New Beer Sunday (Week 726)

Still participating in Dry January

:::SIGH:::

However, I did a nice trade for some Funky Buddha (bacon Maple Coffee) , Founders and Southern Tier stouts for February...

 

It's been gloomy, chilly wet weekend in North NJ and not expected tp get much better any time soon. There is a bright spot I found my 1st WOW beer of the new year. Bell's Bourbon Barrel Aged Expedition Stout. This Stout clocks in at 13.4% ABV. It's brewed at Bells in Comstock MI and the label claims it has an unlimited shelf life. It looks like most Imperial Stouts jet black with a dark thick lasting head. The aroma is powerful and one can smell from the moment the bottle is opened. Chocolate malts and Bourbon fill the air. The taste follows the aroma lots of Bourbon lots of malt with hints of vanilla. There is also a nice bit of heat from the high ABV which I enjoy. The mouthfeel is full and the finish is Bourbon and it lingers. Overall just about the best BBA I ever enjoyed.
The only thing not to like is the price, $24.99 + tax is a lot to pay for a 4 pack. The brew is worth it but it won't be an every day brew.

 

Back for round #2.
One I’m excited about.

Beer: Ecto Cream Pop
Brewery: Decandent Ales
ABV: 8.7%

Pouring from a 16 oz. can into a Willi Becher style glass, this beer pours hazy and bright orange. Sediment floating throughout. It forms a two finger off white, lemon tinted, dense and creamy crown. Heavy lacing throughout. 4.25

The smell brings sweetness of vanilla mixing with the citrus of tangerine/orange zest/peel. 4.25

The taste comes in with beautiful smooth vanilla sweetness before showing quick hints of the orange zest/peel. Some tangerine. 4.5

The mouthfeel is wildly creamy, exactly what I want from milkshake style IPAs. Creamy and full bodied. Very balanced citrus tang just to let you know it’s there. Really can’t dock it here. 5

Overall, I feel like Decadent always nails their Milkshake IPAs. I’ve come to trust them with the style more than anyone else so far. They always provide a great balance of the flavors they want to provide and an amazing sweetness and creaminess. The only thing I would knock this on really is the sediment floating in apperance and the smell, while beautiful, could bring a little more to the table. 4.5

Cheers again NBSrs!

 

Happy Sunday morning, all! And Cheers! and well wishes for Dick, Woody, Barney and anyone else battling cancer.

I'm going to start today off with a bit of an indulgence, because these are a few notes I've taken over the past two days. But they're beers I received via our Secret Santa BIF from the incredibly generous and amazing @FlintB , who provided practically a whole box full of mystery beers, and far too many to save solely for Sundays.

First up is this dark number clocking in at 8.5%-

and I get oak and bourbon right off the bat, which is in and of itself intriguing considering the relative strength here (as an aside, I'd really like to see more lower gravity bba beers myself, and this beer showed that they can be done quite well). Aside from the barrel I'm also getting dark chocolate, dark caramel, a touch of dark fruit and toasted coconut (but not dark ). It actually smells pleasingly dry, all things considered.

The palate is smooth and velvety, initially malty but finishing dry- what a lovely overall feel to it. Dark chocolate dominates, then comes oak, then caramel and dark fruit. It's an incredibly enjoyable beer that keeps all of it's potential flamboyant characteristics in check. If I had to guess I'd say that it's a BBA Imperial Porter.


Perrin Black Goat. So whadaya know- it's actually a double black lager. Now it makes total sense to me, the feel and dryness, assuredly the result of lager yeast and dehusked carafa malt- such a great use of ingredients and technique. Very well done, Perrin!

Next up:

Initial thoughts as I'm pouring it are "OMG, it smells like a Lambic!" And, yes, the aroma is that potent that it hits you at arms' length.

I'm getting a lot of barnyard, but it's also lemony bright. There's also wildflowers, spice (coriander and vanilla), and some very fine wood. The palate is stellar- tartness really hits hard at first, but it's backed by a creamy body and feel. Wood and tannins are prominent on the finish. Here the flavor actually reminds me of gooseberry (thanks, @Harrison8 ). And it's getting more floral as I drink it.

It's most definitely a wild ale, but not really a Lambic (it's missing that affably 'dirty' nature). But whatever it is, I love it!


It's a Speciation collab called Urbanization. But get this- the base beer is a wild oat Pilsner, which has been dry hopped. Again, it's a nice twist that also explains aspects that I was getting. That creamy feel just had to come from the oats. And the interplay of hops and yeast to create those floral and spicy elements are totally seamless and complementary. I'm more impressed by what's in the glass than how they got there, but it is cool to know how those things played their part.

Thanks a lot, Brian, everything I've had so far has been not only great, but right in my wheelhouse.

Be back later with a new one. Cheers!

 

A-Pours a brownish color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has fruity hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a fruity flavor
M-A light bodied decently carbonated beer
O-A well done porter

 

Alvarado Street Brewery — Cold Pressed
Canned on 01.08.19



Felt like I should add some OJ to my breakfast, so here it is. The inscription on the bottom of the can next to the date reads BURP HOPS. This beer used to be labeled as "Yeast-Driven IPA," but I guess they decided to switch that to "Juice IPA"

Look: Very murky bright yellow body; just over a finger of a rocky quickly-dissipating cap; weak lacing.
Smell: Only some citrus notes are discernible in the aroma. The small is relatively one-dimensional but pleasant. There is less yeast than I expected, and that is a good thing. I did expect the smell to be a little bolder though.
Taste: Also quite simple but pleasant. There are hints of tangerines, oranges, and a little yeast. There is a slight hop burn. Might be a weird thing to add to the review, but the burps on this beer are great.
Feel: Alvarado always does well in the feel department. This beer is medium-bodied and smooth on the texture. Carbonation is typical for the style.
Overall: Alvarado St. did well with this NEIPA, considering the name and the juicy profile they were going for. I hoped for an even bigger juice explosion, but this batch is certainly not bad.

