New Beer Weekend #132

Poured into a 13 oz tulip glass not sure when it was canned, but thinking with in the last 3 weeks. Pours a hazy orange yellow with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves streaks of lace all over the place. 4.25

Aroma is mango, blueberry, honeydew, passionfruit, and apricot. 4.5

Taste follows mango, honeydew, blueberry, passionfruit, and apricot. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, soft carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8.2% packed with flavor but easy going down. 4.5

Overall this a very nice NEDIPA. I would recommend for sure. 4.5

 

I’m at Oakflower Brewing in Millington NJ for the 4th week in a row. Drinking Rhodes a NEIPA. This brew is 6.4 ABV and double day hopped with Cyro Pop, Mosaic and, Motuska hops. Thia is a fine tasty brew. This is the 7th beer I’ve had here and they have all been fantastic. Could ver well be here next week again.

 

I homebrew a fair bit with Saaz hops (e.g., I have a Bohemian Pilsner in my lagering chamber right now which is solely hopped with Czech Saaz for flavor and aroma additions) and for the hops I purchase they consistently feature spicy/herbal flavors. I have experienced some lemon-like flavors on a handful of occasions with some commercially brewed beers which feature Saaz hops. I would guess that you are correct here about the Czech Saaz hops.

That is unfortunate IMO. A Pilsner that is nicely balanced between hop flavors and a bready Pilsner malt flavor is a beer of beauty for my palate. I wonder what brand of Pilsner malt the brewery uses for this beer? As a general rule, Pilsner malt from US malting companies tend to be more flavor neutral as compared to Pilsner Malt made by malting companies in Europe (e.g., Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany,...). Also mashing method can be impactful here.

Cheers!

 

Good afternoon NBW
I've had some good beers piling up to be reviewed and here's one.

Sweet Repute
12oz bottled 11.02.22 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 12.8% ABV. The beer pours mostly bright medium amber with khaki colored head. The head eventually falls to a thin cap and leaves a complete web of lacing as it recedes. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring bourbon first with sweet notes of malt, maple and vanilla. The taste is a semisweet bourbon / dessert balance with oaky bourbon at first before the maple, caramel, malt sugar, vanilla flavors kick in. Mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Ethanol is evident, but I would not guess this a 12+% beer. Overall, excellent.

I love wheatwines. Nearly always a +rDev for me. Cheers all!

 

Beer number 2. This is Cire Jaune (Yellow Wax) from Brasserie Sir John in Lachute, Québec. It is a blend of their 1201 Imperial stout aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels and a pastry stout with marshmallow, cacao, walnuts, Madagascar vanilla, espresso, and Graham crackers.





I’ve generally enjoyed the beers that Sir John makes including the versions of 1201 I’ve had before. I’m not a huge fan of pastry stouts, but enjoy them periodically. The fact that this is a blend of pastry and BA makes it more appealing to me than it otherwise would be.

Pours a deep black brown with minimal head that forms quickly and fades even faster. Holds the glass well when swirled.

The nose is a mix of sweet milk chocolate, mild coffee and a nuttiness that I wouldn’t have pegged as walnuts had I not known they were in there. No barrel or booze on the nose at all.

Taste follows and is rather mellow. Chocolate, sweet milky coffee, mildly nutty. The slightest hint of bourbon barrel on the finish. Scant vanilla. The 11% ABV is well hidden. Sweetness is mild for the style.

Mouth is medium with a rather quick finish despite the viscous appearance. Drinkable.

Overall, I enjoyed this. 1201 is a very good beer and so is this pastry-fied version of it. I’d drink this again.

 

Congrats on hitting 50 this year. I hit that age today!

 

Happy Birthday @woemad, half a century is wild.

 

Happy NBW, folks,

Today I'm a half century from my "born on date," so I figured something special was in order.

This is the opposite of a New Beer, it's rather old in fact: bottled 20yrs ago. I will have to ask all you NBWers' indulgence, as I've technically had this beer before, many years ago.

