New Beer Sunday (Week 744)

Lonely are the brave.

 

Good afternoon to everyone. Rest of the family is at the beach today so it’s just me, the dogs and a decent amount of new beers

First up from Everybody’s Beer is Cryo IPA



3.9/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A wee bit hazy in a west coast way, dark burnt orange with moderate white foamy head that pulls back quickly to reveal only bits of lacing and a sheet of fizz. Nose is solidly in the tropical camp as I’d say mango and tangerine jump right out. Taste takes a bit different direction as it really pops grapefruit. Finishes out with primarily grapefruit and a terrific gritty bitterness but balanced beautifully by a hint of depth supplying sweetness. Only negative I have for this beer is the mouthfeel which is somewhere in the spectrum of flat and watery but not necessarily thin per se. Just odd for such a deep, flavorful beer. Mostly bitterness left on exit

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Second up today is from another very generous BA, @Dragginballs76

Beer: The Seperation of Light and Darkness (with Carolina peaches)
Brewery: Burial Beer Co. (Asheville, NC)
ABV: 6.5%

Pouring from a 16.9 oz. bottle into a snulip glass, this beer pours out like a light, white grape wine. Forms in the glass a perfectly clear, straw color. It forms a finger worth of perfectly white crown that is constantly replenishing with bubbles from the bottom of the glass. 4.5

The nose brings a beautiful peach presence mixing with a tart funkiness and light straw on the backend. 4.5

The taste comes in with natural peaches and turns to a dried out straw. Juicy peaches, peach flesh, slight apple skins.

The mouthfeel has an ever so slightly puckering tartness before it turns to the dry side. Dryness that is like licking the sugar off of peach rings. Beautiful, spritzy carbonation.

Overall, I really enjoy this one.

Thanks Mike!

 

Schlafly - Moonwalk Dunkel

This is beer number 3 in the Schlafly Lunar Lager box (which is split down the middle with light and dark lagers). A Dunkel is reason to celebrate. This one is a beautiful dark red/brown. Finally a nice big head. This is a pretty beer.

Smells of coffee. The taste brings fruitier berry flavors to the mix. It has just the right amount of acidity. Finishes with some bitterness and chocolate notes. Clean finish. This isn’t a bready Dunkel. It’s really lovely.

 

Started out with yard work and chores only to have storms roll through again. This has been the wettest spring I can remember in a long time. Only one to do when the rain comes-drink (new) beer in the garage!

My wife took the kids to the movies so I appreciate the few hours I get to putz around.

Opened this new beer courtesy of @kemoarps. I’m still working through the last couple he sent from a super generous LIF.

(Notice how green everything is in the background. That’s what happens when it rains everyday.)
22 ounce bottle, no date seen anywhere. Poured into a tulip glass.
Poured a dirty, dark brown with a light khaki head. That head quickly faded leaving a small ring. Some lacy blobs as I drink it down.
Nose of malted milk and sweet coconut. Not much else but nothing else needed.
Taste is a dry cocoa, fresh coconut without overpowering. It’s front and center but does not take the beer over. Malted milk balls, burnt brownies, ashy finish it out. Maybe I’m imagining it but slightly bitter walnut finish.
Bigger body than the abv led me to believe. Creamy and smooth. Easy to drink.
This is not a pastry stout and that’s what’s great about it. There is the promised flavor without being too sweet that is easy drinking. Well done! I enjoyed this one.
4.11 rDev -2.1
Thanks Kestrel!

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and happy Memorial Day weekend to you all,

It's 66°, mostly cloudy and blustery here in the 'kan. Memorial Day weekend traditionally brings rain around here, and this one was no exception, although the amount of rainfall was tame compared to a week ago, Thursday (an inch of rainfall in 20 minutes!), and I can happily report that the storm drains are not backing up into my bathroom this time.

