New Beer Sunday (Week 715)

New Beer #2. This came in a trade with @swenny916. Huck Finn's Habanero Apricot Wheat Ale from Mark Twain Brewing Co. in Hannibal, Mo. I've been intrigued by this since I received it. It is, I'm fairly certain, the most peppery beer I've ever had. But the sweet apricot acts as a nice balance. This ale is not for the fainthearted but I enjoyed it. If you don't like pepper heat in your brew, then you should probably avoid this offering. But if you're adventuresome, then it's definitely worth it. Thanks, Jay!

3.85/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

I received this in a trade with @swenny916. Poured from undated can into a pint glass. It pours a cloudy apricot color with a thin, milk-white head and a creamy film of lacing. The nose consists of apricot, wheat cracker, and light hops. At first sip I'm tasting sweet apricot. Then, the habenero peppers hit like a freight train. This is one of the most peppery beers I've ever had but the apricot provides a nice balance. Nonetheless, there is a strong peppery after taste. The mouth feel is lite and crisp with pleasant carbonation, and the moderate ABV (the can says 5.5%) allows for easy drinking. Overall, I can understand the wide range of ratings for this ale. If you like pepper, then you should really like it. If not, then Huck's is not for you. I will say that a second pour is tough given the heat but this is well worth trying.

 

Had one new one before heading back to the airport to head home. Went back to Cleaver's for another cheesesteak, I'd recommend them for sure.

Pizza Boy The Handmainden's Ale
Pours a cloudy orange with a finger of white head.
Smells of citrus, primarily orange.
Taste is orange pith and bready malts.
Medium body well carbed.
Overall a decent beer but not one I would seek out.

 

Alright, here's my second and last new beer for this NBS! I've reviewed Decadent's Blackberry Cream Pop before in a previous NBS thread and was surprised to find that I really enjoyed it. I tend to be kind of "meh" about these vanilla/lactose IPAs with fruit (usually referred to as a frappe IPA or some kind of other silly thing), but something about the other varietal of this beer that I just mentioned was right on the money. Let's hope this is similarly good.

Pours a deep orange color with a creamy-looking eggshell-white head that leaves behind some nice lace as it dissipates slowly to around a half-finger. The surface is hazed over with the very same meringue-like foam, giving this a nice appearance. I've always found it interesting that Decadent's fruited stuff doesn't take any color from the fruit used, leading me to wonder whether they just use extract, or whether there just isn't enough fruit to give the beer any hue other than golden. Ah well, still good looking for the most part!

I will say that the nose is pretty convincing (if syrupy) with its raspberry addition, with a huge smack of red berries right upfront followed by the sweetness of vanilla, which almost seems cloying unfortunately. I don't really get any of the hoppiness unlike its sister beer, which is disappointing, as I've typically enjoyed how the Mosaic hops in Decadent's DIPAs melds with whatever adjunct flavors they're trying to weave in. It just so happens that Mosaic tends to have a red berry-like note, however, so maybe it's just blending in really well. That said, I'm not as into this one as I was the Blackberry Cream Pop.

The flavor is much more like a fruited wheat beer with a larger-than-normal alcohol presence (though it still doesn't taste like an 8.6% beer), which is... not what I wanted from this. What the hell, guys? This just has a very boring and one-dimensional flavor profile, and it's about 50% sweeter than it has any right to be. It's unbalanced, boring and, quite frankly, not up to Decadent's standard. I mean, even though these guys can be hit-or-miss, they at least usually make IPAs when they say they're going to. I typically have issues with how little of the adjuncts I get in some of their fruited beers. This just has the opposite problem, and I'm not a big fan. Heavy, wheat-y body with low carbonation and decent palate coating. Can't really get into it, but I'll finish my can.

 

My first NBS - Suggestion of Mass by Modern Times/J Wakefield. A good beer, but way too expensive for a tiny pour:

I find the beer dark, exotic, and wildly elusive. I wanted to do the proper thing and allow it to sit, to warm, but that’s like having Emily Didanto pillowside and resisting the urge to dive in like Phelps going for gold. The beer is jet black, medium bodied like Oprah when she skips the cookie aisle, and it has wonderful pastry flavors like your grandma baking your your Sunday favorite treat. This one is not a top ten stunner, but it definitely is Raul approved.

