New Beer Weekend #20

Afternoon NBW. After a sloppy snowy Saturday everything has frozen up. Feels alot like December today.
First up is Pipeworks NvU vs The Haze
DIPA
Pours a hazy orange gold with a nice 2 finger eggshell head with excellent retention and nice lacing.
Aroma is mango, pineapple, getting a tad of strawberry, orange, grapefruit and pine.
Taste follows with fruity tropical notes, citrus juice and pith and light pine almost a cedar like thing. Touches of lightly toasted malts.
The body is medium with decent carb throughout. The sweetness hits rather quickly but it does dry out just a bit with some stickiness on the lips. The middle of this beer dies out a bit. No hint of alcohol.
My verdict is I will stick to the regular Ninja vs Unicorn. This is decent- a bit too sweet for me (almost lactose like) but an easy drinking 8%. Worth a try but I probably wouldnt grab it again.
Cheers.

 

Crane Brewing's Thundergong American Pale Wheat Ale, 5.0% ABV, overall score of 3.16. No canning date

Pours an effervescent gold with 2 fingers ( vigorous pour ) of pearl colored head. No head retention or lacing

S: A little wheat, a little yeast & grassyness

T: Follows the nose, bready, dry & just a little citrus up front. Grainy sweetness, a little grassyness as this warms. Finishes sweet with grassyness

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation & a little bit of coarseness

Very run of the mill for the style, easily the most boring beer I've had from these guys

 

Here's a twofer for you. Chainline's "Polaris on Holiday" hoppy pilsner with brettanomyces and beer advent calendar #6 Turboprop, an imperial pilsner from Propeller Getranka. I had these queued up in my head because I'm pretty sure when I bought the Chainline it was listed as an "imperial pilsner."



Polaris on Holiday first:
12.7oz corked/caged bottle served in a WABL sample glass. I don't see a date on it. Bought it at the brewery a couple days ago. This is a weird beer, a pilsner made with brettanomyces, and I'm going to judge it more based on how I enjoy it than how it conforms to the pilsner profile.

Pours a hazy amber with a medium head and not much active carbonation. Smell is spicy, fruity, oaky, funky. Brett is super dominant.

Taste is brett funk, lots of oak, the fruitiness is hard to characterize but might be apricot. Some fruit pit bitterness.

Mouthfeel is medium and very dry. Overall...this is a really interesting beer, and I enjoy it. If you're looking for a clean pilsner, avoid this beer. If you like funky brett beers, give this a shot.

Second, Turbo Prop:
500ml can served in a WABL sample glass. Beer #6 from my advent calendar purchased at Costco. EXP 2022/05.

Pours crystal clear light golden with a medium head and tons of carbonation. Smell is bready, grainy, maybe a hint of grass.

Taste is very very sweet, lots of honey and grain, just a shadow of grassy bitterness.

Mouthfeel is actually a little thick and sticky. Overall...it's not bad, it's enjoyable in its own way, but it is wayyyy too sweet for a pilsner.

---
Between the two, I think I enjoy the Chainline more, but neither of these things are anywhere near what I want from a pilsner. Neither is bad, though.

 

A non-BA beer buddy of mine recently gave me a bunch of cans - one of which was a Red IPA from a brewery in New Jersey. I planned to review it on this thread but it was awful - a drain pour. I may have gotten a bad can so I'm not going to defame the brewer today.

Instead, I opened an Altbier brewed by another new local brewer, Ashton Brewing. I commend any brewer that will can and release this style. And this one's pretty good. The toasted biscuit and caramel helped wash away the bad taste in my mouth. Here's my full review:

3.69/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

No evident canning date. Poured into a pint glass. It pours a hazy cola brown with orange hues, and sports a thick, frothy, ecru-colored had and thick lacing. A rather subdued nose with whiffs of caramel and biscuit. The taste opens with notes of dry biscuit and a touch of caramel. There is little bitterness but some herbal spice at the finish. Its' smooth and well-balanced. It has a pleasant mouth feel - moderate in body and carbonation - and the 5% ABV allows for easy drinking. Overall, it's nice to see a local brewer release an Altbier, particularly in cans. This would be a good beer to have on draught with a burger, cheese steak or sausage sandwich.

There are so many new breweries in the area and they all start to can right away. Some, like Twin Elephant and Untied, have made the jump to consistently brewing fine beer. I'm hoping there are similarly good things in Ashton Brewing's future. Cheers, NBW!

 

This was the first time in probably 5 years that I didn't buy any BCBS (even the base). It's a great beer, but I have plenty still in the fridge from prior years, and to your point, even if you aren't super price sensitive as a buyer, it's enough to give you pause.

Over the last 5 or so years this has become a bit more mainstream of a conversation, particularly as more and more press focuses on whether it's worth racking up $100k - $200k of student debt for college. There's no right or wrong answer, but I hope that more graduating high school seniors do the math. Plenty of good money to be made out there in jobs that require high skill, but not necessarily a degree.

