New Beer Weekend #180

Good morning and Happy New Year!

Today’s new to me beer is BCB Angel’s Envy, an imperial stout aged 1 year in Bourbon barrels then another year in ruby port wine barrels:



Fast fizzy dark tan head disappeared immediately leaving no cap retention, no island, no ring nor lace; no legs on swirl; black with ruby edges. Port wine nose with bourbon in background; dark fruit and oak; boozy exhale. Red wine entry; bourbon, oak, dark chocolate; some caramel and more dark chocolate as beer warms; dark fruit almost jammy raspberry/cherry finish. Medium light body, almost silky smooth feel; not adjuncty; light carbonation; full mouth warmth (15.5% abv) with bite on tip of tongue; tannic; dry wooden barrel finish. Overall, there are layers of base and barrel flavors, but the red wine flavors (while nice) overpower the whole; thin for abv (dangerous) and easy drinking.

3.75 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.0 | 4.25
Score: 4.2 rDev - 5.6%

I would definitely drink again, but the high price would stop me from buying more. The OG, again this year, is imo much better than the variants. Cheers and have a great New Year!

 

Reviewed this one last night,
just before my neighbors came over and kidnapped me before I could post this!
Since it's still the weekend, I'm putting this right here!!
Cheers!!!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1805/684896/



16 ounce can.
Canned on 12/19/23.

Moderate to vigorous pour yields 1/8 inch tan head over a near black body with no lacing.

Nose of chocolate, peanut butter, and slight roasted malt.

Taste has peanut butter and milk chocolate flavors with a finish of bitter chocolate and slight peanuts..

Mouthfeel is pretty good with not quite medium carbonation.

Overall, tasty and sweet, but not too sweet, and worth a try!

Cheers!!

 

Here's the newest offering from Mt. Holly Beer Co.,
contract brewed at Rutland Beer Works, Rutland, VT.
Tropical Green Stand!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/60182/684960/





16 ounce can.
Canned on 12/19/23.

Moderate to vigorous pour yields a 1.5 inch white head over a hazy golden body with super sticky lacing.

Nose of tropical fruit, citrus, and a hint of dank.

Taste is mainly tropical smoothness with a bit of citrus bitterness thrown in the mix.
Finishes dry with citrus peel/pith and a touch of sauvignon blanc grape.

Soft and full mouthfeel with medium carbonation.

Overall, a quite tasty, crushable offering from these guys. I've yet to have a bad beer from them, as all are very good and shouldn't be overlooked!!

Cheers!!!

 

Black Tuesday 2016
20.3% Stout by The Bruery

Thanks to @2beerdogs for this monster.

Poured from bottle, the body is black with little head and lacing.

Aroma is a boozy delight. Sweet bourbon with notes of dark fruits, oak, caramel, and vanilla.

Taste thankfully follows nose as the booze is front and center. Despite this bourbon bring featured, it's never too hot despite the huge ABV. The booze is never hidden, but I would not had guessed anything near 20%. As it warms. a flavor arises that reminds me a bit of flat Coca Cola. Perhaps a wee bit of coconut.

Mouthfeel is good, soft and pleasing, with just enough carbonation.

A very enjoyable stout that was still vibrant and powerful after aging for 7 years.

 

Happy New Year everyone!
So I gave a heads up for the new beer I was going to drink at the bonfire last night and I did; as well as a few others.

The F—- from Transient was the first and it was quite a bit sweeter than I expected. A sweet milk stout (cream stout!) aged in Blis BBA Maple Syrup barrels just made it sweeter, almost too sweet. Lots of maple syrup taste and what seemed like brown sugar (I did mention sweet, right?) with no roasted malt or hops edge to cut the sweetness. Good thing I shared it, not sure if drinking the whole thing would be a good idea. But it was a great start.
The next new one was Whiskey Barrel Stout from Boulevard- it had the requisite stout flavors and a nice light whisky touch. It felt a little thin after the first beer but not too thin, and the head was less impressive than the first one too. But for the price these go for, it is a nice beer.
The last new beer I had isn’t pictured, but it was a stove pipe can of a beer named Ravens Beak which was a very good imperial stout from a brewery in California, or so I was told. The only no BA beer we had and it punched above its weight- good pour with respectable head and lacing, black coffee and dark chocolate with plum and raisins with the roast edge that contains it all with a deft touch.
Nice mouth feel as well, it was a pleasant surprise.
Oh, and the fire-

Cheers all!

