New Beer Weekend #125

I'm back with another killer stout from Jackie O's.

Double Barrel Dark Apparition
12.7oz 2022 vintage bottle poured into a Duvel glass at just above fridge temp 14.5% ABV per label. The beer pours midnight black with no light penetration and a meager medium brown colored head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and some micro dots of lacing. The aroma is mild with roasted malt accented by bourbon and port barrel. The taste is semisweet chocolate with layers of fruit, oak, port wine, and bourbon. Really delicious. Mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less that average carbonation and a semi dry finish. No ethanol to the nose or taste buds. No way I'd guess the ABV at 14.5. Overall, excellent to world class. Another wonderfully crafted barrel aged stout from Jackie O's.

This stout gets 8 months in bourbon barrels followed by 6 months in white port barrels. Super delicious. Worth the $1+ an ounce for sure.

This will be my last new beer of the weekend. Cheers all!

 

I really Enjoyed the Other Half Double Mosaic Daydream DIPA, cheers @WunderLlama 8.5% ABV; 4.54 overall

Pours an effervescent & hazed gold with one finger of beige colored head. Above average lacing & head retention

S: Plenty of citrus. a little tropical fruit

T: Tangerines, oranges, dryness & a little grapefruit & a touch of vanilla up front. Sweet oranges, tangerines, dryness & a little green melon as this beer warms up. Finishes a little dry with lime, tangerine & sweet oranges & a hint of pineapple

MF: Medium Body, slight carbonation, becomes smoothers as this beer warms up. Lovely balance

Super drinkabilty, well hidden heft

 

Sadly, I agree with assessment of Philly

 

The sound of that ice cracking= terrifying

 

Firestone Walker Brewing ~ Parabolita

Brewers Notes: To create this first-ever canned Vintage beer, we aged a selection of Parabola for one year in premium bourbon barrels, then blended it with a complement of Velvet Merlin milk stout to create a silky mouthfeel and a more approachable ABV of 9.2 percent. Finally, we infused the beer with Madagascar vanilla beans, cocoa nibs and sea salt to achieve a full Salted Caramel-style drinking experience.

A first go at Parabolita for me BA crew

Dark brown cola appearance that collects to a near black in the glass. A thin mocha tan lid appears with some lively action and a bit of light, delicate lacing noted.

The aroma of this beer is the exact same experience I get when opening a bag of the salted caramel brownie brittle my spouse keeps bringing home. You do even get a sense of that saltiness.

The flavor is a deep dark roast mix bag of everything - cola, berry, caramel/toffee, coffee bean, cacao, and toasted coconut. Near char like to me. Not actually salty but fairly dry and acrid in the finish with some oaky tannins. Only a semi-sweet richness which works well for my tastes.

On the palate the beer is very manageable as with most FW stouts I find them to be on the thinner side for the style. There is a sticky sweet residual slickness playing along with the drying finish. Light alcohol warming.

Well seems to be mixed reviews maybe. I think if you go looking for a Parabola~esque experience here this beer takes you in another direction.

A good beer for what it is. Something about the finish just falls flat for me...All in all I would happily extra this but it's far from the main event.

 

So @Beersnake1 was my target during this recent BIF. So I'M supposed to send HIM beer, right?
Well, that's how it worked... at first. But then all of a sudden HE'S sending ME beer! So was someone who wasn't even officially part of the BIF! By coincidence, the two aforementioned folks live very near one another, but there was only one overlap even in brewery. Madness I tells ya.
Anyway, Tim sent me a bunch of Monkish (among some other things), a brewery I've heard a bunch about, but never tried first hand. I have heard that they are one of the preeminent west coast purveyors of NEIPAs, and seeing as I've had a bunch recently from one of the top producers in the country (Tree House, also courtesy of the BIF), it's a style with which I'm getting more and more familiar.



Beats is Infinite

Pour is the classic pastel pale pale orange of the style. Very opaque. The head on this one is beautiful. Pillowy white pile at least a finger high. Sticks around in its piles, and then really sticks around on the glass with beautiful lacing.

