New Beer Weekend #31

I'm on Team Palatine, but enjoy them both tremendously. Glad you liked them.

I'm definitely looking forward to when his beers are available again (later this spring if I remember correctly)

 

Happy New Beer Weekend/Sunday everyone! Today I'm drinking a bourbon barrel aged stout from Trillium and Private Press Brewing called Crates.

Bottle date of 12/11/20

Pours dark brown black with a tan brown foam head that leaves a thin ring around the glass as it slowly recedes.

Smells super rich like warm toasty dark brown bread, dark dried fruits, raisin, fig, prune, dates, dark caramel, molasses, charred toffee, vanilla, nutty oak barrel, bourbon, rich dark chocolate, roasted malts, with some mild earthy hop balancing.

Tastes rich and sweet, a little boozy and viscous, real complex and deep, dark dried fruits, raisin, fig, fig newton, dates, prunes, hint of blackberry, warm toasty dark brown bread, rich dark chocolate, dark caramel, molasses, charred toffee, maple, dark brown sugar, vanilla, marshmallow, bourbon oak barrels, roasted malt, some nuanced pecan nuttiness, subtle tobacco leaf spice, cinnamon swirl, with mild earthy hops. Really tasty, rich, a little on the sweet side especially for a stout with no added ingredients, pretty complex with a good range of flavors, highly enjoyable for a bourbon barrel stout and/or sweet dessert stout enthusiast like me.

Feels medium-full bodied, fairly viscous and thick, creamy with smooth moderate low carbonation.

Overall this is a pretty fantastic bourbon barrel aged imperial stout from Trillium and Private Press. Big rich flavors, dark chocolatey, not overly roasty for me, a little on the sweet side without real dessert components, huge bourbon barrel extraction, nice concentration in taste. If this were half the size or half the price I would like to get some more bottles to lay down for the future, as it stands though this is a real nice experience that I'm glad to have in it's early stage right now, and a highly enjoyable rich satisfaction. Cheers everyone, and happy NBW!

 

Happy Sunday, advocates. I have a new beer from a well-known brewer across the Atlantic.


I noticed Dorée was a lower ABV beer from Chimay and listed on this site as a Belgian Blonde Ale. I was expecting a Belgian yeasty, fragrant beer with some fruity sweetness. I ended up getting that, but the lighter aspects of this ended up providing some interesting notes as well.

As you can see, we got a normal fluffy white head, and while the color in the photo is a tad darker than I am perceiving, the body did have a little dull to dirty aspect to it.

The nose is mostly fruity - orchard fruit with a hint of nectarine to me with some classic Belgian spices. The flavor has both of these as well, opening and closing each sip. In between, I get a grain note that blends into an light herbal bitterness before it adds a bit of black pepper. The beer gets a bit sweeter, especially up front, as it warms, especially as the carbonation, which is fairly biting initially, starts to fade a bit.

I liked reviewing this beer, as there were some notes I didn't quite expect that I found. I thought it did a decent job being a lighter Belgian offering, but I didn't end up liking it overall as much as I liked the individual components.

 

Good afternoon to all. Going to try a new beer and new brewery today with this Dissolvr Brewing Sidetracked By Demons West Coast Hazy Double



4.12/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This one touts itself as a West Coast style Hazy DIPA, which was a little confusing until i tasted it. First though, I’ll have to say that this is the most mistakable for a glass of OJ I’ve ever seen, hands down. Nose somehow has two completely separate signatures at once. There’s your subtle mango tropical thing, but theres an equal and independent green onion/ fresh rubber thing too. Taste is where the West Coast comes in, big bitter straight away with the green onion / fresh rubber prevailing until a chalky, gritty dandelion finish. Throughout there was a very pleasant creamy body. Extremely well built NEIPA, may even stand out well in a sea of the style

 

Breaking in my brand new dimpled mug with an interesting lager from Transient Artisan Ales out of Bridgeman, MI. Rye Helles Lagger aged in Chestnut casks.