I'm still finishing up the last dregs of my coffee right now. So, until I hit a new beer, I'll entertain y'all with one I drank and reviewed a few weeks ago, on a Sunday even, yet I inexplicably didn't post it on NBS:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31952/388764/?ba=woemad#reviewl0
Courtesy of @Victory_Sabre1973, the last of his NBS BIF 8.5 box, this was a delicious dessert beer that really hit the spot the Sunday night I drank it. I think I prefer it to the non-imperial version of the same beer that he also included, which I drank some time ago. I'm not always into sweet beers, but this was great after a big meal. Thanks, James!

 

Thank you to all who served, including my late grandfather (WWI), my late father (WWII), my brother (Viet Nam)(I was lucky in the draft lottery), and two brothers-in-law (Viet Nam, one also in Desert Storm - he was an Army lifer, now retired) .

Today, I finally got around to trying
Bell's Official Hazy IPA
ABV: 6.4%
IBU: 55



Strong citrus aroma - I smelled it from across the table as I poured - mango, orange, pineapple.

Quite hazy golden-orange. Tall slightly off-white head, becomes a thin cap before you are half done. Sparse lacing is scattered around the glass as you drink.

Taste is even more dominated by tropical juices: mango, orange, touch of grapefruit, but mild - that is, no citric bite. The malts are there, slightly sweet, but well in the background. The middle has a very slight bitterness that carries through into the aftertaste, where it lingers.

Feel has a nice body, smooth.

The finish continues the slight hops bittering, maybe just a bit more than slight, and is on the dry side.

With the locally made (MN) NEIPAs, I quickly get palate fatigue from what seems almost acidic bite. IOW, one and done for me; then I want something different. This one, however, leaves me wanting a second. (Don't mind if it do...)

This beer may not compete with the "gold standards" of the style; IDK about that, since I've never had the pleasure. However, it is a very well done NEIPA by one of the larger craft brewers. Of the three by the big brewers I've tried, and going by my ratings (since I have not had them side-by-side-by-side), this one ranks in a virtual tie with the Sam Adams NEIPA, with the Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing a bit farther back in 3rd.


L: 4.25 | S: 3.75 | T: 4 | F: 3.75 | O: 4 | BA: 3.93

 

New Export Stout Sunday (Week 744)
Greetings fellow NBSers; including beer bastions, ale assemblages, saison societies, gueuze gatherers, bock beer blatherers, and Kriek freaks who seek the unique to critique, Happy New Beer Sunday.

It is a time to remember those who gave their lives in our service. 60,000 of my brothers and sisters didn't come back from the jungles of Vietnam. I have done my best to remember them at some point of every day for the last 51 years, as their memory continues to instruct my philosophy. I thank them, and honor them, raise this glass now to them and all others who gave their lives in America's defense.

Today's beer is Guinness' 200th Anniversary beer, called an Export. It's a no-brainer for today, since I have recently enjoyed a bunch of regular, and just finished a 4 pak of Foreign Extra.


Will add a full review to the database at the end of bottle six of this six pack. Here we are at bottle two, though, and I can tell you I'm digging this beer a lot. I'm gonna assume we all have had the regular Extra Stout? Well this is like regular in its silky smoothness, in fact it is silkier and smoother, as well as a touch lower carb. and a bit fuller bodied. Same full flavor/aroma, dark toast, roast grain and chocolate deliciousness, but now with added cocoa flavor, and some light coffee notes even, this really adds nicely, and a wonderful kick of clean roast bitter hits at the end of the sip. Tasty stuff! It's 9.99 a six pack. Again, a no-brainer. Get some you'll love it!

Hope you also have a Great Beer in your glass. Cheers!

 

Next up is one of these oddball slush IPAs (I’m guessing that’s a thing) - Oaxaca from Omnipollo



3.75/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Murky, dingy pale yellow with an explosive bubbly head that disappears quite quickly. Nose doesn’t have much going on other than some barely noticeable sweet melon, maybe pear. Taste validates the pear as this thing is seriously a pear bomb, if that’s something that folks are doing now. Follow up to the taste is an immediate bitterness with not much else. Kind of watery and not quite over carbonated but certainly approaches it. Finishes out with a dull lingering bitterness but mot much else.

