New Beer Weekend #23

Good morning NBW
I was able to score a four pack of this BBA RIS brewed right up the road in Bloomington, IN this year. Upland Brewing Teddy Bear Kisses Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Cocoa

The review:
12oz canned 10/12/20 (about ten weeks ago) poured into a tulip glass at just above fridge temp 11% ABV. The beer pours dense black with nearly no light penetration and mocha colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of tiny bubbles. Minimal spotty lacing. The aroma is mild with cocoa, roasted malt and a hint of barrel. The taste is bittersweet with the bourbon barrel right up front before the roasted malt, earthy hops and dark chocolate come through. Strong bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with just less than medium carbonation and a dry finish. No hint of the ABV in the taste or aroma. Overall, very good. The aroma is a weak point here and I would prefer it thicker, but it's enjoyable.

Upland is probably best known for sours, although I couldn't tell you about those since I don't drink them. I do buy a four pack of the non-barrel aged Teddy Bear Kisses each year and enjoy them. I've had a coconut and an orange zest barrel aged variant that I thought were very good as well.

I'm still working nightshifts, so just the one new beer here this morning. Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass today!

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Better late than never. Too hung over to even think about beer Christmas Day. The beer tasting I had at my friend's place Christmas eve went way into Christmas day. We were pounding Yuenglings down at the end of it, because the bottle of Mocha Wednesday scared us too much. I have no idea what time we ended it, but my best guess is around 4 am.
No desire to review after work last night - and yes the job is going great, and I still love it so damn much. Such a good fit for me. I so love helping people find something good for them. Yesterday I helped a guy find a wine, and I hope he likes it. I'm not a wine drinker, but I do see what we sell, and sell a lot of. So that just pumped me up even more.

Now today, it's new beer time. And this is tasting great, and I've got to thank the extreme generosity of @Dragginballs76 for this one. I sent him a few beers earlier this year, because he said he hadn't had any beers from the Dakotas. I was able to send him some North Dakota beer, and I'll have to get him some SD beer the next time I head there, maybe even this week - weather permitting.


Alien Hat from Columbia Craft Brewing - it is a watermelon flavored kettle sour ale. 5% ABV.

I'm a fan of this style. I love a good wild beer, and this fits the bill. The watermelon comes in on the back a bit, but it cuts the funk with a touch of sweet that makes for a tasty beer.

I like it, and is a good way to start the day. Thank you so much Mike.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/51560/477439/

4.04/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a light, crisp looking golden color. Fairly clear. 2 finger fluffy, cloud like head. Head retention is good, and there's some nice lacing on the glass.
The nose is a wild, and a bit funky floral aroma. There's just a faint hint of watermelon here as well, but it's more on the back of the aroma.
Taste - Very wild tasting. Very floral and earthy flavor. Somewhat tart. The watermelon smooths the tartness out a bit, on the backside.
Crisp and bubbly body. Somewhat "dry" flavor.
Tasty and delicious. Easy drinking. Just all around good.


Be back for more later.

 

Good morning NBS/NBW (I know but I cant let it go) I hope evryone had the best holiday weekend possible, with all that makes safe sense this year. We spoke with #1 son, had a breil and "safe" visit with #2. Each are adults and that may have been harder to grasp than any restrictions needed.
Todays offering is from our dear friends at Hill Farmstead, Viola Sofia is a reimagined stout that was brewed years ago, and revisited. To me the lesson is that a big stout needs no more than attention to detail. Clearly this is one that I hope continues in some rotation.
Be well
Do Good
Viola Sofia

Stout - Russian Imperial | 10% ABV

Grassroots Brewing
Greensboro Bend, Vermont

4.14/5 rDev -3.3% | Average: 4.28
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from the 500 ml bottle, dated "bottled on Aug 19, 2020" .
A - Cobalt black in color, excellent tan knit thick cap, loose knit base, thight knit top. The cap alone is a work of art.
There no light getting through this one, so the proof of carbonation is that lovely cap.
S - Bakers chocolate, char, the slightest hint of cigar wrap tobacco, with some dark fruit in there as well, especially dark cherry, add a touch of fig.
T - Every element from the aromatic hits the palate, with a bit of warming, the chocolate compnent moves more bitter, and the roast is stronger, with a bit of espresso touch.
M - Creamy smooth, on the palate, runs a heavy medium in body. There is a dance that unfolds with bitter cocoa and sweet dark char that waltz across the palate. Its a delightful dance, each intetwined and in step. The finish is dry and delightful.
O - A classic in form, Imperial Stout without any gimmicks. Exquisite on the palate, velvet smooth, but nicely bittered. a sipper and worth every effort to find and explore.

