New Beer Weekend #106

I think you hit the nail on the head here and those would be my two questions too.

The fact that we are at the point where “going out of the way” for good beer is unnecessary is an amazing thing.

I would gladly drink plenty of beer on tap there if I ever visit Salem; no questions asked.

 

Well, had this from a lucky Farmer's Market pickup... nice !



Poured from the can into a Hoegaarden beer glass.

Deep yellow, with a real sense of orange in the mix for the body color, slightly opaque but not too cloudy. Classic white head, that has some minimal retention, but settles to a good topped thin puck and collar.

This is a real nice aroma. Good sense of dense and chewy malt, but with a real bready sweetness. There's a nice play of coriander sense, and a real dry sense to the beer which makes the spice really seem to pop out. Finally this take on thai basil is a bold move but works real nicely, as there is more of a spicy component on the nose here. However, everything seems balanced and not really overblown or out of control either.

Palate is quite nice. Mid palate flows with more of a citrus orange angle, but then there's more of a bitterness than sweetness to this wit. Chewy but light bodied, with a good herbal and spicy kick. Finishes even almost with bitter licorice and thai heat, taking a bit more of a spicy punch. The aftertaste though lingers just a hair to long, giving to pasty and sticky tannic dryness a bit too much though.

Very neat take on a wit, but definitely not in the sweet camp, and more in the bitter for sure, but in a neat way.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 | Final: 4.06/5

Cheers!

 

Well, you and I are fortunate in this regard since we live in good areas.

There has been some interesting discussion in the Iconic Craft Breweries Are Completely Surrendering to IPA Dominance thread and one of my posts:

“I personally have a great selection of non-IPA beers where I live but I have traveled enough to know that other areas of the country are markedly different from my area.”

There are some folks who live elsewhere who likely have to travel a bit to find a ‘good’ selection of high-quality beers.

Cheers to living where we live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Pipeworks Pineapple Guppy Pale Ale, 4.6% ABV; 3.61 overall

Pours a slightly hazed gold with a thumb of cream colored head. Average head retention & lacing

S: Pineapple aplenty & oranges
T: Pineapple & dryness, a little green melon & lime up front. Dryness, lime & pineapple as this warms, but not enough sweetness or acidity to really please me. Finishes with lime & pineapple notes, plus dryness

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, decent balance

Drinkable, but not memorable or enjoyable

 

Though this isn't new to me, it is a new batch and I figured that prompts a NBW entry.

Benediktiner Festbier (I'm gathering this is a fresh batch because (1) time of the year that the beer appeared on the shelf, (2) last year's had a packaged on and best by date (this year's doesn't) and (3) the date code, which seems to have disappeared was something like 24A2022 which I take to mean at least 2022. Hahah, onward.



Looks a touch hazy here, that's because it's quite cold. I'm letting it warm, not sure why the fridge chilled it down so much but hey. It's just a hint of haze in truth and a deep amber, copper color. The head recedes quickly with some tidy lacing. A swirl brings the head back, it's sudsy and beautiful.

The nose is sweet and caramalty. Mostly upfront is malt sugar, herbal and grassy, and a slight sugary headiness. Maybe a hint of fruity esters but not truly there.

Taste - still a touch colder than I'd like but I'm outside a bunch running the weber so it'll warm quickly: malt sugar, rock candy, clean caramel sugar, well short of toffee. It's quite definitively a festbier and not a marzen (no complaints there). I don't know that I had any marzen last year besides maybe Sierra Nevada's and it wasn't anything to write home about. This is cool and collected, nuanced and balanced and the grassy note (reminiscent actually of J&B scotch, young, green, grassy and floral, something acquired).

The main epithet here would be that it is floral, grassy and punchy. There's a firm hop presence and it sort of begs to be met by the pint and in multiples. Moderate carbonation really opens up the hop presence at the end. I would argue it's as good as any year previous, but would say I'm enjoying the hop presence more than previous years if my memory serves.

Full disclosure, this is my 7th can so far this week haha. I think it's lovely and pronounced. I imagine I'll grab a couple more 4 packs, the price is right, the beer is beautifully conditioned, there's a vigor to it that meets the season. Perhaps it's early for festbiers but I rather enjoy the old nostalgia looking forward. I love autumn so much, if I can shout back/forward to it, then why not. This is lovely for that because it really plays nicely into the warmer and cooler months.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

Didn't realize it was a new beer weekend! Damn and I drank my first Pliny last night. Very good and a benchmark of the style but a bit hyped up in my opinion

Today I'm drinking now my 3rd ever Burgkopf Pils out of a 4 pack I picked up with the Pliny. It's cheap and almost cheerful with a beautiful big head but the flavor is lacking a bit. The 4 pack of 500mL cans cost a dollar less than the 17.25fl oz bottle of Pliny, so I can see why it's a bit off. It looks damn good though, definitely trying to be a pils but it misses a bit.

