New Beer Weekend #163

Interesting.

From the BJCP style guidelines:

Baltic Porter

“Overall Impression: A strong, dark, malty beer with different interpretations within the Baltic region. Smooth, warming, and richly malty, with complex dark fruit flavors and a roasted flavor without burnt notes.”

“Flavor: As with aroma, has a rich maltiness with a complex blend of deep malt, dried fruit esters, and alcohol. The malt can have a caramel, toffee, nutty, molasses, or licorice complexity. Prominent yet smooth Schwarzbier-like roasted flavor that stops short of burnt. Light hints of black currants and dark dried fruits. Smooth palate and full finish. Starts malty-sweet but darker malt flavors quickly dominate and persist through the dryish finish, leaving a hint of roast coffee or licorice and dried fruit in the aftertaste. Medium-low to medium bitterness, just to provide balance and prevent it from seeming cloying.”

Czech Dark Lager

“Overall Impression: A rich, dark, malty Czech lager with a roast character that can vary from almost absent to quite prominent. Malty balance and an interesting and complex flavor profile, with variable levels of hopping that provides a range of possible interpretations.”

“Flavor: Medium to medium-high deep, complex maltiness dominates, typically with malty-rich Maillard products and a light to moderate residual malt sweetness. Malt flavors such as caramel, toast, nuts, licorice, dried dark fruit, chocolate, or coffee may also be present, with very low to moderate roast character. Low to moderate spicy hop flavor. Moderate to medium-low bitterness, but should be perceptible. Balance can vary from malty to relatively well-balanced to gently hop[1]forward. Low to moderate diacetyl and light plum or berry esters may be present.”

Well, from my drinking experiences I have often (the vast majority of the time) picked up dark dried fruit in Baltic Porters while in contrast I have yet to pick up dark dried fruit flavors in Czech Dark Lagers (I had quite a few brands of Czech Dark Lager during my visit to the Czech Republic in 2019).

Time to do more drinking and get further drinking experiences.

Na Zdravi

 

My favorite beer style. Can't get enough of them. Hill Farmstead, Fox Farm, Suarez, SARA & Keeping Together. If I had nothing but saisons from those five breweries for the rest of my life, I'd still be a happy beer nerd.

Jack, you're outside Philly, right? I may have to beg you to put a bottle or two aside for me if you're willing to share once it's ready. I'm down in the Main Line area reasonably frequently and given that I think you typically tag somebody from King of Prussia in your NBW posts, I'm guessing you aren't crazy far away.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass canned on 8/4/23. Pours a very attractive hazy yellow with a two finger sticky white head that leaves massive patches of lace, with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma is peach, mango, passionfruit, tangerine, cantaloupe, and apricot. 4.5

Taste follows peach, mango, passionfruit, tangerine, cantaloupe, apricot, and grapefruit in the bold lingering finish. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, that insane soft Tree House amount of carbonation, not sticky or dry, and 8.3% huge flavor, but still very approachable. 5

Overall they did what the always do and made another insane NEDIPA. Yes you want to try this one. 4.5

 

Just missed the Friday kick off by @NorsemanOne , but still may sneak in my four planned beers over the remaining three days provided by a great Beer Advocate, @Ocalafox who is on vacation somewhere. Going to kick off Labour Day weekend with my first official tick from Rhode Island, leaving seven remaining states to go, grouped by Collegiate Sports Conferences to mark the kickoff of another year / season.

• Big Ten Conference: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
• Big Sky Conference: University of Idaho
• Southeastern Conference: University of Alabama, University of Arkansas & Ole Miss
• Summit League: University of North Dakota & University of South Dakota

Grey Sail Captain's Daughter



Can Notes: Obtained via Beer Advocate trade with Vann @Ocalafox via second box received July 8, 2023, refrigerated thereafter until this morning. 16 oz canned 5/18/23. Grey Sail Brewing of Rhode Island, 63 Canal Street, Westerly, Rhode Island.. Double IPA, 8.5% ABV.

You can't help but be tempted by our Captain's Daughter. Her full body. Her exotic bouquet. Brewed with Mosaic hops, her allure is as fresh as it is intriguing. Yet she commands respect. Try to take advantage of her and she'll put you in your place. We raised our daughter well! Cheers, Jen and Alan.

Appearance: Aggressive initial pour followed by a slow pour of half the can into a nucleated tulip glass. Creamy rich off-white generous, long lasting, very creamy with substantial soapy lacing after receding several minutes later, a black cow creamy rich layer obliterating any sign of the cover of the base which is a clear tan, golden orange yielding mild carbonation. 4.75

Aroma: Light to mild in strength, a nice tropical fruit with pineapple, citrus and peach the primary fruit hop medley. Getting some warm white bread/biscuits as well, in proper measure. 4.25

Taste: Somewhat consistent with the aroma, but nice that I'm getting a strong pine flavor leading the way, backed by citrus and then the pineapple with the peaches still left on the tree. Glad the malt took a back seat where it belongs, sometimes a bit much for me when the ABV nears or exceeds 10, but not the case here. Very nice. 4.75

Mouthfeel: Significantly dry and bitter, the way I like this style. Old school approach, alcohol strength felt instantly like Mike Tyson bolting at you at the opening bell of round one. The flavor and taste makes you want to gulp, but best to savor and enjoy. Carbonation present but soft as a pillow to complement a creamy rich medium to full body.. Nice pine and bitterness lingers in the finish. 4.75

Overall: I had high expectations coming in for this beer based on the quality of BA's who drink this on a regular occasions. I can clearly see why. This beer is old school, Mosaic hops a bit masked aroma wise, and it could be with the 3 1/2 months on the can, but the taste is loud and clear, just tremendous old school vibes hitting all my high notes on the feel. I will most certainly visit this brewery and scarf up these cans and others if I have the pleasure of returning to Rhode Island. Thank you so much Vann! You are truly awesome, even more so than this legendary IPA! 4.75

 

Starting to heat up. Glad I walked the dogs early.
My new beer for today is Party Persona, an IPA from La Cumbre in Albuquerque. ABV is 7.2%.
The beer is a clear gold color with a small white head. Scant lace.
Aroma of citrus, pine, sweet malt.
Grapefruit taste, plenty of pine, graham cracker.
Nicely hopped, good example of a west coast IPA.