 

I misread this at first. I thought you were saying the wife and you split up on Christmas. I thought "Damn, that's awful timing!" Glad to re-read and see that was not the case.

 

Pours a very dark color with a nice tan head and lacing
Aroma has German chocolate cake hints
The taste follows the nose with a German chocolate cake flavor
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A well done Imperial Stout

 

Round #2

Adaptive Matter from The Starkeller/August Schell Brewing. 4.8% ABV.

This is a tasty, fruity, tart, and damn amazing. I love this.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/417/498869/

4.22/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours an orange color. Lots of carbonation, but no head. Really bubbly looking.
The nose is a very tropical fruit aroma. Tons of mango. Some guava and passion fruit mixed in as well here.
Taste - The mango is the star here. nice and tart, yet sweet at the same time. The mango is backed up by the guava and passion fruit. a solid trio.
Bubbly, tart, thick, and full bodied.
Tasty and delicious. I love this beer.


I'll be back later for another round.

 

A little Sunday brunch treat...

Pours a clear cola brown with ruby hues where the light hits it. Light and effervescent tan head settles quickly to a thin cap.

Nose is dark chocolate, coffee and a mild caramel malt note.

Flavors follow the nose closely with dark chocolate and coffee up front. The cherry shows itself in the background throughout and works nicely against the chocolate malt backbone. Aftertaste is chocolate with some roasted coffee bitterness. Light to medium body coupled with the carbonation make for a nice offering that doesn’t have to be a one-and-done.

I like how the flavors all play off of one another without any one aspect being dominant. There’s that blurry area between porter and stout, and I think that’s where this one falls. That said...really nice beer, and seasonally appropriate.

 

Merry Christmas, fellow NBWers,

I had big beer plans for Christmas day, but after working a 10-hour day, by the time I got home I was tired, so I just had a quick & easy dinner, slammed a Celebration Ale, talked to my folks on the phone and went to bed. I work at the local Airport, so I spent much of the day prepping for the snow storm that was going to hit us Christmas evening. When I awoke Saturday morning, we had an official reading of 3.7 inches of snow on the ground, second-most to have fallen on a Christmas Day since they started keeping records here.

Yesterday, I decided to hit a beer from the NBS mini BIF box I received from @FrankenMiller. The contents of said box was (there's been a little attrition):



As you can see, that's a lot of Florida beer goodness, most of it of the hoppy variety.

Yesterday's victim was Navy Camo, a hazy DIPA from Civil Society:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/43215/518659/?ba=woemad#review
This was just smooove. Really drinkable stuff, with overtones of Mandarin oranges, and in no way tasting like it was over 8%.

Spent the rest of the day packing Xmas presents for the Parentals & my Bro & his family. We're meeting up this afternoon at the Parental Palace in my hometown for a "Socially distanced" gift exchange that will be taking place in my Dad's shop. Thanks to the pandemic, I haven't seen my parents since March, and my brother and his family since last December. It will be my first road trip since I sunk approximately $1,500 worth of work into my car's engine, so, fingers crossed! I'm bringing along some local beers from whistle Punk Brewing and a crowler of Abraxas.

 

That color bottle really jumped out to me. I found this story:
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/c...anac-uses-green-bottles-due-to-glass-shortage

@jesskidden

 

Good morning BAs! I tasted a bunch of, inter alia, stouts yesterday at a bottle share, and wanted something a little different this morning...”Bourbon Barrel Qualified” a Belgian-style quadruple ale aged in bourbon barrel, by Taxman Brewing Co., Bargersville, IN. I like quads, so let’s go!



