New Beer Weekend #186

A rare drop of The Veil Brewing at one of our beer stores enabled me to try Master Shredder⁴

4.58/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

"Quad-Hopped" is right up my alley. I may have to go to Richmond to sample regular Master Shredder or other variants. This version is super hoppy without straying into hop burn territory. Super flavor and body for a 5.5 ABV beer.

 

As others in New England have posted, it's way too warm for the season this weekend. Time to knock off some lighter beers that have been lingering in the fridge. I grabbed a pack of this one after seeing a few folks post it on BA. It's good, but not great and I doubt I'll pick it up again. Just doesn't do it for my tastes.

Tucher rotbier



Pours a reddish orange hue with two fingers of off-white head that dissipates quickly to a froth and then a coating.

Aromas of toasted bread, a hint of caramel, and some light fruit (maybe pear or melon?). A bit underwhelming here.

The taste is better with toasted brown bread, some brown sugar, and a woody/earthy hop presence. That fruit profile comes back in for the end though with melon/pear on my palate. The malt profile opens up as it warms, with roasted grain and slight nuttiness helping ground everything.

Medium and smooth carb with a medium-light body. Really easy to drink.

Overall, this is a nice amber lager but that melon/pear note is a big drawback for me.

 

Enjoy that Ghost in the Machine, I was pleasantly surprised by it as I've had too many hop-burns from lesser NEIPA's.

 

I spent the week in East Texas for work, and it’s an area that doesn’t provide a plethora of opportunities to sample world class beers, so when I landed back in Northern Indiana today, I made a run to my local and secured a few beers to soothe my beer nerd soul.

This juicy collab between two world class breweries indeed did that.





4.5/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a hazy pineapple color with a fluffy white head that provides ropes of lacing and a nice cap on the beer as you enjoy it. Beautiful NEDIPA. Th nose is rife with HUUUUGE tropical citrus notes, including ripe mango, pineapple, papaya, and tangerine aromas most mouthwateringly prominent.

The taste stringently follows the taste, with the mango, pineapple, and tangerine flavors fitting my beer nerd palate especially well, and a nice creamy, slightly sweet oat flavor finishing a scarily drinkable 8.5%ABV beer, complemented perfectly by the full, soft mouthfeel.

Given the breweries that collaborated on this beer, it’s no surprise that it’s a world class entry (IMHO) into a crowded hazy field. Outstanding stuff if you enjoy hazies, again IMHO.

 

Good evening NBW
I've been sitting on this four pack for a month and tonight's the night.

Bell's Black Note Stout

12oz bottled 10/31/23 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 11.4% ABV. The beer pours impenetrable black with medium brown colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island. Spotty lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength with bourbon soaked fudge brownie and lesser notes of ash and oak. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with more bourbon, fudge brownie, oak and classic, ashy roasted malt character. The feel is medium plus bodied with just less that average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, world class BBA imperial stout.

Cheers all!

 

Hey friends, thanks for sharing beers so far today. Finally getting around to joining, activities and obligations done for the day the weather had me grilling burgers for dinner and now it is time for beer and the leafs game.

Grabbed this single on our way home from Maryland last weekend. I think it’s my first Burial beer but I’ve definitely heard of them.

Burial - Lightgrinder (American Porter 5.8%)



Good looking beer, deep darkest of browns; light brown head dense and frothy, leaves a nice cap.

Nose gets a really pleasant and vibrant chocolate, somewhere between dark and milk, some darkened toast character, underlying there is a balanced but noticeable hop presence, citrus skin; somewhere between orange and grapefruit, but leans towards the latter.

Taste shows a great balance between dark roasty malts and old school American hops; hops again come off as grapefruit like, malt is delicate yet boldens as the sip goes down, comes off lighter than it looks at first before diving into burnt toast, roasted malt, and then finishes with a kiss of light espresso; this all melds so well with the hops.

