New Beer Weekend #154

Murder by Bombastic Brewing

3.97/5 rDev -2%

look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

8.5 ounce draft pour into a tulip glass at a restaurant.

Look- Black, opaque, scant medium brown head, severely below average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Cinnamon, cacao, ancho chilies, medium strength of scent.

Taste- Ancho chilies, cacao, toasted oats, cinnamon, medium strength of flavor.

Feel- Between thin and medium body, average carbonation, highly spicy, highly mouth warming, mildly creamy.

Overall- Nice appearance, but hampered by lack of head retention and lacing. Bouquet was pleasant with medium strength. Flavors were good, but not vibrant enough. Feel was great except for the thinner than expected body. Overall this was an enjoyable experience, but lacked vibrant flavors and a more substantial body.

 

New Trail Crisp Lager - Third and final new to me Lager this evening and I am a fan of their beers. Pours from a 12 oz can (no date on this one, 4.8%) a slightly hazy yellow, good carbonation, decent head. Smell is Lager-y with a bit of sweet malts. Taste is very good and crisp, clean, well-balanced, a bit of white grape going on and another one that would be a crowd pleaser with both craft beer lovers and more casual beer fans; and I have been know to add lime and sea salt to beers like this and it would pair nicely with this one.

Sign me up for more beers like this and at this stage of the game this is more my speed and what I'm looking for. Budmo!

 

Fossil Cove Brewing Co.'s Noodlin' Italian Pils, 4.6% ABV; 3.69 overall

Pours a bright effervescent gold with one finger of ivory colored head. Average-ish head retention & lacing

S: Bready, grassy, perfumey hops once warm

T: Follows the nose, some lemon & dryness as well up front. Grassy bitterness, some grainy sweetness & a touch of lemon once this beer warms up. Finishes a little dry with grassy bitterness, lime & a touch of sweet grain

MF: Medium body, crisp carbonation, skews bitter

Passible Pils, but a little too light in the malt bill for me & too dry. Was a little better warmed up

 

Equilibrium Brewing Ocean Vibes DIPA, 8.0% ABV; 4.1 overall rating

Pours a dingy iced tea color with plenty of particles & one+ finger of eggshell colored head. Quite frankly, one of the ugliest beers I've seen in a long time. Sheets of lacing & very nice head retention

S: Nice tropical fruits & a little Stone fruit

T: Mangoes, a little coconut pineapple, dryness & limes up front. Sweet oranges, pineapple, mangoes & a little dryness & lime once this beer is warmed up. Sweet oranges, a touch of grapefruit, dryness, mangoes &a little coconut in the finish

MF Medium body, restrained carbonation, nice balance

Drinks super easy, ABV is well hidden. The nose and the ghastly appearance dragged this beer down rating-wise. I will use the Heady Topper rule for my remaining beers

 

Red Eye Arrival
8% Red Ale by R. Shea Brewing


Poured from a pint can stamped 11-16-22, the body pours a dark brown. Good initial head and solid lacing.

Nose has a delightful caramel and coffee aroma.

Taste follows nose but adds a nice hop bite that was bitter enough to be a nice compliment to the lightly sweet coffee. The coffee flavor was on oat with a solid medium roast. A bit of background malt, but the other flavors dominate.

Mouthfeel is good: medium carbonation and drying hop finish.

Really nice red ale variant that will make me seek it out on tap. If in the Akron, Ohio area this family-run brewery is worth a visit.

 

Break Dancing With the Czars- a RIS from Jughandle Brewing. Received a couple or three years ago in a NBS BIF I believe but shamefully don’t remember who sent it to me.
Poured stout black with a brown head that briefly reached a cm in height. No lacing.
The aroma seemed so close, maybe my nose is finally starting to work again after Covid messed it up.
The taste was striking in that it defied my expectations- I wouldn’t call it fruity by any means but the most noticeable flavors were dark fruits; plums and raisins and figs. No hops were noticed at all, no bitterness from charred malts either. This is all medium roasted malt with a light touch of magic hops or something. Very pleasant.
The feel is slightly viscous, no edge from carbonation or hops, almost syrup like in impression, but not really. Just had no better word to describe it.
OA, not sure why I waited so long, probably planning on taking it for an all RIS SAN sometime. I would definitely drink it again.
Cheers all!

 

Well Hello Late Night NBS.
Many, many thanks to @FBarber for this gem from Goldfinger Brewing Company.
Czech 10°
16 oz can poured into my wonderful Pollyanna Brewing/Goldfinger Brewing/ Bonney's Beverage Depot Becher glass (also courtesy of the esteemed and generous Mr. Barber).
Light gold in hue with a most subtle opacity. Good cap develops, then settles into a solid film. Scattered clumps of lacing.
Herbal and floral in the nose right off the bat. Mild citrus notes, biscuity malt, and mineral water hints.
Taste is smooth yet a little bitey, but in a good way. Starts off with a dry, slightly citrusy and grassy bitter note that hints toward green but then curves back to slightly peppery. Malt presents as cereal with hints of honey sweetness. But again, this is active in the mouth in a way that constantly engages the olfactory and thusly building the flavor.
Light feel, crisp, slightly dry.
Wow.

 

Evening, all.

Wishing y'all a happy (almost) 4th of July. The local weather seems to have stabilized into something resembling normal early summer weather over the last few days, with things sunny and quite warm.
Earlier this evening I hit this BBA "Cuvee" from Fremont.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/20680/647324/?ba=woemad#lists
Although it was pretty good, I've come to expect better from Fremont. While not too badly "hot", it seemed like the barrels were kind of drowning out what else was supposed to be going on. Maybe this'll be a good one to grab another of and sit on it for a year or two.
I was going to have another new beer, but it's a bit late for that this evening. I find more and more that drinking alcohol lay in the evening really disrupt my sleep patterns. Ravages of age, I guess. There's a decent chance I'll hit something tomorrow night after work, however, and with the extended holiday weekend going on, I'll be able to post it on here. Til then, folks, have a great night.

 

You got almost exactly what I got from that; I too wondered if it was what the brewer intended but other research shows that it’s fairly common for that beer to be tart. Not sure if I’d order it on tap, but it was certainly a thought provoking beer!

 

Good afternoon NBW
I've taken today off for a four day weekend and I intend to drink a few beers in the process. I purchased this one recently, and today was the day.

Ola Dubh Special Reserve 12
11.2oz bottle #03584 July 2020 (3 years old) purchased recently at room temp, but the oxygen absorbing cap looks to have done it's job. It's poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp and the label states 8% ABV. The beer pours dense very dark brown with light brown head. The head recedes to an uneven cap about a 1/16" average. The aroma is mild to moderate in strength and brings chocolate, leather, dark fruit and earthy notes. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with with immediate and lingering peat. As you acclimate to the peat, dark fruit, cocoa, tobacco, seaweed, leather, and single malt barrel appear. Mild to moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less that average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, complex and enjoyable with every taste a bit different. Excellent stout (if you enjoy peat).

I'll probably purchase the rest of the series when I get back to Cincinnati. Haven't seen anything from Harviestoun around here in years. I've got several more new beers in the fridge and not a lot of plans, so I'll be back. Cheers all!

 

Thanks, Mike! This one just made my list.

 

If you made it up Lincoln Gap without getting off your bike you are a god.

 

Speaking of marketing (notwithstanding the points @ESHBG alresdy brought up), both the GF and I laughingly said, "What the f***?" when we read the name of the beer. In fact, right now my brain has the weekend truck rally commercial voice-over guy growling the beer name with an emphasis on "max"