New Beer Weekend #122

Late start for me, featuring two suburban Chicago breweries this weekend. I have really enjoyed the cask conditioned ales from the brewer of today's selection. This is my first go at their packaged offerings.

Roaring Table Sequential Series - Light Ale



Can notes: $13.00 w/ tax four pack 16 oz canned 9/29/22 (DO THE MATH) purchased 11/17 at Beer on the Wall, refrigerated these two days until opening. Four pack cans labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, but all four are the same 5.0% ABV Light Ale featuring the same hops (Mandarina Bavaria, Saaz & Grungeist). Brewed & Canned by Roaring Table Brewing.

The Roaring Table Sequential Series features easygoing beers that don't require much thought to thoroughly enjoy, This inaugural issue features a crisp, refreshing blond ale that's approachable in more ways than one!

Appearance: Large 12 oz pour followed later by a secondary 4 oz pour into a 16 oz nonic glass. Clear yellow straw color base, bright white generous head lingers a bit leaving a full cover over the base and clumpy lacing throughout. Sustained medium to full carbonation. 4.5

Aroma: The Saaz leads with a traditional Pilsner aroma, followed by lemon and fruity yeast. A pumped up pils I'd call this, inviting and bold in strength. 4.0

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, though the saaz flavor is on equal terms with the lemon, honey and wheat combination. Full flavor, the diversity of flavors blend well. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Slightly dry, very light and easy drinking. Body light and delicate, the sustained carbonation with full bubbles felt adding depth. Crisp and clean throughout, lightly dry finish. 4.5

Overall: This is a very nice blonde ale, packed with aromas and flavors that are enjoyable. Looks sharp as well. Definitely glad I finally picked up Roaring Table's packaged offerings and will purchase this and others with confidence! 4.25

My selection tomorrow is from a "hidden" brewery of one more widely known. Looking forward to catching up on the thread now that I have time. Cheers!

 

Beekeeper 2019 , from Plan Bee.
Supposed to be good for 3 yrs, so here we go. Would have had it sooner, but it's a HUGE bottle (1500mL/50.7 oz). Cat forced my hand, knocking it off the refrigerator door shelf a few days ago, with the seal audibly breaking. Have a bottle-capper, & re-sealed it, but given the air that got in, figured I better drink it.
(The cat? Spilly , full name : Millard Spillmore )

Overall it's good, and pretty typical , except for the slight marzen-like elements. It's getting better as it warms.
That said, I still haven't had anything from Plan Bee that I like better than Barn Beer .
(Of which, a small amount is used in this to bottle condition it.)


L : Almost-clear orange-amber, with slight pale tan head.

S : Smell is the typical acetic wild ale aroma.

T : Taste is slight bread crust, the acetic , balsamic vinegar present in the aroma, a slight, vague, dried fruit flavor, and a light bit of toffee+caramel , similar to a marzen. A bit of oak-astringency lingers after finish.

F : Feel is smooth, slightly slick, with light, very,very,very fine carbonation. Slight drying effect after finish.

3.91/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33607/470917/#navigation

 

Yea, I swore as I was reading I knew it was a brewery; though he always talks about rushing duck so I got them mixed up…oh well haha

 

I really hope to find this beer based on your review and my love of Flanders Oud Bruin. The Beer Temple here carries a few De Dolle offerings, so I’ll ask about this one next time I hit their store.

Congratulations on your 3,000th! I have really enjoyed your reviews over the years.

I hope you are able to come across a fresh can one day, as it is one of my favorites. It usually holds up well (3-4 + months) when refrigerated.

 

I enjoyed this one late last night and ended up dozing on the couch before stumbling into bed at 3AM.



The Establishment Catching Smoke Piwo Grodziskie. I grabbed this on a recent trip out to Calgary.

Poured a light straw gold. Slightly cloudy with ample head with good retention. Minimal lacing.

Light smoked ham on the nose. I didn’t get much else in the aroma, but I generally find smoked beers tend to be this way for my nose.

