New Beer Weekend #171

Greetings, fellow NBWers,

It's 35° and sunny here in Spokanistan. Wednesday saw a little under an inch of snowfall, though It ultimately mostly melted by the end of the day. Still, it was enough to send everyone into a panic that was behind the wheel of a car, and was generally distressing when you consider that many of the leaves are still on the trees here, and that we were still smarting from an abruptly early winter last year. Spokane's weather in general is fairly unpredictable, but I honestly don't remember winter weather kicking in this early here before.

Anyway, I'm saluting the impending end of fresh Hop season (yes, in terms of actual brewing, it's already over with, but there's still a decent amount of product out there waiting to be consumed) by drinking an offering from Matchless Brewing, in Tumwater, Washington, home of the now defunct brand that was known as Olympia:


https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47868/512218/?ba=woemad#lists
I suppose this could be classified as an IPL or maybe even a cold IPA, but it's kind of bland, either way. It was canned on September 18th, which doesn't make it particularly old, but it's definitely not as fresh as it was then. Perhaps it has decayed in its time in the can, or perhaps it was just not that much of a beer in the first place. Sadly, while the Hop character isn't terribly strong, it's also not particularly crisp in the mouth field department. In any event, I'm not sure I'll be hitting another new beer this weekend, so if I'm not back with another, y'all have a great week.

 

Yet another gift from @TCgenny. This is All Citra Super Fresh To Death from Aurora Brewing Co.

3.82/5 rDev -11%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 16-oz can stamped 08/29/23 to a Nonic at fridge temp.
Body is opaque hazy and medium to deep gold in color, A puffy white rocky mountain head sits above and laces well throughout the session.
The aroma is sweet orange.
The taste is also like sweetened orange juice. One of the sweeter NEIPAs I have had. Despite being 8.5% the alcohol is barely perceptible. Every now and then there is a little hop bite on the finish, but this is not consistent for some reason.
The mouthfeel is in the middle for the style and carbonation also seems right in the middle.
A pretty good beer, even at around 60-days in the can.

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

I do have to take it somewhat easy, since I've got to work tomorrow, so quantity won't be a lot today, but hopefully quality will.


BA Cinnamon Coffee Dreams - Lupulin Brewing - Big Lake MN/Sioux Falls, SD - Imperial Stout - 12.6% ABV

Since it's cold outside, a bigger beer is in order. I picked this up a couple of weeks back when I met up with @cheeseheadinMinneapolis at the brewery.

This beer sounded very interesting to me, and a 12oz bottle really sounded perfect to me. I am happy breweries can now sell this size bottle here in Minnesota, because the 750ml is just too big for just myself.

I am really digging this beer. The flavors, which might not seem to work on paper, really work great in practice. The coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla are all working in unison to create a great beer.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40035/645239/


4.39/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
From a 12oz bottle purchased at the brewery.

I had this beer in my fridge, and let it sit out for awhile to warm up. There's a nice jet of smoke upon opening the bottle. Pitch black in color. There's no chance any light will come through this beer. I did a pretty aggressive pour, but all I got was a 1/2 finger tan head. The head just evaporated into nothing rapidly, and no lacing on the glass.
I did get a faint hint of cinnamon as I poured this beer. Up close and personal I get a nice mix of cinnamon and coffee. I wasn't sure how those aromas would work together, but they work great together. Those main aromas are backed up by some vanilla.
The flavors really are pleasing, to say the least, and they all work together in unison. The coffee seems to start me off and the cinnamon is right behind. The vanilla comes last, but the other flavors are in the mix as well. I also get notes of oak in the mix as well, though, being barrel aged, this is to be expected.
This beer may be a bit thin, but not watery at all. Nice and smooth body. The cinnamon provides a touch of heat, as does the alcohol content. Both tell you to sip it.
This is a damn good overall beer. I am amazed how it came together, and is recommended.


I think this will be my only new beer today, though I may be posting one more beer in WBAYDN. See you tomorrow for another new beer.

