New Beer Weekend #142

Next up as I've got to clean out this fridge for... Well more beer I suppose!

Wayfinder - Gravity Drop
Courtesy of @snaotheus



Poured into a nonic at fridge temp, and warming up.

Pours textbook porter dark black with a respectable tan head. 4

Aroma seemed on the lighter/gentler side with not much standing out aside from some malt and roastiness. Might be getting a cold. 3.75

Taste however more than makes up for it! Roasty, some light chocolate and fig fruitiness. Oh the fig! No idea how the brewery did this but it's an excellent and awesome adjunct I can't get enough of in it. Like an addicting fig Newton minus the overwhelming cookie/biscuit. (Haven't had one of those in about 18 years I figure) 4.25

Body is a solid medium I'd say, drinkable yet more filling, though no note of the 9% whatsoever, so I'd consider it a bit dangerous? 4

Overall I think this is my second Baltic porter and it's much more enjoyable than my first, and looking forward to more like it. 4

 

It was a long day for me so I decided I would have a second beer.

From the Extreme Stout Box- I have had it before at a Stout Appreciation Night.
Poured cola brown into a light brown head and appeared oil black in the snifter.
The taste was coffee forward with little bourbon present. Malty and quite tasty but I think I prefer the non BA version better. The balance is better.
The feel is a little thinner than I expected, but that goes with the lack of barrel presence.
OA, this is good and I enjoyed it. I just think I would spend my money on the regular
Cheers!

 

Dogfish Head Citrus Squall DIPA, 8.0% ABV; 3.98 overall

Pours a slightly hazed gold with rapidly falling beige colored head. No head retention or lacing

S: Pink Grapefruit in spades, stellar nose

T: Plenty of Grapefruit& Blue Agave up front, plus some dryness up front. More of the same as this beer warms, a little dryness & lime too. Finishes with plenty of pink grapefruit, a little dryness, & some agave

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, decent balance

Very easy to drink, I could see buying this as a Summer beer

 

Coconut drip
Solid,motor oil black appearance.
....light carbonation with an above average body, slightly creamy oily feel.
Aroma is Coconut, alcohol, peanut butter, dark and milk chocolate.
Taste has some sweetness,almost syrupy, coffee dark chocolate bitterness. Roasted malt,peanut butter,with a cream aftertaste.
Excellent imperial stout that comes off like a dessert beer

 

2022 Boulevard Bramble on Blackberry Foeder Sour Ale ( where are my Tums???) in a 750 mL bottle, 8.5% ABV; 4.19 overall

Pours a ruddy chestnut with a sliver of cream colored head. Some head retention & no lacing

S: A little funkyness & blackberries, some figs as this warms up

T: Follows the nose, a touch of oakyness, plenty tart, hints of red wine up front. A hint of leather, red grapes, puckery tart blackberries & oakyness as this ale warms through, & balsamic vinegar notes, Some sweet berries & red grapes fight through the tart, dry & oaky, plus leather, but then they are subdued, a slight bit of lemon & salt as well

MF: Medium body, lively carbonation, acidic on the tongue

I just don't enjoy these anymore. Sour fiends will love this & technically it is a great sour beer, my body just doesn't dig them anymore, especially large format bottles

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

I wasn't sure I'd join you tonight, but a long day at work deserved one.
This beer is thanks to the generosity of @Whyteboar .

Harwood - Archival Brewing - Belmont, MI - English Porter - 4.7% ABV

This is a beer packed with flavor in a low ABV body. I am happy to drink it, and a pleasure to try.
Thank you so much Craig for it.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/61642/636799/


3.79/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a can this beer is dark brown pouring. No light comes through when held up to the light. The head is white thick looking, coming in at 3 fingers. The head retention is pretty decent. There's a bit of lacing on the glass.
The aroma is pretty light. I do get a bit of malt and a bit of chocolate. Slight nuttiness.
The flavor is malty, as expected. A nice roasted nutty flavor comes through. Some chocolate from the malts also comes through.
The body is pretty decent for the style. It's not crazy thick like a stout.
Delicious and easy drinking overall.

I will see you tomorrow from Wild Mind in Minneapolis for one after my family get together. Cheers.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned this week. Pours a very attractive yellow with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.25

Aroma mandarin, mango, stone fruit, apricot, and some pink grapefruit rind. 4.25

Taste follows mandarin, mango, stone fruit, apricot, and a hit of grapefruit in the lingering finish. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, not sticky of dry, soft carbonation, and at 7.8% rather large flavor, but easy going down. 4.25

Overall this is nice, not dazzled but certainly worth a shot. 4.25 Enjoy your Easter All.

 

It's been a while since I have had a Shiner Bock. It always reminded me of a lightly carbonated highly diluted syrup. A one and done for me. Similarly, the last Yuengling I tried seemed too still to support the sweetness. Maybe something was wrong with it?

 

Good Morning and Happy Easter to those observing. The only positive to these rained out master's days is morning golf!

This is Fat Orange Cat - Purrkatory (Impy Coffee stout, I spy lactose)



I had a couple of these months ago but didn't get around to reviewing at the time. This is actually the coffee I drink at home, so that's part of why I bought this I suppose.

Pitch black, dense fluffy almost nitrogenated head. This pour basically cascaded in the glass.

Nose is malt, coffee, brown sugar, a smidge of roasted bitterness.

Soft, creamy and full mouthfeel. Leads into very even character, roast malt and sweetness. The lactose doesn't feel necessary to me but I don't like that in any event.

Finishes soft and clean. Coffee present. This is mostly a straight and away stout with a good body and sharp coffee character.

