New Beer Sunday (Week 784)

I was in the Tree House neighborhood for work this week. I actually got only a few hazies, but filled most of my haul with cans of Pilsner, Kolsch, Milk Stout and my latest style kick I have been on, Brown Ale. I think a lot of TH customers ignore the range of this brewery.

So my first NB this Sunday is Bear With a Hint of Coffee. I had all I could do to resist cracking one of these open from Wednesday on. I've consumed a lot of brown ales in this past month and coffee has always been a great thing as far as I'm concerned.


4.4/5 rDev +11.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 16oz can dated 1/31/2020 to a tulip glass.
The pour is exciting and active. Super opaque brown body with an amazing pillowy head that is continually reinforced by active rising bubbles creating about 2-3 inches of action for 10-12 seconds. 5 minutes later looking very closely you can still see a small number of bubbles rising against the glass wall. Who knows whats going on behind the black curtain of opacity.
The aroma is all malt, must, fall leaves, caramel, raisins, prunes. I do not detect the coffee by smell alone.
Taste is malt front, coffee end, and I mean good, dark roast, unsweetened, no-dairy coffee. Dryness that almost makes you pucker after swallowing. Alcohol is undetectable by taste or smell alone.
The body is thin, after all its only a brown ale, not a stout despite all that flavor.
I love this beer, or should I say bear.

 

Evolving Chaos is a dry-hopped farmhouse style ale brewed by Barrier Brew Co with TRVE (CO)
I enjoyed this on tap and from a can today.
The pour is pale, golden and hazy. The aroma is floral with a hint on farmhouse funk. The “funk” is slight in the flavor too. Clean malt and farmhouse yeast flavors dominate. The dry-hopping provides grassy notes, some light lemon and a bit of bitterness. There is some Belgian-yeast bubblegum flavor too. The finish is dry. This is a pleasant brew.

 

Very pleased with this one, the mocha and spices balance well, coffee is on point, nothing is outa whack (tough with spicy beers sometimes!). 4.5/4/4/4.5/4.25.

Cheers BA!

 

rating 4.12
8% abv simcoe and mosaic cryo hops
poured into a can glass 1 inch foamy head, nice retention and good lacing
color is hazy amber
aroma is citrus and tropical maybe a hint of papaya
taste is malty and fruity, there is a sweetness also
Mouthfeel is full with a slight burn at first and then sticky to smooth, there is a lingering burn on the tongue but it isn't astringent.
over all its relatively smooth for a DDH 8% beer. drinks pretty thick and smooth

Good luck Doc with your testimony. That sounds like every doctors nightmare.

 

Good luck with your testimony , Doc .
Never had that misfortune , thankfully, but not for lack of lawyers trying. In one case (a neighbor/tree dispute) both sides asked me to rep their side . I worked for both parties. I tried to solve it long before that , but nobody listened.
Me to the lawyers ,in all cases: +/- I ain't no expert Wildlife biologist by training , who stumbled into the horticultist/landscraper field, & a bunch of people just happen to like what I do for them. [] (A variation on the I'm just the [dumb] driver , ma'am . I don't know about that deflection)
In some instances, it would have made friends/colleagues/wholesale customers/friendly competition look bad, & that's not where I want to be, even in the cases where it might be merited.

Beer? Oh yeah.... today's (1st?) NBS is Tesselation , from Lone Pine, a Mosaic DIPA.
I was undecided , but looked out to see the neighborhood brain-trust* gathered in the front yard , so asked them. They suggested this.
Good choice.
Short version : think of it as a fruitier, slightly less-sweet Hopslam

L : Orangey-Gold, slightly hazy, with light, but noticeable head.
S : Freshly cut grapefruit, but light, as from across the room, + some pine & mango
T : Pine, orange rind, mango, & a touch of honey near finish light bitterness that gets stonger late, & lingers
F : Medium, with light, but finely-sharp carbonation. Know that it is more than a session IPA, but lighter than would expect from 8.1%
O : Like it .(Well enough that I'm on #2 right now ) Nice diversion from NEIPAs
4.15/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/44548/267945/?ba=mikeinportc#review

* (There were actually 7! of them, but couldn't get them all in one shot.)

