New Beer Weekend #188

Thanks Jack, Abt is running about $25.00 for a 4 pack of the small bottles, probably $30.00 out the door by the time all of the taxes mare added, so a less expensive option would be a good find.

 

Happy Sunday NBWs
I have a new to me beer, Men in Grey Suits from Tripping Animals in Collaboration with Vitamin Sea Brewing, courtesy of @DoctorZombies

Thanks Dave, I enjoyed it!
Triple IPA 10% abv Simcoe, Cashmere and Citra hops can dated 1/24/24
Pours brilliant cloudy apricot color, thick sudsy head, decent retention and veiled lacing.
Aromas of stone fruits, cantaloupe, lemon/ lime, almost Sprite like and pineapple notes.
Taste is pretty juicy and a bit earthy, pineapple, peach, apricot and lemon lime flavors come through. There is a candy flavor but doesn’t add any sweetness. At 10% abv the alcohol is barely noticeable
Mouthfeel starts a little sticky but not sweet. Medium carbonation and thick feeling. Well layered and the different flavors hit all over your tongue. Finishes slightly dry and astringent with a little burn.
Overall it’s well balanced, nice appearance, fairly pungent and pretty easy drinking with a sneaky alcohol content. I enjoyed it.
4.27 rDev +0.5 %

 

New to me, a superlative offering from Mr. Sprint - cheers!

4.47/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.75

2015 vintage - 12.4% ABV - poured from a 12oz bottle into a snifter. Served at 53F.

Opaque bole body with a faint dun collar. Mediocre retention; flaccid lacing; sticky legs.

Rich complex malt aromatics with an array of stewed fruit (cherry, plums, figs, currants), port, and faint barrel notes.

Assam tea, black pudding, pipe tobacco, cocoa powder, and faint peat on the palate entry. Extended evolving medium-dry finish brings more fruit, molasses, and some gentle vinous tartness. Low bitterness, gentle yeast esters. Base beer remains the star.

Modest carbonation, medium-light bodied, and gently warming (ABV well concealed). No astringency, but still almost refreshing for the style.

Stylistic considerations aside, this is a singular creative achievement in American brewing.

 

A beautiful sunny day today, deceiving since it’s quite cold but the robins are all back so I guess spring is coming. Met my best friend for a beer today at my favorite place on earth and got a cask pour of their mild, of course I bought cans too I grabbed this bottle there about a month ago; not a style I gravitate towards but wanted to give it a try. The last bottles they’ve done have all been bottle conditioned/carbed with local honey; curious to see the results…big gusher upon opening, left in sink for a while.

Tonewood - Form & Void (Saison 5.5%)



Yellow gold and cloudy; white head that has some really nice cap retention, nothing crazy but it keeps a nice consistent layer; some floaties accumulate at the bottle of the glass.

Nose is zippy and bright; a snap of acidity hits first then some lemon candies, green apple skin, light vanilla oak and a touch of funk, this beer smells very fresh and refreshing, suited for a bright spring day.

The taste leans into the acidity which again reminds me of lemon candy but with a peppery bite, nondescript fruit skin bite on the finish.

Light body, effervescent but not overly so, light prickly acidity; touch of sweetness underlies this beer but if finishes very dry so it works, zero bitterness but that fruit skin bite gives a very light perceived astringent bitterness.

I enjoy trying this style from time to time and always feel the same way; these beers always seem so well suited for this days when spring had finally begun. Bright and refreshing enough to enhance a warm weather day. In todays case I’ll pretend it’s 60 or so out even though it’s a dry cold high 30s.

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Thanks for sharing beers all weekend; looking forward to today’s post while we settle into Sunday night, that’s it for me this weekend. Have a great week everyone!

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. Each year, Rushing Duck Brewing Co., one of my very favorite brewers, celebrates the end of Dry January with a mid-winter Big Beer Weekend. This year's event was last week but fortunately for me, all but one of the special beers lasted until yesterday. The Big Beers include a couple of new releases and a few special cellar pulls. Today, I'm reviewing Rat Bat Spider, a Quad aged in bourbon barrels for three years. It's named after the 40 foot high Martian monster in the 1959 cult classic, "The Angry Red Planet." This year's other new release was an Imperial Red Ale called "Angry Red Planet." I had a pour of that one at the brewery yesterday and then polished off a crowler last night.

