New Beer Sunday (Week 717)

I'm game for that. I always enjoy a good Saison and some of our local breweries are producing quite a few of them.

 

Great review. It sounds fantastic!

 

Good evening NBS, hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend once again. Short week coming up for us. Looking forward to family visits on Wednesday. Usual new beer haul yesterday, and will have some from Ohio next week. I have been addicted to reading Wikipedia and learning about scientific history and advancement lately, just a random thing that has been keeping me amused. The geologic history of earth is just mind blowing to think about; among other things like space etc. It's amazing what we have done in only 1 century, vs all others.

Anyway, New Beer:

Very nice American brown. Great head retention/spotty lacing. Flavors of big caramel, brown sugar, brown bread dough/crust, spicy rye, toasted biscuit, and nuttiness; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, dark fruit; herbal, floral, grassy, peppery hop; and yeast earthiness. Similar/muted aromas, a tad too fruity/yeasty. Light herbal, floral, grassy, peppery hop; roast bitterness, and rye spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; creamy/bready/grainy malt; light sticky hop and chalky roast in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering hop/roast bitter dryness, no cloying/astringency. Very smooth, 5.8%. Textbook style example as expected. Nicely rich and well rounded English malt complexity; mild fruity yeast and earthy hop balance against sweetness. Not overly roasty or bitter. Reminds me of Bells Best Brown a lot. 3.88


Fantastic NEIPA. Opaquely hazy, lasting head retention/thick soapy lacing. Aromas and flavors of huge mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, red apple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, watermelon, coconut, blueberry, gooseberry, guava, citrus peel/zest, and light peppercorn/pine hops; with wheat, white bread dough, light honeyed malt balance; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; very creamy/silky/grainy malts; light sticky/resinous/rindy hops in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering resin dryness, no hop astringency. Very smooth/soft feel, minimal warming 7.3%. A barrage of hop varieties: Azacca, Mosaic, Motueka, Citra, Vic Secret, Amarillo, Galaxy, Cashmere and Moutere. They are all fairly similar as a whole, anyways. Super juicy and fairly dank/earthy hops; perfect wheat/oat/malt balance; mild residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. This is spot on stuff for the style. 4.23


Cheers

 

American versions are certainly much more common than they were when the thread started. Unfortunately, the Belgian ones are much harder to come by these days with the influx of new locals taking over shelf space previously dedicated to imports. The Fantomes and the De Rankes and the De Glazens are harder and harder to come across than back in the day.

 

Good afternoon and happy New Boozy Sunday, BAs. First off, to throw my two cents in again about @cjgiant 's NBS-wide tasting proposal, I am of course down. Wether it be the potentially suggested SN beer (we all buy beer anyway, might as well go to a good cause!), or as @joe1510 mentioned Sasion Sunday (showing some respect to the historical foundation is a novel idea), I think it sounds like a winner.

Alrighty... No hiking this week, but even touring Portland's infrastructure has had it's highlights this week. Here's some pictures taken from various pump stations throughout the city...







Anyhoo, been a very nice (weather) week and that continues today. I find myself passing on classics often while perusing the beer isles, and decided that needs to change. Classics still occupy our shelves for good reason, and it's time to start re-taking advantage of that. I've had Samichlaus before, but really only remember the Helles. It's probably been more than ten years since I've had this beauty, so it demanded some respect, and a proper review.

Brauerie Schloss Eggenberg
Samichlaus Classic Bier- Doppelbock




(And I know... I have beautiful hands.)

Samichlaus Classic is stunningly beautiful. The colors of autumn blend seemlessly in the glass with picture perfect clarity. Garnet, auburn, and light brown highlights shimmer without competition for attention as the lightly tanned bubby foam above flees entirely from the scene. (4.25)

Golden and red raisins jump from the glass. Plum and cranberry juices along with light caramel promise for a potentially sweet experience. Lying deep below, a simple and pleasant white bread adds comfort. (4.5)

The flavor couldn't mirror the aroma any more perfectly. Cranberry juice without the tartness takes front and center before allowing the raisin blend to shine. Black mission fig and burnt sugar on white bread linger on and on before a mild pepper spice finished it all off. (4.25)

Dense, syrupy, and oily, this beer is no joke. The almost lack of carbonation makes this so incredibly rich, but still manages to be smooth. Sweetness is showcased here, bitterness be damned. The warmth of alcohol creeps in with a burn throughout the chest. (4.25)

This is a delectable beer, demanding to be sipped and savored. A doppelbock on steroids without the rage. The sophistication of a debittered barleywine, if there were such a thing. Not an everyday beer that's for sure, but it's delicious, no question there. (4.25)

After my official review, I gave Samichlaus Classic a rating of 4.31 with an rDev of +7.2%. Prost!

