New Beer Weekend #143

Glad you enjoyed it Craig! First time I tried it I didn't account for the 11% and it put me on my ass. Still buy it often because that Belgian candi sugar is so addictive to me.

 

Thanks for asking,
yes he is now adjusting to eating with fewer digestive organs.
Its a process, he is a smart guy and stoic like his mom,
One of the strongest spirits I know
Cheers

 

Funslinger Lager (a Breckenridge Brewery & Never Summer Collab) - I had to get the taste of that SA beer out of my mouth Pours from a can (BB 05/26) a slightly hazy light orange, huge head, very carbonated. Smell is nice, cracker-y and malty. Taste is great, very smooth and a beer that just tastes like a beer...if you're a Lager fan you'll like this and at 4.5% it's a nice session beer. Budmo!

 

Stonecloud Coconut Junkie BA Stout, 14.4% ABV; 4.25 overall

Pours an effervescent mahogany with a sliver of caramel colored head, falls away quickly. No head retention or lacing

S: Plenty of barrel, dark fruit, dark chocolate once warm

T: Dark chocolate, some boozey notes, sweet coconut & vanilla up front, some leafy hops. Dark chocolate, some barrel boozeyness, coconut, figs & a little vanilla as this beer warms up. Finishes boozey with dark chocolate & coconut

MF: Fairly chewy, low carbonation, warming nice body

Very solid for the style & what they were going for. Very drinkable considering the heft

 

Day 2, both beers this evening from my friend @Roguer, who was my sender in NBS BIF #17. The sent me a literal truckload of Tree House hops and the two beers tonight are part of a series of six NEDIPA’s where they modify the yeast utilized in brewing the beer, with this first beer using their house yeast and the “control” beer in the series.

I’m so happy I could cry.





4.17/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours a very hazy pineapple color with a frothy off white head that exhibits the ubiquitous TH lacing, i.e., it coats the glass. Lovely beer. The nose has some pineapple, mango, passion fruit, and a
bit of tangerine. Very nice, but it doesn’t “pop” like the typical TH juice bomb.

Lots of mango, pineapple, and passion fruit on the taste, with some tangerine and a nice little sweet oat flavor. Again, very nice, but it doesn’t grab you by your beer nerd family jewels and carry you to the upper echelon of the TH catalog of juice bomb. As the can says, this is the house yeast and the “control” beer in this series, so maybe it’s dialed back a bit.

The mouthfeel is just a bit softer than normal, almost a bit watery. This is still a beer worthy of your time, but I’m curious to see how the balance of this family of beers plays out with the different yeast types.

 

Having moved away a few years prior to the team’s move made that a little less disappointing than it otherwise would have been for me. I was a 25-30 game a year attendee back at the ‘Big Owe.’ My move and then their move caused me to lose a connection with the team. My closest friend , still in Montreal continues to follow the Washington Expos. He goes down to spring training every few years too. For years I’ve been between teams.

 

#2, also from my friend @Roguer. This beer from the Tree House Data Set collection utilizes thiolized yeast.

I have been a beer nerd for a LOOOOONG time and have no idea what “thiolized yeast” is or what it does to a beer.

So off to the Googler I go:

“The term ‘Thiolized’ refers to our engineered yeast strains that have the ability to biotransform the thiol precursors found in malt, hops, and grape-derived products into free thiols. Brewers can unleash these previously inaccessible tropical aromas into their beers simply by switching to a Thiolized yeast strain.”

I’ve always wanted to biotransform myself via a beer I’m drinking, so I’ve got THAT going for me. Let’s ride this pony.

And if you don’t see me on this board in the next 48 hours, call the biotransformation cops. IJS.





4.6/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
This is my second beer from this series, and the look is identical to #1, with a very hazy pineapple colored body sitting underneath a creamy white head that grips the glass and provides a cap on the beer as you drink it. Gorgeous NEDIPA.

The nose is significantly brighter, grabbing you with huge mango, guava, and papaya notes, as well as a nice amount of mandarin orange and passion fruit. Wow.

The mango, guava, and papaya flavors are forward and striking on the taste - this is an exotic tropical fruit basket that is not shy, and allows mandarin orange and passion fruit flavors to flavors to shine as well. I could literally drink a keg of this.

The mouthfeel is full, soft, and a smidge creamy, absolutely masking any presence of the 8% ABV. The first beer I had in this series, #1 with the house yeast, was very good, but didn’t really “pop.” This version, with Thiolized yeast, has all the pop of a massive 4th of July celebration. World class, IMHO.

