New Beer Weekend #164

Thanks for that input!

If I am ever at a brewery's taproom and they have a beer which indicates it was brewed using Phantasm I will request a sample taste/pour and if the beer tastes OK I will follow up with an order for a draft pint. I am leery about purchasing a 6-pack of a beer that was brewed using Phantasm. To leverage your post, I too view this as a "gimmick" at this point in time. I recognize that breweries are constantly looking for 'stuff' to differentiate themselves (e.g., the DDH/TDH "gimmick" of a couple/few years ago) but just because there is a new 'twist' does not necessarily mean there is a genuine improvement.

Cheers!

P.S. I use my basement as my fermentation room and the aromas down there now, from my fermenting batch of Citra/Mosaic IPA, is glorious. I will be dry hoping in a few days to 'replenish' those aromas.

 

Well, bright malt autocorrected to breast malt. Could be worse I suppose

 

Oh man, the first day in over 3 months that it is actually, almost kind of nice out ha. Went out to the courtyard to read for a while until the sun got too high. It was in the upper 70's earlier and beautiful out then, but now back to the mid/upper 90's. Which still isn't nearly as bad as it has been. Anyway the pupper and I got some nice courtyard time and long walks in this morning.

New beer for me this late morning/early afternoon.

Tucher Helles Lager, 5.2% ABV.



Pours a crystal clear golden/yellow color. A dense white head forms with retention and lacing for days. This is a looker.
Not particularly aromatic, though that has never been the strong suit for the style anyway. The requisite baked bread, slightly grain like, and malty aromas are there. Which works for me.
Taste wise, oh yeah, big baked bread flavors. Like fresh baked good white bread. . A bit of honey like flavors. There is some light esters that become grape like, with just enough grassy hops to be noticeable. This is really well done and balanced.
A light to medium body. Crisp carbonation at first. Though that becomes ultra smooth after this breaths. Beautifully clean and finishes dry. Which all leads to this being incredibly moreish, and downed in big gulps.

A spot on example of the style. As I would expect. Tucker has become one of my favorite German breweries I can get off the shelf lately. Highly recommended.

Overall score is 4.27, easy A
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/129/454877/?ba=champ103#lists

My pupper Moe. Doesn't know if he wants to roll around on the ground or chase squirrels ha.

 

I went on a long run yesterday from Minneapolis to NE Wisconsin and then back to Minneapolis.Stopped at 4 brewery taprooms and two bars.

Last stop was at Minocqua Brewing Company store (taproom but no tap beer). Yes the place was open. I had a 16oz can of School House Bock. Bought a mixed 4 pack of there beers. And I'm a drinking the bock now

My review:
Look: light amber/dark gold body. Off white head that persist a little while laving a some lacing.
Smell: sweet malt, grain, bread
Taste, bread, grain, a little caramel. Slightly sweet over all but does have bitter elements. A hint of noble hop type flavor towards the finish. No off flavors, tastes fresh. Light duty flavor wise but not bad.

Plenty of carbonation that slows releases from the bottom of the mug. Not really thick or thin.

Not a bad beer at all. But is this really a bock?
This beer is canned in support of Wisconsin public schools and against private school vouchers. Pure political beer.
" This Bock beer is one for the books"
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/791/670300/
https://untappd.com/b/minocqua-brewing-company-school-house-bock/5512536

Kirk (the owner) was not there. But I talked some politics and other adult topics with the people. I fully disclosed that I'm not a liberal. but support political beer. I stated AOC is not my favorite. One lady stated AOC was her favorite and why. I bought a single of AOC IPA for home too. There was no arguing and it was very calm and level headed.
But one guy was driving by in a red Hemi Doge Ram yelled out his window " leave town".
I see Kirk might move to Madison?????
Glad I stopped.

 

Well, my palate and yours are very different and I come from the wine trade. Herbaceous is not a word I could ever use to generally describe NZ SB.

 

Agreed!

Cheers!

 

Thanks Jennifer!! Vermont beer in Texas.

 

I'm having a sour Sunday and for my new brews today I had a couple good Bruery ones:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40927/431432/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/670345/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



Just watching the Bengals play like crap, but there's still plenty of time left in the season. Cheers and have a great week everyone!

 

Today’s new to me beer comes courtesy of @Rouger - Bright with Simcoe & Amarillo, by Tree House:

Canned 7/20/23. Three fingers of fluffy white foam; deep gold with good clarity; long lasting cap retention; lots of soapy lace; heavy ring. Grapefruit and pine nose; a little cat pissy as beer warmed. Earthy grapefruit; flowery lemon; pine; very light lemon peel bitterness. Medium light body, moderate minus carbonation; no hop astringency. Overall a light easy drinking IPA with a long earthy hop linger.

4.5 | 3.75 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25
Score: 4.15 rDev -2.6%

A tasty beer that I would gladly drink again. Thanks Andrew!

 

Today I have Cremo Dark Ale from Alvarium Beer Co. out of New Britain CT.
I had this on draft at the brewery Wednesday and was so happy with it I left with a 4-pack.
Great story on this beer and a lager that Alvarium sells. Cremo is a brewery that existed from 1905 to 1955. After Prohibition they built quite a large brick brewery just a few blocks from where Alvarium is today. They obtained rights and reproduced two of the old brewery's beers as a tribute to their town.

