New Beer Sunday (Week 703)

I enjoyed seeing your 4 reviews. @mattflippin and I did this several weeks ago and ranked them close to yours, also with coffee first. We also did a "cuvee" with equal parts of all 4 and side-by-side, the original Bomb was clearly better.

 

The difference in terrain and vegetation between your former home in Maine and your new one in New Mexico is amazing! What is the typical August temperature in southern NM?

 

New English IPA Sunday

I moved to Minneapolis in 2010. I've moved around town five times since then being priced out of a handful of neighborhoods due to the effects of gentrification. With every move I've tried my best to relocate near my favorite brewery, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery. My latest move was the most successful in this regard. So this afternoon I walked on down to the brewery, and had a new beer.

Clipper IPA, an English IPA with Australian hops. It had great bitterness, some pine and citrus, and did I mention the great bitterness...old school.

One of the reasons I love Town Hall is their old school approach to beer, and, having opened in 1997, they are old school. It's not only that the brew traditional styles well, it's that their regulars are old school too. Even Crazy John likes good beer.

Crazy John likes drinking Town Hall's Masala Mama IPA (which was #3 on the BA Top 100 list back in 2005), and he gets drunk fast. He remembers my face, but not my name. As such he sits next to me at the bar, and reintroduces himself everytime he sees me. After reintroductions he goes directly into talking about what he knows best: conspiracy theories. A few years back he told me that professional golf is rigged. A couple months later he tried convincing me the there are pyramids under the ice in Antarctica that were build by the ancient Egyptians. He was very adamant about it.

I didn't see Crazy John today. I haven't seen him for six months or so, but I hope he's well. He's entertaining, and good natured.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1177/359490/?ba=KarlHungus#review

 

My New Beer #2 is also from Rockland County, NY. District 96's Nuclear Option 2.0. For those outside the metro area, District 96 Beer Factory is a small brewery in New City, the county seat of Rockland County, which is on the west side of the Hudson River and borders New Jersey. It's located in a shopping center and is physically attached to a restaurant called Burger Loft. D96 doesn't can its beers yet and but it's a great experience to drink their fabulous beers while eating a Burger Loft burger and fries. The names of its beers are politically-themed, which makes them fun. Some of my favorites are Sexual Relations, Yuuuge, and Very Stable Genius. Nuclear Option 2.0 is more of a NE IPA than the original Nuclear Option. It's like drinking a tropical fruit punch with a plush, silky mouth feel. I haven't had a beer at D96 that isn't first rate.

Here's my full review:

4.27/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from fresh crowler into District 96 tulip glass. It pours a turbid, brownish-gold with a huge, fluffy, snow white head and lots of creamy lacing; much more NE looking than the original version of Nuclear Option. A very attractive pour! The nose features lemon peel, tangerine, honeydew, bubblegum, and a whiff of vanilla. It's really tasty! It opens like a tropical punch with tangerine, ripe melon, and something else (banana?) with a hint of vanilla/lactose. The flavorful blend of Citra and Lupulin powder adds moderate bitterness but doesn't bite hard. The finish offers some pepper and spice that nicely balances the sweetness. This ale has a soft, plush mouth feel - fairly creamy, and the 8% ABV gives it nice substance but doesn't distract from the fresh fruit flavors. Overall, Nuclear Option 2.0 is another example of D 96's ability to craft delicious, fun to drink DIPAs. It's a perfect beer to drink with one of Burger Loft's fabulous burgers and a big basket of fries.

 

Beer #2 Tired Hands Tom’s Hands, a little pricy at $35/bottle, but I’m very happy I picked it up!

4.45/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle, dated 11/30/17, poured into a flute

A- A fairly clear light golden color with two finger white head

S- Sour, peach skins, lemons, some peaches, oak, some hay, funky, hints of band-aids.

T- Sour, peaches, lemons, peach skins, oak, earthy funk, touch of wheat.

M- Smooth, light body, soft, dry.

O- A little more sour than Tired Hands usually put out and it is great. Super easily to drink.