 

Now I have to try this beer! First, I'm actually part Estonian (I'm not making this up). Second, I love it when someone in the metro area refers to the "Football Giants", which I totally get. Thanks for the review, Gent. Cheers!

 

One of the benefits (and there certainly are detriments) of living in New Jersey is that we get good distro of European beers. I'm glad the local brewers, such as Kane, Rushing Duck, and Twin Elephant, are brewing Saisons because we can compare them to the real thing.

 

The beer is bells BBA expedition stout, poured into a dragon's milk snifter (meh, close enough)

Appearance is pitch black with khaki head and sticky residue more than lacing.

Smell is chocolate/caramel candy, bourbon, light coffee. Heavenly, not hot smelling.

Taste begins with a rush of bourbon, creating a little heat at the back of my throat. This is followed by heavy roasted malts, coffee and chocolate notes in the middle of my tongue. Theres a thin layer of candybar like sweetness on the perimeter of my tongue in the aftertaste.

The body is thicker than the unaged version, reminds me a lot of BCBS in flavor and feel. Not a beer to quench your thirst obviously.

Overall I'd have to rate this close to perfect. I can't even think of a way to improve it... it's one of the best of it's kind.

 

Giving this Bell’s Bourbon Barrel Expedition Stout a whirl

4.46/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

About as nice a looking head as possible, thick light brown foam that pulls back fairly quickly, leaving a nice, sticky lacing. Smell is quite complex, as chocolate, molasses, vanilla and anise play equal role. Taste is similar but more pronounced as dark chocolate, vanilla and molasses coat the mouth with a little bourbon poking in on exit. Feels pretty thick, and leaves behind the taste of having just done a shot of a lighter, blended whiskey.

 

Now onto a new IPA. I think @superspak already tagged this one today, but I'll give it a whirl.



Evil Twin's This Must be Where IPAs go When They Die.

Pours an opaque bright-orange with two fingers of white foam. Head retention is good, as is lacing. Aroma is citrus, tangerine, and papaya. There is a dry biscuity, earthy malt behind that carries a light bitterness. A kiss of honey adds a little sweetness. Flavor profile is tangerine, papaya, mango, and orange with a strong earthy malt and barley backdrop. Honey sticks to the tongue and sweetens up the back end. Great balance and dynamics between the hops and malts. Mouth feel is a little fuzzy, and touches on chalky on the back end. It has a medium thickness. Overall, a surprising amount of malt showing through this, especially for being double dry-hopped.

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.23 | rDev: -0.2%

 

Mammasilenus has run out to do a few errands so I've taken the opportunity to plop down in a chair to get some REAL work done...



Pappy's Porter from The Alchemist, Stowe, VT
4.17 rDev +2.2

From a 16oz can, undated. Served in an imperial pint pub glass.

Pours a thin looking, unhighlighted black with a big, puffy, lumpy, three-finger-plus beige head. Retention is very good leaving a lumpy cap and scattered wads of lacing. (4.0)

A sharp, roasty nose of charred grain and chocolate-covered cherries. (3.75)

Taste is acridly bitter and charred initially, with chicory, over-steeped black tea and wood ash, before slowly smoothing out with dusty cocoa powder and dried cherries. Roasty, toasty, tannic, bitter and dry as the dickens. (4.25)

Feel is powdery-smooth-almost-silky, dry, medium bodied and well carbonated. (4.25)

Nice. I started out thinking I was tasting the coffee notes I expect in a porter before I really got that it was more of the tannic, bitter character you get when you leave the tea bag in the cup too long. (4.50)

 

Okay, let's do one more!

From the bottle: "Brewed for Ibis Bakery and celebrating their first anniversary at 1624 Grand, KMCO - Mareitt is brewed with local, raw Darby white wheat sourced from Ibis. Showcasing the breadth of flavors found in simple ingredients, we fermented this Grisette-inspired beer using a Kveik strain of yeast. During fermentation, this yeast produces radical aromas of bright citrus, orange and tangerine to compliment the earthy, wheaty components of the base beer."



acquired via trade from @Harrison8 , thanks, man! poured from a brown 500ml bottle into a tulip glass.