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Bunch of new beers today... thank you to all who have served. Starting off with Honest Weight's Odd Seasons Spring 2019. This is (as far as I know) a new series by HW, and is described by the brewery as an experimental IPA bottle-conditioned with Brettanomyces yeast. The bottle has a bit more information than that, including notes that this was brewed with 2-row barley, flaked oats, and malted wheat, as well as it having been extensively hopped with both Motueka and Vic Secret hops, and fermented in primary with Kveik yeast and Brett. Brett IPAs are not a new invention (in fact, this one is a few years late on the trend, and I haven't seen many lately, but I digress), but this is my first beer in this style from HW, who have, to this point, been quite impressive to me.



Pours a solidly-opaque light-orange color with a generous dollop of meringue-like foam on top of the hazy, cloudy body. The lace that the head leaves behind is utterly spectacular, and there are some nice legs on this one, to boot! This is certainly one of the haziest beers I've seen lately, with a "milkshake" looking appearance, but I don't mind much given the dedication to the idea behind this beer. This seems quite intense, and I'm excited to dig into it!

The nose, however, does not really inspire me very much. I love Motueka and Vic Secret hops, but neither of them seem to jump out to me from my initial experience. Instead, it's very forward about being a Brett beer... so much so that that elements crowds out basically everything else about it. It almost has an "Orval"-like smell to it, with fruity esters and funky, rustic straw-like notes being the most apparent elements, while some lighter spice and peppery notes come out after my glass starts warming up a bit (it's about 80 degrees out here and I'm on my porch). Huh. Well, this is also the first beer I've had that utilizes Kveik-type yeast, as well, so perhaps that also has some influence on the nose. This yeast style is very "en vogue" right now, and tends to be used for hoppier beer styles, although it historically was used mostly for farmhouse ales. Since I think of HW as a "farmhouse-centric" brewery for the most part, I suppose it's only natural they'd want to wrangle with this one, but I just get the feeling this wasn't dry-hopped as much as it should've been. Kind of a shame, because I can see the stated hop varietals doing a good job here.

On the tongue, it feels like Orval once again, but with a creamier disposition and a slightly grainier palate. Very odd. I don't think this is a successful experiment, to be honest, but it's not really a bad beer either. I think if it had been described as a straight-up "Brett saison" instead of as an "IPA," I would have more respect for it. Flavors of chewy oats and spice meld with some light notes of stone fruit and citrus peel, while chalky yeast concludes each sip. One thing I will say that works in this beer's favor is that it doesn't even taste close to 7.1%. Overall, though, this just is not as exciting as it probably should be based on the bottle description. Perhaps I waited a few weeks longer than I should've to crack it open, but Brett and hops tend to co-habitate well in the bottle, and I don't think this would've fallen off so quickly anyway. I just think this wasn't dry-hopped much, and the hoppy aspects that feel necessary to the overall beer based on the way this is marketed are way undersold. Perhaps I'm in the wrong, but I had an idea of what this was before I cracked it, and it just didn't live up to expectations.

Lots more to come, including a few sours, a few IPAs, and a brutal nightcap beer I've been sitting on for half a year. Cheers, and I'm looking forward to following along with this thread today. Beautiful weather, beer, and great music... this is the life!



I've never really been one for melodic death/doom, and I have never heard this band before, but this album has really been impressing me lately. It's well-written, tight, melancholic, and just plain ol' enjoyable to listen to. I've had it on repeat lately, and today is no exception.

 

Other Half - Countless beautiful arrangements


Pours entirely cloudy with a big, bubbly head.


Offers an intense smell of papaya, dank, skunky weed and bright, grass accompanied oranges. This balanced impression on the nose gets enriched by peaches, lime pulp and even a bit more grass. This is doubtlessly still heavy on the fruits, but for this brewery it appears almost subtle, amped up by bright citrus and a light layer of noble grass.


Offers a creamy, medium mouthfeel with a light carbonation spark after the swallow with a long lasting bitterness to it.