Poured at 53 degrees; deep amber/ruby brown with excellent clarity; thin fizzy khaki head leaves very little cap retention, a small island of micro dots; thin ring; dots of lace on agitation; no legs. Nose is caramel malt and bourbon; fruity esters; dried cherries. Sweet caramel candy up front, bourbon right behind; figs and dusty dried dates; oak and vanilla middle; light spicy black pepper; caramel finish. Creamy feel; medium body; face flushing warmth from 10% abv; moderate minus carbonation. Overall quite good; the bourbon barrel notes compliment the sweet and fruity flavors; lovely well balanced layers from malt, yeast and barrel; a very good riff on a classic style; I enjoyed and will gladly drink again.

4.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5
Score: 4.47 rDev +10.6

 

Happy Sunday, all you reviewers of our collective favorite malt beverage. I recently have been thinking about purchasing more classic British and German and Belgian beers, but with the prevalence of the barrel-aged beers of the season, my money has been driven elsewhere. This morning I have sort of a compromise beer - a barrel aged beer from a part of the United Kingdom, specifically a Scotland brewer that began operations in 2003 - Innis & Gunn.


This beer is a variant of their their Original beer (which has ~1900 ratings, including mine as a straight 3.75 without a review , which is right at the overall average). I have rated two other beers from the company, but not any since 2016. I have modest expectations for the beer, a 6.6% ale that has been aged in Scotch Whisky barrels - so simply named "Barrel-Aged The Original, Scotch Whisky Barrel Ale"

I will admit, it was a tad odd seeing such a golden brew pour from a barrel-aged beer bottle, but that's on me. I didn't expect it to be stout-like, but for some reason expected a little more amber/red. It is nicely clear, and has a fluffy white head that makes the entire package quite enticing (only confirmed by the lovely sheet of lacing as I drank it).

The nose as I poured has a mix of standard ale and a light fruit without anything from the barrel. That said, my nose wasn't near the beer, so we'll have to observe more closely. Digging in, there's definitely a strong presence of the base beer - a malt-leaning ale with a lightly spicy hop. The fruit is apple - more gala to red delicious with a hint of fermentation to them. The barrel might be providing some of the spice that I originally attributed to hops - but the impression of a hopped ale remains in my mind.

A light, refreshing liquid hits my palate. The effervescence is strong, but not overpowering. The beer is more dry than I expected, with a bit of dry wood in the lingering feel/taste.

The flavors from the nose are present in the taste, but in a completely different arrangement. Very lightly toasted malt with a splash of apple cider it joined by neutral bitterness. The spice bite that the carbonation boosts seems to be a little more spirit-based, though I wouldn't say the flavors of the Scotch come through very distinctly.

So, overall this is a bit different than I expected in the specifics, but not in general. It is more easy drinking than many a barrel-aged beer, which was expected; it had a little cider note where I expected a little bit more of the barrel (which I didn't expect to be boldly displayed). It was a little more dry than expected, and I think that helped my enjoyment as much as anything.

 

Heavy Seas 25th anniversary
Pours a dark brown color with a slight head and lacing
Aroma has toffee, caramel and vanilla, with slight hints of Rye and Bourbon
The taste follows the nose with a nicely balanced rye, bourbon, toffee, caramel and vanilla flavors
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A well done Rye and Bourbon barrel aged Strong Ale

 

The first Matt beer branded Saranac, released in 1985, "Saranac 1888 All-Malt Lager" was packaged in green glass, as you can clearly see, uh... imagine from this announcement. (Also says it in the accompanying text ).

 

Final planned new beer for New Beer Sunday #826 is also a Chicago beer, this one brewed at the Fulton Brewery owned and operated by Goose Island, Guava Squad.



Can Notes: This is a double dry hopped IPA with natural guava flavor, brewed and packaged by Goose Island in Chicago, 6.0% ABV, 30 IBU. Best by March 19, 2021 @ 9:00 AM.

Online Notes:
Hops: Belma. Meridian, and Southern Passion Fruit.
Malts: Pilsen, White Wheat, Carapils.