 

My fist beer today is from Millstream, an Iowa brewery. They are based in the Amana Colonies of Iowa, a German community. I've had a couple of their beers before, and they do a good job in general. This brewer was mentioned in the "best German" thread.

Today's beer is the:

Millstream Brewing Schokolade Bock
ABV: 6.0%
IBU: 46



A dark brown/black from the front, and a clear ruby with a backlight, which also reveals moderate rising bubbles. A short tan head lasts less than 2 minutes before it becomes a bubbly cap and ring. Little to no lacing.

Aroma of dark malts and chocolate. The brewer states there is no actual chocolate in this beer, so this is all from the malts.

Taste is roasted malts and chocolate, slightly sweet, nutty, with a moderate bittering from the hops in the middle that carries through to the finish.

Mouth feel is on the thin side of moderate, smooth and creamy, with a light carbonation contribution to the feel.

The aftertaste is semi-sweet, with the chocolate and roasty malts lingering, balanced by the touch of bitterness.

Overall, a nice winter bock. Good, but not as good as the bock from Schell's, though.

L: 3.75 | S: 3.75 | T: 4.0 | F: 3.75 | O: 3.75 | Rating: 3.85

 

3 Mind-blowing Belgians (1 rural Swiss) in Europe on my all-time top list
Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien | BFM | 11% Biere de Garde
4.53/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Belongs in the 100 class in my view. Enjoyed Beereau in Berlin, on tap, by Henrik the owner. My best Berlin spot.
a) Brown body with lashes of lace.
s) Tart, wine-like, oaky, church-like, incense, plum, more wood shop.
t) Follows all this aroma into a deeper complexity.
f) Wine like, astringent, fruit without sugar.
o) One my favorite beers of all time. Deserves its higher regard.
De Ranke Guldenberg | Brouwerij Brasserie De Ranke | Abbaye 8.5%
4.46/5 rDev +10.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
At Family Beers in Brussels. lovely quiet place amidst the din. Fragrant beer, fragrant, gentle place, 100s of beers.
Guldenberg is a tripel-style abbey ale containing 8.5% abv.
a) Perfect Abbaye beer, golden, fine bubbled body with massively lacing head.
s) Floral And spice rise big from the beer, lighter higher nose, and less over the head yeast.
t) Loving this, makes me want to try everything they brew.
f) Mid and ticklish. Impish kissy, mouth feel.
o) Best Hallertau hops beer ever.
Extase | Brouwerij De Dochter van de Korenaar } 8.5%
4.25/5 rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Enjoyed at Family Brews, Brussels. Must stop here if it's still open. Great beer curation and quiet.
This has changed from earlier reviews to a clear, darker amber color with a 2 finger dense,fluffy white head with great retention, awash with lace. Supports a big lasting head.
s/t) Subtle and precise aromas of grapefruit, tangerine, peach, lemon, orange, rind, and then long in pine, peppercorn, light caramel, with some bread, flowers, grass, and herbs.
f) Has the green peppercorn/pine notes that cleanse your palate.
o) Gets better as it warms. A top Belgian DIPA brewed by a Dutchman.

 

Drekker Doomsday Device DIPA, 8.3% ABV. Pours hazy orange with a 1+ finger foamy white head that left no lacing. Nose is sweet citrus and tropical fruit. Taste is orange, grapefruit, pine, slightly sweet, moderately bitter. Belching pine trees, big green ones. Excellent mouthfeel, overall excellent. The nose on this really came out as it warmed.

4.19/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

My new beer is Curiosity Eighty Nine by Treehouse

4.44/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Canned 2,7,2020, opened 2,28,2020, poured into treehouse teku

New England revolution season opener vs Montreal impact -25th season

“Moving your hips like yeaaaa”

Two finger rocky white foam cap, good five minute retention, sticky lacings, hazy orange liquid

Aroma is tangerine citrus, orange,

taste is citrus, orange creamsicle,

Low sudsing, semi sweet, semi dry

Good beer

 

Next new to me beer was Stoudts Gearshifter IPA:

ABV: 6.8%
IBU: 70 (my first red flag)
"Dry hopped with a mind-opening amount of Citra and Mosaic."
Canned on 01/15/20 and printed below that it says 33 years thanks For those that don't know Stoudts has decided to hang it up.

