New Beer Weekend #26

This weekend I went looking for grapefruit & ginger in Springdale's beers. Yesterday's Paloma delivered on the grapefruit and their Dark & Stormy was for the ginger.

Part of their Not Stirred series, this is an "Oak Aged Sour With Ginger"
Springdale describes this as

The bottle adds that it was "aged minimum 6 months"

A Dark & Stormy only has three ingredients (black rum, ginger beer, lime juice). Sadly this misses out on two of those; there is some nice lime zest, but no rum or ginger. This could have been a success if Springdale had brewed up some actual alcoholic ginger beer added that to the sour and aged it in rum barrels. As it is, they produced a fine oak aged sour, but not anything evoking the drink they named it after.
(IRL the beer is the color of the bottle with an amber/ruby tinge)

4/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
L: Brown with a amber/ruby tint, a thin, quickly dissolving ivory head and almost continuous very small bubbles that look like a carbonation version of smoke rings
S: yeasty barnyard funk, oak leaves, lemon & orange zest, with a subtle honey-like aroma, no ginger
T: lemon, bitter orange, lime zest, oak tannins, hay, yeast and stables, no ginger
F: tart and tingly on the tongue, mild carbonation, with a clean, dry, "sandy" finish
O: A very nice barrel aged sour, but not reminiscent of a Dark & Stormy.
There are only three ingredients in a Dark & Stormy (black rum, ginger beer, lime juice) and this beer is missing two those. The lime is there, but no rum flavor and no noticeable ginger.
A perfectly acceptable sour ale, but not what the label advertises.

 

Harveistoun black engine oil
..solid black appearance
..about a medium body withe medium light carbonation.
...aroma is bitter black coffee, coffee grinds bitterness, bitter dark chocolate ,did I mention bitter? Coffee beans,roasted malt and a little dark fruit.
..taste is bitter dark chocolate, coffee,coffee grinds, roasted malt,almost a little dry yet a slight sweetness on the finish. An odd saltiness in the aftertaste.
..overall it is excellent. Not a post mowing the lawn beer but it is an intense flavorful beer

 

Brewing Projekt Long Gone NEIPA, 6.55% ABV. Pours hazy orange with a nice 4+ finger bright-white head that left lots of foamy lacing. Nose is citrus, melon, and pine. Taste follows with slight sweetness and moderate bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel, with decent carbonation. Overall excellent-adjacent. More IPA than NEIPA.

3.93/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Another one from Harviestoun that I love, and another reason I consider them a favorite brewery of mine, glad people are posting them here this weekend.

 

Speciation Incipient Strawberry, thanks @bl00!
4.14/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Thank you bl00 for this
16 oz can poured into a tulip

A- A hazy light red with orange highlights and a two finger off-white head.

S- Tart, strawberry jam, wheat, oak, mild barnyard funk, slightly herbal.

T- Sour, strawberries, lemons, herbal, wheat, oak, some funk.

M- Smooth, crisp, light to medium body.

O- A nicely done strawberry sour, no artificial flavors.

Cheers!

 

And that’s the one “optional” ingredient while the other two are essential. I would think that it’s even difficult to have the ginger not announce itself.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. One of the Slack Tide Brewing Co.'s releases for its 5th Anniversary celebration yesterday was a barrel-aged version of its excellent breakfast stout, Morning Bite. I had a growler of Morning Bite in 2018 and was very impressed by it - as were the other BA reviewers. The brewery recently canned the base Stout for the first time. The BA version is only sold in 22 oz. bottles. I'm having it with a plate of sharp Vermont cheese, rye crackers, and apple slices.

The first thing I noticed is that the head disappears almost instantly which is disappointing. At 11.5% ABV I would have expected a little longer lasting head. The color is a deep walnut with dark cola hues especially at the bottom of the glass. The smell offers abundant chocolate, fresh coffee, and some dark fruit. The bourbon is evident but subtle. The taste is similar: it's very nicely crafted with rich chocolate, freshly-brewed coffee, black cherry, and earthy, nutty char. Very little bitterness. Again, the barrel notes are evident but not distracting. Regrettably, the mouth feel disappoints. It's not as creamy and thick as my notes on the base stout indicate. I'm not sure whether this is because of the barrel-aging. The carbonation level is low to medium and the 11.% ABV is warming but not overly distracting. I'm feeling visceral disappointment but I shouldn't. The flavors are wonderful and if I didn't have such (maybe unreasonable) expectations, I'd be raving about it.

