New Beer Sunday (Week 800)

Just to confirm: Saint Arnold 5 O'clock Pils is a distributed product vs. the Holler's beers being a draft on-premise draft product?

From a business perspective perhaps an apples vs. oranges comparison?

Cheers!

 

Oh yeah, all of Saint Arnold has a big distribution footprint in Houston especially, and throughout TX. Them and Real Ale are the only ones that can even be compared to the bigger regional breweries (I'm not including Karbach in that discussion obviously).

 

Drekker Hater Blockers DIPA, 8% ABV. Pours a bright hazy gold with a two-finger white head that left lots of lacing. Nose is pine, mango, and citrus, taste follows with moderate bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.23/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Had the kids and grandkids over for lunch, perfect day for it.

 

NBS #2. Valley Kills, a "Sour India Pale Ale" from The Drowned Lands Brewery in Warwick, Orange County, New York. It was released yesterday. It's an unusual beer that has elements of American IPA , American Wild Ale, and Berliner Weiss. It's brewed with milk sugar, raw wheat, and fluffy malted oats, inoculated with lactobacillus culture, and hopped with Azacca, Wakatu, and Mosaic. ⁠ ⁠It's more sweet than sour but has a rustic, earthy feel. The mouth feel is crisp and lite and easily drinkable at 6.8% ABV. The recipe is imaginative and it's well-executed. I like it a lot more than the DIPA from Drowned Lands I drank last night, which was overly sweet without balancing fruit and bitterness. The brewery is named for the quality of the soil in the vicinity, which is excellent for agriculture. The brewery itself is located in a former state school and the building is really cool. Subject to COVID, the tasting room should open later this summer. This place is on my radar if its quirkiness alone. I'm sorry I missed the Bière de Garde, which sold out before we arrived yesterday.

 

Here is one from a tiny, newer brewery in Urbana, IL.

25 O'Clock Brewing, Wee Heavy. 9% ABV. Big bottle, big beer. I have had several from them over the last 10 months or so, when I get a chance to travel up that way to see family. They have done some really good Belgian styles, and a few good English Porters and Bitters. I was excited to see this when I went up recently.



Pours a ruby/brown color. At first a two finger beige head forms, but that recedes to a ring with light lace.

Aroma is toasted and caramel malts up front. A nuttiness and dark fruit aroma of cherries and raisins. Fairly standard for the style, but enjoyable enough.

A big malt flavor as to be expected. Toasted and caramel sweetness. That aspect becomes cloying after a while. Dark fruits of cherries and raisins again. There is even a little woody flavor going on in the background, though this isn't barrel ages as far as I can tell. The sweetness lingers on and builds a little to much for me.

A full body with moderate carbonation. A bit sticky, thick and chewy. Its enjoyable enough to sip on, and hits the style points pretty well. Though not particularly exceptional in any way.

Yep, enjoyable is the word, but a predictable attempt at the style from an American brewery. As it becomes to cloying sweet and single minded after a while. I enjoy the brewery as they have done some very good interpretations of international styles, and this isn't bad by any means. I'll enjoy the bottle, but not a standout for the style or brewery.

Overall score is a respectable 3.62
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/58124/490744/?ba=champ103#review

 

How well is Hans' Pils selling in the Houston area?

My sister used to live in Austin (now New Braunfels) and Hans' Pils seemed to sell well in the Austin area. I saw it a lot on supermarket shelves (HEB, Randall's and others) and I bought it frequently on my annual visits. I enjoy drinking Hans' Pils.

Cheers!

 

Not sure exactly, I always enjoy it when its fresh but its hard to find fresh in Houston. Live Oak Pils and Gold is killing it though. That always sells out quickly when I see it at the store and pick up as much as I can.

 

Here's a new black IPA from Pipeworks called Same Lane. This clocks in at 6.5% ABV, was canned on 6/8/20, and features a very cool hop bill: Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, and Mosaic. I'm expecting a true-to-form hoppy dark beer here!

Pour is, obviously, quite dark, but it's pretty "schwarzbier-like" in how the very bottom of the glass has deep brown/ruby highlights if held to direct light. The head is, of course, more in line with the IPA side of things; dense, pillowy, and with an awesome retention that eventually leaves behind sleek lacing. Loving the look of this one!

The nose is primarily roasty and coffee-forward with some notes of burnt bread crust, brown bread, cocoa powder, and an almost lactose-like creaminess. Uh, not much in the way of hops though? Which is odd, I really expected this to jump out of my glass with pungent lupulin goodness, but... nah. Almost smells like a milk stout for some reason, with a slight background of blackcurrant and pine. Not what I was expecting.