Very dark, almost black, except when held up to direct light, at which point it begrudgingly yields a deep, dark shade of ruby. Apart from a few tiny bubbles, virtually no head at all.

Caramelly sweet in the nose, gets a little bourbon like as it warms. Very slightly metallic scent way in the background.

Rich, sweet, almost chocolatey flavor. There's a little bit of a warming alcohol taste deep in the background, a little bit like bourbon, but more subtle. Just a tiny bit of oxidation, pretty subtle in this amount, might've stood out more if the serving was larger.

Medium bodied, with a slightly creamy, velvety mouth feel.

Been hanging on to this one since the mid 00s. Figured there's not much point in letting it go longer. In general I've been loosening up about aging beers as I get older. In fact, I think this is the last really swanky beer that I've been aging. I'm glad this one has turned out as drinkable as it is. I didn't know much about bottle aging when I picked it up, and more or less stashed it in a closet. It could have fared much worse, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it this afternoon.

I'll be hitting some local breweries with some friends, both before and after a dinner at a restaurant I enjoy. Further reviewing will be unlikely in such an atmosphere, and I suspect I will be all beard out by tomorrow. So, barring any unforeseen events, this will be my sole contribution to this week's edition of this thread. Have a great week!

 

Revolution - Gravedigger Billy, via @FBarber. He's the man.

12oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Can is dated JAN/19/2022.

Pours dark brown, clear, with almost a finger of head. Head settles into a mostly clear surface with about a two millimeter ring around the glass. Lots of very fine, very slow carbonation. Smell is rich toffee, vanilla, chocolate, alcohol, bourbon. And dates.

Taste is raisins or dates up front -- sweet, with a little bit of char bitterness. Vanilla and chocolate are still there, along with the bourbon goodness. It's also pretty hot, but lots of other stuff going on make it more of an accent than a dominant theme.

Mouthfeel is thick, velvety syrup. Overall, I really like this beer.

On the activities front: A couple days ago, the SSD in my laptop croaked. This morning I confirmed that it's not even recognized on other computers, either...so I guess I don't have to worry about recovering files. I *did* have to worry about soldering the hard drive mount back onto the motherboard before I could install a new SSD, which is an interesting first for me. Now I'm back to the traditional Windows problem of "why the fuck isn't my audio working?"

 

Love this review

 

Lupulin Sticky Puddles Pineapple Upside Down Cake Fruited Sour, 9% ABV. Pours opaque rust red, with a one-finger off-white head that left no lacing. Nose is briefly vinegary up front, quickly replaced by pineapple, cherry, and caramel. Taste is strong real cherry (not medicinal), some pineapple, slight caramel, moderately sweet, equally tart. Excellent mouthfeel with adequate carbonation. Overall excellent. It doesn't channel pineapple upside-down cake for me.

4.06/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

I personally have not had the pleasure of drinking a Thomas Hardy’s Ale but this beer sure seems a worthy beer to celebrate:

 

Happy Birthday, my friend.

 

Happy birthday, dude. Glad you could find some some friends in Spokanistan that are not currently trying to dry out January.

 

Drinking today at my brother’s house in Huntington WV…scored some localish WV brews here in Huntington this morning, all new to me. My go to beer when I’m visiting (I’ve posted it here a lot over the years) is Big Timber’s Porter, a perfectly fine roast malt and chocolate tasting porter…well today I found their BBA Porter, what?!?



Canned 11/15/22. Poured at 56°. Black with some ruby see-through body; fizzy off white head, poor cap retention leaves small island of micro dots and solid ring; bands of lace with thin legs at best on swirl. Lots of bourbon on uncapping bottle (impressive) with chocolate following right behind nose; bourbon exhale. Semi boozy bourbon entry in conjunction with roast malt and bittersweet dark chocolate base; some coffee notes as beer warms. Medium minus body, light silky feel; moderate minus carbonation; no warmth from 8.9% abv. Overall, my favorite “go to” grocery store WV beer dialed up to 11 - a solid plus porter with lots of bourbon nose and flavor; yes, it drinks thin and the abv is 8.9%, but the base and barrel combine seamlessly to make for a boozy/not boozy BBA enhanced porter that still tastes like chocolate and roast malt…well done Elkins, WV!

