New Beer Sunday (Week 768)

#2 for me today is a collaboration between Toppling Goliath and Melvin, so I have high expectations for this.

Toppling Goliath - Melvin - Ladder Mash American Pale Ale (APA)
IBU: 30
ABV: 5.9%



Strong aroma - citrus / aprocot & orange, hints of something more bitter - grapefruit, perhaps.

Crystal clear golden bright color with plentiful rising bubbles under a 1 inch white, bubbly / creamy head. Decent retention, leaving rings of thick lacing and a cratered top as it does recede. A beautiful old-school look. These days, when a brewery (or 2 in this case) brings out an APA that is NOT hazy, that counts as innovative in the current market. Or, thumbing their nose at the current market. Either way, it is much appreciated.

Taste is classic APA, only a swing to the slightly juicy side, again with apricot leading with other citrus taste just behind. The malts provide a bready presence in the background.The only hints of bitterness begin in the middle and linger into the aftertaste, initially more from the citrus flavor, but in the finish, more of the classic hops bitterness (but only slightly bitter), which has a long, lingering life on the tongue.

The feel is initially smooth, transitioning to something with a bit of an edge. Body is appropriate to the style.

Overall, a nicely balanced and flavorful APA. Both TG and Melvin should be proud of the result. If this was available in 12 oz or pint packages, I'd buy more for sure. As it is, I bought 2 bombers and am greatly looking forward to enjoying the 2nd one.

L: 4.25 | S: 4.0 | T: 4.25 | F: 3.75 | O: 4.09 | BA rating of: 4.09

 

Thank you very much!

Don’t tell my wife I picked some green leaves off her Hibiscus and Gardenia

The yellow ones are always fair game though.

 

Nice review.

Now let’s see the body on that Dobro.

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A cloudy day here in the Fourth Corner, where our November has been warmer and drier than is the norm. Fear not though, the rains shall come.

My sender in NBS BIF #10 was @Roguer , and I'm kicking off the day with an Earl Grey tea sour Georgia:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/32375/337052/

 

Good Sunday to you, fine NBSites!
I am home today, with just some chores and cooking to do, inside out of the brisk fall weather and I have a few new beers to try if the mood strikes me. Not a bad way to be.
This first one is a new release from a brewery in Quebec City that makes pretty solid beers and good IPAs. They also have some of my favorite labels up here with a consistent, weird cat theme throughout. This one's wackier than usual though.

There has definitely been a push back up here lately with more non-NE IPAs showing up on shelves. Longing for a time when there was crisp bitterness and a little malt body in dry, resinous beers. A type of beer which, ironically, it took NEIPAs to bring to Quebec. Yes, there have been some solid west coast style examples here and there over the years, but with the exception of Yakima from Le Castor, there were never accesible, non-oxidized-to-hell, dry, bitter, unmuddled-tasting, fresh IPAs that you could consistently find. Somehow the province skipped that step and is now going back to it since it would seem that the uptight nature of brewing NEIPAs has taught many people what they needed to know to ensure a product that doesn't suck by the time the customer buys it. Improved knowledge of storage by shop owners has gone a long ways too. Anyway, I'm not complaining at all, I love the style. Let's see if I love this particular take.

It pours pretty clear and tarnished gold color with a big, rocky white head that leaves sticky rings of lacing. A piney, herbal, green aroma with some bread crust and light caramel. The flavor has sawdust, sap, some orange pith sweetness at the end and a caramelized bready character to the finish. It is dry and resinous with active carbonation and a lingering hoppy coating to the finish. This is indeed an old-school IPA. Maltier than the super pale 'San Diego style' stuff, but a beer that is balanced punch of both malt and hops. The hopping is more on the bitter side and honestly does remind me of beers I haven't had in quite a while. Especially the slightly vegetal grassy bitterness that hangs in your mouth after a sip. It is fairly drinkable and definitely manages to get what it was going for in terms of character. A nice beer that I'd have again in the future if I came across it.

I hope to be back later with another.

Santé!

 

Well that sounds excellent!

Lovely picture by the way. Everything a pour shot should be and just a textbook good picture (in my wholly untrained non-photographer opinion). Cheers!

 

A-Pours a very nice clear golden color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has malt and Belgian yeast hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a nice malt and Belgian yeast flavor
M-A light bodied well carbonated beer with a dry finish
O-A good Belgian blonde ale

 

Hope everyone had a good day so far. I am on track for a personal record this year. Already hit 1550 reviews since the turn of the year. Had some friends over since 5 AM chilling and chatting about random ass stuff. I am still doing well. They went to get some ingredients to make some "happy" fruity pebble marshmallow crispy treats. They are going to use my cooking appliances. I tried to learn some Ride The Lightning riffs on my seven string. Thing is a full half step out of tune and it sounds terrible. I got the rhythms down though. NEED SOME NEW STRINGS. Floating trem setup is a bitch, so never done it before.

