New Beer Weekend #121

I’ve really looked forward to this. Last year I would drive to Time Machine package stores to find old beers always chasing stone IRS. I have one 2015 left. Here’s the new take.



Pitch black. Pretty golden off white head. Smells of coffee, toffee, licorice, malted barley, white sugar and some deep fruity flavors.

Well folks, heck of a beer. Man is this good. I’m so impressed it’s just about 10%. Big and robust.. boozy. Malty. Lots of licorice and roasted malt. Great beer. Thrilled it’s out and I hope to do at least another sizer.

Would love to see this side by side with Brooklyn black chocolate. I feel they’re trying to do the same thing. Cheers!

 

Happy Saturday Advocates! I'm amazed by this:
Unibroue Don De Dieu Imperial Wheat Ale 9% ABV 10.5 IBU

4.51/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
12oz bottle best by 10/14/24 into a Spiegelau Wheat Beer glass.
L: Pours apricot dark gold, fairly clear at base, w a thin smooth & flat bright white head, lots of fine carbo, head recedes to a rich creamy skin, no lacing.
S: Yeasty, bready, light honey, banana, caramelized malts, grains, citrus zest, graham cracker, light alcohol w warming.
T: Yeast, sweet caramel malts, floral honey, banana, a sensation of coriander, doughy sweet yellow bread, light alcohol w warming.
F: Gently sprite & brisk, clean then soft medium-bodied feel w a plump center and a med-length lightly drying finish.
O: A very easy drinking beer with great flavors and an overall lighter taste. This beer is brilliant, expertly brewed and is outstanding. Personally, one of my higher rated beers.

 

Poured into a 16 oz steel pint glass not sure when it was canned. Pours a very attractive orange with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace with nice retention. 4

Aroma is pine, apricot, dank gonja, and grapefruit. 4

Taste follows pine, gonja, apricot, and grapefruit. 4

Mouthfeel is above average, a tad sticky and dry, plenty of carbonation, and at 8.4% huge flavor but extremely approachable considering. 4

Overall this is a very nice old school DIPA. Thanks @Ocalafox for this can. 4

 

Good evening NBW
There was some discussion on the Stone fan favorite thread about this beer. Oddly, it's a new beer that they released because their fans wanted IRS...


12oz canned 10/19/22 RVA poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at fridge temp 10.5% ABV 45 IBU per Stone's website. The beer pours pitch black with no light penetration and medium brown colored head. The head recedes to an eighth inch cap and leaves a web of lacing behind. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring deeply roasted malt notes of chocolate, coffee and licorice plus dark fruit. The taste is bittersweet (emphasize bitter) roasted malt with coffee, charcoal & dark chocolate before molasses and dark fruit in the finish. Strong bitterness. The mouthfeel is full bodied with just less than average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Alcohol is well hidden. Overall, very good.

Comparing the two beers on Stone's website, the hops and ABV are different. I'm assuming the malt bill isn't exactly the same either, although that's not shared.

Cheers all!

 

Alright back to the BIF goodies, back to the Tree House Shots!
This is going to be a more traditional side-by-side, as @WunderLlama sent along two different Quadruple Shot variants in his pile of Tree House goodies.

At this time I will be comparing the Quadruple Shot Monochrome with the Quadruple Shot Walden Autumn Blend.



The pours are remarkably similar, unsurprisingly enough. The Monochrome is a little bit more visibly carbonated, and the Walden has a somewhat richer, fuller head. They're both lovely, though.

The nose diverges more profoundly. The Monochrome is sharper and boozier, with a sweet creamy note. The Walden is much softer, rounder, much more inviting. It smells cozy. It is intended to be an autumn blend, and it captures the comfortable feeling of that season very well. Or at least the comfortable sense of being warm and wrapped up inside while autumn weather spins around out the window.

Flavour is also a decent divergence between the two QuadShots. Monochrome is sweeter, and bolder all around. Sharper at the edges. Marshmallow sweet wrapped around espresso bean bitterness, with a dark chocolate syrup bridge connecting them. Finishes with a warming alcohol end. Again, the Walden returns to that melange of woody/nutty coffee notes that I can only describe as cozy. It reminds me much more of the Single Shot I started the afternoon off with, but amped up. Rich, fancy espresso, and fudgy chocolate. I like it quite a bit.