Guava Squad was inspired by a recipe from the female brewers of Goose Island in honor of International Women’s Day to highlight the work of women in the brewing industry. This double dry-hopped IPA is brewed with Belma, Meridian, and Southern Passion Fruit that each bring various flavors to the beer. With a final addition of guava, you get a bright IPA full of tropical fruit flavors that any squad will love.

Appearance: 12 ounce can poured into GI MBA nonic, Murky golden peach color pour, fluffy white head lingers for a few minutes before leaving fine clumpy lacing. Carbonation light, sustained throughout. 3.5

Aroma: Very sweet quava, lemon, grapefruit, fresh, bold and natural. Very nice. 4.25

Taste: Fresh guava and lemon remain but muted, offset by bitter dry hops. Wheat taste light, comparable to a hefeweizen, Taste much lighter than nose leads, balance achieved the tropical fruit somewhat muted. Floral backing. 3.5

Mouthfeel: Very dry, lightly bitter. Thin body, faint fizzy carbonation lingers throughout. Dryness overwhelms at times, guava sweetness tries to balance but fails. Easy drinking, very dry aftertaste. 3.25

Overall: The double dry hopping of this muted the fruit flavor, would have benefited from letting the fruit and sweetness emerge. OK offering. 3.25

It's been a great beer 2020. I very much enjoyed participating in these threads throughout the year, and I am looking forward to finishing my remaining new 2020 beers, and picking up new 2021 beers starting next week. Happy New Years to each and every one of you!

 

Zusatz No 1 by Schilling

4.44/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

6oz draft at the schilling brewery, 5.7 abv



Their first beer in their brewers experimental series , bright gold with a pillowy head , aromas of melon , white grape and white bread define this lager along with flavors if honey , melon and white wine. Finishes with a note of citrus pith, white grape and malt sweetness, bready finish

Creamy pencil thick white foam head over a clear golden liquid , few streams of microcarbonation , good lacings

Low sudsing ,

Good beer , repeatable

 

Up next, and it's one I thought I wouldn't have a chance to try, and one I'd rather not have gotten under the circumstances.


Vietnamese Coffee Darkness from Surly Brewing - 12% ABV

We only got a small box at the store of the darkness variants. Looking at the box, we got 2 of each for 6 total. They were set aside for a really good, and very regular beer customer at our store.

Sadly, he keeled over dead while working out before he bought his reserved beers.My guess a heart attack. He wasn't that old either - in his 30's. Just a kid to me.

They were sitting there, and the beer manager asked if I wanted to buy them. I, of course, said yes. I'd rather have have the late customer drinking them, and I raise my glass in his honor.

I've never been able to go to Darkness Day/Days, because of work, so I've never had the chance to try any of the different Darkness.

I'm not a coffee drinker, however, I love a good coffee beer. This is a good coffee beer. I love the smooth flavor. So easy drinking, with almost no alcohol burn - yet you know this is high octane, and is a sipper for sure. Delicious!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/522619/

4.43/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours pitch black. 2 finger brown head. Retention isn't good, but decent for the higher ABV. No lacing on the glass.
Tons of coffee in the aroma as I was pouring this beer. Up close I get tons of caramel, vanilla, and toffee in the aroma. There's a hint of dark chocolate here as well. Yes, there's coffee up close, but not as strong as when pouring.
Taste - Up front a smooth coffee flavor, that turns into caramel and toffee, that finishes with a nice vanilla flavor.
Thick, rich and full bodied. Smooth drinking with minimal alcohol burn.
I love this beer, and I love the size even better. 16 oz is the perfect size for such a big beer, and I wish Surly would make their regular and BA Darkness in this format.


Maybe more, though, this will keep me busy for quite a while.

 

After several days of rich food and big stouts, a dry WCIPA is a nice change of pace

Dated 11/17/2020 and available on the shelves of my neighborhood wine shop
Maine Beer Company Wolfe's Neck IPA.

Clear gold with a stubborn white head. Strong citrus and tropical aromas. Good use of the Sabro hop. Nice bitterness and dry finish. Another Maine Beer IPA worth $7 for a pint and a half.