 

It's been a great weekend here in Tennessee, with peak fall colors and steady, cool temps. Yesterday I managed to stop by Southern Grist while running errands and picked up their latest canned release, an "imperial" milk stout with peanut butter and maple syrup. I used quotes as this one is 6.5%, on the light side for anything imperial. They have had this on draft before and many locals were stoked to see it packaged.



I'm a sucker for anything maple, and this one delivered. The look was typical for a milk stout - dark brown and slightly viscous on the pour. There was only a modest tan head that left intricate lacing in the glass. Things picked up with the aroma: rich maple up front followed by subtle peanuts, chocolate, and faint roasted grains. The maple was definitely front and center on the taste, but it was somewhat restrained and not overly sweet. The PB was much less prominent but lingered on the finish. Chocolate, some vanilla, and roast flavors rounded things out. A full body and slick feel thanks to the lactose. This one was sweet but not overly cloying. A great sipper especially after a meal. Cheers!

 

NBS x2. Upright, Zetterberger Lager.



A loosely based beer on the Märzen style from Upright, eh? Sold!

A beautiful and deep copper color. Burnt orange actually with bronze glowing highlights and a thin white head that somehow manages to leave some spotty lacing despite it's lack of participation. It's not the cleanest looking brew, but it comes around with some time.

A simple profile escapes the glass. Toasted white bread crusts, light caramel, and wet grass to finish it off.

The flavor also is primarily made up of this, but this has a wonderful nuttiness to it. The real standout and pleasure of this beer is the strong black peppery finish.

This is remarkably easy to drink. Very dry, with a medium carbonation. The initial sweetness that is quickly overrun by the spicy finish equates to near perfect balance.

An unusual take on flavors for the style. Almost like a blend of a Märzen and a biere de garde. It's quite delicious and a truly unique joy to drink. This beer needs to be approached as advertised, and not entirely subject to the Märzen guidelines in my opinion. Think of it outside the box and you're in for a treat. Cheers.

(Insanely good looking hidden images courtesy of Oakley.)

After my official review, I gave Zetterberger Lager a rating of 4.1. (No rDev)

 

Where's the Wiz? Real steaks have Wiz Wit, that translates to onions and cheese wiz, I add roasted red peppers to mine too.

 

NBS BIF MYSTERY BEER

Evening, BAs. The current beverage in my glass is from @beertunes as part of the NBS BIF. My only real hint is that it is a “Washington Beer.”

It pours a clear, light-straw color with low effervescence and a half-finger of white head that’s quick to dissipate. There’s very little lacing. The beer is much clearer than the picture indicates.

I get lemon, camomile, grass and a light twang of funk on the edges in the nose.

The flavor is very light, again with rounded edges. Lighter lemon, a softer, almost soapy tang. A light grassy or herbal element... lemongrass and Noble hops, maybe? A hint of mineral water, and maybe even a little salt. Very light, earthy, grassy bitterness in the aftertaste

The mouthfeel is really nice. Light to medium bodied with a strong punch to the carbonation that gives it a certain crispness despite the “softer” taste.

I’m going to guess this is marketed as a Grisette — perhaps a cuvée that includes a splash of Czech pilsner?

Overall, it’s very light and easy drinking. It has certain lager-like Euro feel and aftertaste to it, but the nose was more Saison-like. I’m going to go grab a second pour and peel off the wrapper.

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Broken up work week with election day this time. Pretty typical weekend as usual, but was getting low on review stuff; so I went to my usual Livonia favorite stores this afternoon and got 3 cases of new beer. Been doing growlers more often lately, since it is getting difficult to find stuff.

Beer:

Delicious hefeweizen. Lasting fluffy head retention/foamy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big banana, bubblegum, clove, peppercorn, lemon, peach, pear, and red apple yeast; with balanced wheat, cracker, white bread dough malts; herbal, floral, grassy hop, and yeast earthiness. Mild herbal, floral, grassy bitterness; peppery yeast spiciness; and wheat tang/tartness on the finish. High carbonation and light-medium body, and fairly crisp finishing. Very creamy/bready/grainy wheat and slight sticky hop in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering bitter/spicy/carbonated dryness. No cloying. Very flavorful/refreshing, 5%. Spot on stuff, though lacking the yeast sediment haze(I even shook the can around). Perfectly balanced classic German yeast complexity and pale/wheat malts; with mild noble hop presence against sweetness. Big fan. 3.93