Flavor profile is thick and chewy cocoa with a lot of bread crust and burnt caramel. A little bit of floral hoppiness and some light notes of black and red berries from the Mosaic, but this seems a bit too focused on the malt. Maybe my preference on this style is just a little too specific, but I like the kind of black IPAs that feature a roast balanced by a tropical and pine-y hoppy mid-palate, and it's even better if they finish super bright because the contrast is always interesting to me. Feel is heavy and rather too much for me. I wanted this to be more up my alley but, nah, not really feeling it overall. Like I just mentioned though, I'm super picky with black IPAs/ABAs. Perhaps too much to overcome and just enjoy this for what it is?

Oh yeah, forgot to mention this. Yesterday, I had to re-house my cat Storm, who I'd had for almost three years. About 5 months after getting him, my cousin moved in with me (we share a house with our grandmother, who lives in the upstairs apartment; it's a good situation in terms of cost because it's rent-controlled, etc.), which was supposed to be a temporary arrangement. Well, surprise... he's still here. And my cat hated him. And everyone else I ever brought over. And my grandmother (whom he attacked more than once). Eventually, enough was enough, and I was told I'd have to find him another place to live. It sucked at first, but I understand. So I gave him to a barn owned by a very nice lady that a local animal haven linked me up with. She's been reassuring me that I did the right thing and that they are very tolerant and accepting of him being a total jerk.

Coincidentally, my cousin who's been living with me knew of a friend of his who had a cat they were looking to re-house because of pet limits in their new apartment. So, same day I lost a pet, I gained a new one. BAs, meet Lily. She's adorable.



Thanks again for listening to my stories. You guys have been a great sounding board recently. My life has been a bit rocky recently, but I love to hear my fellow BAs' perspectives on it; you guys are helping me keep my head on straight. Well, that, and the great beers. Cheers! More to come...

 

Greetings to all of you fine NBSers, and happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Thanks to @Shanex for getting things started. I'd also like to extend props to @FBarber as well for following through with the OE 800 this week. Reading your review took me back to the days of drinking cheap malt liquor because 40's of those were easier to get our hands on than actual beer before we were legally able to drink. Back then we considered OE, Colt 45, and Mickey's to be top of the line in the malt liquor world. For a truly awful experience give a shot to Hurricane or King Cobra. I'm starting to feel hungover just thinking about those days.

Back to the topic at hand, I spent some time with my parents to celebrate Father's Day. My wife and I always like to entertain them on these holidays and cook up a big meal for them instead of dealing with the hassle of restaurant crowds and reservations. We often eat and drink better by preparing it all ourselves. This year I bought him an assortment of local brews from different brewers. He's into good beers, but doesn't make the effort to seek out the locals or follow the release schedules. For our day drinking purposes I picked up a variety pack of beers form Helltown Brewing in Mt. Pleasant, PA(about 50 miles from Pittsburgh) that included 3 IPAs: Salem New England IPA, Buffy Hazy IPA, and Rapture IPA. Helltown has always had a consistent reputation for good beer in my mind, but very few of their offerings have left me wowed. I was curious and excited to try some of their differing IPA styles next to each other, so let's get to it.

First up was Salem New England IPA, and it poured a light yellow haze with a fluffy white head of cavernous bubbles that quickly dissipated. The aroma was nothing to write home about. There were notes of faint citrusy hops, but it was overall weak in aroma in general. The taste unfortunately followed suit. There was some light citrusy notes of pineapple and orange, but those flavors quickly faded and the beer tasted watered down. The feel was soft but had little body. It felt overcarbonated to me, with almost the same effervescence of a bottle conditioned saison. Overall, fine for drinking from the can on a hot day, but this was nothing impressive.

The second can to fill my glass was Buffy Hazy IPA. When I picked up this variety pack I was immediately curious to see what the difference was between the Hazy and NEIPA, if any. Buffy had a much better pour right off the bat. The color was a bit darker and the haze was definitely thicker. The head was also thinner, but it was creamier with smaller suds that stuck around for at least half of the glass. The aroma was also stronger. This time I was hit with a more pungent hit of citrus and also some dank hops as well. The flavor was also amped up this time around. Pineapple and stone fruit were up front and a bitter hoppy flavor finished out each sip. Buffy had a medium body that was light and soft on the palate. The carbonation issue from the first beer was not present here. I enjoyed Buffy quite a bit. While still not able to live up to what many others can do in the hazy world, this was much more successful than Salem.

Finally, was a can of Rapture IPA. This IPA was a lightly cloudy orange with a head that seemed like a hybrid of my first two beers. The head was ample, but with a consistency between creamy and airy. There were certainly dank hops on the nose, but also a much bigger malty/grainy presence than the first two rounds. The flavor lived up to that assessment with a bitter hop flavor and a defined malt backbone. While it's not defined as a WCIPA, it is very close to being just that. Medium-light body on this one that left no impression one way or the other for me. Rapture was just a good bitter IPA that wasn't afraid to show off a bit of its malt presence.