These are both pretty tasty, but I've got a clear favourite, and it's the Walden. I think my final rankings are Walden>Single Shot>>Monochrome>>>>>Double Shot. I always find these side by sides (or even modified side by sides) to be interesting, and often informative. In this case I think the informative side is more just me better understanding my own preferences. But there's nothing wrong with that!

Thanks Maynard for sending these all along, and facilitating this day of Shots!

 

This glassware is amazing. I'm enjoying your hand written notes as well. Cheers!

 

West coast stepping in to fill the void before the east coasters have their breakfast beers.



Peacharine Pils - Wondrous Brewing - 5.3% abv - New Zealand Pilsner
Canned 11/08/22 - "New Zealand Style Pilsner, hopped with Peacharine from Freestyle Farms in NZ!"

L - foggy light golden, lots of soapy head, dissipates down to a thick ring after a few mins

S - tangerine, lemon, bit grassy

T - huge fruit notes, peach/stonefruit, orange juice, fruit salad in heavy syrup, some light pithy bitterness to cut the sweet fruit flavors

F - medium body, nicely carbed, but finishes a bit too sweet for my tastes

O - Initially really easy to drink but getting a bit weighed down with the sweetness as I get toward the end of the can. Fun to try a new hop and it's an enjoyable beer from one of my favorite local breweries.

 

Far east stepping up to fill the gap. Actually going to Far Yeast after I eat something.

I should have eaten lunch!

 

Sheesh, you lazy turds are all in bed, aren't you? I'm way ahead of you! It's Sunday evening and I'm at Far Yeast!

 

Thanks to @Dimidiata & @snaotheus for filling the overnight void. I'll kick off my Sunday with a breakfast beer courtesy (yet again) of @foundersasap. This one is Night Fury, an Imperial Stout brewed with molasses from Witch's Hat Brewing.

Pour is highly viscous and black as night. Absolutely pours like motor oil. Thin, but persistent beige head with good retention. After a few minutes it receded to a thin, spotty cap and a persistent ring. Overall a good looking beer.

Aroma is rich and chocolaty. It's not the most complex aroma, but that doesn't matter, because it smells delicious.

Interestingly the taste departs from the nose in that it's all about the deep, roasted malts. I know this was brewed with molasses, but I don't pick them up or any associated sweetness. It's heavy on the roast and accompanying bitterness. I'm not a coffee drinker, but I would have guessed that this was a coffee infused beer such is it's taste. Nice full mouthfeel.

Overall, I'm really enjoying this one, especially as a breakfast beer. Thanks @foundersasap!

---------------------------------
Might be one and done for me today. Trying to get caught up on work this morning, then heading down to Red Bull Arena in NJ to watch the USMNT take on Germany tonight at 5:00 ET.

 

Brawler


4.2% Dark English Mild Ale from Yards Brewing Company

Poured from a twelve ounce bottle, the body is an attractive amber-brown with good initial head and good lacing throughout the tasting.

Nose and flavor are a malty delight. A delicious easy drinking mild ale, especially when such beers are hard to find, is a treat. Caramel, bread, notes of chocolate and mild hop flavor. Good mouthfeel and strong carbonation.

I could drink this beer all day. I finally know what @Urk1127 has been saying about this beer for years. Too bad it’s not in this market and was even not available during my forays into western Pennsylvania.

 

Do I see a mystery beer warming up in the background?

 

Hadn't planned on two beers this morning, but the last stout went down very easily and I find myself with enough time for one more before my day gets busy. This is yet another beer from @foundersasap . SCP - Salted Caramel Porter from Pigeon Hill

Beer has an amber hue to it coming out of the can that was somewhat surprising to me (I associate porters with a darker brown / black) In the glass it's a cola brown with minimal head. Aroma is light malts with some underlying nutty notes. On the tongue the salt is present, but not overwhelming. Caramel notes are also present up front, but muted as the taste evolves in the mouth. That's not a bad thing, as if the brewer had been too heavy handed I think this could easily slipped into gimmicky territory. As it stands, it's a light, easy drinking porter that's going down quite easily this November morning. Thanks, @foundersasap!