I did not enjoy this beer unfortunately. If I had to guess it has orange or mango in it and reminds me of Jai Alai, even looks like it. If you like the old-school bitter and drying finish you will enjoy this but for me it was not really my thing...I ended up not finishing it.

And for the record I enjoy both orange and mango.

 

My NBS comes from Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids, MI.
VingThor - woof. Billed as an extra Belgian double double it comes through with virtually no head or aroma (Okay, fair warning, my sniffer is obviously not up to the level that many of you boast) but the taste is outstanding.
Malty, fruity, deep (is that a flavor?) and viscous.
https://imgur.com/gallery/f6Zd28i
(Still not sure I posted the link right, sorry if there is no photo)
Happy Sunday!

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. I'm glad it's finally March. Warmer weather and more regular outdoor beer consumption is on the horizon. Friends of ours just returned from a vacation in Quebec, including a stay in an ice hotel. They brought me this can of Boreale IPA du Nord-Est brewed by Les Brasseurs du Nord, Inc. It's nice and fresh (canned on 2/6). Despite its name, its a New England IPA and not a "Northeast" IPA. The nose features a lot of sweet tropical fruit but tart citrus and bitter, biting hops dominate the taste. It's very tasty and easy to drink at 6% ABV. Here's my full review:

4.27/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Canned on 2/6/2020. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. It has a classic New England IPA appearance: opaque tangerine color with two fingers of fluffy, bright white head and thick lacing. A super fruity nose featuring pineapple, mango, lemon, grapefruit, and onion, along with a whiff of vanilla, and floral hops. It opens with lots of tart lemon and grapefruit rind. The sweeter, tropical notes of pineapple, mango, and melon are apparent in the background but they're subtle. There is also a strong dose of resinous pine at mid-sip. It finishes with a soft, bitter hop bite. I checked the website and the hop bill isn't specified but the can states it's 75% IBU. There is also a hint of pepper and astringency at the finish. This ale is well-carbonated but easily drinkable at 6% ABV. Overall, it's a very well-crafted, easy-drinking New England IPA. Très bon!

I hope everyone's enjoying their new beer(s) today. I'll be back with a local stout shortly. Cheers, NBS!

 

Stag Series Maibock from August Schell.



LOOK:
Pours golden-copper in color, topped with an off white head. Excellent clarity.

SMELL:
Lightly floral hop note, but otherwise very neutral (“clean”).

TASTE:
Rather sweet on the first sip, with piney and resiny hop notes tempering the sweetness. A bit fuller in body, but about right for a stronger lager of its type. Alcohol is very well hidden, and this one drinks “smaller” than it is. Although such “dangerously-drinkable” beers might lead to over-consumption, with Maibock it’s usually not the case.

FEEL:
Very good to excellent drinkability. The sweetness is a bit much for my palate this afternoon, but otherwise it’s about right for the style.

OVERALL:
A very good example of the style.

Cheers!

 

I'm sorry to see you dragged into a case like this. Being deposed is never pleasant. Hopefully, the case will settle without your having to testify.

 

Howdie, NBSers. I’m at an offsite work meeting in Dallas for the next couple of days, so a quick beer or two for your perusal., both from Legal Draft Beer Company from ArliTX (part of the DFW Metroplex). First up is Legal Holiday, a nice winter warmer.



3.96/5 rDev +14.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours a chocolate brown color with a minimal tan head. Some cinnamon and vanilla on the nose, and copious nutmeg notes. I’m intrigued.

The nutmeg is dominant on the taste, but there’s enough vanilla and cinnamon to bypass “Cloyingville.” The mouthfeel is a bit thin for an 8.4% ABV beer, but this is still a pretty nice warmer.

 

One of my absolute favorites and maybe the best beer brewed in the Old North State!

 

That beer was just put on draft at one of the better local beer bars. Your description definitely made me want to swing by and grab a draft before it's gone. Also, your tape deck is a dead ringer for a Pioneer one that I have. Everything from the button style and placement, it's uncanny. I wonder if Pioneer and Onkyo had a relationship back then.

 

Mickey got seven with one blow.