4.32/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Slack Tide is a gem of a brewery and I'm grateful that it's a short drive from our place at the shore. It's off the beaten path. If it were up here in North Jersey, then I believe you'd be hearing a lot more about it. The best kept secret in New Jersey IMHO. Cheers, NBW!

 

Hey NBW. Looks like we had quite a few fruit beers this weekend. Guess I will hop on that train also with Trillium
Twice the Daily Serving Berliner Weisse Mixed Berry. (Raspberry, Blackberry, Strawberry, Boysenberry, Blueberry and Black Currant. Jeez.
Pours a milkshake like plum color with a creamy rose tinged head that has good retention with alot of sticky lacing.
Aroma is yup berries!!! I get mostly raspberry and blackberry with notes of strawberry and blueberry. Theres a little hint of earthy bubblegum yeast in there as well.
Taste follows like a fruit smoothie with tons of juicy pure berry taste with a citrusy/lemon acidity and light tartness that tries and fails to balance the sweetness.
Feel is medium/full, fairly thick, no alcohol at 7.2% - a little scary, lightly carbonated, sweet but not cloying.
Interesting. This beer is about as close to not being a beer as I can ever remember having. Damn its tasty fruit juice. If you're in the mood for a some fruit without going to "Raw Bobs" for a fruit smoothie then here you are. I could see this being a great ingredient for a beer cocktail- thinking about that already. So if you're in the mood for a beer dont expect too much. But if you're in the mood for granola and fruit- bingo.

 

It's that time again. @BBThunderbolt also blessed me with two mystery beers in the box he shipped. The first I drank a week or two ago, but I still had this one. With no guidance aside from knowing the abv was appropriate for any situation, I reached for the Lost Forty snulip that @jvgoor3786 sent my way and gave it a pour.

It pours a perfectly transparent straw color topped with an inch and a half of tiny-bubbled head that is maintaining a nice blanket of suds as I drink through it. The aroma is a familiar doughy malt with some crisp cracker. As I drank I began to notice more grassy hop notes. Upon first sip my suspicions are confirmed that this is a pale lager of some kind. There is a nice balance of flavor throughout the glass. The hops add some grassy and spicy notes. It has a nice doughy malt backbone, but with only a touch of sweetness. It's closing in on a medium body, but isn't quite there in my estimation. The carbonation was well lively on my palate. All in all, a nicely balanced easy drinking lager that is going perfectly with the Browns being the Browns of old. Never change, Cleveland.

So here we are, at the end of the bottle with only a sip left in my glass. I'm very confident in putting this in the pale lager category, but that's about where my confidence ends. There are a few styles in that subset that I can eliminate, but of the ones that remain I feel like it's a crap shoot. I'm leaning toward a helles, and I believe I'll stick with that guess. Time to unveil.

Woooo! This is very exciting for me to nail down the style. Chuckanut's Helles Lager for the win! This is a brewery that I've seen PNW residents speak highly of, and it's a pleasure to try my first offering from them. Thanks again, Terry!

3.98/5 rDev +5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

 

Hope you didn't take offense at my response, was just explaining where I am at in my beer journey. I took no offense to your post. Accounting for beers I still need to enter, I still have at least 100 beers to go among the Top 250 most popular/rated beers on BA.

I like learning about beers and keep an active list of brewers and beers I like to visit or purchase, based on WBAYDN, NBW/NBS and the BA Style/Beer Online Tasting events. I hope to be able to resume visiting breweries and resume 1-2 beer road trips per year once things begin to reopen. Jealous many areas are fully open to onsite consumption, things are locked down here and winter precludes enjoyable outdoor dining.

Beers I added to my list from this weekend among the rarer styles available include:

• @jonphisher Stone's Self Righteous Black IPA
• @Snowcrash000 Oude Mûre Tilquin à L'Ancienne
• @FBarber Burnt City Black Pit of Hatred

 

Pours a clear copper color with a creamy eggshell white head, almost 2 fingers to start and settles to a 1/4” cap.