If I were being forced to rank these beers I'd say that Buffy came in first followed closely by Rapture. Salem finished a distant third, and ultimately my ratings reflect just that experience. I'm hoping to be back later to review a new DIPA offering from my latest local obsession Four Points Brewing. I promise I'll try to keep that one a bit less rambling. Cheers!

3.64/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75


4.02/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

3.98/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

 

Greetings, fellow NBSers, and thanks to @Shanex for getting us going today.

75° and partly sunny here in what is the largest city on a north-to-south line between the US-Canada border and San Bernardino, California. We're still having early spring-like rain fairly regularly, but we may finally be moving out of that. I'll add that I'm not against rain per se, and actually welcome it if it means we won't be choked with wildfire smoke in August, but I'm not so happy with rain so heavy that it caused the entire sewer system of the city to start backing up. That's now happened two years in a row.

Last week I skipped NBS on account of having had too much the night before. That didn't occur this week, so I'm happy to share with y'all a new beer, albeit one that comes with an asterisk:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/1287/?ba=woemad#review
This was actually the first beer I drank from the first NBS BIF #11 box that I received from @Whyteboar. He sent me two of them. I drank the first one when not in the mood to review a beer, with me reasoning that it was okay, because I'd just review the other one later. Problem was, I forgot about the other one and it got hidden behind other beers that entered my fridge afterwards. I was digging around this morning in search of a new beer for NBS and found it staring back at me.

So how was it, 5 months after it was bottled?

Not bad. I mean, it's nothing earth shattering. Bell's didn't re-invent the wheel, here. But that's not something I'm regularly expecting out of a beer. This is a very well-crafted porter that hits all the style buttons that it's supposed to and stands alongside any local example of the style (in fact I kinda wish I'd thought of hitting one side-by-side with Black Butte) with ample dignity. If it were local, I'd be happy to be able to pick up 6ers of this.
Thanks, Craig!

 

That was a hell of a find last summer, I really loved it and drunk it by the liters. Your description regarding its brightness and solid hops along with the rich malts and fruity/floral notes also fits my memories and notes. Really hoping it makes a comeback this summer, as the beer became an 'instant' favorite (it was early July last year)!

 

Happy Father’s Day, NBSers. Mrs O asked me what I wanted for dinner today, and after some deliberation, decided on baby back ribs, which I love to eat and love to prepare on the Weber kettle grill that has been our de facto grill since we got married 30 years ago (I think we’re on our 4th).

So imagine how happy I was when, right around the time I was stepping outside to get the grill and charcoals ready, we had a downpour that would’ve sent Noah scurrying for the ark. So we reconnoitered, pushed dinner back 30 minutes, and here we are now (literally live) ......



I am not ashamed to admit I am drooling like a dog eying a bone. Just another 90 minutes-ish before I strap on the feed bag (or rib bag more accurately).

First, though, time for a beer. I have a couple from Transient that are literally at opposite ends of the beer nerd spectrum.





4.25/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a nearly clear golden color with a white head that dissipates almost instantaneously per the style. The nose is funky and effervescent and also has a subtle earthiness and spiciness that is probably the oak and rye.

There’s loads of funky flavors to enjoy on the taste, but what I’m really enjoying is the character the earthy, rustic flavors and very subtle spiciness add to this beer, especially as it warms.

The mouthfeel is as effervescent as the spritziness indicated on the nose. Man, is this a pleasure to drink.

 

Howdy, NBSers! It's a gorgeous day for a beer.

Good to be back here, with another nuevo beer for me.
Half Acre's Fader (Lager) but really a Pils in the German-style from what I can discern. 5% ABV

More, you say? OK - looks to be canned 5.21.20

4.02/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L - pale golden see-through veil of bubbles; decent head, a little lacing. Proper
S - crisp, lemony, biscuit dough - that little lemon twist on the nose is nice. Makes it stand out a bit
T - Love this taste, good cracker snap to it, with a good lingering lager taste, no issues. Pretty damn good. Not sure if this is as good as Pony but it's close (for me). Like any Half Acre, it leans more into traditional hops than the solid malt base that some Lager brewers might balance, but I like it - makes it bite-y and refreshing.
F - Great carbonation, balance, never unbalanced. 5% clean summer sipper.
O - another winning Lager from HA. They're not known for their lagers, necessarily, but they can do em. Just don't expect a Dovetail Lager here. Didn't expect to like this one as much as I do.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass not sure when it was canned but assuming 6 weeks at most. Pours a hazy orange with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves a bunch of sticky white lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Smell I could try and blow smoke but all I get is strawberry and vanilla really impressive and pleasant. 4.5