The Rat Bat Spider's roar reminds me of some of my clients.



Not surprisingly, this is a great ale! I've always said that Rushing Duck is among the best brewer of BA beers in the New York metro area. The Quad pours an orange-ruby-brown color with a small, ecru-colored cap that dissipated quickly. The nose is robust with lots of brown sugar, red wine, raisin, fig, and bready malt, along with whiffs of tobacco and bourbon. The first taste is sherry, along with plum and raisin. It's not as sweet as the smell would indicate and the bourbon presence is much stronger. In fact, it was initially quite boozy at the finish although the barrel notes mellowed as it breathed in the glass. This is a complex ale and the various flavors blend very nicely. It grew on me with every sip. The mouth feel is fairly creamy with moderate carbonation, and I would have guessed that the ABV was higher than 11%. It will be interesting to see how it ages. Overall, Rat Bat Spider is a (typically) thoughtful and well-conceived ale from Rushing Duck. Sip this one slowly; you'll be rewarded as it opens up.

I purchased two bottles and probably should have bought more. I'll let the second one sit for a couple of months or more to see how it ages.

4.34/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

Modist Sacred Night 27mo Willett BBA Imperial Stout, 12%% ABV. Pours black with a slight ring of brown bubbles. Aroma is bourbon, chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla. Taste follows, plus peppers, moderately sweet, faintly bitter, faint pepper heat. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding. Chocolate prevails, and peppers are there but not overbearing.

4.42/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Great BBA pastry stout with hella chocolate and tolerable peppers. I've been hating on pepper beers lately, but this one is well done, not overly hot, and no vegetal pepper taste.

 

Well all weekends come to an end I guess, but at least not new beers for our hero.

Here is the latest new one for me.



Poured from the can into a nonic(k) pint glass.

One finger off white head presented, with a little bit of clinging crown as it settles. A nice left white collar sitting on a tangerine orange body mostly, not too opaque and some distributed trub from an aggressive pour, none the wiser.

Real satisfying aroma. Deep sharp lime zest, big sweet pie crust. Soft vanilla sweetness and biscuit like notes that truly come out like a key lime pie. Minimal touches of sourness but hints slightly with the lime angle. This is extremely impressive.

Pretty fascinating palate. Light and easy mouthfeel, forgoing rich expected biscuit depth and thickness unfortunately, but still at least doesn’t get too wet in feel. Tart acting lime, with lots of oily like feel and flavor. Quite a large amount of lingering puckered sour head like candy, saved with a very surprising nutty and sweet pie crust aftertaste. The finish has a good graham biscuit and sweet note to complete the pie angle very nicely. More of a Rose's lime cordial felling but also brings some interesting salty mix like character after some time.

Very fun brew, nicely done.

look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 | BA Score: 4.27

Cheers!

 

Today marks another trip around the sun for me. My celebrations included catching up on work for about 6 hours, then heading to CVS to pick up a prescription. Pretty freaking exciting! I figured I should at least have one beer to celebrate, and for reasons unknown I grabbed this can of Ten Fidy that has been in my fridge since the Roosevelt administration (more or less). I must have had Ten Fidy at some point, but it's been years and years if I have, and I've definitely never reviewed it.

Canned October 15, 2015, making this a bit under 8 and a half years old.

I'm really pleasantly surprised at how good this beer looks and smells. It pours as close to black as I think you can get, with plenty of dense deep tan head that eventually receded to a much less attractive spotty cap. Nice lacing. Aroma still has some nice roasted malts.

Taste is similar to the nose, with roasted malts and faint chocolate. Full bodied and nice going down with subtle alcohol warming. Overall, good simple Imperial Stout.