Just at the start of medium body for me; smooth and creamy carbonation, very clean with high drinkability, moderate but tame bitterness.

Beautiful beer, I really enjoyed this one…particularly the taste and feel, lots going on taste wise but all flawlessly balanced, that, combined with the drinkability make this a big win for me.

——————

That may be my only new one tonight but I’ll definitely be back with another new one tomorrow. Cheers and have a great night everyone.

 

Sorbet by Tree House

4.46/5 rDev +3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Brewers notes; Formerly known as Julius W/ Guava.

Sorbet is a rendition of Julius featuring water, malt, hops, yeast, and a blend of dried guava powder and fresh guava purée! Following trials from several different vendors, we settled on a high-quality guava powder that imparts potent notes of ripe guava and tropical fruit propelled by the character and vibrancy of guava purée. Simple in construct but immensely juicy in the outcome, Sorbet is a beer we are certain you will enjoy. Keep it icy cold and enjoy it as FRESH as possible!Guava is emerging as the perfect fresh fruit accompaniment to our beer. With Julius, it reveals pineapple and papaya notes to layer the intense citrus characteristics of Julius.

Chilled 16oz can poured into a teku, produces a one finger white foam cap over a turbid orange liquid that recedes to a solid layer and streaky lacings

Aroma is juicy fruit , bubblegum , tropical fruits, guava,

Taste is juicy fruit gum, guava, bubble gum

Smooth with a gentle hop nip on the finish , low sudsing , subtle bitterness

Good beer

 

Intinction (Sauvignon Blanc) from Russian River. I wanted to enjoy this beer more than I did—think maybe I got a bad bottle.
__________________________
3.73/5 rDev -12%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
375mL (bottled 9/17/2021) into a tulip. Pours a clear golden color with zero head, minimal visible carbonation. Cork came off with a pffft! and I don’t think it’s flat, but I’ll find that out when I take my first sip. Have to take away appearance points though as it is a bit disappointing.

Aroma is brightly tart and acidic, mouth-watering. Green apples, pears, white wine, oak. Almost as much wine as beer on the nose. Intriguing.

Taste is … yeah, this is pretty flat. None of that prickly carbonation on the palate that I find usually helps to enhance the flavor of a beer. There’s a crushed-aspirin quality to the malt, a little bit minerally, then the same sour/green apple/vinous quality I picked up in the aroma. Taste is fine for what it is but the lack of carbonation detracts from what this beer could have been. This is basically like drinking cider.

Mouthfeel is likewise, not surprisingly, disappointing. Without much/any carbonation this beer is just lifeless on the palate. Body is medium.

Overall I hate to say it, but this is easily the worst Russian River beer I have ever had. Again, just disappointing, especially considering the price I paid for this bottle (probably around $13 or $14). Also surprising but I guess they can’t all be great—but I’ll remember this experience next time I see a RR wild ale on the shelf. It’s worth noting that looking at other reviews my experience appears to have been an outlier—I didn’t see other comments about lack of carbonation. Maybe I should have opened it sooner but I didn’t even buy it that long ago. Maybe it just sat on the shelf too long.

 

Good evening, NBW/S. Went to the theater last night and saw To Kill a Mockingbird. John Boy from the Waltons played Atticus Finch. Outstanding production and performances, but unfortunately the themes apparently remain timeless. Decidedly older crowd, but many grandparent with teens which I thought was cool.

So...let's play Ancient Beer Roulette one more time...


Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Old Ale made for Julio's Liquors, about a 90 minute ride from home base. It's Smutty's Old Brown Dog aged in hand-picked whisk(e)y barrels selected by the Loch and Key Society. Apparently over 20 different barrels were used including Elmer T Lee, Weller 107, and Willet.

Rename - Ridiculously Old Brown Dog since this is a 2014 vintage bottle and I have two of them! So does this hound still hunt?

TLR version - it tastes fucking incredible.