Cheers!

 

New Prairie saison. Delicious stuff! Nice head retention/lacing. Aromas and flavors of big lightly tart lemon, lime, citrus peel/zest, peach, pear, melon, red/green apple, white grape, coriander, peppercorn, clove, hay, straw, herbal, floral, and grass; with moderate wheat, cracker, white bready malts; light musty Brett funk, and yeast earthiness. Light herbal/zesty/floral/grassy bitterness, peppery yeast spiciness, and wheat tang/tartness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation, light-medium body, and moderately crisp/clean finishing. Balanced bready/grainy wheat and sticky hops/yeast in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing bitter/spicy/carbonated dryness. Very flavorful/refreshing, 3.9%. Not watery at all. Definitely will get this again. Very well rounded saison yeast complexity with solid Brett presence; nice pale/wheat malt backbone for the ABV, and solid earthy hop balance. Loved it. Spot on style. 3.95


From @spelingchampeon. Awesome NEIPA. Great head retention/lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, gooseberry, citrus zest, and light pepper/pine hops; with moderate wheat, biscuit dough malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Very mild pine, zesty, herbal, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; very creamy/bready/grainy malts and light sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering bitter dryness. Super smooth/soft feel. Minimal warmth of 6.8%. Feels like Citra/Amarillo. Super juicy and lightly dank hop complexity; perfect wheat/oat/malt backbone. Not overly sweet/heavy. I loved Torque Wrench WAY more, but this was still spot on stuff for an NEIPA. 4.1


Cheers, be back soon.

 

Checking out Free Bully IPA from Bolero Snort...

7.2% abv; no canning date that I can see but probably from the early July canning that @MacMalt sampled about a month ago... Features Motueka and Lemondrop hops and sea salt... Got that murky orange juice-like appearance, under a finger-plus of white foam... Fruity and citrusy on the nose, with floral airs... Impressions on the sip are of orange juice with the zest of a lemon - bright and a little tart, zesty and juicy - moderately sweet, mildly bitter; the finish has a teensy bite of salt, which I really liked, too... Smooth and soft but with some tang and zing - reminiscent of an orange creamsicle with a hint of lemon and a few grains of salt... Very enjoyable...

That's all I got today, folks - hope yer new beers are good to ya, cheers...

 

Back with this, a pale ale brewed by Georgetown in collaboration with...Pearl Jam:

Not reviewing right now (got a whole 6er, so it'll happen soon), as I've got some things to do.

To sum up:
Nice fruity, "juicy" pale. Eminently sessionable stuff. Plus, it's to help a worthy cause (the fight against homelessness).

 

Today's new beer is courtesy of @mattflippin, who muled some of these after attending their IPA invitational last week. He mentioned to me in passing that the can was a bit old (9 weeks) for a NEIPA, so I hesitated in cracking it for NBS, but I'm glad that I did:

Hooey IPA, Lupulin Brewing Co., Big Lake, MN


This one looked like a typical NEIPA with a hazy/turbid yellow color, but it was brighter than most, reassuring considering the age. There was nice robust white head as well. The aroma was fantastic, especially for a beer canned 9 weeks ago! Big hits of tropical mango and berries, along with some dank resin. The taste followed with no surprises. Big fruity notes, a nice dank presence, and soft bitterness. Huge flavor for a 6.2% IMO. The feel was somewhere between old-school and pillowy. Overall a great representation of the style. Recommended, even if it's long in the tooth. Cheers!

 

Almost purchased until I saw the 34.99/4pk price!

 

Many thanks @cjgiant for waving today's green flag! My offering today comes from Portland's Breakside Brewing. It's a BBA chile/chocolate amber.



L: Pours vibrant mahogany with 1 finger of medium density white head that dissipates very quickly and left very little lacing.

S: Nose is mostly barrel attributes, charred oak, vanilla and bourbon. Its pleasant, but very little from the base beer is shining through.

T: More dynamic than the nose, definitely picking up some of the base beer especially the chilies. In addition to the chilies and barrel notes, there's some noticeable chocolate on this finish, which lingers on the palate a bit alongside the chilies.