A: i decanted this pour, reserving the sediment for later. Mareitt pours a clear-amber color witha fluffy white head that quickly dissapates into a thin lacing. 4/5

S: big aromas of white grape, tangerine and just a hint of wheat. very interesting 4/5

T: in all honesty, i haven't had many grisettes over the years and i have not tried a beer brewed with this yeast strain, so this is all a bit new and unique to me. it's quite pleasant and similar to the nose. lots of vinous, white grape-ish flavor with a bit of tangerine. white wheat flavor is certainly there and adds a nice rustic quality to the flavor of the beer, which punches well above its 3.9% ABV. nice and clean finish to boot; this is a nice table beer. 3.75/5

M: thin body, quite crisp and finishes dry. very enjoyable mouthfeel. 4.25/5

O: this was a fun little beer. i only say "little" because of the ABV because this one packs a lot of flavor nuances. much more fruity and refreshing than i was expecting while somehow still being rustic enough to be a good table beer. very good! 4/5

 

Cheers, Mac. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did. Two wins in a row! Woo hoo!

 

Happy, new Double IPA Sunday

Things are chilly in West MI. The sky was full of sun, but temps still maxed out in the upper 30s.

Friday and Saturday were full of youth sports. Yesterday the wife and I hit up the Beer, Wine, and Food festival in downtown GR. While there weren't any festival specific releases, there were still lots of good drinks and eats.

Today's new beer is a super fresh DIPA from Bell's. Great balance out of a big beer.

Lampshade Party Ale
12 oz. bottle (pkg. 11/05/2018) $2.80 Copper Vine-poured into a Bell's imperial pint glass

A- A very liberal pour creates 2-1/2 fingers of khaki head that's foamy and dense. The body is a clean, deep gold that nears bronze with light carbonation. The head sustains at a full finger as thick, foamy rings are left on the glass.

S- Plenty of fresh hops create a grapefruit aroma that mixes with sweet malts to form the sugary-sweet breakfast of my youth. Other tropical fruits at play (pineapple, mango?) peachy?

T= Great balance from bold hops and a solid malt backbone. Definitely grapefruit with sweet Hawaiian roll bready flavor.

M- Medium-full body. Smooth alcohol warmth. Light, hoppy tingle.

O- A super fresh, balanced double IPA. The cool, retro label appears to be different from bottle to bottle.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/361341/

 

A respectable imperial IPA from the New Orleans Lager and Ale Brewing Company...



A dry, tart imperial IPA, it has a citrus pith taste overall with a mild astringency. Not too boozy but definitely on the arid side of beer things...

 

Good evening, NBS!

I'm currently on vacation in Florida and without a computer, so this will be a quick post!

I'm a fan of mead - I love fruited meads particularly, and Garagiste is killing it at the style. I stopped by this morning and had a flight.



I'm adding this post in hindsight so my tasting notes aren't easy to recall. The Reboog Guayaba was terrific - plenty of peanut and the guava jelly plays nicely with the peanut saltiness. I found myself quite dried out and thirsty afterward. Lots of salt; very savory and sweet. I don't clearly recall my tasting notes of the others so we'll call it there.

Stopped for a Popinski at Angry Chair, had some Ramen at Ichicoro (fantastic!) and now headed to a friend's home for a few days.

Plenty more vacation to come. Hope everyone enjoys a pleasant week to.come - have a wonderful, safe, serene holiday!

 

Caribou poured into a 13 oz Teku glass canned on 11/01/18. Pours a very hazy yellow with a half inch white head that leaves minimal lace behind. 4

Smell is dank marijuana, papaya, apricot, and ripe pink grapefruit. 4.25

Taste follows very aggressive grapefruit, weed, and papaya. 4.25

Mouthfeel is a solid medium, very gentle carbonation, a tad sticky, and at 8.6% goes down easy with a ton of flavor. 4.25

Overall just another awesome treat from Foam. 4.25

 

Wasatch Polygamy Nitro Porter, 6% ABV. Pours black and seemingly bubble-free, with a slight tan nitro head. Should have been more aggressive on the pour. Nose is malty and a touch of dark fruit. Taste is roast malt, a bit sweet, dark fruit, with a very slight bitter close. Pretty flat. Overall meh, not much flavor.

 

My entry for NBS today is a Citra dry-hopped sour pale ale from Invasive Species called Bowl Cut.