 

Good afternoon NBW
I've been trying to stop keeping beers in the fridge endlessly not being able to find the right occasion to review. Here's a beer I bought at least 4-5 years ago and never opened. It's been in my 55F beer fridge for all that time. I've purchased and reviewed variants, but never the OG. I've got an empty house for an hour and I'm not working, so here goes...

DFH World Wide Stout

12oz bottled 04/11/18 poured into a DFH signature tulip glass at 55F, no ABV indicated on bottle. The beer pours dense pitch black with no light penetration and medium brown colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island. Minimal lacing. The aroma is moderate in intensity featuring boozey chocolate fudge brownie, slight red berry and ashy bitterness. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with that follows the aroma. Dark chocolate, red berries, coffee, tobacco and ash can all be found. Strongly bitter. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less that average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. The high ABV makes itself known in each facet of the experience, not off-putting, just reminding you what you're experiencing. Overall, very good to excellent.

Cheers all and best wishes for a great 2024!

 

Leikam - Major Pom. First beer (new or not) of the year. Happy new year!

16oz can served in a WABL sample glass. If there's a date, I don't see it.

Pours clear brassy gold with a large head. Smell is slightly bready with a fruity background which I would call pomegranate because the label and name suggest it.

Taste is surprisingly bitter. Pithy, grassy. Breadiness is there, but kind of muted. Fruitiness is also there, though very muted.

Mouthfeel is very light and very dry. Overall...it's an enjoyable beer, but it doesn't seem like a blonde ale and it only subtly suggests the pomegranate it advertises.

 

Bitburger - Premium Pils
Not my first time having it...but my first time paying close attention to it. Indulge me. Or at least don't eject me for breaking the rules.

500ml can served in a shaker pint. Dated 2023.07.12.

Pours clear brassy golden, smallish coarse head with a thick skin of head. Lots of active carbonation. Smell is mild, bread and grass.

Taste is slightly yeasty and strong grassy or leafy bitterness. Long bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is light, clean, crisp. Overall, I quite like this.

 

Here's a nice offering from lake county. Back Channel Ballooney Bin WCIPA. 7%
Malty and mellow but still zesty. Gently dry finish. Doesn't suck. Cheers!
4.04/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
16 oz can into a nonic pint glass.
L: SRM 5 Pours a straw candy caramel color with a thin white head that recedes quickly to a thin skin, light steady carbonation bubbles, lacing to start is a curtain of sheeting that morphs into vertical & random spotty lacing,
S: Citrus, pineapple, caramelized malts, hard candy, gently floral, background honey notes.
T: Robust caramel malts, hard candy sweetness, grapefruit zest, lime zest, a hint of melon, pine resin in the lingering finish, a touch of honey, orange marmalade notes, a light hint of soft lightly brown wheat bread.
F: Brisk, medium to medium-heavy bodied feel with a richly smooth center and a medium-long lightly drying finish. Dryness stays centralized on the tongue. Gets slippery with warming.
O: Delicious and a tad bit on the malty side creating a slightly heavier feel that goes well with the bitter zesty fruit tastes which enter largely in the finish. Not as dry-ended as many others in the style. This beer is very good to excellent.

 

My ultra-local brewery is called Little House. Its a small place but nicely appointed. A few years back they got entertained/annoyed by 1st time visitors saying the place was "cute".
They came out with an almost flagship beer (they pride themselves on rotating every tap, all the time) that was called Don't Call us Cute. It was a pretty good NEIPA.
They followed up with Okay, We're Kinda Cute. I forwarded some to @TCgenny and he posted it along with a clip from "Little House On the Prairie". See why it bothers them?
Well they have pumped this beer up to 10% and used 4 different hops. I'll let you read the name from the picture.

Poured from a 16oz can stamped 23355 (Dec 21st) ), to a Nonic at fridge temp.
Hazy apricot body with a medium fluffy not quite pure-white head. Lacing is pretty impressive.
Aroma is fermented mango, melon and orange.
Taste is similar with an emphasis on melon. Alcohol definitely makes itself known. The finish is a fight between the alcohol and some hop-bite.
Carbonation is moderate, creaminess is moderate, all probably damped by the alcohol content.
I'm not usually a fan of imperial IPAs. This is no exception. Really good for what it is though.
4.00.