 

At Equal Parts this afternoon. A great local brewery in Houston. They make really well done lagers, and I had a couple new ones for me this afternoon.

First up, this is one of the more unique takes I have come across.

Sonder, at 4.5% ABV. Described as a botanical lager brewed with lavender, hibiscus, lemon verbena, and a bit of sage. I didn't add this as an adjunct lager, but maybe I should have...though I'm not sure if any of this was actually used as a true adjunct, more of a flavoring additive...



Pours with a bit of a chilled haze. A pale orange color, and a one finger white head forms. Good retention and some lace left behind.
A nice floral, lavender, and spicy aroma up front. A lightly fruity character and toasted malts. An interesting, and not very traditional lager aroma, but it works.
Taste wise. like the nose, the floral/spice/lavender mix is up front. Though the toasted malts are more noticeable. As is a sweet fruity character. that I can't really tell if that is from some hops or the additives. Again, odd but interesting take.
A light body with effervescent carbonation that finishes clean. Also, pretty refreshing. Oddly interesting and enjoyable to drink. I can come back to this if in the mood.

I'm an ultra traditionalist, especially when it comes to lagers. Though this is a nice/interesting/slightly odd interpretation of one.. I can't say I would look for this over a great Pilsner (which Equal Parts makes for sure), but it is something a bit different to look for if visiting the brewery. None of the additives are over the top, and the clean bite really drives home that is is a lager. Even if it is not my preferred take, I'll have it again and recommended it.

Overall score is 3.69, not to my B+ range, but close.

Next is their Vienna Lager, Armour, at 5.0% ABV.



Pours a brilliantly clear reddish/orange color. A dense white head forms with good retention and lace let behind. This is a looker, as I like to say.
Aroma has all the malts up front, which are nuanced and enjoyable. Toasted baked bread, lightly hoppy. Simple and well done.
Taste wise, oh, this is the rich malty character I was looking for. Toasted, baked bread, sourdough. Slightly honey like, but dries out as a light earthy, grassy bitterness is there for balance. Really welcoming and enjoyable.
A medium body with effervescent carbonation. Wonderfully clean and finishes dry. I can drink this in big gulps...something else of a slogan I like to say when I really enjoy something.

I love the classic welcoming, and nuanced malt character. Perfectly balances with some grassy like hops. Well done all around, as Equal Parts continues to make some of the best lagers around me.

Overall score is 4.22, I'll say that is a solid A
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/44383/569603/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Next up is a NEIPA, Precision Neurosis, from Foreign Objects. I just don't understand this brewery (although I want to). The beer, both hoppy ales and stouts, are generally excellent but there is less distro in our area than a few years ago and the tasting room is a bit bizarre - it's well off the beaten path and the staff seems to be either indifferent or clueless. The brewery itself has a weird history, beginning in (I think) Washington state. The beers are now brewed in New Jersey (I think at Bolero Snort) but the tasting room is in Monroe, New York, on a back road, outside of town. Nonetheless (or maybe because of the above), I'm a fan and stop by whenever I'm in the area.

This is a very good New England IPA. It pours a hazy, bright tangerine color with more than a finger of fluffy, bright white head and lots of soapy lacing inside the glass. Nice smell with lots of lemon, lime, and pine needles. The taste follows with robust grapefruit and pine sap. There are sweeter notes of pineapple and stone fruit from the El Dorado hops. The Apollo adds some lime and dank, earthy notes, and the Galaxy contributes some sweet peach. The mouth feel is great: plush and creamy with appropriate carbonation, and this beer drinks easily at 8% ABV. Overall, while I'm hesitant to say that an 8% ABV IPA is a "crusher," this comes pretty close. I like this one a lot.

4.14/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Have a great week, everyone!