Nose is evident as soon as I pop the can. Fruit forward initially, with maybe some fleeting mango and blood orange citrus, by the time I get it poured, get through the appearance portion of my writeup, and stick my nose in the glass, the fruit forward character is less pronounced, and it takes on a piney character that is all wet firewood: sap and needles. Those notes taken together finally settle on a fruity blood orange citrus finish.

Flavour is in the range of the current meta of white grapes, some peach, maybe hints of pineapple and coming together to get back to that blood orange citrus finish. Speaking of finishes, this one builds and builds and reaches an incredibly pithy bitter culmination that kind of waxes and wanes as I work through the glass.


Thanks for sending this along, Tim!
As an aside: This does not affect my impression of the beer itself one way or another, but I love the aesthetic they've chosen to go with for their cans. The artwork, and the inspiration they take works really well for me. That's all.

We (Seahawks) succumbed to one dumb Panther team, the Kraken better hold on and at least let us break even on Panther weekend.
Thanks, and cheers!!

 

A couple new VT beers tonight; Foam's Dark Lager is first up.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45496/630633/



16 ounce can.
Canned 11/16/22.

Moderate to vigorous pour yields a nearly two inch tan head over a black body with sticky lacing.

Nose of dark, roasted malts with a hint of chocolate as well.

Taste mirrors nose nicely with the chocolate (bitter & dark) coming forward quite a bit and finishing with bitter chocolate.

Feel is more than adequate for a lager.

Overall, quite a nice surprise from Foam as I think this is my first dark lager from them.
Seek this one out!
Cheers!!

 

A little late to the NBW party, but finally here. Concert weekend for the chorus the missus and I sing in. Tech rehearsal Friday night, performance Friday night and this afternoon. Small orchestra, 90 member chorus, 25 foot tall Christmas tree, dancers, lights. We are a little worn out. Been a whole lotta years since we have done long performances. Very rewarding, though.

So time for a beah and this should be a good one. Tree House That's What She Said milk stout.



Looks like a stout should with the dark coffee pour and chunky khaki head that falls to a ring.

Smells wonderful. Light coffee, chocolate, offee, some caramel. All pointing toward thus being sweet...hmm. a bit of roast malt but more of less in the background.

This tastes great. First of all it is nowhere near being overly sweet. It has a very comforting chocolate caramel toffee kind of candy flavor. Then the stout part sneaks out and brings a nice, classic roasty stout flavor into the mix. Coffee notes are present, light and fresh. None of the nasty burnt flavors, a bit of bitterness on the end. Nice balance of fkavors, and excellent restraint shown with the sweetness. This beer is cohesive package, super smooth and clean.

The feel is towards medium. Clean, minimal aftertaste for something packing so much flavor.

This is a good one. Well made, pleasing (to me) flavor combination and quite enjoyable. It's going to land in the 4.3 range for me. This is a beer I would gladly have again. I find a lot of milk stouts to be either ho-hum or totally overdone with the sweetness. This one has controlled sweetness and a fantastic blend of flavors. Try it...you'll like it.

 

Next up Rocket 2 Ruin
Imperial Cold IPA
Pours a clear amber/gold.
Short lived head, not much in the way of lacing either.
Tropical fruits on the nose; passionfruit, pineapple with a bit of orange, grapefruit.
Same goes for taste. Tropicals, citrus and a bitter rind and piney finish. Solid caramel maltiness that balances the hops.
Medium body drinks lighter that 9.5%.
Little hints of alcohol. Drying on the bitter finish. Pretty good beer. Worth another buy for sure.
Personally I dont believe there needs to be another category of IPAs...I mean this could go on forever. There is a noticeable difference in the viscosity and maybe body. Probably a little more snappy and clean but I find some WC IPAs, especially southern Cali, to be similar.

