New Beer Weekend #187

Glad you enjoyed that one Tim!

 

The omen imperial stout ,keeping good company with @lordofthewiens
...solid black appearance with a lasting thin tan head
...light carbonation with an above average body
..aroma is bakers dark chocolate, espresso, some mild wood and licorice.
...taste is definitely dry,reminds me of an Irish dry stout. Espresso and dark chocolate
Overall its not overly complex but very flavorful and well done
...

 

This is a really nice tasting and easy drinking brew.
Bell's Cold Hearted Cold IPA 7% ABV
4.05/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
12 oz can from a variety pk best by 02 June 24 into a Becher glass.
L: SRM 2 Pours radiant straw light yellow with a yeast wave, some large steady carbonation bubbles, a soapy & frothy 1/2" white head that recedes quickly to thick edge froth, medium broken lacing.
S: Citrus, melon, pineapple, almost dank hop notes, background caramel malts.
T: Lemon, melon, grapefruit, zesty, lightly sweet, wheat, a touch of yeast, white grape skin, a hint of bready malts midway through before lemon, melon, and pine round out the lingering finish.
F: Lightly brisk then soft & smooth medium to med-light bodied feel with a medium-length drying finish.
O: Delicious and easy drinking. Quite smooth, somewhat fruity, zesty, and dry. Another great beer from Bell's. A nice take of WCIPA that is mellow and is well-designed. It is excellent in its style.

 

2020 Junie
So. Started buying these for a vertical with my SAN Group but sadly several of them have moved away or can’t drink alcohol anymore so we’re back to the basics. No BA and few imperial stouts.
But the beer.
Poured stout black with a dark brown head that left little lacing but the beer left a film on the glass.
The taste was pure decadence. Chocolate and mild coffee, vanilla and maple syrup. All wrapped up in caramel while never leaving the stout behind.
The feel is viscous yet light and smooth. Good stuff.
OA, the next two nights will be a slow moving vertical that I am now looking forward to.

 

Enegren Foliage Autumn Lager, 5.5% ABV; 4.27 overall Tanks to @2beerdogs for this one

Pours an effervescent honey/amber with a thumb of sand colored head. Very good head retention & lacing

S: Bready/toasty, some grassy notes

T: Follows the nose, a little caramel presence, fairly dry & some woody hop notes as well up front. Toasty & piney notes as this beer warms up, along with a little bit of citrus & leafy hops. Dry piney finish

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation, lovely balance

A very Modern American Lager that really worked for me, super drinkability

 

River City Brewing Power Waffles Imperial Stout aged in Heaven Hill Barrels, 16.0% ABV; 3.75 overall

Pours an effervescent & somewhat sludgy mahogany with a pinky of tan head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Much booziness, dark fruit, some vanilla notes once warm

T: Follows the nose, fusile alcohol, some coffee & molasses notes, dryness & woody hops, some vanilla & dark chocolate fights through up front. Some salted plums, woody dryness, maple candy once warmed up. Finishes with some barrel rawness, vanilla & maple syrup

MF: Pretty darn chewy, not much perceived carbonation, warming to be sure

Not easy to drink, liked it didn't love it, a little less ABV would've served it better. Needed a little more finesse

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

I am done with work for the day, and it's beer o'clock for me now.
Before I start, I thought I should mention this:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/nbs-bif-18-sign-up-thread.676124/
For those who are regular participants of NBW, you might want to consider joining the upcoming NBS 18. Lots of fun and great beer shared amongst the participants. Sign up close on the 25th, so next Sunday.

Now to my new beer:

KBS Spicy Chocolate - Founders Brewing - American Imperial Stout - 12% ABV

I love KBS, and the variants so far have been good, and some outstanding. This one, well, is it good? Yeah. Is it what I think it should be? No.