The smoke is gentle on the tongue. Floral, but again very light. The overall flavours are quite light.

Light bodied. Not quite watery, but bordering on that feel. Not as carbonated as I would expect. Nevertheless, enjoyable.

Im always excited to have another smoked beer. Schlenkerla’s beers (the ones I’ve had) are top five beers for me. Smoked beers might be my favourite style. I always seem to wish Grodziskies had more smoke than they tend to have. That said, I’ve only had North American examples. I like the sweeter smoke I get from this beer, but a little more body and, for me, stronger smoke would make this even better.

Cheers!

 

Good day BAs! Back from the edge of the Texas hill country with a new brew or two:



I'm a fan of Ranger Creek's coffee ale "Sunday Morning Coming Down" so when I saw this one at the brewery I HAD to pick some up.

Texas Bourbon Barrel Series Imperial Coffee Ale from Ranger Creek. Purchased at the brewery, 31/10/22. $ 13.87 (Including tax)/4-pack 12 oz cans ($ 0.289/oz). Room temperature shelf at store, stored at 34 degrees at home. Reviewed 20/11/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. Served at 54.5 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 59.1 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Deep Amber (SRM 15), hazy.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, reveals many tiny particles in suspension. Rear-lite, brown, and nearly opaque, brown at the edges.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.6 cm, aggressive center pour), wheat, high density, quickly diminishing to a 0.5 cm crown and thin complete cap.
Lacing – None. At 11.6% ABV I really wasn’t expecting any.
Aroma – 3.75 – Coffee. No hops, no malt, no yeast, no bourbon. Somewhat less aromatic than an equally large cup of coffee, but not as hot, so …
Flavor – 4.25 – Coffee-forward and slightly bitter with some chocolate notes. No yeast, no hops. No ethanol (11.6 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Weak whiskey, not necessarily bourbon, appears on the aftertaste. Moderate gastric warming occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, approaching creamy, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 (After deducting 0.25 points for unlabeled personal container.) Temperature is important to bring out the flavor of this brew – too cold and most of the flavor and aroma are undetectable. Once it’s up to temperature, the flavors come out; unfortunately, the aroma doesn’t step up as well and the palate is a bit thin.
Rating 3.94, rDev +2.1%

 

I also find myself wishing for a little more smoke in many smoked beers (by small American brewers). I have to counter that with the realization that for some styles, including the lighter (<4% often) Grodziskies, aren't necessarily meant or suited to having a heavy smoke presence. Sometimes, I end up appreciating the beer after this reset; but like you, I still find that many [American] brewers could add at least a little more smoke without getting out of balance.

 

Cabernet finish Barrel Aged Dire Wolf

10.8% stout by Wolf's Ridge Brewing

Dark black body poured from an eight ounce bottle. Little initial or sustained head. No lacing.

The aroma is a decadent mix of Cabernet, chocolate and whiskey. They aged the beer in 15 year old George Dickel barrels.

Taste follows nose but flavors are amplified. The cab stands out throughout; the whiskey briefly shows itself up front along with oak then fades until the finish. Chocolate and a bit of malty char appear mid-swallow.

Soft mouthfeel and low carbonation. Silky finish. I savored this eight ounce beer for hours.

Not sure if we'll see this one again, but it is an buy-on-sight beer for me.

 

Very true.

My experience with Grodziskies (all Canadian examples) is only 3-4 years old. For each one I’ve tried I’ve made the same first sip comment to myself: “mmm, nice, but I wish there were more smoke”. My limited knowledge of the style tells me that I’m asking for something that probably shouldn’t be there though. What I’ve liked is how refreshing they can be because they seem to be so much lighter (in body and ABV) than rauchbier.

My favourite smoked beer of those I’ve had is the Schlenkerla Urbock (sadly not distributed here). I tend to judge, somewhat unfairly, every smoked beer by that excellent beer. We get their Marzen regularly, which is also great. My top smoked want is the Schlenkerla Helles. I have a suspicion it will combine the lighter body and greater smoke that I really want to try.

