunlight fills my glass. Beautiful in the sun. Some khaki head, and a most interesting, scattered and layered, lace of silver pearls crawls down the glass. Doesn't look dark enough or deep enough, or chewy enough to be a stout. But sure is pretty.
Smell has a graceful sweet breath. But wow, a mature cherry comes through. Now usually I get a lot of medicinal notes on many a cherry infused beer. No hint of that here. It's deep cherry. Fruity, a bit dark, a little overripe and meaty, and oh so complex. I am intrigued.
Wow, the taste follows gloriously. The rich depth of the fruit plays so well with the malt. Subtle hues of brown bread tussle with stone fruit, plum, fig, and brown sugar. But the fruit is the star. It pushes forward boldly, then retreats to a gentle floral kiss that gives a chance for the yeast and source water to whisper. Inspired.
Feel is admittedly light for a stout. But its feels nearly full enough in the mouth, yet not chewy. Carbonated impeccably to stay active in the mouth.
Overall, slightly out of style in a few ways for a stout, but I cannot mark it down. This hits on so many marks for me. (And for a style I had less than high expectations of). A great beer.