 

I

I keep envisioning the impossible: Cary Grant playing The Count.

 

After a successful trip to a cut your own Christmast Tree Farm this afternoon (the tree didn't fall off the car on the way home unlike last year) it's time to watch the Eagles game. The only way to do so is with some high octane beer. Really, at this point the best thing for the franchise would be for them to lose out and secure a high draft pick.

Anyway, my first BIF I participated in was the Rookies BIF, and my sender was @FlintB. I had not idea what I was in store for, as he crushed my porch. I still have a ton of great beers from him that I haven't gotten to. After tonight, I'll have one less, as I've cracked open this can of Flying Buffalo - a bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout from Griffin Claw. This ended up being quite tasty (unsurprisingly).


4/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Jet black with an inch of dense beige head. As the head recedes, there's an odd dynamic that I don't recall seeing before. There's a lasting ring around the edge of the glass, and a silver dollar sized island of head that keeps foaming from underneath. Hard to describe, but it's like a volcanic island in the middle that keeps on fizzing (it's been close to 10 minutes since I poured the beer, and it's still growing). Update - the "volcano" stopped fizzing after about 30 minutes.

Aroma is figs and maybe some underlying bourbon barrel, and smells quite sweet. Not picking up much of anything in the way of roasted malts. On the tongue, I do pick up the roasted malts, and less of the fig / raisin notes from aroma. In other words, it tastes differently than it smells, but not in a bad way. Medium bodied, and maybe just a hair less chewy than I would have thought it would be, but smooth with just a bit of boozy heat on the finish.

 

Stone Ruination Sans Filtre, 8.5% ABV; 4.02 overall

Pours an effervescent honey color with a pinky of cream colored head. Fairly average head retention & lacing

S: Piney & catty. grapefruit once warm

T: Follows the nose, pomelo & bready dryness up front. Bready, piney, catty with grapefruit as this warms along with much dryness, some green melon. Finishes dry with pineyness & pomelo, plus cakeyness

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation

Tasty take on the style, not a world-class DIPA, but solid

 

Pretty tasty, nice to see it around, surprised me. Made a chuck roast/veggie style dinner.

Sailor's Kush Half Acre Beer Company

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18006/317087/?ba=Wasatch#review

Cheers!

 

Next offering of the day is a recent release from Cinderlands. Gregg, a Biere de Coupage, is the third release from their Foederhouse location, and I'll just let the bottle speak for itself in regards to a description:

"Gregg is a blended saison consisting of two threads: the first a mixed culture spelt saison hopped with Vic Secret and Barbe Rouge and fermented in stainless steel, and the second a mixed culture wheat saison brewed six months later with Enigma and fermented in an oak foeder. The saisons were combined in a foeder in late 2019 and matured together until bottling and naturally conditioning in the summer of 2020.

The resulting beer brings together the funky, dry qualities of the more mature spelt saison and the bright, tropical qualities of the younger wheat saison. Enjoy while Gregg takes the Hammond B3 for a walk in the Fillmore East version of Stormy Monday."

Well, I didn't have any Allman's cued up, but listening to Bill Frisell's East/West live album was a fitting replacement.

The first pour was a beautifully transparent vibrant straw color topped with a fluffy white head while the second pour was a bit cloudier due to some of the dregs being agitated and less of a head. The aroma was of sharp citrus, earthiness, fresh cut grass, barnyard funk, and oak. The flavor followed suit. It was the wood and earthy qualities that hit my palate first, and then brightening up on the finish with some of the citrus flavors. I couldn't pinpoint a specific fruit, but it was a bright acidic quality. That's not to say that the acidity was high. It was, in fact, quite restrained. The finish was very dry while the beer was lively with carbonation until the last sip. A nice effort from Cinderlands. I'm looking forward to more of these styles being available locally in the near future.

4.1/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

 

Finishing my New Beer foray with a new (to me) brewery and their 10.5% pastry stout with chocolate and peanut butter.



NBW #18 ended with an imperial peanut butter/chocolate stout from Tree House, so I felt it fitting to end #20 with another big ol' beer cut from a similar cloth. Mountains Walking Brewing Co. is brand-new to me as I mentioned, and we just started getting their beer in my neck of the woods last week some time.

This pours a tar-black liquid in my glass, topped off with a nice head that dissipates down to a solid finger of deep mocha suds pretty quickly. Spotty, soapy lace that lacks consistency, but I will say the legs here are pretty good. It's not quite a "scary stout" pour, but it's kinda close. Not bad looking.

