New Beer Weekend #144

Everything they are doing now is about making it run heavy. I get it that the pitchers are winning now, but still don't like it.

 

Central waters 7 layer stout
....oily,murky, muddy appearance.
...light carbonation, above average body with a bit of an oily slick feel.
....aroma is chocolate, graham cracker,,alcohol, malt,boozy,coffee,sugary cake.
....taste is mildly sweet, sticky sugary cake, mocha, malt, a dry dark chocolate bitterness.
....overall its got a lot going on,flavorful,doesn't nail the flavor profile perfectly but it makes for a good boozy dessert beer nightcap

 

Big ups to @sulldaddy for this everyone wants want:

Tree House Julius IPA, 6.8% ABV; 4.51 overall

Pours a very hazed honey color with a finger of cream colored head. Nice lacing & pretty good head retention

S: Plenty of orange, some peaches, strawberries

T: Plenty of orange, some green melon, peaches, dryness & lime up front, a little lemongrass & a touch of juicy acidity. Tangerine, lime, dryness & kiwi fruit s this beer warms up, just a little bit of grassyness & peach too. Finishes with pomelo, green melon, lime & dryness, plus a kiss of vanilla & pineapple

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, great balance

Very citrussy & juicy, maybe not quite as I imagined it to be, but still a big Hell Yeah on this, has all the juice

 

Maybe you just thought it was a mystery beer

 

Got another new beer which messed with my head in a really good way.



Fair State Legalize Big Doinks Super Duper Extra Dank West Coast IPA
16-ounce can picked up at the brand-new John's Marketplace location in Beaverton. No date stamp. Poured in a nonic half-pint glass.

Look:
Pale gold and slightly hazy, topped with a thick, long-lasting disc of foam that leaves dense patches of lacing.

Smell:
Weed, and lots of it. Dense and skunky like the atmosphere at a Foghat concert. Underneath that heavy cloud are notes of papaya, stone fruits, diesel (Mosaic hops?), lilacs, pine resin, a bit of sweet pineapple.

Taste:
Up front, I get the same pungent gingery flavors as I get from Fremont Kush, another weed-inspired beer currently on the shelves around here. Follows through with lemon-lime notes on top of semi-sweet, breadcrusty malt. Finishes with celery and weed on the breath with a smidge of lingering bitterness. Spectacular hop burps that are the Venn diagram of citrusy hops, weed, and spicy ginger ale.

Feel:
Medium-bodied with peppy carbonation. Leaves a tingly sensation on my tongue and the roof of my mouth. Slight spicy burn on the swallow, more like you would get from ginger than from alcohol.

Overall:
This beer is a trip. Smells a lot like weed. Tastes like a citrusy IPA with ginger at first, and reveals fascinating nuances with every sip. Extremely interesting in the best sense of the phrase. I've spent almost an hour nursing an 8-ounce pour, teasing out all the different aroma and flavor components. Time to put on the headphones, cue up some mid-70s Tangerine Dream bootlegs, and open another can.

 

@JayORear
Sleeping Chamber - Wonderous Brewing. This beer is incredible! The appearance has a steady two-fingered head with excellent retention. Dissipating slowly, leaving loads of lacing on the glass. Charting color around SRM 6. The beer is hazy because it is unfiltered.
The Nelson Hops aroma is displayed here, oozing with gooseberries, passion fruit, oranges, and chardonnay grapes. The Watku hops help bolster the fruitiness of the beer. The malt backbone is firm yet soft because of the rye. I smell biscuits, malty sweetness, and crackers. The light earthiness and floral ester finish the nose.
Tasting the beer is almost precisely what I smell, including the spicy rye notes.
The mouthfeel is astringent and bitter, finishing dry and soft.
This beer was a sleeper for me. I have never heard of this brewery, but I am curious about what else they offer. 4.52
.

 

Jackie O's - Bourbon Barrel Brick Kiln

375ml bottle served in a big snifter. Label says it's 2022 vintage, 12.4% abv. @Ozzylizard sent it to me in NBS BIF #17. Probably a bit too cold at the moment, but it'll warm while I'm writing and drinking.

Pours surprisingly dark. Almost a porter color, slightly translucent around the edges, very little head and very little carbonation. Smell is boozy, some charred oak, some root beer barrel candy, chocolate and nuts.

Taste is boozy (but not painfully so), again a bit of that root beer barrel candy, molasses and dates, not getting any char here. Maybe a bit of a cola flavor.

Mouthfeel is medium (lighter than I expected), a little sticky, kind of still. Overall, it's a very good barleywine.