Pours a crystal clear golden color with a two finger white head that stuck around for a bit. 4

Aroma is classic Helles with a touch of rye spice and something a bit more from what I’m assuming are the casks. Grain, bright and clean cracker malt, touch of sulfur, rye spice, touch of sweetness, slight musty cask, there’s a juicy fruit presence I can’t put my finger on. 4

Taste follows the aroma nicely. Bright grain and cracker malt presence, musty cask, definite rye spice, sulfur, that weird juicy presence (almost like purple grape), earthy hops. There’s spice and slight bitterness on the back end from the cask and rye. Super complex for 5%. 4.25

High medium body. Soft and pillowy (especially considering the light abv), nice carbonation, slick, clean. 4.25

The casks and addition of rye add a lot of complexity to such a simple, yet well-made Helles. Heck of a beer to break this glass in with. Not many other breweries would do this kind of beer, but that’s why I love this brewery. I really dig this one. 4.25

Overall: 4.18

 

I discussed opening this last night and after reading your notes, I'm regretting our decision not to! Looking forward to opening it in the near future. As a Private Press member, I'm really enjoying everything that Brad has made recently, and sounds like Crates will be no exception.

 

Lakefront BBA Cacao Imperial Stout, 9.8% ABV. Pours thick and black, with a one-finger tan head that left no lacing. Nose is a wondrous bourbon, vanilla, and cacao. Taste is bourbon up front, followed by cacao, slight vanilla, some charred malt, faintly sweet, moderately bitter. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding. If it tasted anything like it smelled, they'd have a hit here. Still pretty great.

4.35/5 rDev +9.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Biding my time waiting for it to stop snowing so we can shovel. It's supposed to get sunny and hit mid 30's yet today, so we'll grill steaks.

 

I haven't had anything else from Private Press, this is a really good bourbon barrel aged stout though. I think the beer will still be good with more time on it, definitely rich and delicious now too though imo. Cheers!

 

Correct, late spring

 

Now here's one that landed on my doorstep from some unknown nube, @SawDog505! (Thx again, Tim!!!)



Red IPA's...now here's a dying breed we don't see enough of any more. This is a total joy for the taste buds!

A - 4.25 - Pours a very hazy deep garnet color with a good two finger thick billowy foam head congregating on top. The foam is very sticky on the sides of the glass.

S - 4.50 - Intense juicy citrus on the nose with resiny sweet pineapple and grapefruit with minimal sweet malt buried below.

T - 4.25 - Sweet malt base throughout with some caramel and crashing over the top is sticky pine resin, sweet grapefruit, spicy fruit rind, some peppery notes, mango, and pineapple. Overall, the sweetness hits in the form of candied sugar assertive pine bitterness to bring it back in check and not get overly cloying. Nice lingering resiny goodness after the sip with fruity pine.

M - 4.25 - Thick and approaching syrupy on the texture, very dry on the back of the tongue, and pronounced warming in the back of the throat while it slides down your pie hole. The lining of the mouth turns into a bit of cotton-like texture from the hop bill.

O - 4.50 - This is definitely noteworthy and I would have scored the taste closer to a 4.50 but felt the alcohol presence was competing too much. If that's the only thing I have to gripe about with this beer?? We haven't seen red IPA's for awhile from brewers and I'm really stoked someone is taking the bull by the horns and brewing one of these again. There's a few out there in the crowded field of IPA's, but not enough. Hats off to Kettlehead for brewing this style and definitely recommended, really enjoying this.

Your Rating: 4.36

 

Watched Michigan beat Ohio State and that makes it beer time. It looks like Dark Horse has changed up their can art and thought this was a new offering but no. Belgian amber ale, pours a nice copper color, with little head just a cap but sticky lacing, smells sweet, the Belgian yeast makes this a bit funky and different that a typical amber, nice take, much better beer than the ratings suggest.

 

Pulling out a second, this one from Dovetail, a great Chicago brewer.

Dovetail Dunkel



Can Notes: 5.1% ABV, 16 oz canned 11/25/20. Tasting Notes: Deep, chocolate, indulgent.

