New Beer Weekend #197

Equilibrium Astro Fluff IPA with Marshmallows. 6.5% ABV; 3.41 overall ( not even that good )

Pours a very hazed gold with plenty of floaties, on e finger of Ivory colored head. Great head retention & lacing
Marshmallow, grassyness

T: Pomelo, vanilla, grapefruit

MF: Medium body, fairly lively carbonation, hints of cinnamon, WTH? Dryness most likely from lactose, lime, pomelo & marshmallow as this beer warms. Finishes with hints of pineapple whip, but not enough to save it, more off putting cinnamon, plus dryness & bitter citrus

Sort of a disjointed mess. I usually love these; this; not so much. I can drink this, but not a fan

 

First stop Monk’s Cafe after considering heading out to Dalessandro's for cheesesteaks. Continuation of naturally carbonated lagers.

Hill Farmstead Marie



Monk’s Cafe Notes: Another from the Ancestral Series, this layered beer is an unfiltered and naturally carbonated German-style Helles. $8.00 pint, 5% ABV.

Appearance: Clear blonde base, steady carbonation, bright white creamy lacing leaves razor thin generous lacing and a creamy bubbly cover over the base. 4.25

Aroma: Mild strength mineral water, cracker, lemongrass. 3.75

Taste: Much stronger flavor, same order with mineral water, cracker, light salt and pepper. Solid. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Light body, pillowy gentle carbonation, very light vs ABV, cracker finish. 4.0

Overall: This selection won my mini battle of naturally carbonated lagers. Nice easy start to the day. 4.25

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

On the road today in Sleepy Eye, MN at the moment at Sleepy Eye Brewing.

Crazy Aunt - Sleepy Eye Brewing - Sleepy Eye, MN - Kolsch- 5.5%

This is thicker than a standard Kolsch, but, damn, it is packed with flavor. Delicious

Review
3.91/5 rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
On tap at the source.

Clear golden pouring beer. There's a light stream of carbonation rising in the glass. The head is white.
The nose is light. Slight biscuit nose. Faint sweetness to it.
Taste is very full of biscuit. There's a nice buttery biscuit flavor. Slight honey like sweetness to it.
Bubbly feeling. Crisp. Clean. Very full feeling for the style.
Tasty overall. Damn well made.

Probably will be back later for more.

 

And we’re off; let’s see where you land for your next post!

 

Beauty of a day here. Moved some "stuff" out of the retiring wife's classroom - given to some poor, unsuspecting friend of hers... First trip to the local gardening center and a somewhat ironic first trip to a brewery.

Ironic because we drive all over hell's half acre visiting breweries and Berkley Brewing Company is literally 5 miles out the driveway. Gets good reviews in the local press, so lunch and a flight.

Service, food, space all excellent. Mixture of tables, plenty of outdoor seating. Everything absolutely spotless. Light, bright, inviting space. Server was attentive and polite, not intrusive in any way. Wasn't about to give him a beer knowledge test.

Wife had a Cuban sandwich and I had a Korean Reubens- both were very good and well worth the price.

The flight:



Firehouse Red amber ale, Coffee Porter, Hog Oiler DIPA, and Russian Imperial Stout aged in Bully Boy whiskey barrels. Nothing bad here by any means. If I was going to go for lunch and a beet it'd be Hog Oiler - bright citrus, a bit piney, appropriately bitter. The Porter was very nice - coffee forward, hint of chocolate, smooth. The RIS is a great value - it's smooth, not overly boozy, not overdone on the char. I'm not going to review on 4 ounces split a little between us, but I can tell good from poor easy enough. Nothing less than a 3.75 here.

We will be going back - easy to see why they are jam packed on their open nights. It was quite busy at 1:00 today. Good food, good vibe, good beer. What more is needed?

 

Home after a chilly wet soccer match that did not go our way. Proud of the kids though, they fought like hell. Having a new one from a local brewery I like a lot, Pour Mans called Braun.

Their description- This historic style brown lager is rarely found outside of a small portion of Germany but somehow feels right at home here. The balance of this style is what we love most about it. There is depth to the malt character that is pleasantly matched by the bouquet of the German hops. Notes of: Toasted bread, honeysuckle.

It's listed as an amber lager on untappd so I added it as one here. I'd appreciate any alternate ideas? None seem quite right.



This is quite good, dry and bready with a nice leafy bitterness that lingers long. There isn't much in the way of sweetness and no off flavors. Looking forward to more of these.

 

Fire pit is going strong as I burn off all the branches and sticks I just picked up in my yard. Currently enjoying this bottle of Nancy, from Allagash.

3.68/5 rDev -13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottled April 18, 2019.

Pours a nice golden copper with a small amount of short lived head.

Aroma is incredibly tart, with plenty of brett and cherry. It's nice, but a little too in your face for my taste.

Taste is a more toned down reflection of the nose. Not quite as funky, definitely not as tart, which allows the cherries to shine through a bit more. Fairly light bodied, and refreshing.

Overall, good beer if you are into sours.

 

A large can of the Dead Guy Ale was purchased to test out a new mug, and it works perfectly well for it — head and all 19.2oz.



Appearance is an orange-brown liquid with a white disappearing head and almost no lacing.

The smell of malt and yeast.

Bitter malt liquor tastes not exactly hoppy or bready like German Maibocks.

The mouthfeel is thin with a bitter but not unpleasant aftertaste.

Overall it is an interesting beer, but not something I'd drink often.

