New Beer Sunday (week 798)

I'm going to try. Next weekend's going to be pretty heavy, springing a surprise private beer festival on my wife for her birthday since the annual WA Brewers' Fest is canceled. I mean, I'll be trying tons of new beer, if I can just sit long enough to write about it...

 

It’s beautiful Spring afternoon in NJ. I’m drinking an IPA from Maine Brewing named Spring. Spring is 6.5 ABV. There is no info on the label about the grain bill or the hops used. There is an easy to read bottling date that includes the time of day when bottled, 10:30 04/21/20. There is also a note to drink fresh within 90 days of bottling. Spring is pretty much a textbook example of an IPA and an excellent one. No single thing about this beer impress me while drinking it. Once done ai said to myself that’s damm fine IPA

 

Great job!

It doesn't sound like you've had their Trosten (smoked black lager) but to me this one resembled that beer even more than I was expecting. I was sort of hoping for a 'Schlenkerla Urbock with maple' kind of thing, so it took a few sips for me to mentally switch gears, but once I made the connection to the Trosten I more or less got what they were going for.

The smoke and maple flavors are indeed subtle, but to me that just makes having a few in a row a more pleasurable experience. It's also quite a dry beer, which works in its favor more than it doesn't. But just a smidge more residual sugar probably would have downplayed that astringency more, as well as brought out the maple a bit more. Still, it's an overall success, all things considered, and if I had to give it a score it would be around 4.1.

 

I'm back quite quickly (drinking mostly 16 ouncers lately so the 12's go down fast).
As you may know, this All Together beer is a "worldwide collaboration" to benefit health care workers. This particular can is brewed by Stony Creek, a brewery that is kind of meh in my opinion. Curiously though, the can says "hosted by Other Half Brewing"??? A little research shows that Other Half started the ball rolling on this, like SN did with Resilience.

Well this is the best thing I have ever had from Stony Creek. Hazy, check. Foamy check. Pineapple, coconut, mango oh my. Perfect hoppy finish. Good carbonation. This beer is really hitting right now.
I wonder how the other brewers are doing on this? The Egret is Stony Creek's mascot so they did a nice little customization on the backside of the can.

 

Ha! Funny that when I was looking through photos for the pretty beer thread, I ran across one I took of Trösten and thought, "that's what I was getting!" Unfortunately, it was well too late for an edit, though I was actually going to mention it with my next beer. I believe I may have noted in my original review of Trösten that it resembled their Dunkel, so maybe I didn't totally betray myself

I like your thought on the residual sugar, though - and can totally imagine where that may help as you suggest. Cheers!

 

Really good review.
See you next week I hope.
Cheers

 

Surly Space Race DNEIPA, 9.5%. Pours clearish pale yellow with a two finger white head that left little lacing. Nose is very light tropical fruit,pepper, and citrus. Taste follows, plus some pine and grass, slightly sweet, slightly bitter. Excellent mouthfeel, overall excellent. I wouldn't have classified this a NEIPA/DNEIPA, seems more like a DIPA.

4/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Nice review. I enjoyed reading it; well done.

See you regularly?

 

My feelings as well.
Cheers

 

Greetings, Earthlings, and fellow NBSers, excited to be back with a new one.
DOVETAIL MAIBOCK. 6.3% - Deets below.

4.19/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

From a pint can, dated 5/05/20 (Cinco de Maibock on the bottom) courtesy of @77apm

L - 4.25 - Looks like a Pilsner on steroids; great carbonation, unfiltered, golden straw goodness, bubbles for days.
S - 4 - OK, interesting, some strange smoke element (smoked malt?) creeping in. I'm all for smoke in a Rauchbier and/or a Grodziskie, but in a Maibock? OK, not expected, still has the caramel, sweet malt and definite honey-sourdough one would expect otherwise.
T - 4.25 - Dear God - forget my complaint about the smoke, this is a proper Maibock on the palate. Take me, sweet malt-honey-AdamDriver-floral-dough taste. This is great.
F - 4.25 - Superior palate impression, good carbonation, natural honey-malt tang on the finish too. Proper.
O - 4.25 - Thanks Dovetail, for making me miss you so much. I need to drink (much) more of this style.

We need to set a separate day for Maibock tastings on BA!

 

I plan to be back.

 

It's a beautiful afternoon so I'm still getting some yard work done, and it turns out that I just happen to have a beer made for such situations. Just last week I commented to @tzieser regarding some Tonewood beers from south NJ, and this week I find that some of their stuff is indeed available here in north NJ. I was shopping at the beer store for the first time in a long time, and jumped at the chance when I spied this one in the cooler:

Poolside Lager

It doesn't specifically say what they were going for here, but it sure as hell is coming across like a Classic American Pilsner to me. The malt character is light, clean and easy going, as grainy as it is bready, and it shares equal spotlight with a fresh corn quality. Hops definitely let you know they're there, with a gentle flourish of grass and spice as well as a firm crack of bitterness on the back end. Nothing challenging or controversial here, just something that's crisp, well made, and easy to drink. A- (4.0).