 

Weihenstephaner
...cloudy light amber appearance with a thick,tall,lasting head
...medium light carbonation with about a medium body, maybe a hair thin.
...aroma is not overwhelming but theres clove,banana, banana bread, sugary and floral.
...taste doesn't stray too far from the aroma. Has a bitter citrus peel and seed taste thats a little distracting.
....overall its like a hefe light.good for an afternoon tease but won't hold up later when I want something with more substance

 

Hoppin' Frog - Extended Barrel Aged BORIS the Crusher
Beer #4,000 on BeerAdvocate, though only 3,950 of those are reviews. Incidentally, and completely randomly, it's also check-in #4,000 on Untappd.

22oz bottle served in a little Hoppin' Frog tulip-esque glass, both provided by @Ozzylizard in NBS BIF #17. I don't see a date on the bottle, but I'm probably just unobservant.

Pours tarry black with a thin, dark tan ring of head that emerges after it's been in the glass for a little while. Smell is brownies and coffee, some boozy bourbon-ness, a little vanilla.

Taste is chocolate first, a little creamy, booze and char come through pretty clearly, vanilla is still there as kind of an undertone. Coffee is less noticeable, but there.

Mouthfeel is thick, chewy, still. Overall, very nice beer, very noticeable barrel, and surprisingly "low" alcohol. It's probably a bit too cold right now, but this is gonna take me probably 1.5-2 hours to finish.

 

Thank you @AzfromOz for opening the weekend early, which always helps with folks itching to go but tentative in terms of opening the tasting celebration.

This weekend I'm celebrating two from Notch. Having been impressed with "Their Standard", have looked forward to my remaining two brewed appropriately in Salem for this Halloween weekend.

Notch Lost In The Dream



Can Notes: Provided via trade with Adam BA @Qu3st on 8/19, refrigerated until opening this afternoon. 16 oz born on 7/20/23 @ 12:17 PM, best by 11/20/23, can stamp #LAGERISLIFE.

Helles Rauchbier, 4.5% ABV, 12 Plato. Bamberg Rauchmalz, naturally carbonated, lagered forever. Brewed and canned by Notch Brewing Company, Salem, Massachusetts.

Appearance: Slow poured about 10 ounces to start into a nonic glass. Near clear golden straw base, medium sustained carbonation, creamy white head yields soapy lacing and a creamy full cover over the base. 4.0

Aroma: Medium strength smokey malt leads, camp wood fire, faint meat/sausage vibes. Smells like floating smoke from a fire, pleasant for me. 4.25

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, nice smokey Beachwood fire smoke malt, getting grainy white to wheat bread the backbone. getting light tobacco notes. Mild taste strength, may have waited too long to crack open. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Light crisp clean drinking, drinks at the ABV. Lightly dry, smoke malt plus hop presence contains the sweetness well. Barely felt carbonation, watery light to medium body, pleasant smoke finish. 4.0

Overall: This is a nice an easy Rauchbier. Smoke lighter and less complex than other versions, but the sustained focus of the Beachwood smoked malt is very pleasant and brings me back to days of camping and enjoying the fire. Well done Notch, definitely a pick up for if I had access. Drinks fresh despite my delay to get to this beer, would revisit this review if a fresher pour yielded different results. 4.0

 

Single hill brewing

Energy Cone!

Fresh IPA – Q: Are we not fresh hops? A: We are

Energy Cone!

Featuring fresh, wet, Citra from Sauve and Son Farms & Loza Farms, Cashmere from Cornerstone Ranches; with Fresh AF Pellets of Cornerstone Cashmere, Loza Farms Citra, and CLS Farms Zappa Limited release fresh hop series 2023 made exclusively with hops from the 2023


4.02/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

ENERGY CONE !