This beer is being consumed at room temperature, but, boy is the flavor muted in my opinion. I had a version of Mexican Chocolate from Westbrook recently, and I was expecting something in that ballpark. Very little heat in this beer. Muted chocolate and coffee. Boy, it's ok, but so lacking in my book.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/671247/

3.69/5 rDev -10.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From a 12 oz bottle Bottled on 12-27-23

Great hiss upon opening and a good deal of smoke wafting out of the bottle. The pour of this beer is pitch black as expected, and nothing shines through when held up to light. I did an aggressive pour and that yielded a 3 finger brown head. The frothy and fluffy head didn't have good retention, though somewhat expected for the higher ABV. Just a very little bit of lacing on the glass.
The nose is actually a bit weak, and I do have it served at room temp. I am getting some faint notes of chocolate, and coffee, but not much else. No spice, or pepper heat.
Taste - There's a bit of chocolate in this beer. I do get some caramel and toffee notes as well. I am getting just the faintest hint of heat that comes in on the backside. I am a chili head, so I can handle the heat, but there's almost none.
The body is pretty decent, I do get a faint bit of heat from the ABV of this beer.
It's ok, but I was expecting a lot more from this beer. The base, and other variants are better in my book.

Be back tomorrow for more. Cheers.

 

Hi Lads!

A short rare contribution from me, since I just posted the review.
Left Hand - Dry Irish Stout Nitro


I was expecting a little widget in the 16 oz can but nope. A bit less cascading upon pour and a bit less head and thickness against the Irish standards. Here are my notes. Overall 7.73 or Good

L- Nice dark brown color, with mild nitro cascading and small short lived head
N- Dark roasted grain and malt with notes of smoke and a touch of coffee
T- Smoke first and then the roasted grain and malt, without any burnt notes. Coffee vibe is light
F- Light in mouthfeel with a watery feel, also light in body and finish. Some dryness on the finish.
O- Nice, yet the smoke note evokes a hankering for a Scottish Ale. A step behind my fave Irish Stout, Murphy's.

It is a little bit thinner and less creamy than Murphy's. Also a bit more roasted grain and less chocolate note. Makes me want a local Berthoud Fireside Scottish right now for the body and higher ABV, haha.

 

Surly One Man Mosh Pit Hazy IPA, 7.2% ABV ( picked up in Kansas ); 3.24 overall

Best by of 9/11/23 Maybe put that on the 6 pack holders next time a holes?

Pours a hazed gold with a finger of cream colored head. No head retention or lacing

Some citrus & tropical fruit notes, some bready notes

T: Tangerine, limes, a little green melon & passion fruit up front, plus dryness. More dryness, tangerine, green melon & a little green apple, not good as this beer warms up. Finishes dry, with citrus & a little green melon

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, okay balance

Would love to try this at least 4 months fresher, drinkable. As long as breweries keep us in the dark about freshness, I am gonna review the beers as I find them

 

Welcome one and all to the 19th Anniversary of New Beer Sunday, held first on February 20, 2005! This edition is New Beer Sunday #991!

I hope you all have a great beer or two in store for today. I am going with this selection, which I have been waiting to enjoy since picking up a few weeks ago.

Revolution / Binny's Collaboration V. S. O. R. Select



Can Notes: Picked up this refrigerated from Revolution on 1/25/24 as part of my Deep Woods Season Ticket. Refrigerated until opening this morning.

V. S. O. R. stands for Very Special Old Ryeway. 12 oz. canned 1/5/24 @ 8:29:03 AM, 15.7% ABV. Revolution Brewing in collaboration with Binny's Beverage Depot. Rye Ale aged in rye and bourbon barrels. Exquisite Rye Meets Exceptional Oak.

Appearance: Pour into a handheld snifter, slowed at the end to not over pour the nice bubbly light tan head that dissipates after a couple minutes without a trace. Persistent steady carbonation rises just long enough to be noticed until receding into the dark plum ruby brown base. 4.0

Aroma: Very similar to Ryeway to Heaven, oak complementing nicely as well. 15 minutes of warmth yields a nice rye drawing me in first and foremost, the bourbon smoothly talking to a lady in the back. Raisins, plums. Complex, strong, bold and I can't wait any longer to taste. 4.5

Taste: OK, this starts much sweeter than I anticipated, and while the sweet fruit is persistent throughout, the bourbon approaches, very smooth and enjoyable. Rye is one of my favorite flavors and certainly shines through with this offering. Would say 30 minutes plus is where I suggest starting to avoid cloying beginnings. Even stronger than the aroma, this beer certainly delivers. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Carbonation slows and is barely there when it's time to drink. Drinks strong, perhaps slightly lower than the significant ABV. Definitely a beer enjoy at a leisurely pace. After an initial sweet shock, this beer is smooth, balanced and consistent, with the flavors, barrel and base all playing nice and complimenting each other well. Rye, a continually growing oak presence and smooth gentle bourbon linger nicely on the finish. 4.75

