New Beer Weekend #32

Happy 30 Years to New Belgium Brewing

I love what they did with the beer.

So it's the same and awesome Fate Tire Amber Ale that is a cult classic but hopped up with some sexy hops.

Hops are: Chinook, Galaxy, Idaho 7, Mosaic, Sabro, Nugget

Base beer is Fat Tire

The combination works wonderfully. Delicately fruity hoppy aroma with a solid malt backbone that never feels sweet. The balance is perfect. Excellent beer.

Cheers!

 

But we have added a day. Or maybe Im confused sorry.

 

As to the NBS/NBW discussion: I made no secret about my distaste for the change. I liked the structure and organized aspect that the OG NBS had: ya wanna play? Cool, here are the parameters. @malty started this thread, and he had @mattcrill as his backup (Malty worked late most Saturday nights). He set the standards; it must be a new-to-you beer, either you had to post your review, or at least thoughtful comments/notes.

I liked that if I wanted to participate, I had to seek out new beers, and, GASP!, maybe not drink one for a few days, until I could have it on NBS. I thought, and still think, that the effort involved (making sure one had a new beer, that it was in the given time frame) worked best for the thread. I'm not throwing stones, because I do it all the time, but opening up NBS to a 3 day event (this is actually why I changed my location to Kiribati; It's where days start, I could, if I wished, start the thread very early.), but the opening of the thread led to a more relaxed participant base. WBAYDN is a great thread on its own, but, NBS doesn't need to be a clone of that, just with a 2 day window, instead of 1.

I remember NBS threads that would only hit in the upper 30s of posts. It wasn't unusual for there to be 45-50 post thread, but every post was sincere and thought out. IMHO, we've lost that with the expansion. I no longer feel the need to save something for the Special Thread each week, because the thread isn't special anymore. It was special, because we actually took time to have interests in each others beers, each others weeks, and each other.

I feel a bit guilty and responsible for that. We had a great group, and I thought wouldn't it be fun if we had our own BIF? Well, the response was great! Other folks thought it would be fun too, and we made sure to keep participation in NBS as a prerequisite to joining the BIF. We got lots of folks who wanted to join the BIF, but then didn't participate in the thread. My bad.

The BIF has morphed over time, as things do, and so has the thread. I'm not sure the spirit of the thread is well served by the expansion.

I, clearly, vote for a return to the days of designated, caring overseers of the thread (Malty, Mattcrill, Utopiajane, CaveDave, and the rest) of a more focused NBS, the number of posts be damned.

 

Shit, forgot to link my review: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29693/316796/?ba=BBThunderbolt#review

 

Apparently I tried the Mexican stout, in an attempt at familiar parlance, from Hubbard’s Cave


So, El Zacaton doesn’t produce much head, though it has a little bit of fight as soon as I write it off. Nose has a soy/heavy char with a whiskey aspect. I don’t note that there’s any spirit involved, but the nose indicates it to me. Beyond, there is chocolate and vanilla, with a bit of a vanilla lean.

Taste is more dark chocolate... with an impression of sugary sweetness squashed by a more bitter chocolate note. From this grows a pin-prick of bite, which slowly oozes to attempt to numb my tongue with heat. It doesn’t come close to its goal, such as I claimed, but the sensation that expands and threatens produces no real harm. The restraint of the heat is as impressive as its patience in coming to the fore.

The beer may as well be flat, for all that I can feel. The spice heat, while appreciated in flavor, is too slow to provide a replacement for the tingle of carbonation.

I like the spice level, I mostly like the bitter aspect of the pronounced dark chocolate, especially as a jumping point for the spice. The dead nature of the feel is a drag on this, unfortunately. Still, a decent brew.

 

I'm confused by what @ovaltine means by a thematic approach. I hope he doesn't mean that we pick a style or theme for each NBS/NBW for participants to have for that week.

 

The beer on the left is new to me: All City Vienna Lager from Interboro + Oxbow.

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 12/01/20. Got it from Tavour.

Pours a dark amber, almost a ruby-brown, with a medium head and medium carbonation, moderate clarity. Smell is grain, tea, a slight hint of toffee, definitely some lager yeast.

Taste is much different than I expected from the aroma. Clean, roasty bitterness, background of grain and tea, nice grainy sweetness and a grassy/vegetal bitterness.

Mouthfeel is medium, smooth, not creamy but not super light. Overall, this is a very good beer.

 

Might as well fit one more in here before my day comes to an end. I initially planned on drinking this beer during the barley wine tasting, but plans change. I've been thinking about it since, and tonight was finally the night to open it. Revolution Brewing released Ten Year Beer last January to celebrate their decade in existence. It is a blend of rye and bourbon barrel aged barley wine of varying ages that also includes the addition of cherries.

