New Beer Weekend #121

Greetings from Aruba!!!



Long travel day today, so one and done for me. This is from my friend @woemad and NBS BIF #16, and it is scratching my hop itch.





4.35/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a nicely hazy straw color with a beautiful creamy white head. The nose is full of exotic tropical aromas, with dank lychee, mango, passion fruit, berries, some coconut, and a bit of grapefruit. Wowza!

The taste is a perfect balance of vibrant tropical flavors, with that dank lychee, passion fruit, and mango most prominent, but the berries and coconut really spice things up. This is absolutely delicious.

Medium, softer mouthfeel that is way too poundable, this is an adventurous NEIPA that checks all my NEIPA boxes.

 

Second of three planned suburban brewed beers for the weekend, this one is a collaboration between Penrose Brewing in Geneva and Kinship Brewing in Iowa, with a portion of proceeds going to breast cancer organizations.

I know Revolution and several other breweries have also released a collaboration beer with the same name recently, though across different beer styles. Perhaps you’ll come across one where you live. This is a link listing participating breweries across 18 states.

https://jessiccamitchell.wixsite.com/scarsarebeautiful/breweries-participating

This version is based on my favorite style, WCIPA.

Penrose Scars Are Beautiful



Can Notes: West Coast IPA 6.0% ABV. Brewed & Canned by Penrose Brewing, Geneva, Illinois.

Everyone is affected by cancer in some form or another, even with advances in medicine and early detection methods. ‘Scars Are Beautiful’ is a nationwide collaboration beer inspired by brewer and breast cancer previvor, Jess Mitchell of Kinship Brewing in Iowa. This classic take on a West Coast IPA features Simcoe, Centennial, and Columbus hops for a great throwback brew. A portion of the collaboration proceeds will be donated to local breast cancer organizations.
____________________________________

My scars represent beauty, change and continued growth. I’ve had a double mastectomy (twice), and it has been a journey and a path to self-love. I am so darn proud of how far I’ve come. Let’s normalize scars. Let’s celebrate body change.

Jess
Brewer & Breast Cancer Previvor
Kinship Brewing Company

Appearance: Multiple pours into a shaker pint glass. Clear golden straw base, light carbonation sustained briefly, Generous head dissipates relatively quickly, leaving clumpy lacing in its lace and a nice cover over the base. 3.75

Aroma: Simcoe dominates with grapefruit and passion fruit leading, slight pine back. Wish more of the C Hops shined. 3.25

Taste: Simcoe leads here too, but the C hops take a stand with a nice bitter pine taste that I am seeking. Bitterness triumphs over taste, pine accompanies the bitter. Some malt noted, more than the typical SD / WCIPA but less than a typical MWIPA. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Nice bitterness holds the sweet flavors in place, drinks at the ABV level. Medium body, minimal carbonation, piney bitterness and dryness lingers. 4.0

Overall: The bitterness suits my preferred profile, but the taste is lacking, likely the Simcoe hops assertiveness over the Centennial and Columbus hops. Overall good attempt at a WCIPA and for a good cause, glad I tried. 3.5

Planned pour for tomorrow is a traditional offering from Goldfinger.

 

4.13 Overall

Pours an effervescent mahogany with a thumb of mocha colored head. Below average head retention & lacing

S: Cocoa, a touch of iron, a little vanilla & roastyness. Dark fruits & a little coconut once warm

T: Follows the nose, roasty with dryness & a touch of nuttyness & some woody hops up front. More roastyness, molasses & dryness as this warms along with woody hops, a kiss of hazel nut. Dark fruits, roastyness, a little vanilla & coconut in the finish, plus a little woody hop profile
MF: Medium body, slightly sticky, subdued carbonation, warming

Drinks great for the ABV, working well on this cold raw November day

 

Hi NBW. I’m joining with a Kaztelan unpasteurized. I haven’t had a Polish beer besides zywiec porter in a while. Hope it’s not sweet!



Pours a nice rustic gold. Head is Lacey and easily bobs. Looks good.

Smell is of grain and malt sugar. Actually smells quite pleasant, some of the hop character is particularly Germanic so the beer feels, from the nose, quite mature.

Taste is clean and full bodied. Really clean malt upfront and finishes a touch butter with a tiny amount of sweetness but that becomes muted as I acclimate to the taste.
So herbal spice and an even keeled bitterness after a few sips. Much better than I had anticipated. Again it feels quite mature.

Nice beer, imperfect, but that’s to its credit.