4.1/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Purchased cold at the brewery and refrigerated at home.
Poured from a 16oz stamped 07-25-23 BATCH 1000 to a Nonic glass at fridge temp.
The body is extremely dark brown and that color is mostly visible during the pour. Once in the glass it looks black with a hint of red brown at the bottom due to the way the glass manipulates the light. A 2-finger multi-sized bubble, tan head sits on top. Lacing is strong.
A sniff brings a malty caramel smell, brown bread, plum jam.
The taste is of course malty but it is somehow both dry and sweet. The dry definitely takes over at the end with a nice chalky, earthy note.
The mouthfeel quite light which probably keeps this from being called a porter.
I enjoyed this beer and wish I had purchased more.

 

A favorite in this house.
What are your thoughts?
And, Thanks Hank
Cheers

 

Love your post and feel the same one, really cool on Alvarium...I shared this story when I had both Cremo and Cremo Dark but wanted to repost for you. After drinking these with my Uncle in Farmington, CT I arrived back home in NJ and got a text "here's a little history lesson for you nephew..." He sent me a picture of a newspaper article hanging at their office in Farmington...My grampy's (RIP) destruction company, now run by my uncle, were the ones that took down the old Cremo Brewery. If you click the and zoom in its some interesting reading too, cheers to beer history. The guy pictured isn't a family member but a long time worker of theirs.

 

Good afternoon NBW
I picked up this single in northern Indiana a few weeks ago and wish I would have bought more.

Oddside Bourbon Maple Wishes & Pecan Dreams

12oz can MFG 11/07/22 poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at fridge temp 12% ABV per label. The beer pours opaque dark brown with medium brown colored head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves streaks of lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring sweet bourbon barrel and mild nuttiness. Not sure I can single out maple or pecan. The taste is more of the same. Sweet maple syrup, then strong bourbon fades to candied nuts and oak. Near perfect sweet and drying balance. Moderate bitterness is there but comes across subtle as it pairs with the sweet. Mouthfeel is full bodied with just less that average carbonation and a semi dry finish. There's a touch of bourbon / ethanol heat, but I wouldn't guess this glass 12% without the label. Overall, excellent.

I'm out for this weekend. Mrs. Jkblr and I are on the road next weekend, so that may mean good beer or it may mean no beer... Cheers all!

 

For some reason I can't zoom that picture. The posts above a below it zoom fine. ????

Pretty cool connection added to an already great story about this beer and the old brewery it represents.

 

Copper Legend, an Oktoberfest brewed by Jack’s Abby craft lagers. This. Brew pours a copper color with a small white head. The aroma is strong of malt (Pilsner, Vienna and Munich malt are used.). The taste is like the aroma, malt. This beer is a malt bomb but there is enough of a hop presence to keep it from being overly sweet. Very full mouthfeel and an off dry lasting finish. An excellent Oktoberfest in my opinion. This beer was poured from a can with a bottling date of 09/03/23, can’t see how it was in a store in NJ 2 days ago.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. A few weeks ago, my brother-in-law, who lives in Western Michigan, gifted me some local beers, one of which is Dauntless, a Märzen made by North Peak Brewing Company. The can says it was brewed and packaged in Detroit. While I had high hopes for it, I found it somewhat bitter and one-dimensional.

It pours a cloudy, honey-copper color with a full finger of foamy eggshell colored head and lacing. It's highly effervescent. It smells of biscuit, caramel, and roasted nuts. The taste balances fairly sweet, caramel malt against surprisingly bitter, earthy, nutty char. It's dryer and not as bready as I expected. I have to say the flavor is a bit harsh. It's moderate in body and well-carbonated, and the 5.8% ABV is totally appropriate.

3.65/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

I was drinking fresh cans of Ramstein Oktoberfest yesterday and Dauntless doesn't compare well. On to the next! Cheers!

 

Hopefully this worked…





I love all the old New England cities, sort of reminds me of all the old PA ones too, just rich with industrial history and architecture.

 

Another new-to-me Michigan beer: First Curve, West Coast Style IPA from Ludington Bay Brewing Co., in Ludington, Michigan. It's fairly old (canned on 4/12/2023) but has held up pretty well. It's of the malty, bitter variety without a strong citrus presence. Maybe due to its age the Huell Melon hop influence is minimal; the Citra and Centennial dominate. I'd like to try this one fresh but have no complaints.

It pours a hazy, bright yellow-orange color with a half finger, creamy, milk-white cap and soapy film of lacing. The smell is big, sticky, tangerine/orange, sweet malt, and pine needles. The taste offers the balance of sweet, caramel malt, orange and lemon peel, grapefruit rind, and strong pine sap. It has a nice, creamy mouth feel and it drinks easily at 6.8% ABV.

3.94/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

That's it for reviews of new beers today. I'm going to enjoy some other favorites. Have a great week, everyone!

 

Severance Super Super Fance BBA Imperial Pilsner, 9.1% ABV. Pours clearish medium-brown with a slight ring of white foam that left no lacing. Nose is bourbon and sweet malt. Taste follows, plus slight toffee, slight bourbon burn, slightly sweet, faintly bitter. Decent mouthfeel, slightly dry. Overall excellent. An unusual beer.

3.91/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Cheeseburger soup in the crock and watching the Packers.

 

As a college football fan with no rooting interest in Iowa, I enjoyed the Iowa-Iowa State game yesterday. The first couple weeks of the season have too many silly, cupcake games. This game meant a lot to a lot of people even if the schools are in different conferences. It was my second favorite game of the day - after Texas-Bama. Cheers!