4 | 4 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4
Overall: 4.13 (rDev -1.3%)

 

Rainy and grey, growing colder; time to pop the cork on a new brew...

Checking out the Calvados Barrel Aged Gulden Draak, a 10.5% abv Belgian quadrupel...

Gulden Draak was one of my first interests in craft, in those iconic white bottles, and it has proved itself a standard in the Belgian craft arena...

I have had their quad and Brewmaster Edition, and both were high quality beers...

I must also state that I am partial to Calvados and apple brandy barrel-aging for beer - I don't think I've ever failed to enjoy a beer aged in barrels of that sort...

Disclaimers aside...

Into a goblet, pour reveals a translucent orange-amber body under a finger-plus of off-white foam that persisted as a partial film across the surface and left little lacing behind... Aromas of apple, pear, and orange, lightly accented with booze and barrel wood hit the nose immediately... Flavors on the sip bring more of the same, filled out with with a jammy blend of fig, plum, and peach marmalade beneath... Bits of tannin provide hints of an edge, but this is basically an elegant, sweet and clean fruit jam of a beer, smooth but with a gentle fuzz of carbonation... Body stays medium-light and is lifted by graceful vapors of fruited alcohol across the palate... Very nice drinking experience - recommended...

Nothing but new beer, playoff football, and good times ahead...

Here's to new beer in your glass, cheers...

 

Quadruped by odd13

Pours hazy light orange
Smells citrus and light butter aroma
Drinks light with citrus nose and a lingering light bitterness
Taste falls kind of flat in the middle and drops off
Not bad 3.25/5
Thanks @locoformavs

 

Fremont trulyhas the big beer game figured out.

 

Be strong, my first beers after a 3 month dry spell were sublime!

 

The expected snow missed us overnight so instead of shoveling, I'm catching up on some reading and enjoying a beer by the coal stove. The temperature has dropped 10 degrees in the last hour and the winds are howling. It's going to get into the single digits. In the mood for a robust beer by the fire, I cracked open a Yards Washington Porter. I'd "reviewed" it in 2014 without providing any comments so I thought I'd better get-on-the-stick and do it right.

Here are my thoughts. My rating is 4.16.

A - Opaque dark brown with a 1.5-finger tan head that sticks around and leaves good lace

S - Toasted brown bread, espresso latte with a chocolate swirl, light char. Mild and pleasant.

T - Toasted bread, molasses, semi-sweet chocolate, light char. A bit sweeter than I expected from the aroma, which I like. Finishes with some roasted bitterness for appropriate balance.

M - Medium+ body and light-medium carbonation. Silky smooth at first and it stays fairly creamy until the drying finish. Very nice.

O - I'd not had this Porter since 2014 and had forgotten how good it is; and it's easy to find fresh near me.



P.S. Cheers to Dick!

 

Fuck, yeah, man! Cannot wait to dig in - one of the best characters from Marvel, and the best Marvel series on Netflix, hands-down...

Cheers, bro...

 

New Glory Craft Brewery — Dimed Out IPA
No date :\ This fresh though, canned within three weeks.



Look: Bright yellow to light orange hazy (but not murky) body; 1.5 fingers of frothy white head on a semi-aggressive pour down the center of a pint glass. The head retention is fantastic, as is lacing.
Smell: Weak and convoluted. For a beer brewed with a variety of the new-age aromatic hops like Citra, Enigma and Vic Secret, the smell is a huge disappointment. The Citra hops try to come out, but the whole thing is just too muted.
Taste: Unfortunately, the taste follows the nose. It's sort of citrusy, sort of earthy, but also watered down. The overall taste is not repulsive, but simply bland.
Feel: The feel is ok for a NEIPA. The body is pretty smooth and mediumly carbonated but also overly light.
Overall: When I poured this beer, I was excited because it looked great. Unfortunately, the smell and the taste are best described as uncertain, weak, and subpar. This might be my lowest-rated beer from New Glory.

4.5 | 3.5 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.75
Overall: 3.74 (rDev: -9.0%) — Ok, so I'm off by quite a bit on this one, but mine is only the 5th rating, so some large variation is expected.

@jakecattleco Have you had this beer? If so, what did you think of it?

 

Interesting that they are so very equal given about 2 months difference in canning dates. Celebration is everywhere but I was afraid on the bottling date, and a beer I wish was also in a can.

 

I enjoyed the comparisons. I have both in my fridge right now and will do the same on a fresh palate.

 

New Beer Sunday: American Lager

Afternoon NBSers with an alert for folks who’d like to see what Stone has done with a fizzy yellow beer.

This afternoon’s post-lunch, pre-football new beer is the Stone Tropic of Thunder.

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

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/375197/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors in this beer have some tropical fruits and some crackery malt. The fruits include pineapple and mango and some citric zest. Some light malt sweetness softens the citric and resinous bitterness that is always there and that finishes out the long dry ending. Worth giving a try since it illustrates that even a craft brewery can make a reasonably flavorful fizzy yellow beer that is worth drinking if they set their mind to it.

Cheers, all!