 

The next beer for the night is Mezclar from Fremont—a mixed barrel-age with stouts and porters. I am using a tulip and serving the beer around 52 degrees. The pour created a creamy yet firm one-fingered light tan head with excellent retention. The slow dissipation left bits of lacing on the glass—the nearly black beer charts around SRM 34. The Appearance is above-average.
Nosing the glass, I smell cinnamon, whiskey, char, woody, medium chocolate, coffee, earthiness, figs, raisins, caramel, brown sugar, and cola.
The flavors are nearly the same as the aromas, except I am getting notes of smokiness. The mouthfeel is chewy and warm. This a tasty beer from Fremont; not a fan of the alcohol warming, unlike Rusty Nail, where the ABV is more hidden.

 

I am working on my Third for the night. From Jay, this is another Equilibrium beer, Juice = Juice. This beer was a puzzle; I felt it was a juicy hybrid style.
Using a tulip glass, I served the beer at 44 degrees. The two-fingered white frothy and creamy head had excellent retention. The slow dissipation left bits of lacing all over the glass. The color charted around SRM 6.
Nosing the glass, I smell oranges, pineapple, apricots, peaches, floral esters, grass, pharmaceuticals, phenols, a touch of dank, bread, toasted malts, malty sweetness, and lemons.
The taste is similar to the aromas. The mouthfeel is astringent and finished dry yet slightly creamy.
I am not a huge fan of this DNEIPA; it is good. 4.25 @JayORear

 

Oof, it seems like it opened up a bit in transit, that's unfortunate. I'll have to get you a bottle successfully some time, because when it hasn't been open for who knows how long it's actually pretty good; my home brewed Dunkelweizen. Interesting that it developed a bretty character after being open for a bit. Sorry about that bud!

 

New Beer Weekend #144? Nahh, BIF 17 Weekend. @woemad sent me an absolutely lovely box that I've already broken into (sorry man, I couldn't wait!) before getting to this one. A Belgian Dark Strong Ale from a brewery I've never heard of, Lumberbeard. Their Bourbon Barrel Aged BDS



The aroma started off strong with some nice dark fruit over a boozy background, unsurprising at 15.2%. It doesn't quite carry the same complexity in taste, focusing more on the boozy bourbon and other associated notes, though still good. Slick and oily but somehow dry on the finish. I didn't love it, and marked it down a bit in the overall for not having anything distinctly "Belgian" about it, but I still thought it was pretty good all things considered

4/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Not pictured is the peanut butter brittle he also sent me, which is just about gone from me snacking on it throughout the week. Interesting stuff! I love regular peanut brittle, but this soft version was really nice, and helped this massive beer go down easy

 

And as our "feckless leader" we ALWAYS appreciated that you gave such a feck for us and this...

 

Well NBS BIF #17 is here and what a glorious start.
Thanks to @FBarber this one graced my lips today.
Unconventional Color collaboration between Phase Three & Modist Brewing companies.

Opaque gold in color. Fluffy white head punches strongly, reaching 2+ inches. Slowly the head retreats but keeps a thin film even 5 minutes out. Scattered, clumpy lacing.
Nose pops off initially with mango, grapefruit zest, cereal grain, and some green herbal notes. And again mango.
Flavor follows the nose with the mango kicking things off with some orange juice, peach, and melon as partners. A green warmth starts in the direction of mild onion, pivots and brings in a hint of weed. Just a hint. But then the herbal goes back in the direction of a mild warming akin to lavender or oregano, but ever so smooth.
Mouthfeel is between slick and pillowy with good carbonation, and a smooth drying, warm bitterness.
Overall, a real pleasure.
3.93/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass canned on 4/10/23. Pours a very attractive hazy yellow orange with a finger sticky white head that leaves a thin wall of lace with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma is passionfruit, peach, mandarin, white grape, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows passionfruit, peach, mandarin, white grape, and apricot very well balanced. 4.5

Mouthfeel is a little bigger than medium, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8% it has plenty of flavor, but easy going down. 4.5

Overall this is some very tasty stuff. They just keeping cranking out tasty NEDIPAs. 4.5 Cheers all.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass not sure when it was bottled. Pours a very attractive mahogany with a solid finger sticky off white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma caramel, toffee, biscuit, brown sugar, and a little warming booze. 4.25

Taste follows caramel, toffee, biscuit, brown sugar, dark fruit, and a little alcohol lingers on the palate after each sip. 4.25

Mouthfeel is way above average, soft gentle carbonation, maybe a little dry, and at 9.7% it is a big complex beer, but extremely approachable. 4.5

Overall this is really tight. I love a good Barleywine and this is a good one. 4.5 Really impressed.