The nose is, as expected, very good. Dark chocolate, salted peanut butter, and a hint of toffee with some light touches of roast and coffee as well. I guess comparing it to "Miles to Go Before I Sleep" by Tree House from a few weeks ago would be sensible, right? So, the TH one actually had coffee in it, but was a lower-ABV beer, but otherwise it's a fair comparison... this beer feels a fair bit sweeter by comparison, with some notes of almost-buttery caramel in there and without any of the fruit notes or acidity (which likely had to do with the coffee addition in the TH beer). The peanut butter here actually seems perhaps a bit restrained, but it's more intense than the Mikkeller Beer Geek Peanut Butter Shake I reviewed recently as well. I have to say, I'm proud of myself for doing the hard work with all of these huge-ass peanut butter/chocolate stouts coming out recently. Damaging my liver for research. Truly selfless work...

Flavor profile consists of a lot of chocolate malt, a bit of roast right off the bat, and salted peanuts with a lot of dense cocoa backing that element up... strong roasty malt aspect comes out in the mid palate. The finish is nice and sweet with more of that salted caramel note from the nose being brought out with ever more prominence. Satisfying stuff, for sure. The body is sufficiently heavy and chewy considering the ABV, but I think I'd probably like slightly more peanut butter. I also felt this way with the aforementioned Mikkeller beer, though, as well. Maybe I'm just kind of numb to peanut butter flavor in this type of beer? Not sure, but this is really good stuff regardless. I'll have to pay Mountains Walking some more attention as their beer trickles into my distribution area. I approve of this one!

That's it for my New Beer entries this week(end). I'll see you all next time...

 

I guess it depends on your table

 

South County Sound Machine, thanks @bl00!
4.14/5 rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Thank you bl00 for this
16 oz can, dated 11/5/20, poured into a pint glass

A- A hazy golden straw with a two finger white head.

S- Citrus, grapefruit, herbal tea, floral, some tropical fruit/melons.

T- Citrus, melons, some tropical fruits, touch of grapefruit, floral, earthy, slightly herbal.

M- Smooth, a little creamy, light to medium body.

O- A tasty and nice balanced pale ale, easy to drink.

Cheers!

 

Puzzles coming along. And if you look closely my son is giving his opinion. He's drinking Delirium Tremens.

 

@JayWhitson could probably provide some more insight but apparently one of the brewers from Other Half moved to Montana to brew awesome beers

 

It has been a few weeks... Survived Thanksgiving and the first big storm of the winter dropped snow around us but not on us... Our grandson turned four today, going on 40...so things came in the mail, a couple of drive by drop offs, home made pizza, and a worm cake...

In our glasses tonight:



Spencer Winter Warmer from our monk friends here in MA. I met Father Isaac in person about three years ago. He is an amazing individual.

Pours like a red ale, awesome tan head that lasts just right. Pretty reddish brown, crystal clear.

The smell is pretty faint, but definitely some winter warmer-ish spice notes in the clove and nutmeg vicinity.

The taste is pleasant enough, but a little vague to me. The spice shows up more in the aftertaste. Pleasant, fun, but saying understated would not do it justice. Some Belgian candy sugar flavor, moderately bitter.

It seems a bit thin on the feel, fairly drying.

I see one review from @jlindros and it is almost like I am drinking a different beer. I agree with the score...3.5 will be generous. It is a good looking brew, but it heads down slope from there. To me it is mild where I think it could be much bolder...

 

Accidental post to the wrong thread. Please forgive me I've been drinking

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Just got home from a trip to Iowa today. I did get a lot of new beer there, and here's one of them I picked up.


Confluence Brewing Company - Gray's Lake Nessie /w Hazelnut coffee - 5.7% ABV.

I'm liking this, and my review will show it well.

3.91/5 rDev -5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours a lighter brown color. 2 finger off white head. Head is somewhat frothy. Retention isn't the best. Some lacing on the glass.
The nose has a nice coffee aroma mixed in with a hint of hazelnut. I also do get some chocolate in the aroma.
Taste - Now the flavors are reversed from the aroma. There's tons of hazelnut, but not as much coffee. I do get some chocolate still. A bit of vanilla. Some caramel.
The body is a bit light. However, not extremely. The bitterness from the coffee lingers, and I do also get some carbonation tickling my throat.
Not bad at all. A pleasure to try.


It's been a very long day, but I think I'll get one more in.

 

Hello NBW.
I believe I forgot to post this here. A nice little BA Russian Imperial Stout from Thimble Island Brewing Co.
Mutually Assured Destruction https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30922/201349/?ba=2beerdogs#review
This came to me from our very own @Roy_Hobbs

Marked: Barrel Aged 2017
Pours nearly black. Initially, a fluffy head foams up roughly a finger high, but quickly drops off to a thin ring.
Smell is warm with booze, sweet caramel, roasted coffee, and a mild fruity note that is hard to nail down.
Taste follows the nose fairly faithfully. But there is a distinct fruit flavor that maintains its presence throughout. It is a deep, dark cherry-to-date flavor. It's the only way I can describe it.
Feel is ok for the style.
Overall, a little sweeter than your typical RIS, but not as sweet as many of the BA Impy's out there nowadays.
3.79/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75