New Beer Sunday (Week 709)

I’ve never been to a big beer festival, but after seeing all the pics from my friends that hit Oktoberfest last year, it is now on my list.
Started the morning watching the Browns/Jets replay from Thursday night. Popping a can sent to me by @JBowenGeorgia who is notorious for dropping bombs on people. This is Tropicalia from Creature Comforts. A beer name I have heard plenty, but this will be my first venture into this brewery so I figured I would start with a flagship beer.

Pour is a nice light orange color that isn’t quite completely clear. A small tuft of sticky foam floats on top. Nose is fairly floral with bright citrus. Spotty lacing is sticking all over the glass as I sip. Taste is very fruity. Peach, lime, tangerine, pine. All are present here. The feel is very soft and the finish has a bit of bite on the back end. Really nice brew that I’m sure, if available, I could enjoy over and over again.

 

Heads up @cjgiant, you might as well relabel today’s thread

“NBS (Week 709) - brought to you by @JBowenGeorgia ”

I’m cracking that amazing-looking Ghost in the Machine as soon as I finish my rain-soaked errands.

 

New Beer Sunday: An American Pale Ale

Mornin’ NBSers, with an alert for admirers of American Pale Ales. Also a special thanks to @cjgiant for his start up this morning.

The weather here today is expected to be cloudy with a few scattered showers and temps in the mid 60s.

This morning’s new beer is a collaborative beer called Passion Grass from Lagunitas and Shorts.

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/220/347022/?ba=drtth#review


Given the name of the beer the aromas/flavors of the beer are not surprising and deliver on what is expected. The passion fruit has a nice tropical character and the lemongrass provides some citric notes. Definitely a drinkable beer but not something I’ll be seeking out.

Cheers, all!

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordicish pint glass not sure when it was canned, but JZ sent so I trust it is fresh. Pours a very hazy orange yellow, with a solid finger of white and leaves thin wispy patches of lace throughout. 4

Smell is tangerine, guava, earthy herbal hops, and a healthy shot of grapefruit rind. 4

Taste is similar, but more pronounced and better. Tropical front to back, tangerine, guava, I can’t put my finger on that herbal earthy thing but it is around, and a nice balanced hit of grapefruit. 4.25

Mouthfeel is a big medium, plenty of life yet soft on the palate, and extremely drinkable at 7% ABV. 4.25

Overall I like this one, the nose is pretty nice but the taste and mouthfeel are spot on and I would love to drink this again. 4 Thanks @jzeilinger for this can.

 

Morning guys just waking up, I have a Crowler of a brand new Heist Dipa. But coffee and an omelette first, the beers for kickoff.

 

Howdy, NBSers!

Some Texas beers fared well at the GABF with one huge surprise: little Taylor, Texas' Texas Beer Co. scored a gold medal in the American amber lager category. You know how big that is in Taylor? My 70-year-old mom, who lives there with my sister's family, called last night to tell me about it. I'll head over to Taylor sometime this fall to take her to the brewpub, so we can give it a try.

This morning I'm starting my Sunday-Monday weekend by waiting for the sun to rise while I sample a new coffee beer:

Brazos Valley Brewing's 7 Spanish Angels, an American brown ale with cold-brewed pecan coffee — 6.5% ABV, 16 SRM, 21 IBUs, O.G. 1.058 printed on can (no date; there might've been one on the six-pack ring, but I didn't take note of it)

It looks like an Oktoberfest pouring out of the can, copper, clear and definitely not a stout. The aroma is incredibly strong ... very sweet and floral at first, the floral note reminds me of the hoppy note in American West Coast-style Russian imperial stouts. As it warms, the aroma pushes out raisins, raisin bread and molasses. Halfway into the glass, it smells like vanilla, Bailey's Irish Creme and milk chocolate.

The first taste is like a vanilla shake with milk chocolate melted into it. So sweet and far from "dark" ... in fact, there's not much coffee flavor at first. As it warms, a little coffee flavor peeks in, but it's never bitter or sharp, always more like a cafe mocha or even a vanilla latte. It tastes like sugar or lactose has been added, though neither the can nor the brewery's website says as much.