Abomination Drawing a Blank. Fantastic NETIPA! Lasting fluffy head retention/thick foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of huge pineapple, mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, gooseberry, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine hops; with wheat, cracker, white bread dough, biscuit, light honey/toasted malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; balanced creamy/silky/bready malts, sticky hops, and some resins/rinds in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering resin dryness, no cloying/astringency. Dangerously smooth/soft, not aggressive, mild increasing warmth of 11.1% after the finish. Fantastic Galaxy, Citra, and Mandarina Bavaria profile. Extremely juicy, vibrant, and fairly dank/earthy hops; with a nice sized wheat/oat/malt backbone. Light residual sweetness with lingering resin dryness. Loved it! 4.23


Cheers

These ones, I was looking at the tabs.

 

Harviestoun black ale



Thick black murky tar pit soup.
Brown bubble head fades fast. 4.00

Street vender roasted chestnut nuttiness. Nice hoppy aromas, toasted bread. 4.00

Great roasted flavor, gritty taste with toast notes, chocolate, not too sweet, caramel.
4.00

Medium body with some carbonation and a reasonsble level of bitterness. Slme astringency. 4.00

I really enjoyed drinking this and i will be looking for this again!. 4.00

 

Prairie Bourbon Barrel Bible Belt


Pours an oily, pitch black color with a very small, mohagony head.


Smells of fresh pressed coffee, peas and bakers chocolate among a lighter note of wooden vanilla. The nose is defined by its prominent coffee aroma, while giving the other ingredients enough space to unfold, balanced by cinnamon and mellow toffee.


Has a mellow, creamy mouthfeel with a complex heat peak during the finish, defined by peppers and the warming barrel, showcasing the beer‘s heavy body in a great way.


Tastes of coffee, toffee an initial vegetable peppers flavor, developing a pleasant heat, which gets accompanied by the dry oak barrel perfectly. Has a barrel balanced, sweeter mid palate, with some cinnamon and milk chocolate developing a well working complexity. Finishes with a good amount of booze, smoothed out by layers of chocolate and maintaining peppers, creating a long lasting, hot aftertaste.


Very bold and well balanced this is quite a treat, with well working adjuncts among a complex malt base.

 

I LOL'd

 

Yeah thanks postimage! Has been corrected.

 

Yet another Michigan beer via my brother.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9629/17900/



12 oz. can.
Canned 09/21/2019.
Moderate pour yields a one inch white head over a bright golden-copper body with sticky lacing. Nose of pine and citrus. Taste mirrors nose with the pine taking over right through the finish of pine bitterness. Nice feel and overall, a definite taste bud scraper and would have another. Cheers to this Michigan brewery on a solid IPA and my first ever offering from them!

 

A-Pours a very dark amber color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has malt, caramel, toffee and spice hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a nice malt, caramel, toffee and spice flavor
M-A light bodied well carbonated beer with a dry finish
O-A good Winter warmer

 

Missed the last couple NBSes due to illness and phone issues (which are still ongoing.

I'll try my damndest to get a new beer posted today. Probably after I'm done watching the MLS Cup.

Go Sounders!

 

New Beer #2
Strange Magic is afoot

The review:
12oz can stamped CANNED 10/16/19 (25 days ago) poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass at fridge temp 6.5% ABV 65 IBU. The beer pours bright light honey amber in color with sticky nearly white head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves plenty of lacing. The aroma is not subtle and offers ripe citrus, slight evergreen and dank notes over a caramel base. The taste is dank, herbal & pithy citrus with a very light caramel malt for support. It's fairly bitter throughout with mostly dry finish. The aftertaste is fresh squeezed hop juice coating your tongue. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and adequately carbonated. Overall, excellent. This is a great example of blending newer hop aroma & flavor into the timeless Midwestern IPA style.

Cheers all!

 

Thanks for the thoughtful opening Dick. I’ve enjoyed our in person meetups and can say the same for all the other BAs I’ve met/drank with over the years. Today’s beer comes from @Number1Framer who I met in South Milwaukee for a bottle share a few years ago - Central Waters’ BBA Twenty One:

Pours dark brown almost black with ruby edges; dark tan, fast fizzy head; solid ring; small island of a brief cap; some soapy lacing; thin legs on swirl. Raisins, bourbon, caramel malt, cherries nose. Taste follows nose; bitter sweet dark chocolate, bourbon, oak, vanilla, lite char, burnt brown sugar, molasses. Moderate minus carbonation; almost full body; dry finish; slightly warming from 13.5%. Overall, well balanced layers of barrel, malt, and dark fruit flavors; another winner from CW.





4.75 | 4.5 | 4.75 | 4.5 | 4.5

4.62 rDev +2.89%

 

Cheers and thank you!