 

Cheers to that!

 

Other Half, 11 Pounders NEIPA, 5.8% - Cheers!



The regular IPA version of Mylar Bags - love a NEIPA that has a west-coast pop!

-Look: beautiful hazy deep yellow, fine thick head.
-Aroma: OK, I said Wow, so it smells awesome! A soft hop-punch in the nose.
-Taste: deep tropical-fruit flavors and mild grapefruit hops, delicious!
-Feel: soft juice, mild astringency, powdery and thin to medium.
-Overall: this is worth seeking out, I'm impressed!

-This is 3-weeks old, that might make a difference.

 

I can't speak broadly, just observations based on experience, but I have a pretty broad experience with the Tokyo area craft beer scene

- The smaller and more local a place is, the less likely there is to be any English at all. They're also not very likely to can or bottle anything, similar to such places in the US.
- Many bigger/well known places have some kind of an American connection (founded/run by Americans living in Japan, relationships with American breweries, something similar). If they package, they often have some or mostly English on labels and menus and whatnot. Sometimes they seem to go more toward primarily Japanese, possibly to make themselves seem more local.
- The bigger/well known places that *don't* seem to have any kind of American connection do seem to be primarily Japanese on labels
- Many (but not all) medium-to-bigger craft breweries seem to identify themselves with the American craft beer scene, my impression is that it makes them seem "cool" to locals and approachable to foreigners -- so you'll see lots of stuff in English.

In general, any place (bar, restaurant, store, brewery...) in Tokyo where they expect tourist business seems to have a lot of stuff in both English and Japanese.

Devilcraft in particular seems to be very American focused. I don't know if they have a closer tie than "Let's be flagrantly Americanized." Their bar was decorated with tons of US brewery paraphernalia, stuff written on the wall from American brewers, etc. Menu items were mostly American type food, like the deep dish pizza I had.

Not as strange as PDX, the specifically Portland, OR themed bar in Tokyo.

 

Tired Hands, Alien Church NEIPA, 7% - Cheers!



-Look: nice hazy deep yellow, clumpy cap that falls fast.
-Aroma: green hops and soft malts.
-Taste: love the soft, heady hops, yet balanced.
-Feel: watch me make this disappear. Ta Da!
-Overall: solid, delicious, mmm. Yes, indeed.

 

Started my New Beer Weekend and Stouturday with a couple good brews:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63016/639718/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/396/255963/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



Should have one more new beer today. Cheers everyone!

 

Good afternoon NBW
I bought the SA mixed pack when it went on sale. Trying this one first.


12oz bottle notched enjoy before Jan poured into a perfect pint glass at fridge temp 4.8% ABV 30 IBU. The beer pours bright light gold in color with nearly white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and partial covering. The aroma is bright with orange, lemon & lime zest. The taste is bittersweet light candied orange with more of the citrus zest. The mouthfeel is thin bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, good, if one note, hoppy lager.

Cheers all!

 

Happy Labor Day weekend all! It was nice catching up on what every has had thus far. I'll be trying to keep my reviews and posts a bit shorter this weekend so that I can spend more time enjoying the time off and less making typos on my phone.

Today we have Jack's Abby Post Shift, a 4.7% Bavarian Pilsner. As I mention in the wrap-up, this one is borderline for me on the amount of hop bitterness, and will likely be a miss going forward as there are so many less bitter pale lager options out there.


Pours a dark straw yellow with a two-finger white head that leaves a coating.

Classic pilsner aromas of white bread and cracker along with hints of herbal notes and lemon zest to start. It takes a few minutes of warming to bring out more citrus notes.

At the start of the sip, I'm hit by quite a lot of hop bitterness that then mellows and blends with white bread, biscuit, cracker, and slight honey in the middle. At the end, the bitterness comes to the fore again, building through the finish and aftertaste.

Light-bodied with medium carb and a smooth feel.

Overall, this is a nice rendition of a German-style Pilsner and I can see why so many like the style and this beer in particular. For me, the style has too much bitterness; I'd much rather get similar flavors and feel from a less-bitter landbier or festbier.

 

Another Saison, because, well, it's just that kind of day. This one is Beauty Sleep from Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, sent my way by @Dimidiata

4.34/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
B3. Beautiful deep red that glows brilliantly when held up to the light. Loads of visible carbonation result in a persistent, self-regenerating quarter-inch head with a pinkish hue. While this is a very nice looking beer, the aroma one-ups it. Very raspberry forward with just a little bit of funk. It's not the most complex aroma, but boy is it enticing.

The raspberry isn't quite as pronounced on the tongue (but still clearly present), while the earthy funk is more clear than on the nose. Very light and lively, and very, very tasty.

@ovaltine I think of you every time I drink a raspberry beer. This is another one you would love.

 

I still have a couple of raspberry beers you sent me a couple of years ago. I need to take action on those beers!

 

Here's the last of my new beers today, should have some more for tomorrow:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33530/669160/?ba=bluejacket74#lists




Cheers everyone!