This one came to me from @HeartofMiami and is a style I haven’t yet fashioned a taste for, but hopefully I will be jumping on the bandwagon soon. This pours dark gold and has a soapy, foam topping. The nose is distinctive Citra hops but so sign of souring bacteria at all. My first sip contains a punch form a puckeringly sour liquid. Lemon and lime are in the forefront with almost no hoppy characteristic. Very thin feel with low carb. Overall I thought this was pretty good, but now I know to enjoy this when I want a sour beer and not a hop bomb. Thanks Jarred!

I finished a short day of work and got home to an angry wife. I hadn’t finished the basement floors, to no fault of mine. She didn’t order enough flooring and the rest won’t be here until tomorrow. So now I get to enjoy a beer before Xmas decorating. Wish me luck!

 

Saison Sunday

This beauty won "Runner Up - Best in Show" yesterday at FoBAB and won Gold in the "Wild Beer (Sour)" Category. Finishing in front of Crooked Stave and The Rare Barrel in the Wild Beer category and behind Bottle Logic as "Best in Show".

Hopewell - Crudites



"A wild saison aged in oak barrels and dry hopped with Hallertau Blanc..."

Crudites is a beauty of a beer. A bright peach flesh hued liquid fills the glass. The touch of haze throughout diffuses the light to accentuate the glow. This beer looks like sunshine. The foam is eggshell white with the same sheen. It's bubbly off the bat before lazily receding to a thin cap and taking on a silkiness. Erratic, thin lacing is left in its wake. She's pretty. (4)

Whew! There is some serious depth and deft handedness on the nose. The dry hopping brings immediate notes of white peach flesh, at its perfect ripeness. White grape skins bring about the salivation. A soft wheaty twang and melange of orchard fruits make up the malt base and yeast profiles. Pear, more peach, and apricot come across nicely. The deft handedness I was referring to comes from the barrel aging. It's fresh oak, crisp, bright, and softly sweet. The barrel aging compliments the soft lactic acidity to a tee. (4.25)

The flavor profile follows where the nose leads. White peach and white grapes bring brightness to the start along with that soft lactic acidity, somewhat yogurt-like. It's got some wheat vibrancy along with doughy malt characteristics and a well rounded orchard fruitiness. Again, the barrel aging is expertly handled bringing the oak, a mild sweetness and some tannic dryness. This is a complex sipper. (4.25)

The mouthfeel fits the body well. It's spritzy upfront with this lighter bodied beverine. That spitzyness awakens the tastebuds allowing the tartness to grab hold. It's dries up rather quickly on the finish while leaving behind some of that stone fruit. Drinkability is sky high and each drink brings about a yet undiscovered nuance. (4.25)

Hopewell pulled off a gem with this beer. It was brewed, barreled, and dry hopped with the utmost care and understanding. It's bright and vibrant, nuanced and ripe. The carbonation and feel are well dialed in. It will be interesting to see what this one does over time in the bottle but as is, that dry hopping shines. (4.25)

4.24/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

@papposilenus , the name of your beer clearly shows that it’s your porter.

 

This edition of New Beer Sunday just got off to a terrible start

Clown Shoes Octofest

2.74/5 rDev -18.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

I hate being lied to. I was really looking forward to this since I'm a big fan of marzens and fest biers. And, with the nice artwork on the 16 ounce can, I figured I was in for a real treat. My first clue that things weren't as they should be was the haziness of the amber body. Second the smell was lacking the sweet caramelish bready notes. Finally the taste confirmed everything: this is an amber ale or something other than an Oktoberfest. I don't know if it's always been like this or someone screwed up the ingredients in this year's batch but this is the last purchase of this.

As if that wasn't bad enough, in the meal I was eating along with this, the chicken breast I bought turned out to be a thigh.

 

Another Beer'd.
Frank & Berry DIPA with Mosaic hops
Pours a beautiful orange-gold with an off white head that settles quickly yet leaves decent lacing. Again a beautifully clear beer.
Aroma is tropical in nature, lots of ripe pineapple, citrus, some berry, onion and pine.
Flavor follows with dank tropicals, grapefruit and orange and damp earthy pine.
Feel is medium bodied, nice carb. Has a slight oily slickness from hop oils but finishes with a pleasant dry bitterness. No hint of the 9% abv.
Another dynamite beer from the hairy ones. I love the clarity of these brews. Really well done. AND I have another from them!