Overall: While now looking at my OG can Ryeway to Heaven rating, I see the scores today are slightly lower. The primary difference between memories of my favorite and most enjoyed Deep Woods Ryeway and this Very Special Old Ryeway is the barrels are more pronounced, with the wood really coming through well and the bourbon smoother and very easy going. Might do a side by side at some point to gain further clarity, but for this offering I am very very happy with this purchase, and glad I finished off the Deep Woods season on this high note! 4.5

Will catch up on posts from yesterday while finishing this great beer. I will see you back tomorrow with a beer from the West Coast.

 

Rise and shine with this.

All Out Extra Dark - Athletic Brewing Company - Low Alcohol beer

Every beer I've had from them has impressed me with how they can get in the ballpark replicating actual beer in a NA form. The body is light, but the flavor is damn good. Quite impressed and happy with this beer.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/52867/393493/

3.65/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
From a 12 oz can packed on 10/25/2023

This beer pours pitch black from the can and nothing comes through when I hold it to the light. An aggressive pour produced a 1 finger tan head. The head looked a bit soft and fluffy with small bubbles. Overall decent head retention, but there's no lacing on the glass.
The aroma is malty, and the malts smell roasted to me. Somewhat of a nutty aroma to this beer. Hints of coffee also show up.
Taste - I do get a roasted malt flavor. Hints of chocolate, coffee and burnt toast show up in this beer. I also get a faint caramel note as well.
Light bodied, but to be expected. Slightly bubbly feeling, and crisp.
For a NA, this is a very solid attempt at producing a stout. Delicious.


Be back later for some more beers. Cheers.

 

Greetings troops! I'm back again with another Cellarurary selection from Beer Reefer #1, a 2000 bottle of Gulden Carolus Cuvee Van de Keizer:





Newest review 18/02/2024
Curvee Van de Keizer – from Het Anker. 25.4 mL cork and cage bottle picked up at Shangy’s in Emmaus, PA, sometime in the last couple of years, $14.83 (Including tax), $ 0.875/fl oz. Rerereviewed 18/02/24. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
No lot # or date on either label or bottom of bottle. Neck band “2000”. However, the label is marked “Gebrouwen op 24 februari. Met smaakevolutie minstens 10 jaar houdbaar.” Stored on room temperature shelf at dealer, 39 degrees at home for the last couple of years. Served at 53.4 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 59.9 degrees F. Label says to serve at 12 degrees C (54 F).
Appearance – 3.5 There is a marked oxidation ring around the neck of the bottle and the liquid level is about two mm below that. The inside of the bottle is covered with a grainy precipitate in parallel sections, so it spent some time lying on its side while being occasionally rotated a few degrees.
First pour – Medium Amber (SRM 12), clear.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. Rear-lite, the entire snifter glows ruby with a very fine particulate in suspension.
Head – While pouring, a few bubbles occur, but don’t outlast the pour – no head forms. Neither crown nor cap remain.
Lacing – None
Aroma –3.25 – Proverbial “dark fruit”. No yeast, no hops, marked alcohol (8.5% ABV, as stamped on the label).
Flavor – 3 – Begins slightly bitter with “dark fruits” lightening through time. No yeast, no hops, no malt. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. No ethanol. Mild but uncomfortable gastric burning eventually occurs.
Palate – 3 – Thin; watery; barely detectable carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.25

Now I’ve dragged two old bottles from beer reefer #1, bottles of a once-favorite brew. My theory is that when Shelton Brothers quit importing, they released a warehouse full of unsold items of various ancientness to the distributors, hence this old beer. Still, for old times sake, I felt compelled to buy this former favorite and temporarily home it in first my main beer reefer and second, my stomach.
Comparing the two, the 2007 was 11% ABV while the 2000 vintage was 8.5%, yet I could smell the ethanol in the 2000 but not the 2007 – I guess ethanol outlasts fruits, despite the loss of the “angel’s share” through the cork. Both bottles showed oxidation yet neither had the cardboard taste usually associated with said oxidation. Both liquids seemed less viscous then previous samples, but my brain has all the holding power of a steel colander, so I won’t really assume that that is a function of the brews’ ages. In general, I’ll pass on any bottles find in the future, unless Het Anker begins producing this again.