 

Happy Birthday

 

Pipework's King Cake Pale Ale w/Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Lactose & Lemon, 7.5% ABV; 3.51 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with a thumb of eggshell colored head. Average-ish head retention & lacing

S: Cinnamon, a hint of citrus

T: Follows the nose, a touch of vanilla & orange as well. More cinnamon, vanilla & nutmeg, plus a little dryness. Finishes a little dry, more vanilla forward in the finish, but still plenty of cinnamon

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation, skews sweet

Not a huge fan of cinnamon in my beers, it rarely works, this is no exception, if there is a Pale Ale in here it's hard to find. Not my kind of Dessert Beer. If you are into cinnamon, have a party

 

Lupulin Doppelbock, 8% ABV. Pours dark brown and thin, with a two-finger beige head that left some lacing. Aroma is malty and bready. Taste is roast malt and caramel/toffee, faintly sweet, moderately bitter. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellentish. I prefer the BA version, by far.

4.15/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

Enjoy your BDay to the fullest
Cheers to many more!

 

Busy weekend. I finally have a chance to take a few minutes to enjoy a beer. This is BBA Café Rat Queen from Barncat Artisan Ales. This is a bourbon barrel aged imperial milk stout with coffee. 11.5%ABV.

Barncat is a fantastic brewery that sadly closed up shop a few months ago. Thankfully, I have a beer buying problem and have a case or two of their barrel aged stouts hoarded.



Pours a deep brown/black with very limited head that dissipates in an instant. It appears to be moderately thick with ample body. There is a slight oily look to the surface of the beer.

The nose is milk chocolate, creamy coffee and a light char. No barrel booziness on the nose.

Taste follows closely. Chocolate up front with a nice creamy, sweet coffee following. The little bit of charred grain that was in the nose is similarly present. I get next to no barrel. ABV is well hidden.

The body is medium and the oily look to the surface does not translate to an oil texture.

Overall, this is a very nice BA stout with just the right amount of add-junks to make for an enjoyable sipper.

Cheers!

 

Happy birthday @Roy_Hobbs

 

It is a lager Sunday, so for for me this afternoon. Ayinger Maibock, 7% ABV. I have been wanting to get this for a while, it always seemed to just not be available wherever I happened to be. Finally made it in to the Houston area.



Pours a golden/amber color with beautiful clarity. A dense white head rises immediately, which makes it a bit hard to pour. Excellent retention and plenty of lace left behind.
Bread, bread, bread...toasted, baked, sourdough. Malty bread all the way. Maybe a touch more hops would help this out, but still love the malty aroma.
Taste wise, all that malty bread again. This is like walking into a bakery. Toasted sourdough, slightly honey like. Just enough earthy, grassy, spicy hops to balance.
A medium to full body. Moderate carbonation and smooth, that becomes a bit more syrupy than first expected. Though, Saying that, it is still something I very much enjoy. I can drink this in big gulps and get a bit carried away with the expertly hidden 7% ABV.

Of course this is a great example of the style. Ayinger is one of my favorite breweries, and this is the reason why. That malty character is second to none, and glad I can finally get this in my area.

Overall score is 4.17, and that is probably a little on the low end. Bordering on A-/A
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/39/136/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Forgotten boardwalk el gato dark Mexican style lager. Appropriate beer at the moment as teddy isn't happy about a cat in HIS yard
...very clear dark mahogany with no head whatsoever. Up close its very attractive though
...just below medium carbonation with about a medium body. Has a little bit of an odd but nice creamy feel.
...aroma is subdued but its malty first with just a hint of spice with a lager hiding in the background.
...taste is mildly sweet, malty, doughy rich bread with some very,very mild spice.
...overall its not complex necessarily but its very satisfying and enjoyable.

 

Boulevard Space Camper Quantum IPA, 9.5% ABV; 4.15 overall

Pours an effervescent and chill hazed honey color with a finger of eggshell colored head. Great head retention & lacing, never drops bright, but I did drink it pretty damn fast...

S: Melons, a touch of tangerine, dies down a little as this warms

T: Follows the nose, papaya, mangoes, a little dryness, a touch of pineapple up front. More pineapple, green melon & dryness as this beer warms up. Finishes with plenty of green melon, pineapple & some papaya

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, great balance

Another solid Space Camper, very few of those have been below a B+ IMHO, easy to drink. ABV is well concealed