 

A mystery beer thanks to @Roy_Hobbs , the wrap said “shake gently, pour aggressively “ so I’m thinking hazy unfiltered IPA, but the pour says not it. Beautiful beer here, purrs deep ruby, frothy head that’s here 10 minutes later, taste is nutty, malty as hell, soo smooth and creamy. What is is? Reveal later

 

I remember when we were there mrs phisher took a video of me; I was unaware. She sent to our whole family saying “the equivalent to a child in a toy store.”

As someone who is very indecisive it took me a while.

 

The reveal, Fox Farm, Tiddly, English style dark mild nitro. I was guessing a porter but was super smooth and creamy so not sure, but another exceptional brew from Fox and the generous @Roy_Hobbs thanks again

 

I fully intended to join in this favourite online past time yesterday, especially considering the huge volume of beer in my fridge thanks to @WunderLlama and his generous box (and as of this afternoon, boxES!) during NBS BIF #16. In the last week or two I've gone from never having had a Tree House beer, to having had approximately 1,o0e,983,022,83 of them. A bunch of their fruited IPAs have been involved, but today is all about the coffee. He sent along the base Single Shot, one of the Double Shot variants, and two of the Quadruple Shot variants! I'm going to try to get at least a taste in of all four of these options today, but we'll see what baby allows, ha! (turns out, she did not allow a whole lot. I started typing this out maybe two hours ago, then got nap-trapped... a sleeping baby on your chest is a great thing, but it DOES make typing out a post on here a bit challenging!!)



Single Shot, by Tree House.

The pour is absolutely gorgeous. It's that deep deep deep brown that is just barely this side of black. The crisp clear darkness that looks like rounded obsidian, if obsidian skewed slightly brown instead of decidedly black. A lovely little flourish of espresso-brown fuzzy head that settles without much fight into a faint galaxy swirl and a thin ring around the edges. Minimal lacing, but there is some.

Nose is inviting with warm nutty/woody notes, and a finishing touch of espresso coffee.

Flavour jumps in with a creamy impression of espresso up front, and a bit of lactose. The can hints at coffee ice cream. I see that. There's a nudge of fudgy chocolate, and a finish that is lightly bitter in an espresso bean kind of way. Really, the short and sweet version is: imagine a small local creamery that makes really tasty ice cream decided to do an espresso ice cream. That's the impression here, and I am into it. There is a fleeting impression of spice on the end as well, which I think may actually be more the carbonation and my own preconceived notions tricking me, as it made me realize: I don't remember the last time I had a coffee stout that was not barrel aged (which this one is not). In fact, this is only 6.4%. I'm kind of appreciating that, TBH. It manages to pack a flavourful really enjoyable experience into a much more accessible package.

Body is viscous/oily, with the small but sharp carpet type of carbonation.


(that is a coffee plant [well, technically, it's two separate plants in one pot, but...]. It felt appropriate.)

This is delicious. Thank you so much for sending it my direction, Maynard. I can't wait to dig into the Double Shot next!

 

I share in your affliction, and it's attendant struggles.

I thought that might be a fun one as a mystery, as kveik yeast can lend such a unique character to the beers that use it. So I figured trying to identify a beer without knowing that specific character might provide a unique challenge!
I agree that it being listed as a saison seems silly to me, despite LB calling it a farmhouse and folks often using those interchangeably. Especially in a semi-hybrid/non-specific brew like that the specific style listings are a bit more fluid anyway, so I'd say your identification is close enough to count, ha!

 

Humble Forager Coastal Sunrise Breakfast Sour Ale Version 6, 6% ABV. Pours opaque orange with a two-finger head that left no lacing. Nose is peach, pineapple, and vanilla. Taste follows, quite sweet, slightly tart. Nice mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.23/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Why do beers need a version number? Will I need to replace my glassware to be compatible with a major release? Will there be patches for bad releases? Annual subscriptions?

 

Kiddos out tonight, got the game turned up louder; cause I can it’s finally cooling off after weird hot humid weather. I came across this beer and wanted to give it a try.

Maine Beer Co - Mean Old Tom (6.5% stout aged on vanilla beans)



Good looking beer; dark dark brown, light brown creamy looking head, ok retention but somehow very generous splotchy dots of lacing, or dotting…

Nose is big on roast; almost reminds me of burnt coffee that has been on in the pot forever just way subdue. It is also has some chocolate ice cream sort of smell to it due to the vanilla I’m guessing.