@JackHorzempa , you might want to check this one out if you can.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. And thank you, Ian, for starting today's festivities. It's a gorgeous early summer afternoon here in North Jersey. Perfect for deck drinking. I did a ton of yard work yesterday so I've relaxed today reading an excellent biography of President William McKinley and drinking some beer. My NBS review #1 is Yes Farms, Yes Beer, a New England IPA brewed by Industrial Arts. It was canned about 3 1/2 weeks ago. All of its ingredients are locally grown in New York State. This IPA has all the attributes of an Industrial Arts beer: it's lite and crisp and the yeast is immediately recognizable. I cannot determine the hop bill. I don't taste much of the advertised pineapple and lemon meringue. It's more tart and slightly sour. It's a nice beer to drink outdoors on a day like today but as a New England IPA it pales in comparison to Wrench and Torque Wrench. Here's my full review:

4.02/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Canned on 5/12/2020. Poured into an Industrial Arts pint glass. It pours an opaque, muddy, pastel golden-lemon color with a large, fluffy, eggshell-colored head and lots of thick, clinging lacing. It has a sweet, floral nose with a mild aroma of pineapple, lemon, bubblegum, and pine needles. The sweetness of the smell gives way to tart, sour, citrus, including lemon and lime. I'm not tasting the pineapple and melon that others note. I could not find any reference to the hop bill on the website but it's not overly bitter. It's medium-bodied and moderately carbonated, and it drinks easily at 6% ABV. Overall, Yes Farms, Yes Beer is a lite, crisp hazy New England IPA that is refreshing on a warm summer's day. And I appreciate Industrial Arts' penchant for supporting local New York agriculture.

I hope you're all enjoying your new beer(s) today. I'll be back with another local NEIPA shortly. Cheers, NBS!

 

Got this one from a regular trade partner of mine @Jason1221 earlier in the week along with a handful of Hop Butcher beers and some cans of Zombie Dust.

4.45/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Beer pours from the can a dark purple hue. The head of the beer is a faint pink color that lingers about while drinking nicely. The berry color is obvious here. The appearance lets the drinker know what is coming.

S: Beer smells like blueberry cobbler. Noticing a lot of cinnamon spice notes right off the bat. Also getting blueberry and some hints of graham cracker. Reminds me of a fresh cobbler.

T: The taste is very similar to the nose of the beer. The main flavor is of a berry sweetness. Along with the berry notes, I am also getting some cinnamon like spice slightly. The beer also has some hints of a graham cracker like crust. This beer is very much dessert in a can without being overly sweet.

M: The weak point of a really nice beer, in my opinion. Nothing really noticeable of the mouthfeel. The feel of the beer seems to disappear pretty quick after drinking. The berry flavors linger about but more in taste than feel.

O: Nice dessert like beer that isn't too sweet. The spice notes become more prevalent as the beer gets warmer. This beer makes me want to find a warm blueberry cobbler.

 

Wittorfer Brauerei Kopfkino DIPA


Pours an entirely hazed yellow with a big, stable head.


The aromas on this are defined by a breathtaking tropical, juicy fruit basked. This brings fresh squeezed oranges, ripe papaya and lighter mango with a good amount of lime zest to light. There is a lighter impact of white grapes and blueberry bush as well, creating a truly intriguing, intense nose.


Drinks soft and creamyish with a light, well nuanced carbonation during the finish.


Tastes of kiwi covered in bread dough, together with ice bonbon, lighter oranges and utmost bitter limes. This drinks juicy with a subtle sweetness to it, only to turn quite bitter then with big chunks of lime, wet grass and fresh picked passion fruit. Finishes with noteable mango, wild honey and a huge amount of maintaining limes, battering down on the tongue vigorously.


Well made New England Ipa with a convincing bitterness to it, highlighted by a pleasant mouthfeel and a fruit sorbet sweetness.

 

Second new beer for today, a beer I have been patiently waiting to crack due to the excellent feedback in the Great Lakes Forum. Phase Three Brewing is a relatively new brewery, opened by Shaun Berns (previously brewed at RAM and More) and Evan Morris. WCIPAs are in my top 3 beer styles, and while I can pick up great Chicago offerings across most styles, this is a style which I wished was more accessible in our market.



Will this pour live up to the hype? I provide my take below, but hope you take the opportunity to decide.

Phase Three Brewing Terrazzo (WCIPA 8.0% ABV) Released Thursday.

Appearance: Clear tan pour, spurt of carbonation ends quickly, light white bubbly head fades fast, leaving generous creamy lacing in its wake. 3.75

Aroma: Creamy sweet citrus aroma, pine backs. 3.75

Taste: Excellent taste, bitter very dry pine leads, citrus, tangerine and lemon backs superbly. WCIPA, my long lost friend! This beer is on point.4.75

Mouthfeel: Light crisp body, no carbonation, dry bitterness lingers. 4.25

Overall: Excellent WCIPA pour, glad to have picked these up! 4.25

Many great reviews today, @JackHorzempa 's Rose

 

First up today is Curiosity Ninety Six from Tree House. While I enjoy TH beers, I'm not a fan boy by any stretch, and given my undeveloped palate have trouble identifying a significant difference with many of their beers. Their "Curiosity" series has been middle of the road for me. Solid, but unspectacular (keeping in mind that their "solid" is still better than the best that some breweries can do). With that, I was pleasantly surprised with this one.

4.24/5 rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured into a tulip. Pours a darker muddy orange with two to three fingers of thick lasting head and medium lacing. Smell is all fruit. This sure smells like a juice bomb with mango and other fruits coming through on the nose. Taste is pleasantly smooth and reflective of the fruits that came through on the nose. Nice full mouthfeel, and a pleasant lingering taste. Overall this is better than I expected. TH says that this reminds them of Juice Machine and I would have to agree.