First word that came to mind on pouring was sherry. It's actually kinda mahogany color and it looks "thick". Other than a brief surfacing of beige microbubble foam, no head. Nice clarity and ruby red tinting held up to the light. Quite pretty, actually.

The nose opens with whisk(e)y and I'm not going to pretend I know which in particular, but there's no doubt it's whisk(e)y. I'm leaning a combo of bourbon, rye, and I think some Scotch at least. Vanilla. Toffee candy. Woodiness. Under that there's a sweet malty foundation.

The taste is fabulous. It's deceptive, I think. There's definitely different Liquors involved but it's so harmonious you can just call it whisk(e)y - if there were 20 different barrels used they were blended expertly to create a smooth, integrated whole. A light bit of vanilla, some toffee/caramel, and sweet dark malts almost but not quite like Brown bread. There's a light spice note way up on top that says rye (hmmm...Willetized?). There's a little bit of the dark fruit going on but it's thankfully hidden as I think it would just get in the way. A tad bit of a buttery sensation that's not diacetyl so I'd guess picked up from the wood. A bit of woody tannin and phenolics.

The feel is medium, slightly drying, nice light spice on the finish. It is very pleasantly warming all the way down and when it lands in the belly. Silky smooth, elegant.

Look, I can't possibly unravel all the things going on here. But I know when something tastes great and this is just a flavor that hits right and delivers. I can, however, imagine this being a boozy alcohol hot mess at some point in time (like ten years ago). This is gonna be around a 4.5 for me and I am absolutely glad to have a second bottle in the cave!

 

Welcome one and all to New Beer Sunday #990! Just a friendly reminder that we celebrate the 19th anniversary (February 20, 2005) of New Beer Sunday next week on Sunday, February 18, 2024! Hope you can find a nice selection or two to celebrate the occasion.

As promised, the same beer as yesterday with the twist this also has raspberries.

Barrel Aged Mrs. O'Leary's Chocolate Milk Stout with Raspberries



Can Notes: Purchased two cans 12/15/23 for $13.78 each, refrigerated thereafter until this morning. 12 oz canned 10/30/23 at 2:08:57 PM, 12 % ABV. Brewed with chocolate malt, midnight wheat and lactose. Artwork by Chris Murphy. Brewed + canned at Spiteful Brewing, 2024 W. Balmoral Ave., Chicago, Illinois.

2023: Milk stout brewed with lactose and aged in Four Roses bourbon barrels for 4 years, and finished with chocolate and raspberries.

Appearance: Poured the full can slowly into a 12 oz snifter as head was not formed with the first 8 plus ounces. 10 oz to start into my 12 oz snifter. Just a few bubbles linger along the rim as a steady slow stream rises to the top over the pitch black base. 3.5

Aroma: Let this sit for 30 minutes to properly warm. Getting a very sweet aroma to start, raspberries lead and are wonderful. Nice bourbon follows, no wood noted. Sweet milk and chocolate lurk, but the raspberries are holding court, which works for me! 4.25

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, very sweet raspberries leads. Even 30 minutes before starting, the chocolate milk and chocolate fudge base lead out over the bourbon, a reversal of the nose. Would say the non raspberry version is more complex, but since I love the fruit this one is working for my palate. The bourbon barrels are sitting in the backseat, can feel it strength wise more than taste, though it starts to emerge as this nears room temperature. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Carbonation light prickly but well incorporated into the creamy full bodied stout. Sweet base plus prominent raspberry throughout bourbon makes a cameo at a halfhearted effort. Drinks pretty strong, masked with the added sweet flavors. Sweeter than I typically prefer, but brewed toward style / advertised. 4.25

Overall: Definitely sweeter and less complex than the standard chocolate only version. I really enjoy raspberries, the fruit and assorted flavored products, so while this works for someone with similar tastes, if given the option I'd opt for the standard BA offering for the added flavor depth and experience. That said, I am really enjoying. 4.0

Hope everyone has a great beer day, and hope I'll see you next weekend for the anniversary celebration!