 

Sorry for your beer. Cant win them all. However thigh for a breast? That could be a win....

 

Half the meat, double the flavor.

 

Very good APWA/braggot. Nice head retention/spotty lacing. Flavors of big clover honey, orange, lemon, peach, pear, melon, red apple yeast; with moderate wheat, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit malt sweetness; light herbal, floral, grassy hop, and yeast earthiness. Similar/muted aromas, a bit too fruity/yeasty. Light herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; creamy/bready/grainy wheat/honey; light sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Slight slickness. Lightly increasing lingering bitter dryness, no cloying. Very smooth, pretty refreshing, 4.7%. Not watery for the ABV. Great balance between rich honey, pale/wheat malts, fruity yeast; and mild earthy hops against sweetness. Reminds me of mead a lot, definitely a significant amount of honey in the beer. Worth picking up again for a session ale. 3.78


This was fantastic! Great fluffy head retention/foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, toasted marshmallow, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, coconut, oak, nuts, and dark/brown bread; with light notes of bourbon, smoke, char, herbal/grassy hops, and yeast earthiness. Mild herbal/grassy hop, roast/char bitterness, and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; creamy/silky/bready malts; light sticky hops, chalky roast, and oak tannins in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering bitter dryness, no cloying/acrid flavors. Insanely smooth, 6.5%. The bourbon isn't huge, but the vanilla/toffee/coconut barrel notes are all there. Perfectly balanced rich malts, cocoa, lactose, and marshmallow flavorings. Tastes like s'mores as a beer perfectly. Will grab singles if I see them. 4.25


Cheers

 

Puppy Love

Branch and Blade Brewing
American Imperial Stout / 9.20% ABV

4.06/5 rDev -1% | Score: 4.1
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L-The beer pours black and thick with a one finger mocha head. The head recedes to a thin ring with large central island leaving minimal lacing.
S-The nose is heavy with chocolate and accented with a lighter peanut note.
T- On the palate it is not as sweet as the nose would lead you to believe. There is dark chocolate, some smoke/char, and a light saltiness like peanuts from the can.
F-Mouthfeel overall is on the higher side of medium. There is a decent slickness to it. Carbonation is light. Its a filling beer.
O- It's a good example of an American stout, neither cloyingly sweet nor overly hoppy. I would have like the peanut aspect to be more like peanut butter and a little stronger on the palate than it is. Worth a shot if you like stouts and want one with a slight twist.

 

This Eagles-Saints game has me torn, at the end of the day I want the Eagles to win and won’t stop cheering for them but this is getting ugly and Brees and Kamars are on my fantasy team so I can find a silver lining hopefully moving to 9-2 in my league.

Enjoying The Veil Skeletonz thanks to @vabeerguy

4.09/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Thank you vabeerguy for this
16 oz cans, dated 10/22/18, poured into a tulip

A- A hazy golden straw with a small white head

S- Peppercorns, melons, citrus, pineapple.

T- Pineapple, peppercorns, some melons, citrus, earthy, a little dank.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- An interesting DIPA, some great fruity hops battling with earthy/dank hops and peppercorns. Easy to drink and enjoyable.

Cheers!

 

More classics as I push to try more Beers of Fame. Like the Belgian Faro from earlier, this is one I've seen on the shelves around time since the start of my craft beer drinking experience, and yet never purchased. In fact, I've only ever had one Fantome beer. Eager to add to that list.



Fantome's Pissenlit.

Pours a copper-amber with a light fog to it. Head formation is a finger in height and white in color. Aroma is honey, barley, wheat, herbal and floral hops and toasty, biscuity malts. Yeast esters are light, but show their hand right at the finish. It smells a touch sweet. Flavor profile is a pleasant blend of sweet, bitter, and smooth. Honey, grapefruit, and white grapes add the sweetness, with dank, herbal, and floral hops and toasty, biscuity malts adding the bitterness. It has a good blend, with a well shaped dynamic. It's not a blast of flavors that fade, but rather a well-written melody of notes that wax and wane through a story, with dank hops clinging onto the finale solo. Mouth feel is still, and when combined with the medium-thickness, derives a rather heavy mouth feel. It's like a heavy comforter laying over the tongue, free of lumps and grist. Overall, a splendid saison with a lively bit of hops in the background. It carries a rather prominent sweetness which balances out well with the hops and standard saison notes. The low head formation and still feeling are a bit disappointing though.