A tidy pint. Nothing insane but very good nonetheless. Not everything needs to bash into walls and smash windows to be good. I think the lactose pulls away from the base beer a smidge here but that's personal preference.

Cheers and have a great day!

4.08/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

Sorry you didn't enjoy this one - it's one of my favorites from JK! when did they start canning?

 

I'm back!


For Zombie Jesus day, my New Breakfast Beer:



Imperial Granola Milk Stout from Hoppin’ Frog, 16 oz can. Picked up at brewery 22/03/23. Reviewed 09/04/23 (Review 3069). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “BEST BY JAN 4 2026”. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 47.4 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 55.9 degrees F.
Appearance – 3.
First pour – Deep Brown (SRM 30), opaque.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, shows a translucent olive at the top edge and ruby at the bottom.
Head – None. While pouring, a two mm fizzy ring of bubbles appears but quickly evaporates.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 3 – A bit of grainy granola. No malt, no yeast, no hops, no chocolate, no coconut. No ethanol (10.0 % ABV as marked on the label) aroma.
Flavor – 2.5 – Initially no hops, malt, or yeast; light chocolate, no coconut. As it warms, more of the crappy granola taste comes through. Slight gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3.25 – Thin to medium; creamy; soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3 Well… Appearance is similar to the B.O.R.I.S./D.O.R.I.S./T.O.R.I.S. series of RISs but unfortunately the similarity ends at the appearance. The flavor is bad, still drinkable but certainly unappealing. The aroma is very neutral, neither good nor bad, just weak but still there. The palate is the high point. In general, if you can avoid this one, do so.
Rating 2.93, rDev +2.4%

This one should be easy to avoid as it is a Rare Beer Club selection.

On a more tasty note - my brother in New Braunfels, TX, always has Shiner Bock in his reefer - whenever I'm there I drink it the first day or two until I can do some beer shopping or get to 5 Stones. I find Shiner bock to be very drinkable, caramelly and not too sweet. It's not the best beer around, but it'll do until I can find something better.

 

Well I didn't think to look if this thread would would open early this weekend. Same on me.
Big thanks and shout out to @snaotheus for this glorious experience last night. I finally opened this beauty, (a surprise he hit me with back in NBS BIF #14).

Endless Endings

Pours with a darkness straight out of the abyss. Deep and glossy like a black mahogany guitar. Cocoa colored head tops it off and hangs around for a spell. Nearly a finger in height at first, tapering off to a thin filmy cap. Thin lacing. Gorgeous.

Nose generous and varied. Would be content to sniff this for hours. As anticipated, caramel, toffee, and Bourbon notes abound. But there is a lot more going on here. I pick up dates and hints of something warm and slightly fruity in it's sweetness, like Cognac or apple brandy.

Flavor is a true smorgasbord: Bourbon, toffee, slightly burnt brown sugar, and much of the flavors I pick up from a solid 20 year Tawny Port: caramel, dates, figs, and a nuanced nuttiness. But still get some of the fruitiness of a younger port. I really feel that the barleywine was assertive here and did not allow itself to be overshadowed by the imperial stout in the blend. She is sweet yet complex.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of chewy, almost soft in the swallow but with some gentle heat. Amazing sipper.
A glorious hour of my life.
4.71/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

 

Yeah, that one is memorable! Cheers!

 

Your access to beers from the better Ontario breweries is impressive. Third Moon opened a couple of months into the pandemic and has become a top three brewery in Ontario according to most beer lovers you’ll come across. If you ever see their stouts, and like pastry stouts, they are very well done for the style.

Another great Ontario brewery. Bellwoods distribution seems to be getting more and more widespread. A California friend recently said he some on the shelves there. Cheers!

 

Good morning and Happy Easter BAs! My new to me beer today is from Calusa Brewing, Sarasota FL - Brandy Barrel Aged Ignorant Clod:





Advertised as an English-style BW aged 24 months in Brandy barrels. Purchased at the brewery on its release day, 1/21/23 and refrigerated ever since. Poured at 58°. Prune juice dark brown with ruby see-through; thin, fast fizzy tan head; no cap retention, ring nor lace; no legs on swirl. Sweet Brandy and caramel nose; hot retro nasal. Caramel candy entry followed by sweet Brandy, oaky vanilla and sugared raisins; no bitter hops; sweet boozy finish. Light body, silky feel; full mouth heat from 15.2%abv; light carbonation. Overall, the Brandy and caramel taste great, but are almost cloyingly sweet; I was looking for some bittering hops but found none; the body drinks quite thin for the high abv; reminds me of drinking a BCB BW, only lighter in feel.

3.75 | 4.0 | 4.25 | 3.75 | 4.0
Score: 4.06 rDev - 2.9%

A decent BA variant on a BW. I’d drink again but would not seek out. Cheers and have a blessed day y’all!

 

FWIW I do not think there was anything "wrong" per se here, it is just what these sorts of beers are IMO.

I classify both Yuengling Traditional Lager and Shiner Bock as being AAAL (American Amber Adjunct Lager) beers. IMO they are intended to be AAL beers but amber in color with a caramel-like sweetness to those beers. Both of those beers are quite popular with the beer consumers who favor a more of a mainstream aspect but with a bit more flavor than a typical AAL beer (e.g., Bud/Bud Light, etc.).

I am personally not a fan of Yuengling Traditional Lager (a bit too caramel/sweet for my palate) but I am a fan of some of the other Yuengling brands (e.g., Lord Chestefield, Porter, etc.). Need less to say but I am in the minority here since the best selling Yuengling brand, by far, is their Traditional Lager.

Cheers!