 

How are all of you wonderful people doing? One last new beer with you all and this one has sort of a backstory...my BIL used to work at Victory in the QA lab and they would periodically clean out and get a ton of beer, he got a bunch of this beer. He was having it mixed with orange and cranberry juice Thanksgiving one year and it was so good, we made it the alcohol option at our oldest's first birthday, 5 years ago now, he's 6 now...this beer has sat untouched since then, we were cleaning out storage for our reno coming up and I found this beer, instead of holding onto it for years and years more I said "screw it" I will pour a small glass and share with you all, no way in hell to finish this bottle, sorry beer gods, forgive me of my sin...I'm not sure how old this beer is but at least 6 years old I believe.

So now I enjoy the beer that helped celebrate our first year of surviving parenthood...it is crazy we just watched him run all over a field at his flag football game, thinking back to year one with him, this beer is giving me all sorts of feels...

Victory - Jubilee (Biere Brut 12%)





For the record it was not till after I reviewed this beer that I read the label, and oddly even with so much age a lot their notes are still very much present...

This beer poured very nicely, it’s a golden orange color, mostly clear; head is short lived by a nice creamy film persists and lingers while drinking.

A very enticing aromatic nose; apple cider comes to mind first, oak and white grape skin like tannins, stale bread, and sweetness of light green fruits.

A complete mind fuck with what the nose was, holy cow…this has an intense spiced honey like sweetness, winter spices, stewed green fruits, again cider and grape like but more fruity now than skin like; all of this flavor is so well balanced, this is quite a pleasant experience.

The body is high medium; it has substantial Belgian like carbonation but it coats the tongue in gentle creamy bubbles, tannin like bitter bite on the finish, low verging on moderate alcohol warming sensation.

Ok, this was a really awesome beer to dissect and it tasted very good. Better drink a small glass and join you all then let it sit years and years more. If you’re into Belgian type beers and you somehow come across this, or have one cellared, drink it, it’s quite delicious right now.

Have a great week everyone…can’t wait until next weekend

—————

@SABERG When I saw you mention challenges and the word shine this song popped into my head, I’m out...hope you and the family continue to shine on.

 

Back to new beers again a thank you to @Whyteboar

Broad Leaf - the Iron Colossus



Pours darker than cola with a nice even tan head. No light gets through holding it up, though it does have a nice caramel colored edge where it thins out. 4

Roasty and mild coffee aroma. A touch of booze and sweetness on the back end. 4

Slightly smoky, more toasted coffee and some malty notes as well. 4

Unexpected smoothness for the 8% as well as nice and lingering. 3.75

Overall a good Baltic whose maltier notes start to shine as the beer warms up. Thanks again Craig!

 

Kbs chocolate cherry
...solid black appearance
...light carbonation, body is a bit slick yet feels thinner than other variants
....aroma is a strong whiff of bourbon and alcohol, wood,dry dark chocolate. A touch of bourbon soaked cherries in the background
...taste is mildly sweet with the tart/sweet cherries showing up much stronger than how they appeared in the aroma. Dry, wood, dark chocolate covered cherries.
...not my favorite kbs but still very,very,enjoyable

 

Today, while finishing up my taxes (as I suspected, I owe a modest amount, so why pay the government early?), I was driven to drink this Bohemian pilsner from Ozark Beer Co., received through the generosity of @russpowell:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33344/595268/?ba=woemad#lists
Really dig this. Outstanding American brewed example of the style, just a great, crisp pils that was tasty and refreshing as hell. I'd drink this all the time were it locally available!

Might be back with one more after dinner.

 

Here's a new one from just up the road in Hyde Park, VT.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46703/650977/




16 ounce can.
Canned on the 102nd day of this year.
(This past Wednesday the 12th.)
Cascade, Citra, and Nelson Sauvin Hops.

Moderate pour yields a 3/4 inch white head over a very cloudy body with lacing.

Nose of tropical fruit, slight citrus, and a wee bit of dankness.

Taste of tropical fruit, white grape, and citrus with a citrus pith finish.

Very nice carbonation and mouth filling feel.

Overall, a real nice new one from just up the road.
Don't sleep on this one!

Cheers!!

 

All right back again. This beer seemed perfect for this cold and snowy day. On a side note: we got rid of all the damn snow, now it's right back.

Wake Up World Wide Stout- Dogfish Head Brewing- 15.3% ABV

I do like this beer a lot. It has a great flavor profile. The main knock on it is it's a bit thin for such a high ABV beer. I would say that thin body is explained by the coffee added to the beer. I like it, but the other variants of the World Wide Stout are better in my book.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/620482/

4.27/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a bottle.
A bit of smoke upon the opening of the bottle. Pitch black pouring beer. Nothing shines through when held up to the light. I did an aggressive pour, and this yielded a 1 finger brown head. There's actually some head retention, which surprises me a bit. The bubbles in the head are fairly small looking. The head clings to the side of the glass as it dissipates.
The aroma is coffee and maple syrup to me. As it warms up, I get more of the barrel used in ageing this beer. Some molasses and notes of chocolate also show up.
Taste - The flavor starts out with the maple syrup. The flavor also adds chocolate, and cinnamon, which linger a bit. The coffee seems to come in on the middle and lingers throughout the rest of the beer. There's a faint barrel note that comes in on the backside.
This is a thick beer, though, it probably is a bit thinner than the ABV suggests. There's some alcohol burn, but not too over the top in this beer.
I do like this beer, though, the other variants of WWS are better in my opinion.


