New Beer Sunday (Week 804)

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Swiggers and commentators. It was great to see our friend @cjgiant open today's festivities again. I'm only sorry that it's insomnia induced! It's blazing hot in North Jersey today. It's my wife's birthday weekend and she wanted to take a walk along the Delaware River today so we did so early; it was still oppressive. Tomorrow is supposed to be worse.

For today's NBS I'm joining @jkblr in reviewing this year's iteration of Industrial Arts' Summer Landscape. For those unfamiliar, each year IA releases four special Lagers - one for each season. Each year the recipe for each seasonal release changes so it's always a new beer. As expected, the summer release is especially lite and crisp. As always, IA has done a masterful job. This year's version bridges the gap between a traditional clean Lager and a Cream Ale. It's delicious and only 5% ABV. Here's my full review:

4.22/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Canned on 6/19/2020. Poured into a nonic pint glass. It pours a hazy straw-gold color with greenish hues, and a think milky white cap and lacing. Many tiny bubbles ascend the glass. The smell features lemon peel, yeast, and grains. The taste presents a terrific balance: there is tart, somewhat bitter lemon, and a slight sweetness from the corn and 9-row malt. The Glacier, Willamette, and Mt. Hood hops add herbal notes and a woody, resinous bitterness. This Lager is crisp and dry with lively carbonation, and the 5% ABV is ideal for drinking during summer activities. Overall, the 2020 version of Summer Landscape is another winner from Industrial Arts. It skillfully blends elements of an Adjunct Lager and a Cream Ale into a complex, tasty, and super easy drinking summertime beer. Nobody does this better than IA.

This will be it for me on NBS today as I have a lot of great "non new beer" in the fridge. I hope everyone is having a great day. Cheers, NBS!

 

Great review! I'm joining you in reviewing it today. Cheers!

 

I really like that Whistle Punk glass you sent me. I use it all the time. Cheers, Fred!

 

I don't contribute to this thread often but I figured I'd pop in today. Just finished mowing the lawn and it's stupid hot, so a refreshing sour seemed like the perfect choice.

11th Hour Dream Cannon No. 5 - Summer Punch: Blackberry & Lime

This is at least the second release of this variation but it's my first time trying it out.

Beautiful deep crimson pour with a fluffy pink head. Foam dissipates to a small ring and sticks around for the duration. Not much retention but some sticky lace is left behind.

Nose is vaguely tangy with some lactic sourness. Dark fruit, berry, & some citrus.

Initial sip is noticeably sour, but the over the top tartness falls in line with everything else after a few sips. Huge berry flavors abound - raspberry, blackberry, blueberry and maybe cherry & red grape. Mid palate is very juicy. Very briefly I get some sweet Juicy Juice, of which 8 year old me was very much a fan. The sweetness gives way to more tart flavors - mostly key lime, which persists through the finish. The tart citrus drys it all up in the end and leaves you wanting another sip.

Overall I really like this beer. Really nice balance of sweet and sour. Big, authentic fruit flavors. Not terribly complex - just a solid sour ale. Perfect for a hot day. Cheers!

 

Hop Butcher for the World Hidden Secret Cove Milkshake DIPA w/ Citra/Rakau, pineapple, strawberry, banana, coconut, vanilla, and lactose.

Pours a full haze dark orange color with two fingers of an off-white head that has great retention. 4.25

Aroma is definite tropical vibes. Dole pineapple tidbits, coconut cream pie, ripe strawberry, whipped cream. Coconut presence is big and almost has that suntan lotion thing going on, but manages to barely stay authentic. No banana or hop presence detected. 4.25

Taste is like a pina colada. Creamy coconut and crushed pineapple all day. Strawberry is present in the background. That classic Hop Butcher creamy vanilla is there, but not as prominent due to the other adjuncts being so forward and melds into the coconut presence more than anything. Not really any banana or hop presence. 4

High medium body. Creamy, soft, silky, sticky, oily, slightly chalky. 4.25

To me, this is almost identical to their Old School Hawaii Vibes milkshake DIPA, with the huge pineapple and coconut. The strawberry adds something slightly different though. Wish the banana and vanilla were more prominent and that there was room for some hop character. This seems a bit disjointed compared to other milkshakes by them. Still quite enjoyable though. 4
Overall: 4.1

 

Good afternoon NBS-ers! Been a while since I stopped by and joined in.

Just finishing up today's entry.

Poured from a 12 oz. can into a Teku glass. Best by 10/28/20.
Appearance: Amber body with a light fluffy white bubbly head that leaves plenty of lacing inside the top of the glass.
Aroma: Resiny hops with pine, grapefruit and hints of lemon.
Taste/Mouthfeel: Sticky resinous hops. Pine, citrus to start backed by a breast malt. Make no mistakes though, this is all about the hops! A little tongue numbing from those hops too.
Overall: A really tasty IPA worthy of being an everyday drinker.