F: Low-medium bodied with lower carbonation, slick on the tongue with plenty of burn from the chilies.

O: It's a nice beer, a buddy brought this to a chili cookoff/bottle share. I can definitely see this being a great option for such an event. Breakside does not disappoint with this one (much like everything else I've had from them), they are one of the best in PDX for sure.

BA score = 4.04, rdev = -0.2%

 

New beer #7. Still outside for the moment, waiting for the shit that’s hitting @cjgiant to make its way here.



Strawberry Whipz - Other Half feat. Green Cheek
Sour IPA - 7% abv
Canned 7/5/18 (38 days ago)
Score: 3.97 (-3.6% rDev)



Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33510/355803/?ba=CanConPhilly#review

Synopsis:
Neither sour nor an ipa. If you would have told me this was a strawberry berliner I wouldn’t have doubted it for a second. Wish there was more of a sour or tart component to make this more complex. As-is it’s a decent, rather sweet, dessert beer.

 

Happy Sunday NBS players. A rather mixed summer day here on the island. Hot and humid with plenty of overcast and roll in showers. Spent the afternoon on the North Fork visiting my folks. Watching more golf than b-ball today.

My new beer today is Delicate Senses, American ipa- nesipa, from Greenport Harbor. Following off of @Bluecrow . Not sure if the hop profile even thou I picked it up from the brewery. The brew checks in at 6.7% abv with a 7/31 canning date.

A straw yellow color on the pour. A murkey/juice cloud covered look. Very fruity upfront with a subtle hop profile. A tangy and smooth flow with a slightly bitter finish. Has a nice soft pithy fruit tone to it. Big fruit notes of mango, tangerine, grape, and melon. A moderate mouthfeel with a rather crisp and refreshing feel to it.

Overall, pretty decent stuff but it’s rather average/slightly above the par. I’m right around a 4 here players,

 

Hey NBsers Happy Sunday and thank you @cjgiant for his motivating words of wisdom. Late start today because I worked a 14 hour day at the restaurant yesterday. Multiple stations but all saute' on a very busy Saturday night. Anyone thats in this industry knows the story. Not a minute to sit down or eat. Its 14 hours of hustle and I havent done that for a long time. That plus I am working with guys half my age @ 28. I must say I feel pretty good about being able to do that and people loved the food. Thats the reward. And speaking of rewards how about a DIPA today from Down the Road Beer Co.
Sunna, brewed with Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo and Galaxy.
Pours a hazy golden orange color with a 3/4" off white white foamy head that leaves some decent lacing. Nice looking brew.
Smell is wonderful. Peaches, tangerines, some cantelope, pine and dankness. The aroma has depth and lasts throughout session.
Flavor follows with red grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pine resin. There is a just a touch of light honey sweetness but in no way does it drag down the flavors.
Feel is medium to slightly fuller body but it still maintains a pleasant crispness and decent carbonation as to not feel too heavy as some doubles do. It starts with a piney bitterness up front, has a honey like lightness in the middle and finishes on the dry side. A really enjoyable drink here.
Down the Road has made some really nice IPAs and theyre not getting enough credit. This is a top notch IPA that can hang with the best. I wouldnt quite put it in the NEIPA category except for the brewery location but Im fine with that. Worth seeking out. Cheers! Love this thread!

 

Whilst watching Tiger attempt to roll the clock back a decade and a half, I have a couple of relatively local beers for my NBS friends. First up, an English-style IPA from 18th Street.



4.23/5 rDev +9.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

The pour is a nearly clear brownish orange (or orangish brown) body with a sudsy tan head. Lovely beer. The nose has equal amounts of fruity hop aromas and earthy caramalt aromas. Oh yeah.

The taste is an absolutely perfect balance between the fruity hop flavors and the beefy, earthy caramalt flavors. If I close my eyes, I can picture myself as a patron of George Hodgson’s Bow Brewery, enjoying a pint of this fine ale.