It pours a murky mahogany into a snifter and rejects a majority of the light attempting to penetrate. There was a fleeting one centimeter head that fizzled quickly into tiny islands of bubbles on the surface. The aroma is classic English barley wine with massive notes of dried prune, raisin, and date sprinkled with a graham cracker crust. Boozy liquor notes also waft from the glass with only a hint of sweet cherry. The taste follows the nose with a rich and decadent blend of the aforementioned dried fruits. The cherries add a slight tart as the liquid meets my palate. There is also a fruity sweetness that accompanies the alcohol burn. The graham cracker crust compliments the brown sugar of the whiskey. Despite the undeniable boozy qualities, this goes down incredibly smooth. A bit of sharp carbonation remains and keeps it active on the palate, making me crave another sip. A truly fantastic barley wine that I wish was still haunting my fridge.

 

This is just a casual observation, but I feel like dry January is a big bigger phenomenon than in year's past. I think this played into January being a seemingly slower month in addition to the holidays. Also, just from personal experience, Extreme Beer Fest also kept me from posting that weekend because I was in no condition to be thoughtful here. I really have no other thoughts on the slower feel or suggestions to boost participation, but this is still my favorite weekly thread and has been since I linked up with you hooligans over a year ago.

 

Perfectly said. And didnt want to open up a can of worms. Still love it all and especially seeing new BAs participate. Its not something I meant to get overly analytical about....because that takes the joy out of it. I would likely participate on Saturdays occasionally If didnt have to work.

 

Bingo. I guess that what I was trying to express more than participation. Although this platform is in its infancy so with time we may get there again.

 

I'm like you, not huge on the sours. But when I saw the chance to drop a classic on you that might expand your experience in that area, I jumped.

 

No, you're not confused.

 

New Province Brewing's Before Pale Ale, 5.0% ABV. With Amarillo Hops & Marris Otter Malt. States on the can: " Before there were Milkshakes and Hazys and Fruiteds. Before there were Sessions and Lo Cals And Bruts. There was Malt and there was a Hop. 3.85 overall


Pours a hazed gold with 2 fingers of eggshell colored head. Better than average head retention & lacing

S: Tangerine, catty hops once warm, some woodyness too

T: Tangerine, grapefruit, some breadyness, a little lime up front, dryness also. A little cattyness sneaks in with lime, woody hops and tangerine as this warms, plus dryness. Finishes dry catty with woody hops & just a little citrus

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, good balance

More traditional but with some West Coast IPA in there as well, pretty drinkable

 

I don't mean a hard "This is hazy sour IPA week" theme, but I look back fondly to @lordofthewiens and @cjgiant and the posts they made that set a "theme" for the week ("tell us the funniest beer experience you've had as a beer nerd" et al). I really enjoyed that, and it seemed to entice posters to share more of themselves and the beers they were drinking. That's what I also see with the online tastings, which I've enjoyed a lot.

I'll just crawl back in my hole and ride the NBW wave.

 

Looks like I'm not the first one to review a beer this weekend that they got from @colby600

I'll go ahead and give it another try. I'm going with Bissell Brothers Reciprocal. I have some trouble pulling unique tastes out of New England IPAs, so figure this is a good exercise.



Poured from a 16 ounce can (maybe a bit too hard). Pours a dark yellow with about two fingers of thick white foam. Smell is citrus heavy, leaning towards orange or tangerine. Taste follows the smell, with a bit of pineapple as well. There's a slight taste of alcohol at the end, but not much there. Mouthfeel is medium and fluffy. It's easy to drink.

Overall, it's a very nice beer from a great brewery. Would definitely have again.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33519/179737/

 

OK, cool, I just didn't understand (but, I ain't none too bright....).

Being an old,cranky, guy, I am not a fan of change just to change. Change that leads to improvement, I am a fan of.

 

Hello Late Night NBW (Sunday edition)
I don't want to bore you with the details of my week. I think I will go straight to the beer, albeit a confusing concoction.

Bigger Boat by Coronado

A 'hazy IPA brewed with raspberries, blueberries, vanilla, and lactose."
A muddled grapefruit slushy look. Fluffy head rises almost 2 fingers but quickly shirks its duty and retreats to a thin ring.
Nose is a vanilla tinged blueberry smoothie with slight undertones of raspberry and citrus.
Taste follows pretty faithfully to the nose. Not picking up much of a IPA vibe.
Mouthfeel is not quite hazy IPA, a little more pulpy. So I don't really know how to write this up.
Overall, for style guidelines, this is not quite to style. But the fruity notes are still a bit pleasant.
3.26/5 rDev 0%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

So, it's not bad, but not hitting the hazy IPA mark. For those who love fruited beers, it's refreshing and fairly tasty, with a try.