Score: 3.75 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4 | 4.25 | BA Score: 4.2 | rDev: +3.4%

@ovaltine @joe1510 this is the saison I put in my fridge earlier today. Thanks for pushing me to finally pull it out of the box and put it in the fridge!

Cheers.

 

Evening fellas went a little too strong last night so taking today off figured I'd drop in and see what's what. Some nice beers getting tagged gotta try that BBA bells. Cheers and enjoy

 

New York New York Saison Sunday
As usual, I’m one step ahead of @joe1510 Finishing up this new one from @PatrickCT


4.04/5 rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

From a 16oz can stamped 10/23/17

It is a hazy/unfiltered straw darker gold with a thick egg white froth.

Rye is very evident in the aroma. Smells like rye bread with a very earthy, slightly musty, wet barn boards aroma. A little bit of fruity esters and baking spices underneath.

I get a bright pear and lemon like burst of flavor initially. Then it’s a bit floraly follwed by some banana, cloves, coriander, and rye before the funky yeast rounds it out. While the rye takes a back seat compared to the aroma, it is definitely there in the finish with a lingering dark bread and earthy, straw aftertaste.

It is crisp up front, then fairly full bodied. Even slightly creamy at times. A bit of pepperiness throughout with a nice bit of spice in the end.

I am a rye junkie whether it’s food, whiskey, or beer, and this one delivers on that front. I think it is a little heavy in body even taking that into consideration for the style, and the banana and clove combo swings it in the Hefeweizen direction a bit, but overall a very nice beer.

I will leave you with some pictures all taken in the span of 14 days

 

I think I liked that one a little better than you did, but then again I was just in the mindset to drink a tasty brew at the time and it certainly delivers on that end. But, yeah, it's one of those odd ducks that you could find multiple ways to tweak, yet still winds up being an enjoyable experience nonetheless. Maybe you just have to look at it as a 'casual' brew- I'd even buy it again.

 

I usually try to 'vet' a local beer before I send it out, but that was available on my second to last spot on a recent pub crawl, so I had to pick up a few blind. Glad you enjoyed it. I did as well. Very unique, and still flavorful for sub-4%.

In fact, I had a sub-4% table beer on recent travels from NYC and really enjoyed it. I'm thinking more breweries should try the style, although it takes meticulous brewing ability to make the style pop.

 

I need to find that BBA Expedition. Sounds like it's drinking great.

All the best. I may have to take tomorrow night off after this, no - wait - the Chiefs are playing. That's not possible.

Cheers.

 

Mangalista pig porter by right brain brewery. It's made with pig heads and bones. Looks like a stout, has a smokey, roasty smell. Like only the black charred piece of ham was dropped in a porter. Taste follows. Has a classic porter backbone with the smoke added from delicious pig parts. It tastes like the burnt charcoal pieces in the smoke flavor. It's a pretty thin beer, quite dry. An imperial/BA version with some sweetness added would be awesome(its 7%). They could call it mangalista pig candy. I'll be the Guinea pig (pun intended)

 

NBS x2. Thing #2 nap time over, shed painted, laundry did. Thirst quenching time.

Natian
UnDun- Blonde Ale





UnDun Blonde Ale pours an inviting enough golden to very light shade of orange. Capped by a creamy and fittingly cream colored foam that stubbornly sits above, but eventually gives in to gravity, but not without leaving its mark from head to toe.

Pretty unique and rustic aromas come off the surface. Wild flower honey, and an abandoned dusty old barn. A blade of grass or two puts an end to the brief profile.

Even the flavor tastes "old". Broom swept floor dusty and dirtiness come through. A sweet and completely fermented honey taste takes a back seat. Stale biscuits, woody and dried grassy hops with a pinch of white pepper spice finished it off.

There's a malty sweet heft to this initially, but an earthy and spicy finish keeps things even. It crisp enough for a blonde ale, with a lifting medium carbonation. Very easy to draw sip after sip.

"Traditional" and "Colonial" are used to describe the beer per the can. I could get on board with that. It has a dirty, rustic feel to it all around. It actually tastes like it would be a historical beer. Wether that's a good thing or not, I kind of like it. It grew on me.

After my official review I gave UnDun a rating of 3.54 with an rDev of +2.3%. Cheers!

 

That would make a great tattoo

 

I can’t think of a much better beer to try in a tequila barrel. On paper it sounds great.