 

Good afternoon NBS
I'm on a roll with beers produced of locally sourced ingredients provided by generous & thoughtful trade partners today. This one comes from @beergoot

Colorado Double Strong by River North Brewery - blonde barleywine made with Colorado hops & grain

375 mL bottle 2020 vintage poured into a brandy snifter at fridge temp 10.8% ABV. The beer pours slightly (chill) hazy in a light amber color with off white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island of puffy bubbles. The aroma is mild with malt, slight alcohol and some earthy hops. The taste is slightly barley sweet with nice malt depth and a crisp earthy hops popping in mid palate. Moderate to heavy bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good. It's been quite a while since I've reviewed an American barleywine. This one delivers without the need for barrel treatment or additives letting the Colorado malts & hops shine. Thanks Dave!

Cheers all!

 

Good afternoon NBS, starting with a mini can from @Buck89! Yazoo Tickers Paradise.
3.76/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Thank you Buck89 for this
8 oz can poured into a tulip

A- A fairly hazy golden straw with almost no head.

S- Tart, brett, oak, some malt sweetness, touch of peach brandy.

T- Mildly tart, oak, brett, some malt sweetness, some of the peach brandy barrel comes through.

M- Smooth, light to medium body, carbonation is there it’s just on the lighter side.

O- A decent brett ale. I was hoping for my funk and peach, maltinsss is stronger than I expected.


Cheers NBS!

 

Greetings, NBS! I hope everyone's week is going well. I can see that a common thread that most of us seem to be sharing this week is the heat. It's 95 here today with 60% humidity. I initially planned to drink this one outside, but instead I found myself retreating to the air conditioning after taking the picture. The high temps also influenced my beer choice this week. I needed something light and refreshing as opposed to last week's double stout tasting. I decided on a beer that came this week from a trade with @beergoot. Before I get into the review I just wanted to say a little bit about this trade and how refreshing it was. This was the first trade I've done on the BA forums aside from participating in a couple BIFs, and it was pretty much everything you could ask for in a trade. He was interested in a couple cans of a beer I'd posted on the forums, and aside from that neither of us were seeking anything but some tasty brews. We decided to try to send around 12 cans each, and of course we both went over. Everything I've tried from his box has been pretty new to me and also quite delicious. Thanks, Dave, for such an open and well rounded trade experience. It's such a nice break from the competitive trading that goes on in the facebook groups, and is an exemplary of the community that I've found here on BA. Anyway, onto the beer.

Trinity Brewing Company's Thaison naked saison de meil brewed with Black Forest Honey was what the doctor ordered on this sweltering afternoon. It had the hallmarks I look for in a saison from the first pour, but I could have used one of those large Duvel tulips to contain the ample head. A beautiful color and smell gave way to an increasingly complex farmhouse as I worked my way through the bottle. The grist bill of barley, oats, and rye gave this a bit of a backbone. The yeast they use is not specified aside from the fact that they note it as proprietary. I'm not sure if that same yeast is used in the bottle conditioning as well as the initial fermentation, but I get a mix of clove and brett that I'm enjoying quite a bit. As I finish typing this I only have a few sips remaining, but the dry finish keeps me wanting another sip.


4.1/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Look - Pours a cloudy dark orange with an ample white head with cavernous bubbles that begin to slowly fade as quickly as they form. Very little lacing to speak of as I work through the pour.
Smell - Grassy barnyard funk. Momentary whiffs of honey.
Taste - Following the lead of the aroma, this is a grassy and effervescent saison with a large amount of yeasty barnyard funk on the finish along with some clove spiciness. Not sour per se, but a minimal sharpness on the tongue in noticeable. Although not noted on the label, it has tastes that are reminiscent of brettanomyces. Dry finish.
Feel - Light bodied with an abundance of carbonation.
Overall - A delightful farmhouse that increased in complexity throughout the bottle.

Edit: I forgot to give props to @WunderLlama to dig through my miscellaneous drawer to find the same opener that he featured in his review today.

 

Every July since 2001 I have gotten out of South Carolina and spent a week in Ithaca or somewhere near there in the Finger Lakes. Can't do it this year. Everyone I go to visit is highly vulnerable to COVID 19. So I get to stew here in the 100 degree heat. I have a 90 year old house full of 10 year appliances and 8 or 9 bicycles that all need fixing. Everything is fine.

These days I buy most of my beer at the local breweries or a wine shop two blocks from my house. The shop occasionally gets Coast or Westbrook beers within two days of canning. This week they had Westbrook Rinse/Repeat Sabro Citra


Murky gold with a strong fine white head and lacing. Strong grapefruit and pineapple, maybe light coconut aromas. I don't react to Sabro the same way the haters on BA do. This is the first beer for me where Sabro got top billing. I thought it accentuated the Citra flavors. Orange, grapefruit, pineapple, pine, other stuff. Nice hop bitterness and lasting carbonation.