 

It's been a fine weekend. Another hop heavy palate wrecking ale from Stone here. Not too shabby! Cheers!
Stone Ruination IPA 8.2% ABV
4.06/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12oz bottle from 2022 12 days of Ale variety pk, enjoy by date 1/12/23 into a pint glass.
L: Pours almost clear amber w a 1.5" rocky & firm light khaki head w excellent retention, low fine carbo, thick scattered lacing, light banding.
S: Herbal hops, citrus zest, lightly fruity, caramelized candied malts, a suggestion of fruitcake, very light alcohol w warming.
T: Sweet caramelized malts, citrus zest, sharp "spicy" and quick pine resin, grapefruit, black tea, cookie dough, a hint of honey, a subtle bread note. Full-flavored river of hop & malt tastes running deep & wide.
F: Slightly juicy med to med-heavy body w a med-length moderately drying finish w a long linger. Lightly tacky, gets smoother over time.
O: Emblematic of Stone beers, this is a moderately sweet tasting and quite resinous American IPA with a bold, hop forward stance. It does a number on the tongue and taste buds. I consider this beer a sipper. Intense with a pleasing aftertaste. It is excellent in its style.

 

Prairie Artisan Chocolate Noir BBA Imperial Stout, 14.3% ABV. Pours black with a ring of brown bubbles. Nose is strong cocoa, slight vanilla and bourbon. Taste follows, strong cocoa, slightly to moderately sweet, slightly bitter. A bit under-carbonated, overall outstanding.

4.42/5 rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

 

Fireside Hoppy Amber Ale by Rising Tide of scenic Portland, Maine.
I will write a review tomorrow night when I drink the remaining two (or one) from the 4-pack. This is a Cliff's Notes version.
At first I was put off by the light brownish color, no amber and cloudy.
The smell is piney hops followed by bready malt and the perception of sweetness.
Balanced taste inspite of the spike in piney hop flavor, much more bitter than usual.
Smooth easy drinker, well carbonated.
It has the peppery bite to the aftertaste as does a NEIPA. Is this a NEAA? I'm thinking about 4.30 for a rating. Cheers.

 

#2, this is a whale for me - thank you SO MUCH for sending this my way, @russpowell. This will, of course, require return-return fire.

PS: BDCS = Bourbon Double Cream Stout. I’m so happy I could cry.



4.75/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Pours onyx black with just a smidge of dark mahogany brown on the edges and a dense, creamy tan head. Absolutely gorgeous beer. The nose is fudgy milk chocolate, bourbon from the barrel, vanilla, and oak - and the slightest bit of stone fruit (dark cherry).

O. M. G.

The taste is as described on Ozark’s website - a bourbon soaked brownie, with the added caveat of dark cherry flavor that works spectacularly well with the fudge and bourbon barrel flavors. This is frighteningly easy to drink for a 10.2% ABV BA stout.

The mouthfeel is rich, decadent, and creamy. Simply delightful. One thing to note - one of the cofounders worked for Goose Island, and brewed that brewery’s BCBS.

He apparently learned a lot, because this beer takes the best of BCBS and cranks up the drinkability quotient. This is the best beer I’ve had in 2022, and may be a Top 10 overall beer for me.

That’s right, I typed that.

 

Thank you, Tavour, for Bombraxas. When I saw that my two favorite “spicy” beers got together, I went crazy. I now wish I ordered two. Just what I expected: it’s big, it’s bold, it’s full of flavors. The heat is just where I like it in a beer of this type, and there’s so much going on with the taste. Only complaint is the feel is a bit underwhelming-I’m getting a bit of oily thickness that isn’t as welcoming as the rest, for whatever reason. But this is easily still one of the best new beers of the year.

 

That one is from me.

 

Transient Artisan Ales Doppel Buck, Dopplebock, 8.5% ABV; 3.75 overall

Pours an effervescent hazel with 2 fingers of mocha colored head. Below average head retention & lacing

S: Brown bread, cola

T: Follows the nose, some brown sugar & dryness, plus leafy hops up front. Toastyness, brown sugar, leafy & woody hops, plus brown bread & just a hint of smokeyness as the beer warms up, plus dryness. Finishes dry, toasty with brown sugar & woody hops

MF: Medium body, near zero carbonation

A solid Doppelbock, drinks a little slow, due to the dryness