Cheers!

 

Barleywine with brunch...make better choices
This is appropriate for a bone numbingly cold day at least. Weyerbacher Cinnsanity, barrel aged barleywine with cinnamon.



2017 keg sampled, with trepidation, in 2022. The first pastry barleywine?

Kind of all over the map. Sometimes the cinnamon is a mild accent in an oaky, aged barleywine, at other times I'm tasting those atomic fireball candies, every now and then a wonderfully sweet cinnamon roll note comes through. Overall this kinda works, glad I came across it.

 

Yesterday was college football, today it's the pros. Happy to see the Gamecocks demolish Tennessee. If only they could do the same next weekend against Clemson.
Another BrewDog beer to drink, this one a NEIPA, Hazy Jane.
Canned 10/20/22.
Hazy orange color, tiny white head, no lace.
Aroma of citrus and tropical fruit, some caramel.
Taste of grapefruit, orange, pineapple, caramel.
Nice bitterness.

 

Onward to next new beer!



Poured from the bottle into a teku glass.

Real nice walnut brown nearly black body, with good reams of fine carbonation. The head is a perfect tan light mocha settling at a nice little one fingers with a thin layer and lovely top.

Delicious aroma. An absolute wonderful balance of rich dark chocolate and vanilla. Thick and velvet like sensing, with a rich hinting sense of cake like density. Minimal coffee notes however, but still a fantastic sense of rich and controlled and barrel aging notes on the nose.

Real fun palate. Mid palate has just a touch of playful carbonation that cuts nicely, but luckily the body is full and thick to give a fantastic experience. Rich dark chocolate, with a big cocoa powder note even with the light bitterness. Slightly milky touches of vanilla, mostly in the finish. The aftertaste does seem to hint of a faint touch of sour fruited coffee, but not off putting, and in a good way. Still much of the coffee character seems buried in a rich chocolate/vanilla rush and a hinted fruit character no doubt from the heat and perhaps ground bean.

Real impressive barrel aged stout, but my only issue is the coffee character is lacking, mostly in aroma. It does seem to have impart some character, but not in the most expected ways.

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 | Final: 4.33

Cheers!

 

This isn’t a popular opinion but I think that is one of the most hyped oktoberfests around. My reaction is similar to yours but I would hesitate to say that in the regional forum, I’d be afraid of the consequences

 

Ear Wiggler

6% AIPA by River Horse Brewing Company

Poured from a twelve ounce can, the body is a hazy yellow with a good fluffy initial head. Solid lacing throughout.

Nose has a strong citrusy aroma with a pineapple bent.

Flavor follows nose with a slightly diminished strength. A solid bitterness and pine arrives mid-swallow. Finish is a bit of malty sweetness. Very pleasant.

Strong carbonation but a soft mouthfeel.

Nothing revolutionary here, but a solid IPA that would be in my regular summer rotation if distributed here.

 

Good afternoon NBS/nbw and thanks for hosting this week @Roguer
Todays offering is from Seven Saws Brewing, a lovely Schwarzbier.
Excellent lite body, almost crisp, with a perfect dry finish.
Cheers all

Choppa

Schwarzbier | 5.2% ABV
Seven Saws Brewing Company in Holden, Massachusetts

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4/5 rDev 0% | Average: 4
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from an undated 16 oz can, that i purchased at the brewery 2 week ago.
A - Dark brown almost black, modest pour yielded a lovely 1.5" mocha froth. During the experience the lacing is delicate.
S - Milk chocolate, char, roasty malts, eathy hops, Noble is my guess.
T - A bit more char, smoke on the palate, with a nice pumpernickle toast element, as well
M - Lite on the palate, smooth, with a great dry finish.
O - A very drinkable, flavorful offering. No frills, but nothing off either. Well done