6.4% ABV 40 IBU


Can received by the overly generous @snaotheus

Chilled 16 ounce cans poured into a pretentious beer glass results into a hazy, yellow orange liquid, capped by a three finger white foam settles to a solid white layer with only a few lacings

Aroma is citrus orange, pine, and a whiff of dank

Taste is pine, dank, and a hint of orange citrus

Sudsy mouthfeel , hop kiss

Good beer

fwiw- it has been absolutely gorgeous in Boston . Today was high 70’s , officiated two soccer matches but managed to watch the clamduggers at sunrise today

 

Covert Artisan Fort Isak BBA Imperial Stout, 13.8% ABV. Pours black with a ring of bubbles. Nose is maple, coffee and bourbon. Taste is strong maple, coffee, and strong bourbon, moderately sweet and bourbon burn. Decent mouthfeel, overall outstanding. Too boozy can be a negative, but I forgive them since it's Blanton's. Isak recommended this beer.

4.43/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Isak is the manager of the store that provided the barrel and he was unaware that the brewery was naming it after him until the cans were delivered.

 

"Overly generous?" Ha! You sneaky tab-payer!

 

What!!!

Step out of the country and say that to my face you !!!

 

Some are winners, some are not.

3.12/5 rDev -20.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Poured from a 16-oz can with a smudged date that I believe to be 09/29/23, to a Nonic at fridge temp.
Body is opaque hazy and medium gold in color, A smooth white head of tiny bubbles sits above. Lacing on tilt is almost 100% coverage.
The aroma is pretty strong on the onion spectrum. I’m not a brewing expert so I Googled it, see italics text after review.
The taste is fine though. A little musty, but there is citrus and stone fruit.
The mouthfeel is in the middle for the style and carbonation is a little high.
Drinkable if you can get past the smell.

Onion or Dimethyl Trisulphide (DMTS) is one of the sulphur flavours that occur as part of the brewing process in beer. It can be produced by sulphur-containing amino acids during wort boiling and from the oxidisation of Methanethiol.

 

Enjoying a new to me BCBS variant, this one aged in WLLT barrels, i am long overdue getting into this.

Beer poured black as night with a nice tan head with the original pour. 4.0

Nose is very nice, fresh spirits rise up and commingle nicely with roasted malts, vanilla, and notes of chocolate. 4.5

Taste is amazing as the large malt base takes more than an angel's share of the fresh spirit barrels which lend notes of vanilla and leather. Malt base gives dark chocolate and a touch of roastiness. Finishes very balanced with each sip being a pleasure. 4.75

Mouthfeel is large bodied with each sip being very smooth. 4.5

Overall totally dig the small format and the freshest barrels used in a few years. Look forward to my last bottle! 4.5 (Overall score =4.57)



@DIM i suspect my beer of the day will be more pleasurable, look forward to your review. Cheers!
Tom

 

I'm here with...this... today because I lost a bet with @CarolinaCardinals on the outcome of the nlcs. Let's just get this over with. I will not sully a glass with this, a commemorative cup from when we took the kids to see a kids performance of Frozen seems more appropriate.



Untappd calls this malt liquor. It is incredibly, diabetes inducingly sweet. Sugar and artificial sweetener both plus a really weird and off putting artificial "berry" flavor. It's awful and I'm not going to finish it. That was not part of the agreement, Tom! Congrats again on your Diamondbacks victory hope they take game two tonight.

Today has been a great day and I'll be back later with something to celebrate with. My baseball team was down 8-3 and 9-5 in the last two innings and we came back to walk it off. I knocked in three runs in two at bats the last two innings including the tying runs. Best baseball experience by far.

 

Forged Irish Stout showed up everywhere in Brooklyn in the last few weeks. Since I'm not a big dry stout fan, I only got a single to try it out. Smooth, creamy, and light, it reminded me more of draft Guinness in Dublin airport while waiting for a transfer, rather than nitro cans or pour here in NYC. Now I want another one.

 

My beer tonight will also be a dry Irish nitro stout…not forged but one that is new to me and I hadn’t seen before.

 

@DIM Dan, congrats on your baseball glory! May the Diamondbacks follow your team's path!
Oof, yea Blue Slushie looks brutal, break out the insulin shots! Thanks for being the great sport you are! May your next real beer be epic!
Cheers!
Tom

 

Next couple stouts were Great Lakes Cookie Exchange Milk Stout:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/73/675427/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



And Mortalis/Prison City Whams Above Whams Below Imperial Stout:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/52338/549454/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



Cheers!