 

Greetings, fellow NBWers,

The temperature is predicted by the NWS to reach 101° in the wilds of Spokanistan today. Already 93°, I imagine it's well on it's way right now. In my home town, it's Columbia Cup weekend, so thousands of people, many of them drunk, will be crowding parks along the Columbia in Kennewick and Pasco, getting baked by temperatures expected to reach 109° while ostensibly watching the hydroplane racing. This year there's only six boats, a sign the sport is circling the drain. Fortunately my parents are safely ensconced in their air conditioned home and have no plans to venture out to watch the race.

Right now, I'm happy to consume beers sent to me by three different individuals over the past week. First up, thanks to @Dimidiata, was Black To Reality, a "black pilsener" from Moonlight Brewing, a brewery new to me.

I was intrigued by the notion of a "black pilsener", which BA is calling a schwarzbier and UnTapped calls a dark lager. I had assumed it would taste much like, say, Kostritzer Schwarzbier. It did in the sense that the most dominant component of the aroma and flavor was dark malts, but as it warmed in the glass, an herbal, grassy hop scent and flavor emerged as well, making things very similar to a good pils. 5.2% abv, but it drank lighter, in the best meaning of those words. I could drink it all day. Recommend!

I'll be back shortly with a non-black pilsener.

 

Decent humidity here today, but it is hot in the sun. Today I have a new Counter Weight offering.

4.19/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a 16oz can stamped CANNED ON 7/11/22 to a Nonic glass at fridge temp.
The body is a bright apricot orange and a large ultra-white puffy head sits on top.
The aroma is sweet with a sense of orange, grapefruit and peach.
Taste is sweet and fruity in the front but there is a great hop oriented dry finish.
There is a medium mouth coating smoothness to the feel.
A good example of the style.

 

When was your Pliny bottled?

Cheers!

 

Happy NBW all! I finally get to enjoy a beer this weekend. Our local, Gravel Bottom, released a Belgian pale ale that was made with a yeast from the area that produces saisons.
It’s quite a treat, balanced bready malts with biscuits are presented but not dominant. The spices, a bit of clove and a touch of honey and black pepper notes, they are all playing so well together. May need to get a few cans to go.
Right, well, no rest for the weary, back to work.
Cheers all!

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. Beer Advocate just added several new styles to the "official" list, including Grisette, which reminded me that @Harrison8 sent me this Wild, Oak Foeder Grisette from Pathlight Brewing in Kansas as part of last Fall's NBS BIF. It's a hot summer afternoon - no better time to review it. What I like best about this ale is its balance: it's not too tart or sour and the oak aging is deft.

2020 release. Poured into a tulip glass. It pours a cloudy, grassy golden-orange with a thin, milk white cap and minimal lacing. It's nose is grassy, funky, and floral. There is lemon peel, musty oak, and wild yeast. The taste opens with delightfully tart lemon, peppercorn, and subtle farmhouse spicing. It's sour but not distractingly so. The oak foeder notes are delicate and don't overwhelm the citrus. As it warms, there is a hint of sweet fruity esters. There is also just a touch of hoppy bitterness throughout. The mouth feel is crisp and lite with lively carbonation, and the 5.5% ABV - which is at the high end for the stye - gives it good substance. It doesn't drink like a super lite ale. This is a great beer to drink outdoors on a hot summer afternoon.

4.01/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Thank you, Harrison, for this treat!

 

Cant go a week without dropping a newbie.
Speaking of dropping after a week of scorchers its remained quite hot here, but also quite dry meaning its the perfect summer day.
Worked out, took a dip,a shower, a Pliney!
Now its NBS time.
Narragansett who seemingly puts out a new DIPA every week- defying their tradition which I have no qualms about.
Is There A Dr In The House
DDH with Simcoe, and Centennial.
Hmm interesting.
Hazy orange/gold with a white big bubble sea foamy head that dissappears quickly leaving minimal lacing.
Aroma is peach, tangerine, blueberry and pine.
Taste follows with lots of orange, grapefruit and pine. Nicely bitter but just lacking some middle palate fruit or something.
Medium bodied, aggressively carbonated. Easy drinking no hint of 8%. Decent for sure but nothing stands out as different here. Thats been my experience with the last few IPAs theyve brewed. Initially I was grabbing every Double they brewed but honestly Im bored. Their Pils is excellent and they have some really nice beers with the new brewer LL.
I wouldnt go out of my way to grab this again.
Cheers!

 

Special Brownie? Oh man, that beer was nuts. Really cool stuff. Glad something I wrote stuck with you, always makes me happy to hear... hope you enjoy!