4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5
Score: 4.5 rDev +5.6%

 

Happy to be back to my favorite time of the week, having a few beers with my fellow beer lovers.

Let’s discover some Washington beer shall we…beer courtesy of Washingtonian @snaotheus and glass courtesy of Washingtonian @BBThunderbolt.

Urban Family - Foeder Lager with corn (5.4%)



Pours light pale in color; vigorous carb visible upon pouring; white head that is a thin creamy looking film, slowly dissipates to not much of anything.

Strong nose…sweet in nature with some noticeable oak; light corn flake with a little bit of green apple character to it.

Taste is much more balanced and subdued compared to nose…a pleasant corn sweetness, cereal like, minor oak; some minor hop presence on the finish.

Really pleasant mouthfeel, light body, creamy carbonation, minor sweetness, a kiss of bitter on the finish; clean for having seen oak too.

Pretty enjoyable beer, normally I don’t like oak’s lagers but this one is alright; nicely balanced and goes down very clean. Thanks Ryan.

 

Cheers, my friend!

 

Thank you for the excellent kick off @AzfromOz , and hope @woemad ’s 50th birthday celebration continues to go well throughout the weekend! Nice reaching the half way pole with wind at your sails.

My second of two on hand for the Duvel tasting, and with the terrible forecast likely shutting me in for a few days, is likely the last. I’ve seen this selection before, but based on my lukewarm appreciation of the original, I was never swayed until this tasting to try.

Duvel 6,66%



Bottle Notes: Single bottle purchased at store temperature at Beer on the Wall for $4.75 on 1/10/23. 11.2 oz, best before August 2023, unclear what additional code means including the date bottled (L20708 1951 - guessing possibly the 708th batch brewed in 2022). 6.6% ABV, 11.2 oz, Belgian Blonde Ale. Serve at 40 degrees F, pour at a 45 degree angle. Delightful and refreshing. Brewed and bottled by Duvel Moortgat NV, 2870 Puurs-Sint-Amands Belgium. Imported by Duvel Moortgat USA Ltd, Cooperstown, NY. 4th generation Moortgat Family.

Let yourself be swept away by the dance of the 6 hop Duvels, inspired by the fruity aromas of the 6 (unnamed) hops and a zest of orange. Enjoy the fresh taste of this blonde Duvel with natural refermentation and a beautiful, slightly cloudy appearance.

Appearance: Multiple pours into a large tulip glass, significant bubbly turning creamy lacing taking up well over half the glass until it settles leaving a creamy fluffy cloud over the base, and significant creamy lacing in it's wake. Base is a murky golden orange, significant carbonation throughout. 4.25

Aroma: Bouquet of floral and fruit aromas, clove banana with the lead, citrus, pear, lemon, lemongrass and cracker with ground pepper. Bountiful and wonderful. 4.5

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, though lighter in terms of strength. banana clove yeast less pronounced with the hop flavors of citrus, lemon and pears backed by pepper with hints of wet grass and cracker blends very well into a cohesive blend. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Subtle deft gentle touch in terms of balance, light sweetness prevails after several sips to determine the outcome. Drinks at the ABV, perhaps slightly elevated. Light pricky carbonation attacks the tongue throughout, giving additional depth to the watery light fluffy body. Lingering citrus and clove, appreciated. 4.25

Overall: This is an excellent offering, hitting a broad range of flavors that come together very well. While I tend to get a one note blunt reaction to the OG Duvel, this beer is what I hoped the OG was. Will gladly purchase these in the future. 4.5

Would have never discovered this one without the weekend tasting, so thanks Frank @FBarber for hosting!