 

So, this is a weird one. Three years ago, my friend gave me a Warped Wing 2XLP double IPA, which was kind of him. I don't remember what at the time made me think it was old, but I thought so, and I decided to wait three years and see if this 10.5% monster IPA turned into a barleywine. I'll review it for you guys, but I'm not going to enter a review for an IPA this old in the database.

500ml bottle served in a WABL sample glass. No date that I can find on the bottle, but I've had it for three years.

Pours clear, brassy, small head. Smell is citrus, a hint of booze, some old hay.

Taste is boozy, honey, citrus. That old hay is still present, but more of a background note.

Mouthfeel is fairly thick, soft and smooth. Overall...if you had given this to me and told me it was an American barleywine, I'd have believed you. And it's pretty tasty.

 

Pretty funny how your prediction came to fruition 3 years later @snaotheus

That’s a funny story @woodchipper i feel like I’ve seen that “don’t call us cute beer” recently, I think some of their beers show up here from time to time.

 

The seed brewery ancestral soil buckwheat lager
...incredibly clear light gold appearance with a lasting thin head.
...medium carbonation with a just below average body but overall a nice feel.
...aroma is mixed grain,cereal, yeasty bread and malt and what I can only describe as some bright floral in the background.
..taste is influenced by the thin body a bit but otherwise it doesn't stray too far from the aroma.
...have had several from this brewery recently and they all make a good case for going to visit

 

Thank you for that- I almost always feel the same way but doubt myself when I’m describing it. Justifying the cost maybe? Don’t know, but maybe I’ll just stick with the OG version from now on.
After, of course, I drink what variants I have already.

 

Any salt in the flavor? I passed on those last year in Colorado as I feared salt would be too present. Of course, your description doesn’t make me feel bad for passing on them, salt or not.
Cheers!

 

Nothing salty that I noticed.

 

Cape may bay daze sour
...cloudy light amber appearance with a thin but lasting head.
...carbonation is a bit prickly yet seems below average with the body showing up as medium.
...aroma is a straight up mix of fruit loop cereal and sweet tart candy.i could pretend that my palate is sophisticated enough to pick up more but thats pretty much it.
...taste is almost dry,definitely sour with a touch of salt. Not so much fruit loops but definitely sweet tarts again.
..Overall it delivers what it advertised, just have to be in the mood but it is definitely well done

 

Happy New Year, NBSers. A single for me again this evening, it’s a collab from Toppling Goliath and BlackStack Brewing out of St Paul MN. It will have to be be pretty excellent to top the beers I had on Saturday and Sunday.





4.25/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a very hazy pineapple color with a fluffy off white head that provides a decent amount of lacing. The nose is filled with tropical fruit notes, including passion fruit, mango, pineapple, and grapefruit, with some strawberry, melon, and white grape for good measure. Lots going on here.

The taste features the white grape, passion fruit, mango, grapefruit, and strawberry flavors most prominently, with a bit of melon and some oat sweetness at the back of the palate, providing a softer, slightly creamy finish.

Again, there’s a lot going on here, but it works well, especially if you like tropical juice bombs. Not something to stand in line for, but it will scratch your hazy itch.

 

Saved the last of the 4x16 of Aecht Schlenkerla Erle for a night like this.
Prost.



4.94/5 rDev +12.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
A moderate pour released a finger of tan creamy foam with long retention and large blotches of lacing. Deep dark brown body (almost black) with dark red highlights. Clarity is revealed in front of flame, bright devil red.

Alder smoke is acrider and a bit harsh compared to beech. A blend of smoke and ketchup-based BBQ sauce greets the nose, not as ham smelling as the Marzen or the Urbock but still meaty. Roasted grainy malt overtakes the smell.

Semi-sweet with mellow smoky bitterness, items from the smell are magnified with roasted malt out front. The smoke and BBQ-ed meat are second and are making me hungry. Toasted pumpernickel and a faint caramel sweetness rises from the malt. The finish is semi-dry and fast with BBQ smoke and bready roasted malt lingering on.

Medium light bodied with soft, abundant carbonation. Balanced to a fault and quaffable. Alcohol is an afterthought. Lighter in body and taste/smell compared to other Schlenkerlas, there is a fantastic Schwarzbier under that smoke.