4.39/5 rDev +6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

i really enjoyed the carmella, even though I went in thinking the opposite based on flavor profile. I thought they nailed the flavors they were going for but could understand how some would think it came across too sweet

 

Today is the official share date from NBS BIF #12.5 the "mini holiday BIF". I received an amazing box of beer from @Roguer that was anything but "mini". Included in said box were two mystery beers, the first of which I will now review. I'm typically terrible at mystery beers, so this could be interesting.

Appearance: Dark brown pour. Cola colored as it poured from bottle to glass, then a fully opaque deep, deep brown once in the glass. Little to almost no head. Based on appearance, perhaps a barleywine or a quad. 4.0
Aroma: Sweet malts, caramel, toffee. Smells very enticing. My mind is starting to play tricks on me, as I'm still thinking barleywine, but I'm picking up some bourbon barrel here, but based on the nose & appearance overall, it doesn't seem like a stout. 4.25
Taste: Smoke & charred barrels are the first things I taste, and they are dominant. With subsequent sips they remained present, but as my tongue acclimated, they definitely weren't as dominant as the first sip or two. Still picking up some sweet malts / caramel. At this point, still thinking something in the strong ale family...maybe a Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy? 4.25
Feel - Medium feel and nice and smooth. I can taste the alcohol, but in a good way. 4.25
Overall - Very tasty beer. Really good sipper. I feel like I should be sitting by a fire in the parlor (which I don't have) wearing an ascot (which I also don't have) and smoking a pipe. I'm going to stick with a Scotch Ale, although barleywine is still not out of the range of possibilities. 4.25
The reveal - Double Surrender Ash (Aardwolf Brewing). It's a "Scotch & Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Barleywine". Overall, I wasn't crazy far off....much closer than I would have guessed, as I'm typically terrible with blind beers. This was an amazing choice for a blind beer. Definitely unique and quite tasty.

 

Howdy NBS! It's time again for a few new beer reviews. Glad to join you folks here for another weekend. Hope everyone's holiday was good and that you gave and received many nice, thoughtful gifts. On to the beer, though...



This is Kon Tiki, a newly-released IPA from Austin Street Brewery, one of the many establishments located on Industrial Way in Portland, ME. In my opinion, they're probably the "least-good" of all of them, but they've made some nice stuff before so I figured I'd give this a shot. I mean, it's hopped with Enigma and Vic Secret, so why not?

The pour here is a milky yellowish color with 100% opacity and a nice, sudsy head that builds up to almost four full fingers of foam (alliteration!). As it sinks down to a finger or so, it leaves behind excellent lace and legs with some decent surface coverage as well. If you enjoy really heavily-hazy IPAs, you'll probably like how this one looks; I personally think it could stand to have a bit more depth to the color, but maybe it's just me.

I couldn't find a can date on this one, which always annoys me. How can you tell me to drink something fresh if I don't know how old it is? Argh. Some research on social media says this was released 12/10, making it about two-and-a-half weeks old, which is nice but I'd prefer to just see that on the can. Anyway, it has a pithy citrus nose with some bright rose-like floral notes and papaya mixed with grassiness. Enigma does a cool job here bringing out some light berry undertones, and some dankness from VS is also present, but dialed back so it's not overly-intense. Kinda cool nose here, honestly.

First sip is grapefruit rind and mango with a helping of passion fruit and pineapple notes crossed with bitter greenness and a touch of resin. It has a decent swallow of lingering bitterness with a somewhat "typical" NEIPA-type body; sorta creamy but moderately-carbed, with a fullness to it that feels solid enough. Punchy dank elements come out as I get a bit more into the can, almost but not quite giving off a "hop burn" element. Hmm, this isn't bad but it doesn't blow me away, either. Again, AS has kind of showed up to the game with these above-average-but-not-great beers for a year or so now in my distribution area, and I almost always will rather go with Definitive, Battery Steele, or Foundation when it comes to hoppy stuff. Fun to take a chance but not a rebuy honestly.

Back soon with more...