Whatever is in this beer, it's gets all the thumbs up from me. I love sweet coffee beers, and this one's as good as Founder's Sumatra with a similar profile of "lighter" dark-malt notes.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/user/beers/?ba=Premo88
4.53 (+16.2% rDev)

Hope your Sundays go well!
Cheers!

 

Good Morning all, having my first new beer waiting on the wife to get ready. We are headed to Charlotte this morning to hit a few breweries and pick up some beer for some BIFs I am in one being the NBS BIF #8. This morning I am having a Sweetwater 420 Strain G13 IPA. They really hit the mark with what they wanted to do but I am glad I got a few hours to reset my palette before my next beer. Below is how they describe it:

"This aromatic super-hybrid sticky IPA is first and foremost a phenomenally delicious and drinkable beer, with the added bonus of an olfactory experience that mimics that of the legendary G13 cannabis strain. The IPA base brew has a great body, good head and nice amount of haze at a pleasurable 6% ABV. To work with the malt bill, the brewers added some of their dankest hops, Columbus and Simcoe, plus two dry hop additions. To achieve the aroma, our brewers found the perfect botanically-sourced, strain specific terpenes and married them with propriety natural hemp flavor, both perfectly complementing the hops in the IPA."



Appearance 3.75 - Pours slightly hazy orange with loose thin white head that settles to a rocky cap. No lacing

Aroma 4 - Weed, not as strong as Hemperor but still you can tell what they are shooting for. little bit of orange and tangerine sweetness coming through but mostly weed.

Taste 4 - The taste is a little more broad spectrum, the hemp is there but there are much more bitter citrus peel with just a hint of sweet tangerine. The nose is much sweeter than the taste. Taste is still solid think of a bitter WC IPA with a touch of sweetness aged on bud.

Feel 4 - Medium bodied pretty bitter and dry throughout really strips you palette.

Overall 3.99 - Reading over what they intended it seems to check every box, a slightly sweet bitter hemp IPA.

 

Barnard Bohemian Ale

I have had a ton of different Czech lagers but this one here is possibly my first ever Czech ale. In fact I didn't realize that this was an ale when I bought it. I saw Bernard on the label and automatically I assumed it was a pilsner. Last time I had a Bernard beer was in a tiny Bulgarian village in the southwest corner of the country. This was a few years ago and I hadn't had another beer from this fine brewery since. This particular ale is incredibly fruity and yeasty, with a malty backbone and a very prolonged and intensely pungent aftertaste. Not super complex but the fruit esters are all over the place and certainly make for a flavorful experience. The color is copper (this is meant to be a Belgian Strong Pale Ale) with a frothy and rich head (not of typical Belgian proportions though). Thick mouthfeel that coats nicely your tongue and a smooth carbonation that makes the texture even more velvety. A nice beer but most certainly not on par with its Belgian counterparts. Nice to see the Czechs venturing in unfamiliar territory though!

 

Good morning New BSers! Thanks to @cjgiant for starting us off today. As I age somewhat like an oxidized wine, I slowly get more bitter so no, I have no interest in attending either the GABF or Oktoberfest in Munchen - both involve too many people. I will, however, be attending a much less structured happening in Germany next month - Bockbierzeit. It's unstructured because different breweries produce their bock beers at different times throughout October and November - if I'm too early or too late I'll miss any given bock - hopefully I'll catch Schlenkerla's and Fassla's.

Today's NBS offering is one not being sent to @TheDoctor for NBS BIF #8:



$ 4.00 (Including tax)/16 oz can ($ 0.250/oz) from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. Reviewed 9/23/18.
“Best By 10/28/18” on bottom of can. In cooler at store. Stored at 42 degrees and served at 42 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 3.5.
Body – Orange, slight haze.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.2 cm, aggressive center pour), off-white, medium density, average retention, diminishing to a five to seven mm ring and a thin complete layer with some islands of bubbles.
Lacing – None.
First pour – Medium yellow, clear.
Aroma – 4 – Pine and citrus fruits, moderately strong. The pine fades completely away and the citrus weakens but remains. Toward the end, some malt appears.
Flavor – 4 – Begins with malt as in a scotch ale, and some citrus. A little less sweet than a scotch ale. As the beer warms up, some of the hops bitterness becomes distinct. It ends with a moderate malty bitterness with a long hang-time. No alcohol (8.2% ABV), no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3 – Medium, watery, soft carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 3.75 – Despite the absence of lacing, this is still an attractive brew. The initial aroma makes me want to quickly drink it. I like the flavor of the malt backbone to be noticeable in an IPA and this one certainly is present. Overall, an interesting drink, one which easily could be on a rotating basis.
Rating 3.82, rDev -0.5%.