Tastes of sugared grapefruits, lime and sweet peach pulp. Maintains its beautiful, unusual flavor arrangement enriched by water melon, strawberries and an uprising, ice bonbon accompanied bitterness. Finishes with a fantastic smoothness and an ongoing, intense bitterness, together with wild honey, passion fruit and even more limes.


Beautiful taste profile meets a fantastic nose in this, tied together by its unique- and boldness. Offers a great mouthfeel atop, giving the beer a truly enjoyable smoothness.

 

Pretty good weather here today, 84, but for me its a little too warm a little too soon. I like to step into summer.
Got a pair of Kent Falls beers new to me today. I am starting with Sweatpants.

Poured to a Nonic from a 16 oz. can labeled "canned 4/29/19, peaks 6/29/19".
Despite the brewer's description "our first clean pale ale", it pours hazy orange with a mild head. Maybe typical of a wheat ale (and wheat is on the bill) but why say "clean". Mild aroma, some dankness, maybe a hint of the wild yeast used.
Taste is pretty clean though making it very drinkable. Mild citrus with hop bitterness very subtle hint of the dankness mentioned earlier. Leaves a very dry mouth if you wait for it before another sip.

 

dirt track kolsch an easy drinking beer from maria stein. love its golden color

 

Has it got any flavors and aromas? Inquiring minds like to know.

 

New Beer Sunday: American Pale Ale (APA)

Afternoon NBSers with a fondness for grapefruit.

Trip to Gym--completed.
A bit of yard work--completed.
Grocery shopping--completed.
2nd new beer finished--Yet to happen.

This afternoon’s new beer is the second APA of the day and the first of two beers from Industrial Arts brewing up there in NY State (a new Brewery for me as well). The beer is called, "Tools of the Trade."

My review, subject to revision until the beer is finished, can be found here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42049/246775/?ba=drtth#review


The aromas/flavors of this APA are mostly all about grapefruit. The complex profile includes grapefruit pulp, grapefruit pith and grapefruit zest. While there’s a bit of bready/crackery malt in the background its sweetness is very light and mostly serves to take the edge off sharpness or rasp from the hops while still leaving the range of grapefruit flavors fresh, clean and bright. For me, as a life long fan of grapefruit, this is a very drinkable and enjoyable beer that I’ll be looking to have more of. I could spend an evening with friends having a few of these.

Cheers, all!

 

Alright men, shared this beer with my neighbor so this is the short version of the review



Appearance is deep bright orange with minimal head. Head has an orange tint to it. Aroma is Mango, big salt, some lime
Taste is Sweet mango up front, salt, lime, tartness on the back but not puckering
Fuller than medium mouthfeel, seems like purée fruit in this joker. Overall I really like this, they nailed the margarita taste. Amazing for summer drinking.

 

Good afternoon NBS, hope everyone is doing well! Stopped at Tired Hands and had a nice selection of saison, have to say the one with smoked peaches was my favorite (posted on WBAYDN), might review the crowler on here later. Right now I’m opening a very tasty year old stout that @JBowenGeorgia sent me, Scofflaw Barrel Aged Vanilla Absentium, this is a great beer!

4.64/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Thank you JBowenGeorgia for this
500 ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- Black with a two finger mocha head.

S- Vanilla, bourbon, chocolate, caramel, hints of roasted coffee and a touch earthy.

T- Chocolate, vanilla, oak, bourbon, caramel, some toffee, hints of roasted coffee.

M- Smooth, full body.

O- Very well balanced and easy to drink. ABV is well hidden. Definitely worth seeking out.

Cheers!

 

On to my second new beer, and it's a fun one. Lamplighter has delighted me in the past with some unsuspecting fruited IPA offerings, but this one utilizes apricots alongside an interesting hop bill of Denali, Azacca, and Amarillo. Can't find a can date on this one, which is weird as LL's offerings are typically given DOBs, but this has to be four weeks old max, as we typically get fresh stuff from them pretty often and I've never seen this before.



Pours an opaque yellow-ish orange color with a thin yet retentive head of white foam. No lace to speak of and no real legs or any other developments going on. Strictly-murky, hazed-up IPA going on here. Average appearance with nothing standing out about it.