Taste follows strawberry, pineapple, and vanilla again one dimensional but really tasty just the same. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than medium, not dry but a touch sticky, soft gentle carbonation, and at 7.2% really easy drinking and not over the top on either, but they are in charge and really tasty. 4.5

Overall a brewery in Maine makes a similar milk shake beer called strawberry vanilla dome and this one is even better. Thanks @mschrei for this can. 4.5

 

Alright, up next are two single-hop pale ales from Honest Weight Brewing out of Orange, MA. These guys are pretty-consistently impressive, so I'm assuming they can totally take on a 4.4% pale ale hopped exclusively with Vic Secret and do well by it. One of the absolute best hops out there and one of the more underrated breweries in MA... alright, let's do this!



Pour is gorgeous. Opaque yellow-orange with a very stable head of eggshell-white foam building up to almost three fingers at its highest point, settling to a half-finger of beautiful suds. Incredibly consistent, webby lacing here too... just a very nice looking brew.

The nose is exactly what I expect from this amazing hop... juicy passion fruit, strong tangelo and orange, with a hit of herbal and pine-y resinous notes. VS is like a much-more-focused Mosaic in some ways. Sure it doesn't have any earthiness (though I guess it can depending on how it's used, I've never really noticed it though), it's less dank overall, and it misses the odd blueberry/raspberry thing that can sometimes happen with Mosaic, but its profile is kinda similar in terms of the citrus/tropical aspects. I honestly think I like VS more than Galaxy at this point, although they're almost "sister hops."

For being only 4.4%, this has an awesome flavor profile... upfront it really comes alive with fresh and crisp pine aspects and a big undercurrent of passion fruit, papaya, and a touch of catty guava. I know this is a weird flex, but I bet this would be even better as a cask ale... it just has that approach to it that feels like the hops involved would be bolstered by a gravity pour. I know people are mixed in their opinions of cask hoppy beer, but this would likely just be so goddamn good. Mid-palate has a little maltiness, but it quickly becomes inundated with, well, more Vic Secret. Bitter and full of grapefruit and tangelo-like acidity and citrus oil aspects. No hop burn and no aspirin-like harshness, though. This... is so damn good. I cannot wait to drink the other one (which features another Southern Hemisphere varietal... not Aussie, but New Zealand-based)!

 

Cheers to Lily and here's hoping that everything works out for the best!

 

It's a 2- New(ish)beer Sunday so far in the city where Father's Day was invented. My hat is off to all of you who responsibly raised children and was there for your kids as a Dad. I still haven't had kids and probably won't at this point. The older I get, the more I see what an awesome responsibility it is, and I see how often people either get it wrong, or get it right but take a tremendous battering along the way (thinking of how much gray hair my younger brother and his wife have, and my nieces aren't even teens yet), and so it doesn't hold much appeal to me. Then again, hooking up with the right partner to such a venture is key, so if that finally happens, who knows?

Anyway, enough possibly beer-addled introspection. I'm now hitting an Imperial Stout brewed with coffee and vanilla, from a nanobrewery in semi-nearby Hayden, Idaho.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/49409/470028/?ba=woemad#review
Pretty disappointing. Virtually no carbonation, and what flavor does emerge does so in the aftertaste. Normally the Bombastic crew unsubtly lives up to their name in sledgehammer fashion, but not here. I can only conclude something went wrong. Judging by the couple others that reviewed or rated this ahead of me, that must've been the case.
Can't all be winners, I guess. On the plus side, I didn't send this one to @MacMalt in my last box to him, but instead sent a stable mate from the same brewery, acquired at the same time, that was much better.

 

Since it's Father's Day, I exercised my right to skip the typical debate / negotiations that we go through as a family to pick out a movie to watch, and just pick a movie I wanted to watch. Went with Walk the Line, which I'm guessing I bought on DVD close to 15 years ago and had neverr opened. Unfortunately, it's not the only movie I've done that with. My kids routinely laugh when I bring an unopened movie up from the basement from years ago.

Anyway, now that the movie (which I enjoyed by the way....Joaquin Phoenix & Reese Weatherspoon were both great) is over, it's time for beer #2. This one is Grassman, from Tired Hands, and courtesy of @JayORear. My mom lives 10 minutes from Tired Hands, and my sister is about 5 minutes away, yet I've only stopped by there once and it was mostly to load up on saisons. Anyway, this one did not disappoint!

4.2/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Appearance is a hazy yellow with a very robust head that leaves behind plenty of lacing as it dissipates. Smell is all Citra hops and quite appealing. Taste is really interesting. Starts out with the hops, tiny bit of bitterness, then a really nice lingering aftertaste. Feel is soft and full, and the highlight of the beer for me. Overall, this is a smooth, tasty IPA.