After such a strong beer, I'm not sure I have another in me tonight. We shall see.

 

Good Sundsy evening, NBW. Good weekend - did a bunch of moving fallen trees and limbs with the tractor and my little co-pilot. Nothing like some practical lessons in engineering and physics. But mostly he had fun hitting the horn button.

Tonight's victim:



From the BA Big Stout box, Firestone Walker Paraboloid. It's a double barrel treated blend, so let's see what it's about. I wanted to save this for last, but caved in as I looked at the last three.

Looks black in the glass, but dark cola brown through the pour. Quarter inch or so of tan head that falls to a sturdy ring. The liquid coats the glass when swirled.

Initially, it's a barrel bomb. Distinct odor of bourbon and the spicier rye. Underneath is fudge-like chocolate, dark sweet cherry. A bit of vanilla, molasses or brown sugar sweetness. A little woodiness and tobacco.

The taste is superbly integrated. I can pick apart the bourbon, the slightly and acidity spicy rye, but also the roast malts, fudge, cherry, vanilla. Oaky tannins. Slightly sweet, and more dark fruit as it warms and I'll say prune. The taste intensity is strong, but passes quickly leaving a little boozy whisky aftertaste, a lingering sweetness, and a not quite licorice spicy flavor.

Feel is silky smooth and luxurious. Little to no bitter, a bit of sweet residue on the lips. The very hefty ABV isn't obvious, but it's creating a lot of warmth.

This is a delicious, luxurious treat. FW knew exactly what they wanted to do here and absolutely delivered. This is headed north of 4.5 easily. I've never seen it in the wild but I'm sure glad it was in that splurge box. This is a great beer.

 

Doing my best to get us to at least 5 pages this weekend!

Another from the box @NorsemanOne sent for NBW BIF #17- one I’ve had the BA version of (a few of many) but never the base stout.
Poured stout black with a tan head which left little lacing.
Aroma lost on my nose.
The taste featured primarily roasted malts and coffee, I can’t say I tasted any cacao.
The code on the bottom, if it’s a zip code, puts the coffee source in Nicaragua.
Tasty coffee stout, but I don’t know if the cacao was useful.
In any case, glad to finally try the base stout, thanks Jonathan!

 

Glad you enjoyed it! @FBarber introduced me to the Baltic Porter and I have tried every one I’ve come across. That one impressed me favorably. May need to pick up some more!

 

Wrapping up a beautiful early spring weekend!

Tree House Very Hazy 8.6%ABV NEIPA
Appearance is an opaque fairly dark dull orange. Has a thick 2 inch frothy head that slowly fads to a nice ring with nice lacing.
Above medium mouthfeel that is quite chewy. Has a touch of prickly carbonation.
Aromas is sweet oranges and tropical fruits.
Taste is big flavors of oranges,peaches,some bitter stonefruit, and some dankness.
Finish is excellent; the hop profile carries thru to a really nice lingering finish that sticks to the tongue. Also has a hint of bitterness at the finish with no presence of alcohol.

This beer is excellent!! Great mouthfeel,big bright hops and really nicely balanced.
Sometimes to me high ABV NEIPA's have too much sweetness from start to finish. I'm usually full after one beer. But not this one, I could easily drink another one of these.

 

Explosive is an accurate descriptor - the difference in those two beers just because of the yeast was astonishing, IMHO. I liked them both, but #4 was a couple of iterations better than #1, again IMHO.

 

Founders All Day Crimson Sky Session Red IPA - The latest variety pack looks like a winner and I'm all about session beers these days. I'm a fan of All Day and AD Haze but wanted to try singles of the Crimson Sky and West Coast and came across them recently.

Pours from a can (02/20) a nice red, generous head that hangs around, moderate carbonation. Smell is very inviting and some nice malts here. Taste is great, old-school and reminds me of a lighter Founders Centennial...I looked it up and yep, it does contain Centennial along with Azacca, Mosaic, Chinook. This is very good and drinks much bigger than it's 4.7%. And while this beer is pushing 60 days now the hops have held on and it has a nice bite...along with a nice "snap" from the malts and it's almost like a hoppy Amber Lager.

When session IPAs first hit the scene they were bitter hop water and I wasn't a big fan but that has changed and I've been digging the Session IPAs lately because they are enough for when I'm craving something hoppy but not too over the top in both taste or alcohol.

If you like Red IPAs you should like this. I do enjoy them (SN Flipside anyone?) and this is a winner with me. Budmo!