I'm chilling today and have one new beer to share with y'all. This is Directions to See a Ghost by Burlington Beer Co. It is a 13.2% ABV(!) Baltic-style porter with Sangiovese grapes aged in Bourbon and Pinot Noir barrels. Wow. Very excited for this one... I've had it sitting around for a few months and realized I should probably crack it and post my impressions!



This was canned on 12/9/21, making it more than half a year old... I have no doubts that it has aged fairly gracefully, though, and BBCo's barrel program has been pretty damned impressive overall so no real hangups with this. Pour is dark and intense looking. As you can see, even though this is a mostly impenetrably black beer, there are some very light tinges of almost garnet-like hues around the edges of the glass, especially at the bottom. The head is a quickly-dissipating yet easily re-rousable ring of khaki colored foam. Not too impressive really, aesthetically, but that should improve once I get into the real meat of the review!

Oh wow, and this does smell meaty. Kinda savory, sure, with that soy-sauce-like element that you find in big burly stouts, but I mean that it's also dense and thick and strong-smelling in every way. Getting strong "quad" notes with hefty candi sugar-like aspects pushing toward my nostrils immediately. Port wine and some charred wood mingling with dark pit fruit and molasses... hints of coffee and baker's chocolate, plus some suggestions of earthiness/tobacco and grapes in there.

Flavor profile is dangerous because this drinks barely over 8%, nevermind 13%! Right off the bat, it leads off with sticky caramel, plum, brown bread, leafy and woody tannin notes, and some bourbon before the finish comes across surprisingly dry to balance the sweet mid-palate. It's not fully dry, but drier than I expected it to be for sure. Some slight red wine aspects with black cherry popping up here and there, but it mostly drinks like a barleywine that has been crossbred with a fruity stout. Feel is thick and rich, with nice chewiness and a lingering flavor. Good for savoring and sipping, for sure. I enjoy it! Would like to see if it aged gracefully even after a year or more, though, so maybe they'll release it again. I would pick it up once more to test my theory that this would probably get even more tannic over time.

On the Gunpla front, I've been building an absolute ton. Here's a collage of some kits I've finished recently!



Clockwise from top, those are:

•HG Gundam Ground Urban Combat Type
•MG GN-X
•HG Gundam F91
•HG Gundam Barbatos
•HG Gundam Dynames

Cheers all! Have a good week!

 

Greetings all from the great northwest where we are living a Linda Ronstadt song. HEAT WAVE. 7 straight days of triple digit temps. 107 on Friday. Cooler weather coming this week.

Today we have Mel's Magic IPA from Iron Horse Brewing.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/11212/495908/

A hazy IPA with a lot of pine and caramel notes.

Until next time

 

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum 2022 Appearance, 11.0% ABV; 4.17 overall

Pours an effervescent golden honey color with a thumb+ cream colored head. Above average head retention & lacing

S: Piney, a little breadyness & grapefruit, nectarine

T: Piney, grapefruitty & cakey up front, plus a little dryness. Cakeyness. pine, green melon, nectarine & grapefruit as this warms, Finishes piney, grapefruitty with little woody hop & caramel/toffee

MF: Fairly thick, slight carbonation, lovely balance

Well put together Hop Bruiser, so drinkable. This will be a repeat purchase if still at the store

 

NBS #2: Solarys, a "New American Hoppy Ale" from Foreign Objects. Per the BA database it's considered a NE IPA. It could easily be shown as an American IPA. I had a pour at the brewery yesterday but wanted to do a more complete review so I bought cans. Foreign Objects doesn't always identify the hop bill on the cans or the website but it does list them on the sign board in the tasting room. I know Solarys has Motueka (one of my favorite hops) from my conversation with the bartender. I should have taken a photo of the sign.

The Motueka shines in this ale. Lots of lemon and lime, along with ripe melon. Foreign Objects continues to impress. While the distro isn't as good as it was a couple of years ago, the tasting room is barely an hour away and very close to Rushing Duck, Tin Barn, and Drowned Lands so I'll continue to visit.

Here's my full review:

4.24/5 rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

It pours an opaque, pastel orange color with two fingers of fluffy, eggshell-colored head and thick, soapy lacing. The fragrant nose includes lemon, lime, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, and soft floral hops. It bursts with fruit but in a surprisingly delicate way. The grapefruit and lemon are tart but well-balanced by the sweetness of peach and ripe melon. Although the hops aren't listed I understand that Motueka is used - and it comes through in the lemon, lime, and spicy herbal notes. There is a firm malty base that provides some additional bready sweetness. Like most Foreign Objects ales, there is a strong bitter but clean hop bite throughout. The mouth feel is nicely viscous and creamy with appropriate carbonation, and at 6.8% ABV it goes down very easily. Overall, Solarys is excellent. I would be happy to drink it any time.

Have a great week, everyone! Cheers, NBW!