 

That is a classic I’d like to revisit but purchasing a whole six pack is what’s kept me back. I don’t remember liking it much, but if I could find a single or big can. I’d give it a go.

 

It took me many years to locate Yellow Rose (thank you Specs in Live Oak) but In will look out for Jabberwocky next time.

Cheers!

 

The last Saturday of April will be filled with some first's for me , my first Polish beer (the 25th country) Tyskie 'Gronie' @ 5.0% a Euro Pale Lager (A-4) pour is gold from the can to a clear gold in the glass with a medium size white head leaving a spotty lace along the pokal (S-3.75) grains (T-3.75) clean & crisp Euro Lager (MF-3.75) mild carbonation , medium body (Ov-3.5) step it up Poland this is supposed to be craft beer = (3.72)
, followed by my first Slovak beer (the 26th country) Urpiner 'Exclusive 16' @ 7.0% , also a Euro Pale Lager (A-4) pour is a light gold from the can to a clear light gold in the glass with a medium size white head leaving a streaky lace along the pokal (S-3.75) grains , bready (T-3.75) crisp & clean Euro Lager , more crisp than clean , solid malt base (MF-4) mild carbonation , big medium body (Ov-3.75) not feeling the strong 7.0% ABV = (3.79)
and another first Luppolo 'Rubiconda' a Czech Amber Lager (style #115 tried, 5 left) @ 5.0% (A-4) pour is a golden brown from the can to a clear amber in the glass with a small size beige head leaving a streaky lace along the pokal (S-3.75) Czech hops & yeast , hints of sweetness (T-4) starts sweet , malt forward clean & crisp amber lager , caramel stands out (MF-4) ok carbonation , medium body (Ov-3.75) possible good beer = (3.89) , prost

 

A Bierfest Bash!

Earlier today I attended the first (annual?) Bierfest Bash at Von C Brewery.

There was a dozen+ local breweries serving beer.

A local brewery which gets lots of hype/love, deservedly so, is Human Robot. They had two beers served on draft: Hallertau Pils and Callista Pils. The gentleman serving the beer stated these two beers were exactly the same with the exception of which hops were used to brew the beers. I have had Hallertau Pils several times before at various venues but Callista Pils is a newer one for me. Below is a photo of Hallertau Pils (Callista Pils looks exactly the same):



There was indeed a noticeable difference in the hop aroma/flavor profile between these two beers. I preferred the ‘traditional’ Pils of Hallertau Pils but the Callista Pils was enjoyable too.

Later on, I enjoyed drinking the Human Robot Northern German Pils which was available from the can.

Brothers Kershner was there and their Dark English Mild was very good but they also served 4/5 other brands and they were also very good – excellent as well. Brothers Kershner never disappoints me with their brewing prowess.

And I enjoyed a number of Von C brands as well.

The next part might sound weird since I am a beer guy but the highlight of this event was the band: Gardyn Jazz Orchestra. The music was great with their rendition of Duke Ellington’s Take the A train being excellent.



Cheers!

 

Cool post Jack thanks for bringing us on the trip. If I had the chance I’d love to try HR northern German pils, curious how much it resembles well you know, Jever.

 

I had that beer later in the beer festival so my palate was rather a bit 'fatigued' at that point. I know I enjoyed drinking it but as to a fair comparison to Jever? Nah.

Cheers!

 

A fine beer I haven't had until now: Parish Ghost In The Machine DIPA.
So far so good! Review will be tmrw.
4.31/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

A quick drop in for me today as I'm a bit behind schedule and it's just about time to start dinner prep. I've got another in what is quickly becoming a long line of hop experimentation on Pilsner malt base.

This one started pretty nice but is getting a bit more cheap white wine-ish as it warms up to room temp.

Jack's Abby New Zealand Pilsner
5.0% ________ Pilsner



Pours straw gold with a two finger white head.

Aromas of pineapple, lime and slight lemon, with a hint of granny smith apple are at the fore. Honey and white bread come out more as it warms.

It starts sweet on the palate with white bread and cracker smeared with honey. Toward the middle there's some biscuit and some melon-like white wine notes that I can only assume are from the hops. As it nears the finish, hop bitterness shows up for the first time and builds throughout the aftertaste. It finishes a bit dry and is reminiscent of a dry white.

Medium and fine carb with very slight carb bite. Light-bodied and goes down easy.

Another enjoyable take on whatever we're calling these Pilsner malt-based beers with non-traditional hops. Not my favorite from the ones they've done so far but I do like how this straddles some of the characteristics I like in a sparkling white wine.

 

Stopping by to share some quick impressions on this older beer (canned 11-21) that I picked up as a single. Passed it by once but the emporium beer guy claimed some woman bought all the intact 4'ers that were left cuz she loved it.

Brouwerij West Mor Mor - Belgian quad.

I really liked the dark bread malt and dark fruit notes as well as the noteworthy anise nose (tamed on the taste). Getting a few juicy, dark fruit, wine notes that work nicely with the smooth dark malt. I like this a lot more than the Delirium Nocturnum I had last weekend.

Here is my condensed review entry.

4.08/5 rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Look is good with some fair head and lace
I can actually smell the anise and a bit of dark fruit.
Taste is great with dark fruit, raisin or plum. Nice raisin bread notes.
Feel is medium body with good neutral finish.
Overall, a really nice beer and right up there with one of my faves The sixth Glass.

file foto - enjoyed with some dark chocolate and pecan pieces.