 

All right time for another round.


Broccoli Special Reserve - Freaky Friday - Toppling Goliath Brewing/Other Half Brewing - NEIPA - 8.3% ABV

Well, at least I'm getting my green veggies here. The broccoli is over the top and the chlorophyll is very green....

Wait, there's no broccoli here? What!

Seriously, I am burnt out on this style of beer. I've had so many that were poorly made. This one is not poorly made at all. It really takes me back to when I had my first beers of this style that were sent in previous NBS BIFs (another plug to sign up for the upcoming one). I'm burping hops, and I'm loving it. I am happy with this beer, and I'm glad I took the chance on it. I will be getting another 4 pack, because I already gave the other 3 cans of this one away. I am guessing there's a good chance some of those cans will be given away also - hint hint.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23222/689303/
4.55/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
From a 16oz can packaged on 1/22/24

Hazy and murky pouring beer. Dank looking and there's no way you can see through this beer. I get a 1 finger white and frothy head from this beer. Great head retention, and there's some lacing on the glass.
The aroma of broccoli hits hard.... Ok, seriously, I do get a ton of hop aromas from this beer. They started hitting me when pouring this beer. Nice and tropical smelling. When I get up close I get tons of mango in this beer, a great hit of grapefruit, hints of pineapple as well show up. This is a very aromatic beer.
Taste - The hops hit and hit hard right out of the gate. Lots of pineapple flavor, which is a lot stronger than i got on the nose. There's grapefruit bitterness as well. The mango sweetness also is there. The flavors seem in opposite order in strength than the nose suggested.
The body is quite soft feeling, and I have to wonder if they used oats in this beer. Juicy feeling as well. Hop feeling lingers in my throat.
I may be somewhat burnt out on this style of beer, but when one is done well, I love it. This is well made and, as I'm burping up hops, I am happy.

See you all in awhile for more.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass, not sure when it was canned but I trust very recent.(Please Date Your Cans)! Pours a very attractive hazy milky yellow with a finger sticky white head that leaves ample lace, with excellent retention. 4.75

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

Taste is passionfruit, papaya, peach, tangerine, cantaloupe, and apricot. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle almost creamy carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8.5% it has massive flavor but still extremely approachable. SUBLIME 5

Overall this one obviously got my attention or it could be Friday and am out early enough for an outside photo? I obviously recommend if you see it. 4.5 Cheers all.

 

Back again. I had my greens earlier, now I need some coffee.


Nitro Coffee Ale - Surly Brewing - American Porter - 5.5% ABV

This is a very creamy feeling beer. There's a lot of coffee in here. It starts out sweet and creamy and ends bitter. I like it, in spite of me being lower than the average on it.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/678113/

3.99/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From a 16oz can canned on 11/13/23

I get a nitro hiss when I opened this can up. This is a black pouring beer. I really like how the bubbles rise in the glass after pouring. The head is tan colored and 1 finger. The head looks very still almost, and is very long lasting. Very creamy looking head with very tiny bubbles.
Woah, the coffee is rich and off the charts here. Very roasty and full smelling.
Taste - This is a very creamy tasting beer up front from the nitro in it. Very smooth and creamy tasting. The coffee starts out almost sweet, but then goes into a roasty flavor and somewhat bitter on the back side.
Soft, creamy and smooth feeling. Pretty full feeling overall.
This is intereting and tasty overall.

See you all in a while for the next round.

 

I am seconding this as a simple upvote isn’t sufficient. The NBW BIF has been the most fun I’ve had on this, or any “social” media site. Amazing people slinging great beer across the country (and occasionally internationally) while talking smack all the time. Seriously fun stuff. But beware the porch damage that comes with it! You’ve been warned!

 

Thank you @ChicagoJ for keeping track of this! I saw your notice yesterday that today was a special day for NBS so I will pull out a special beer.
Cheers!