 

Hi you all! Cheers and Happy New Beer Sunday. I am not prepared. I will just read you all today.

 

Poured into 16 oz Nordicish pint and sadly you can never read the date on the bottom of their can. Pours a very attractive hazy orange yellow with a massive 2 plus finger sticky white head that leaves massive streaks of lace behind. 4,5

Smell is peach, mango, pine resin, and grapefruit nice not sure what the other stuff they brewed it with is. 3.75 Taste follows, really the peach stands out most, mango, hints of pine, and grapefruit. 3.75

Mouthfeel is bigger than medium, plenty of life, not dry but slightly sticky from all the hops, and at 6.7% goes down easy enough. 4.25

Overall a very solid beer, not a huge peach fan, but it plays very well here. 3.75

 

Planned on having a Pipeworks Ninja vs Unicorn thoughtfully provided by @Danmullens1 and reporting here. It seems some sneaky kid drank my beer ! Grrr!!

 

Happy New @CanConPhilly Beer Sunday (Week 709)!

A little background on this week's selections & entry - user @CanConPhilly had posted a pic of his latest CAN haul during Week 704 & I implored him to save the spent CANs for a buddy's CANlection. He assented & so last Sunday, I made a brief foray to PHL to do a little beer shopping & to drop by & pick up the empties. He was a gracious host & invited me in for beer & to meet a former colleague of his who was visiting that afternoon. We ended up hanging out on his deck for a good bit (I caught some sunburn to prove this), drinking beer & talking, before shoving off for chow. We went to a local Chinese takeaway & while they got takeaway, I ate & then took Lyft back to 30th Street Station in time to catch an earlier train & get home two hours prior to my anticipated time. It all worked out as planned & even better as he refused to see me leave with only empty CANs, never mind the backpack that was chockful of my shopping haul. It was clear that I could not leave without some of his stash without offending him, plus that tiny reptilian part of my brain activated. It reminded me that I should never turn down: a) $, b) sex, c) a ride (since I do not drive) and/or d) beer, since to do so sends the message that I am satiated & I may never get another such offer. 8=( I assented & he went into his reefer to choose four (4) personally curated CANs for The CANQuest (tm), each of which will get priority today, with this CAN being Act One.

As to Oktoberfest & GABF, I have been to a LOT of American Oktoberfests, but I have yet to attend one in Germany. Chef Monty is still talking about taking Maid Marion back to her homeland, so it may happen in the next few years. As to the GABF, I used to be a regular attendee, but now I have The ex-Old Lady residing in a Denver suburb & my life is like a C&W song - all my exes live in Texas, that's why I live in Tennessee. I'll leave that to/for her.

Big news - I am now in the industry again! I began working as a barback/busser for Columbia Kettle Works 2nd Gear beer bar almost a week ago during their soft opening & this weekend is their Grand Opening. 2nd Shift M, W & F & 1st Shift today, but I'll be back late in the afternoon to finish up here.

In the meantime:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/27273/369058/?ba=woodychandler#review

Also, before I forget, @CanConPhilly has inspired me - I think that a day trip to Forest & Main followed by a Lyft ride to Mad Mex Willow Grove for a Gobblerito is in the offing next Saturday! HMU if you are interested. See yinz tonight!

 

Morning All! Great start by Mr. @cjgiant today, one that makes me anxious to rejoin the group after being unable last Sunday. Hopefully I will be back later with a new beer from Industrial Arts I am anxious to try after so many glowing recommendations from folks here on NBS. Am saying goodbye today to a wonderful friend (yes, @utopiajane , Professor Bill) who is hitting the road with a camper van to try out that new lifestyle of not having a fixed residence. Our get togethers always include lots of beer, and I hope to still have a bit of room for more when I get back so I can join the fun here, but we'll see. Cheers!

 

First time on NBs and first time trying photos from my phone
Trillium seesaw series black currant
Pours like grape juice with nice reddish foam head drinks medium bodied with fruity juice texture nice tart currant taste but kind of waxy in the middle overall pretty clean taste
3.75-4

 

Oktoberfest has begun – let the partying begin!!