I think that is one of my favorites from the Rinse/Repeat series.
Westbrook is suggesting that I need to shower?

 

Late start today. Cleaned out the garage a bunch, then went and test drove a Subaru.

Extra Tickle from Levante.
16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 06/18/20.

Pours hazy, whitish-yellow, biggish head that collapses and leaves clumps along the edge, lots of carbonation. Smell is mango and citrus pith.

Taste is a little juice, a little resin, more of the pith flavor. Moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel is light, soft, fluffy. Overall, actually really nice. Well balanced, less in-your-face. Refreshing.

 

This one is still new to me, one of the Belgian classics, Piraat, a Belgian Strong Pale Ale re-fermented with Bordeaux wine yeast.



This bottle pours a cloudy amber red-orange color with a dense creamy off-white light khaki colored foam head. Smells like rich malts, wine yeast, tart red grapes, cherry, red fruit, thick caramel, toffee, brown sugar, toasted bready crackery malts, hint of chocolate, roast, dark fruits, plum, maybe apple, touch of spice, with light earthy floral hops. Tastes rich and a bit sweet, with the Bordeaux wine yeast cutting through with some dryness. Rich roasty caramel malts, toffee, brown sugar, toasted bread, graham cracker, hint of chocolate, dried fruits, dark fruit, apple, plum, cherry, apricot, raisin, red grape, dry red wine notes, a touch of spice, with mild earthy floral hops. Feels lighter medium bodied, smooth and creamy with moderate carbonation. Overall a real nice and interesting Belgian Strong Pale Ale re-fermented with Bordeaux wine yeast. Cheers all!

 

Howdy NBSers, back with a new one. Never reviewed it until recently, and it's an odd enough beer I thought... aw, why not?

Outer Range Brewing's Out to Pasture Table Beer. 2.5% (collab with Resident Culture out of NC)

3.67/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

L - Has a farmhouse "murk" and unfiltered golden wheat look to it. Hard to call it a farmhouse or a saison but since "hoppy table beer" isn't a category here, well...
S - Faint saison seasoning on this;, it smells (and yes, tastes) more like a Grisette style light farmhouse. Yeast and faint grain grain fruit on the nose.
T - As might be expected at 2.5%, this doesn't have a wallop of taste - think if the Belgian-French in the Ardennes did a shandy or Radler and that's what you got here. Definitely "Grisette Light" here.
F - Good, perky, but ultimately as thin as 2.5% would suggest. But a great summer thing.
O - A really nice venture into low ABV "beer" by ORB; I'd get this again for 90+ degree days.

 

I just noticed I have reviewed 50 beers so far this year on Beer Advocate...ha, I remember when 200 was a low count for an entire year (don't think I'm getting anywhere close that that anymore). Oh well, still plugging slowly along. Thats all for me, its about time for some Bourbon, grilling chicken wings and Hulu. Cheers

 

Opening up a can of Big Grove Color TV, thanks @ECOBOOSTINST!
4.24/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Thank you ECOBOOSTINST for this
16 oz can, dates 6/11/20, poured into a tulip

A- A hazy golden straw with a small white head.

S- Citrus, tropical fruits, stone fruits, slightly dank, piney, some sweet malts.

T- Stone fruits, citrus, some oranges, tropical fruits, piney, a little dank, some malt sweetness.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A tasty Double NEIPA, a little on the sweet side but not cloyingly sweet.

Cheers!

 

I have had a few of the variants, which were also very good to excellent, but this was my first review of the current version of their IPA. Unfortunately Spiteful's original IPA brewed with El Dorado hops was changed before I got into craft beer, though I really like their current version. 10/9 Bike Messenger Appreciation IPA is still my favorite pour from them, and I rank it as one of my favorite IPAs / WCIPAs period. You can always find me at the brewery if I'm in town on 10/9.

Third and final pour today, Lake Effect Brewing's Caddy Pale Ale, a 5% ABV "German Style" Pale Ale brewed in collaboration with local restaurant Murray Brothers (I have never been to, it's in Rosemont) to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the epic film Caddyshack.



This beer also celebrates my preferred presidential ticket in 2020, and perhaps of all time.



Finally truth in political advertising. What a novel concept. Oh, you came here for my review?



Appearance: Clear blonde pour, thin bright white head leaves no lacing, settling quickly into a ring around the top of the pour. Mild carbonation. 3.5

Aroma: Light bread and pepper, malt pleasant. 3.0

Taste: Mirrors aroma though lighter, bread and slightly sweet malt, light salt and pepper backing, taste is faint. 3.0

Mouthfeel: Light body, nominal carbonation during the pour, slightly oily feel, easy clean finish. 3.25

Overall: A good light pale ale. 3.25

Going back to catch up on the rest of the reviews. Have a great Sunday and week ahead.