Roast shows more restraint on taste; I still get the chocolate ice cream vibe but it has a roasty char like bite on the finish…this aspect lingers long into aftertaste.

Medium body and almost luscious to me, the lower carbonation also enhances this aspect. Pretty noticeable roast driven bitter finish.

This is a pretty tasty beer; a roasty stout first and foremost but the vanilla mellows it out a bit. Sort of reminds me of a black and white shake in roasty stout form. I would gladly revisit this beer in the future; this is a snowy night beer, maybe I’ll grab another for such a night.

 

Agree, for the most part. the exception might be... something spicy, say an omelet topped with some good salsa .... that seems to go well with an IPA or hefe, etc.

I stopped in at the local beer store , after a visit to the farmers' market [pak choi, Brussels sprouts, honey, & Aronia (melanocarpa - I asked which one, to the surprise of the farmer/jammer) /raspberry/blueberry jam, ...in case you was wonderin'] .

Was going to get some Aurora Nelson-ish DNEIPA , when Sean C., the primary beer-procurer there , said he just tapped what he said was the best NEIPA he's had in awhile. Who am I to argue, eh? Gave me a sample, &.......yeah, I'll have that.
Sean was not wrong. New-to-me beer (& new to BA, as I had to add it to the database) , & brewery . Look forward to trying more of their wares.

Dewey Beer Company's Aerobus DNEIPA (9.0% abv) , with Citra,Strata, & Galaxy ( looovvvve ~ everything Galaxy)
Really smooth, & dangerously easy-drinking.No signs of the abv, other than a slight mental fog.

L: Hazy gold, with moderate ivory head, that leaves a thin ring, and a few spots of lacing.(Sorry, photo makes it look apricot, but really, it's more akin to pineapple juice.)

S: Smell is pineapple, honeydew melon, tangelo, with slight peach, passion fruit, and crackery malt aromas.

T: Taste is peach, orange & cream ("creamsicle", but fresher), grapefruit (on the sweeter side of the gf spectrum) , galia melon, slight strawberry & pear. Moderate bitterness, that nicely balances the sweeter elements. Slight astringent/bitter unripe peach taste lingers after finish.

F: Feel is juicy, semi-thick, with light-moderate , very,very fine carbonation tingle. Very light hop-burn astringency lingers at the back of the throat, and tip of the tongue. Guessing that would fade with time, but for now, it's a positive, as it helps balance the sweeter side of it, with some drying bitterness. No noticeable alcohol, other than a slight buzz/mental unsteadiness.

4.3/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/41410/628648/

 

Alright, so while my wife is holding the sleeping baby I'm going to try and type this one out real quick. I am continuing my exploration of Tree House's coffee stouts, as facilitated by the generosity of @WunderLlama, this time the brew being the Barrel Blend version of Double Shot.
I guess the idea of doing it as a side by side is somewhat flawed in that I think the base Double Shot is a completely different beer than the base Single Shot, so it's not a true side by side, but whatever, consider them cousins or something.



The pour is again that gorgeous almost-black that is crisp and clean like obsidian, but with a brown undercoat instead of black through and through. The head on this one is a darker and richer brown, but still dissipates fairly quickly leaving just a faint hint of a dusting and a thin ring around the edges. Minimal, but extant lacing.

Immediately upon sticking my nose in the glass it is clear to me that these are very different beers. Where the Single Shot was warm inviting nutty/woody notes with an espresso denouement, this edition of Double Shot, is much drier and harsher. There's still some woodiness to it, but it's more of a crackly, dried out wood. Not ashy per se, but like wind dried. I want to use chicory as a term of reference here, and I'm not really sure why, but it's what comes to mind. There's also a significantly larger lactose impression. The label doesn't mention lactose anywhere for the DS, but it's got a pretty strong impression thereof. It's not the most pleasant expression of that character, either. Oh, well.

Flavour follows a similar trajectory. Huge lactose sweetness up front, with some chocolatey swirl to it, and then kind of a suggestion of bittering coffee and a sour alcohol character that makes it feel like it's higher ABV than the 8.8% it is in reality. Honestly, the quick and dirty version is thus: If SS was artisanal espresso ice cream, this DS tastes like condensed milk and chocolate syrup with a splash of Evan Williams.

Body is again oily viscous and sticky with the sweetness.

I really enjoyed the Single Shot. This one is a bit more of a miss for me. I'm still grateful to have the opportunity to find that out for myself, though, and I'm still looking forward to the two Quadruple Shot variants I have sitting on my counter!
Thanks, Maynard!!