The nose is bright with guava, apricot, tangerine, and grapefruit peel-like acidity, all of which works well with the floral and fruity Amarillo hops, which pop here quite immediately. I've always found Azacca to be a weird varietal, but its use in a beer with actual stone fruit added is pretty on-the-mark, as I associate it with orchard fruit despite its typical characteristics seeming to be tropical and citrusy. I like the Denali hops here, as well... this comes together pretty damn well in the nose, though it also seems slightly "chalky" and heavy on the yeast. I appreciate the brewery not shying away from saying this has a "hint of musk" despite that being (arguably) a negatively-connoted aspect. Apricots always come off musky to me, so it's good to feel like I'm not insane for noticing such an element.

On the tongue, this is almost like a tart IPA right off the bat. The label claims this, actually, pre-empting my judgment yet again by calling it "slightly tart" with "tangerine-forward hop aromas and a piney bitter finish." This is spot-on, to be honest. Grassy notes meld perfectly with ripe plum, grapefruit rind and mango. The fruit is so juicy, ripe, and incredibly well-utilized in this beer. I'm very impressed with the flavor profile of Lady Marmalade. I could see myself returning to this time and time again. It's a great fruited IPA that doesn't sacrifice the "IPA" side of things for the fruit addition, and vice versa. Heavy-bodied for the style, but drinkable, crisp and lithe due to a deft recipe. Really enjoying this one! Now I want more!

Sure, this band might not have the best name, but they make up for it with some incredible writing chops and intensely brutal, exacting death metal when all's said and done. This is the first single from them in ten years (during which they are essentially completely-silent... yikes!), and I'm listening to the full album now and enjoying it quite a bit. True Colombian brutality!

 

Back again with another Kent Falls Beer, Yeesh. Can art looks like a hangry sock puppet to me.

look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured to a Weizen from a 16 oz can dated 5/6/19.
Pours yellow/orange with quite a bit of haze, but you can still see impressive Pilsener-esc carbonation rising nonstop.
Aroma is a lesson in Saaz, cut grass, pepper, mild lemon.
The taste is not as Saazy, but delivers a great experience. Not a hint of Diacetyl sometimes associated with the style, but this is a pretty hop forward beer. Carbonation is on spot. Finish is slightly sweet before hop dry-mouth.
Brewer calls this "Czech-Pilsener Inspired". I can see that in certain moods I would prefer this to the classic version.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. I hope you're all enjoying the holiday weekend as we reflect upon the sacrifices made by so many heroes throughout our nation's history. My new beer this afternoon is Improv, an 8% DIPA from Tonewood Brewing in Oaklyn, New Jersey (in Camden County, outside of Philadelphia). Tonewood has brewed some good IPAs, including one called Fuego that is well-respected. Improv resembles a New England IPA. It's hopped with Citra, Simcoe, and Chinook and it's very sweet and fruity. Adding to the sweetness is a dose of oats. It offers a lot of citrus and tropical fruit notes and it's a bit more fruity than I generally prefer. That said, it's nicely crafted and I'll have no problem finishing the pack. Here's my full review:

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

Canned on 4/19/2019. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. It pours a murky, golden-tangerine color with a large, fluffy milk-white cap and thick, soapy lacing. On the nose there is lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, cantaloupe, and resinous pine, along with notes of sweeter fruit and spice. The taste opens with a blast of citrus and tropical fruit, including lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, and melon, along with creamy, sweet oats, and pine. It's nicely dank and the bill of Citra, Simcoe, and Chinook hops adds a lot of fruit flavor without much bitterness. There is a hint of peppercorn and spice at the finish. But on the whole, the taste is decidedly fruity and sweet. It has a rich, creamy mouth feel with pleasant carbonation, and it's very easy drinking for its 8% ABV. Overall, Improv is really quite good. It could easily be categorized as a New England IPA. I enjoyed it outside on a warm late spring day and would not hesitate to drink it again.

I hope you're all enjoying your new beer(s) this afternoon. It's a lovely day to sit outside and read your reviews. Cheers, NBS!