Sweet and somewhat flowery in the nose. Vanilla and caramel stand out.


Taste begins with sweetness from the vanilla. Though subdued slightly, the centennial hops show up midway. Nice contrast to the caramel malt backbone.


Finish is much cleaner than anticipated. Carbonation and lighter body keep it from overwhelming the palate.


Overall a pretty easy drinker. To be honest, not really what I was expecting, still very good though. A good beer to start with if you’re going to be jumping around between styles and flavors.

 

Oh no, no offense taken at all - we are 1,000% copacetic.

That Stone beer is aptly named - it is righteously awesome, IMHO. Enjoy it!

 

Half Acre Second Setting. Canned 12.16.20
DIPA. 8%
Opened Jan 16. Posted the pic in wbaydn yesterday.


4.28/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

L - careful of that orange foam sunset. Good foam, decent lace, looks great.
S- legal pineapple Jamaica. Tropical notes without the coconut (thankfully). Definitely some white grape in the nose.
T - dank pineapple mango but doesn't creep into imperial sweetness. Refreshing for a DIPA.
M - DELICATE and fluffy mouth feel. Maybe its best characteristic.
O - a great haze banger from HA. Glad that no sabro dominates if it's present.

 

Good Sunday evening NBS/NBW, thanks @SawDog505 for hosting this week. Just home from a 13 mile hike into CT on the New England Trail, Sadly no snow here, Remember when we had snow in winter here in western New England? To those who have it enjoy it.
Todays offering is from the Brewery at Four Star Farms, way to long a name, the offering is a delightful "British style Golden Ale" as per the label. The grains/hops balance is really good. Nothing boring here, quite well balanced with lots of edges to explore.
Well Done indeed
Do good
Be well

Bright Morning

Blonde Ale - American | 4.5% ABV

The Brewery at Four Star Farms
Northfield, Massachusetts

4.16/5 rDev 0% | Average: 4.16
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16 oz can purchased at the brewery, no date provided.
A - Dark straw color, excellent clarity, gentle carbonation, An initial white froth quickly subsides, the carbonation continues to feed a resilient thin lace on top.
S - Earthy grains, a hint of pepper, Earl Grey, lemon drop, all in the mix, within a tight band.
T - Solid malt base, rye adds a bit of spice, again a nice Earl Grey thread, light citrus, orange peel, and earthy hops are a solid component.
M - Bristly and bright on the palate, medium in body, pub style carbonation. Smooth with a nice dry finish, displaying the slightest bitter, citrus thread.
O - A very good Blonde ale, I really appreciate the earthy/citrus expression. The grains add a welcome spicy aspect. Well executed and quite the treat to drink

 

Yeah... our drive is about 200' long, down-sloped and slightly curved, tree-lined on both sides with a 4-5 foot sloped drop-off on both sides for about half of the distance... I put up reflectors before the ground freezes each year to mark where the edge of the drive is - both for snow-blowing and driving.

I went out today, and had to put the Jeep in 4WD to avoid slipping sideways...

I need a few days of sunny skies badly!

 

I won't bore everyone with my nonsensical and crazy life but the short version is I haven't been drinking much beer over the last few months so in turn haven't been posting in this thread much. But lately I have been in the mood for a beer here and there and today I grabbed something new to me:

Iron Hill Sweet Leaf IPA - the 16 oz can art is pretty cool. 7.2%, pours a clear lighter golden color. Smell and taste reminds me of Lagunitas Lil Sumpin' Sumpin' so it was enjoyable to me. Not something I would seek out but would gladly drink again if handed one.

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A cloudy-ish morning has given way to a sunny afternoon, with about 45 degrees on the thermometer. We've had a mild winter so far, even by Fourth Corner standards (I haven't had to wear my fleece, gloves, or wool socks yet), but the weather guessers are calling for a cold snap towards the end of the upcoming week.

In my glass is a Canadian beer from @Coronaeus via the recent NBS BIF 12.5, Bellwoods Brewery Jelly King Raspberry and Blackberry version. A very berry forward brew that I'm enjoying quite a bit.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28820/396198/