Appearance: Multiple pours into a half liter Dovetail willi glass, nice clear bronze red base, generous light tan head dissipates leaving minimal lacing, light carbonation. 4.0

Aroma: Bold and pleasant, sweet caramel and bread, lemon, lemongrass. Nice. 4.25

Taste: Taste less bold than the aroma, but pleasant and consistent. Sweet roasted malt, caramel and toffee, freshly baked pumpernickel. Light lemon as well. Very sweet, though no chocolate per the can notes. Sweeter than my preference, but consistent with the style. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Body light, sweetness leads to a creamy feeling. Light fizzy carbonation lingers throughout, dry and sweet, crisp clean and easy drinking. 3.75

Overall: This is a solid Dunkel, sweet malt caramel dark bread aroma and taste. 3.75

Will hopefully be joining the crew with a mix of local and possible Wisconsin beers next week on a planned trip to Green Bay. Look forward to the rest of today's reviews until then.

 

Hey NBSers! I have three new beers today, so let's start right off with what is not only a new beer to me, but a new brewery as well! 2nd Shift is a St. Louis-based brewer that seems focused on dark beers. At least, that's what their first shipment to our area mostly-consisted of; three out of four of the offerings were flavored imperial stouts and one was, you guessed it, a NEIPA!

This is Bless This Mess, a peanut butter chocolate imperial stout clocking in at 9.1% ABV.



Seems like there was another batch of BTM that was supposed to be more like an Almond Joy (brewed w/ almonds, chocolate, and coconut), and I'd be interested in giving that a shot if it comes around again... if this is any good, at least

The pour here is solid enough... definitely an oily-black brew with absolutely zero light passing through even if held up to direct light. In fact, even pouring this I could tell it would be freaking intensely-dark: usually with stouts, the liquid is a medium-dark brown color until it all builds up in the glass at which point it typically appears a lot darker in concentration. Not so here; this one was straight-up tar coming out of the can. Decent head of lightish-brown foam that retains slightly before sinking down to a quarter-finger of suds. No consistent lace show or legs for the most part. If I swirl the glass a bit, some ephemeral lace forms but doesn't last at all.

The nose is a bit more dark fruit-forward than I usually like in my PB stouts, but I think its heart is probably in the right place. Some roasted peanuts and oily, savory notes peeking out and crossing decently-enough with the roasty grains that are no doubt present in the recipe. A hint of bold espresso and coffee grounds with some baker's chocolate-type cacao elements displaying themselves proudly right after the first sniff of nuttiness. Really rooting for this one.

Better flavor profile than expected, honestly. Semi-sweet chocolate chips and a good, robust, creamy peanut butter element that feels dense and well-established/well-integrated. Decent lingering roast profile with a slight bit of smoke and ethanol in the finish. Drinks a bit lighter than you'd think given the appearance, adjuncts, and 9.1% ABV, that's for sure! Smooth as heck with moderate carbonation that doesn't overstay its welcome. Overall, I'm a fan of this one for sure. It's not Imperial Gunner's Daughter, but it's a solid first showing of this brewery's prowess. Now that I know they can make good bigger/flavored stouts, I'll have to try some of their others out... and definitely keep an eye out for Bless This Mess stuff of both the past and potential future.

Back soon with some more fun... until then, cheers!

 

Last year (pre-Pandemic) I visited the Suarez taproom on a return trip from skiing in Lake Placid. I had the pleasure of drinking the Palatine Pils (the beer on the left side of the photo below) plus three other small pour draft beer.



I think that Palatine Pils was good; I enjoyed drinking that beer.

I bought a four-pack of the Qualify Pils to take home and I detailed that beer in a NBS post:



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-783.634783/#post-6811792

Cheers!

 

Afternoon NBW. A beautiful winter day here. Relaxing after excercise earlier and watching the NFL BHM series shows. Forgot what a great story Doug Williams was. I believe it was the year after the Giants won their first SB that Williams won with the now WFT.
Anyhow cellar pull Sunday has me reach reaching for a 2018 release of Speciation Heredity. I believe from a BIF box received from @foundersasap.
Poured at 54°
Pours a lovely fairly translucent purple plum. No spill over after opening but a lovely huge foamy pinkish head rises upwards immediately. Its filled with tiny bubbles with the occasional large gaseous opening that quickly settles to thin ring almost zero lacing.
Aroma is juicy blackberry, funky funk, hay, rose petals, some blueberry, maybe just a hint of barrel/oak. Im not getting any bourbon on the nose.
Taste follows with tart juicy blackberry, and blueberry wine, tannins from oak, a touch of fig/raisin but berries anchor, Im not getting much in the way of bourbon and Im searching for it. There is some slight burn going down and the beer is quite sour. Wild qualities of funk and damp hay. Really tasty and interesting.
Medium bodied, acidic, slightly astringent and quite dry, carb is tiny bubble and decent throughout to cap this baby off. A delicious brew that I am happy to have had the chance to taste. Quite a treat. Thank you.