To Øl seaweed gose. This was incredible. Lasting head retention/thick soapy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big sour/tart/tangy lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, melon, red/green apple, white wine, sea salt, hay, straw, herbal, and grass; with moderate wheat, cracker, white bready malts; lighter notes of peppercorn, smoke, leathery/musty funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate lactic tang/tartness; light herbal/grassy bitterness and peppery Brett spiciness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation, light-medium body, and fairly crisp/clean finishing. Balanced bready/grainy wheat, lactic acid; light sticky spice and salinity in the moutjhfeel. Light-moderate increasing acidic/spicy dryness, no puckering. Very flavorfu;/refreshing, 4.5%. Not overly lactic/salty. Amazing balanced Brett/lacto complexity, earthy seaweed, and a solid pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity. Pretty much every single sour I've had from them has been amazing. 4.28


Cheers

The Djent Spotify playlist I found is my favorite thing ever lately. So many new found Metalcore bands. There are over 217 hours of music on it.

 

Do yourself a favor and listen to Oceans Ate Alaska's 2017 album, Hikari. It is absolutely awesome.

 

Derp! I said it was Grisette-like up front with a crisp lager-like finish. That should have clued me in, but the actual style didn’t even occur to me...





Thanks, Terry! This is tasting real good right now, and was a nice head scratcher, too.

@beertunes

 

I like the sound of that!

 

You are absolutely right, it’s not a tropical flavor but somewhat more of a dark berry. I lazily could not pinpoint the flavor (my alcohol compsumption probably had a lot to do with that).

ps-I went back and edited my review to reflect that.

 

Hello, NBS friends, and thank you to @cjgiant for the launch and the NBS BIF reference. I've participated in 4 of these magnificent beer nerd extravaganzas, and I can't recommend them highly enough.

Unless you don't like GIF's or meme's.

If you don't like those two offspring of the internetz age, stay away.

Very, very far away.

I have a couple of beers from NBS BIF #8 courtesy of my beer nerd friend @TongoRad, plus another beer mixed in for good fun. First up, this excellent DIPA from New Jersey.



4.17/5 rDev +6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a bright yellowish-orange color, with loads of hop haze and a voluminous off-white head. The can calls out orange citrus and honeydew melon notes, which is accurate, but there's an earthy aroma on the nose, too.

The orange citrus notes are very bright and VERY forward on the taste, and the melon flavor is notable, too. This is a substantial, well-executed West Coast-style DIPA that is a pleasure to drink.

 

Souther Tier Meltdown hazy IPA. 3.73 overall

Pours a hazed & effervescent straw color with 2 fingers of cream colored head. Average lacing & head retention

S: Some breadyness, grassyness

T: Orange peel, pomelo, dryness up front. Leafy hops show as this warms, along with more pomelo& dryness. Finishes dry with leafy hops & a little citrus

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation,, good balance

Easy to drink, but was hoping for more from this one

 

Quite enjoying all your entries, especially as the Jets' performance made me wish I was drinking new beer today instead of no beer today, so the vicarious enjoyment is all I can get. Cheers all!

@Lingenbrau a friend who brings you chants is a good friend indeed! My favorite mushroom, but, like beer, I kinda like em all. Hope you enjoy yours!

 

I know it doesn't look like much, but I promise you this was some of the best bites I've ever had in my life.



Looking forward to going with her next weekend on another foraging journey.

Cheers!

 

I like the kinds that give you hallucinations and feelings of euphoria.

I also like Hen of the Woods and Oyster.

 

#2, I believe New Holland has fairly wide distro, so if a banana-coconut chocolate milkshake with a little bourbon mixed in entices you, seek this imperial stout out.



4.38/5 rDev +5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours black with a creamy tan head, but there’s some leakage to mahogany colors on the extremities. The nose is bananas up front, with coconut following, and vanilla and oak barrel notes combined with rich chocolate notes at the tail end. I am quivering with excitement.

The taste is a rich chocolate milkshake with banana and coconut, and some bourbon to take you to nap time. Big and chewy, this is a meal in a beer, whether that meal is dinner or dessert.

I’m not a coconut fan - at all - but I highly recommend this beer.