Oktoberfest in Munich started yesterday. For many American beer drinkers this conjures up images of people drinking an Amber beer from BIG glass mugs (A Maß mug as the Germans would phrase it). A few decades ago this would have been an accurate image but something changed a couple (few) decades ago – the beer being served at the Munch Oktoberfest changed. The beer was no longer Amber in color but instead it was Pale in color akin to a Helles or Pilsner. What prompted this change? I suspect that folks attending the Oktoberfest celebration preferred to drink many Maß mugs of the Pale version over the Amber version? Regardless of the explanation, we are where we are. Who says that when it comes to beer the Germans never change!?!

For a number of years I have described these ‘new’ beers being served at the Munich Oktoberfest as being Pale Oktoberfest beers. I have noted that over the last years the term of “Festbier” to describe these beers as become a bit more popular. I will stick to my terminology of Pale Oktoberfest for this post’s discussion.

There is a notion that these Pale Oktoberfest beers is essentially a higher gravity (higher ABV) Helles beer. It just so happens that there is a beer style name for a higher gravity Helles which the BJCP labels as German Helles Exportbier.

Would a German Helles Exportbier taste like a Pale Oktoberfest? As the wise owl would say: “Let’s find out”.

For today’s beer drinking exercise (and overall partying) I will be conducting a side-by-side taste testing of Augustiner Edelstoff (the German Helles Exportbier) and Weihenstephaner Festbier (the Pale Oktoberfest).

Firstly, let’s compare these two beers via information from the respective breweries:

Weihenstephaner Festbier

· Original wort: 13,3 % weight

· Alcohol content: 5,8 % vol.

· Bitter value (IBU): 26

Augustiner Edelstoff

A highly regarded bright munchener export style beer, sparkling and fresh at the same time, brewed with noblest raw materials. The high-class product of the old-Bavarian brewing art

Brewery: Augustiner

Country: German Beer

Styles: Lager

ABV% 5.6%

So, a quick review of the above data indicates that the Weihenstephaner Festbier is slightly stronger at 5.8% ABV vs. 5,6% ABV for Augustiner Edelstoff. But the more important thing here is the ‘taste testing’ so:

Let’s drink (and party)!!

Served in my Spiegelau Lager Glasses:

Appearance:

Augustiner Edelstoff: Golden yellow with a white head.

Weihenstephaner Festbier: Golden yellow with a white head.

Aroma:

Augustiner Edelstoff: A deep/rich bready malt aroma.

Weihenstephaner Festbier: A bright bready malt aroma.

Taste:

Augustiner Edelstoff: Flavor follows the nose with a rich bready flavor. A low/moderate bitterness.

Weihenstephaner Festbier: Flavor follows the nose with a bright bready malt flavor. A low/moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Augustiner Edelstoff: Medium bodied with an off-dry finish.

Weihenstephaner Festbier: Light/medium bodied with a dry finish.

Overall

Augustiner Edelstoff: I think this beer is very good.

Weihenstephaner Festbier: I think this beer is very good to excellent. This beer has the quality that the Germans describe using the word süffig (drinkable)!!


These two beers are indeed quite similar. It seems to me that describing a Pale Oktoberfest as a more heavy duty Helles (i.e., a German Helles Exportbier) is a fair statement.

Hopefully y’all are doing some partying as part of the Oktoberfest celebration season!

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @Ranbot @Crusader

 

Weihenstephaner original
..clear yellow gold color
..Medium light body with plenty of carbonation
.. aroma is malt, yeast, bread /doughy, mildly floral and grainy
...taste for the most part follows the nose. It's sweeter than the aroma suggests but just mildly sweet. The grain,bread,and floral hop taste all shows up
..overall it's a very good beer that works well with food, compliments a meal but doesn't distract from it

 

A-Pours a very dark opaque color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has coffee, dark chocolate and hop hints
T-The taste follows the nose with coffee, dark chocolate and slight hoppy flavors
M-A medium bodied moderately carbonated beer
O-A nice oatmeal stout

 

Thanks @cjgiant for the great start to this weeks NBS! Will be back later on with a new brew.

Cheers!