 

Starting my Sunday with something from an amazing box of CA beers from @BartS! Being that it is pretty cold around me everything in the box ended up being ice cold when it arrived so I’m going with a kettle sour first and giving the IPAs and Stouts some time to warm up. First up is Alvarado Street/Other Half Biggie’s Crunchee Brunch.

4.14/5 rDev +7.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you BartS for this
16 oz can, dated 1/14/21, poured into an oversized wine glass

A- Purple with a two finger pink head.

S- Blackberry, blueberries, some vanilla, touch of maple syrup, hints of coconut and cinnamon.

T- Slightly tart, blackberry jam, blueberries, cinnamon, vanilla, some maple syrup, hints of almonds and coconut.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- More of a fruit smoothie beer instead of a kettle sour with fruit. Reminds me a lot of a blackberry crisp.

Cheers!

 

@Dimidiata prompted me to pull this from the fridge today. I shared this beer around in Bif12 and bif12.5 as I believe @FBarber and @Pinz412 also tasted this brew. Which reminds me , bif13 is looking for a few good men & women who like to savor beers, report on them in this very forum and are a fair, reliable trader. Contact @Roguer for admission. Details and rules are posted in bif13 sign up

seven bells and all’s well by vitaminsea

vitaminsea has quickly become a local favorite of mine. They are doing a lot of collaborations with some great brewers and expanding their repertoire
@VSB_dino

4.05/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4



“Stout Season continues “ printed on the bottom of the can dated 10.16 and opened 2.21.21

Deep dark cola brown liquid with numerous active streams of microcarbonation. Frothy light brown foam cap , good retention, settles to a pencil thick layer with sticky lacings after five minutes

Aroma is coffee , cocoa nibs, roast malts

Taste is light coffee, vanilla ,cocoa

Mouthfeel is light for a stout , very sudsy , creamy, smooth coffee taste with none of the acrid bitterness , I understand the thought process on this so as to not make it as a heavy , syrupy thick rich stout. It is flavorful but the mouthfeel is different for the style . They accomplished the thought of a sessionable stout

Good beer from a great up and coming brewer

 

Think I BIFed ya around then, but don’t recall that one. Sounds tasty and great review!

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. After seemingly endless bad weather it's really nice today in North Jersey. The sun is bright and although the air temperature is in the mid-30's it seems warmer. We just returned from a long walk with the dog; it was the first walk I've really enjoyed in quite awhile. Maybe there's hope for Spring!

NBW #1 comes from what has become one of my favorite locals - Untied Brewing in New Providence, NJ. Untied brews a really good Russian Imperial Stout (my favorite style) called Left in the Dark. This is a new coffee variant. It was released this week. I'll admit that I cheated and sampled it at the brewery but it was too cold for a proper review. So here goes:

I took it out of the fridge about 2 hours before opening. Poured into a tulip glass. It pours the color of dark cola with a large, thick, creamy, light khaki head and thick ring of lacing. The nose features roasted malt, burnt coffee, cigar ash, earthy char, leather, and just a hint of dark fruit. This is really tasty! There is more initial sweetness than I expected; the coffee is fresh and acidic and is accompanied by notes of caramel and black cherry. By mid-palate the sweetness gives way to burnt coffee grounds, charred nuts, and tobacco. This variant has a slightly higher level of bitterness than the regular version. It boasts a rich, creamy mouth feel with low/moderate carbonation, and the the 10.2% ABV is strong but not overwhelming. Overall, like the base version, this coffee variant is very nicely crafted and enjoyable. It's really one of the better Russian Imperial Stouts brewed in New Jersey. Here's the score:

4.35/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I hope everyone is enjoying a new beer today. The reviews are great. I'll be back shortly with a local Schwarzbier. Cheers!