New Beer Weekend #4

Just as @2beerdogs has done before me, I too will review DDH Double Pixel Density from Phase Three Brewing. We were both fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of a number of good beers courtesy of @FBarber . I find it appropriate to make my last beer of the weekend (new beer #6, which is about 5 more than normal!) one from a fellow Flyers fan. I would also be remiss if I failed to offer a hearty congratulations to Frank for the "bun in the oven".
Note - right after I took the first sip of this, a large bug landed in the beer. I went to fish it out with my finger and came up empty (did it sink?). Slowly poured the beer into another glass, and still didn't see the bug. Might be getting some extra protein with this one!

Let's see what this one has to offer....


/5 rDev -4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Pours an attractive glowing, hazy yellow with a finger's worth of dense, fluffy head that takes it's dear sweet time fading away, leaving behind a healthy amount of lacing. Aroma is really nice, and all citra. Somewhat one dimensional, but really good none the less. I typically take it as a good sign when I can smell the beer before I bring it anywhere near my nose. Citrus & tropical flavors make this quite drinkable. Nice full, soft mouthfeel. Good beer.

Go Flyers!

 

I laughed out loud at (bolded)...also thanks for the goal Jakub!

I swear italian pilsner is the new DDH well sort of. Obviously not to that degree/popularity (at least for now I guess) but it’s just a buzz/hype word, it just keeps popping up and it means nothing it seems. Am I wrong here?

 

Congratulations on the pending tax deduction!

 

If you make it back to Japan and have a chance to hit the Yokohama area, you should maybe visit Thrash Zone to try their beer. EXTREME BEER ONLY.

 

We enjoyed our first trip to the reopening of Rebel Kettle as East Sixth Brewery. The beers were good. The first few I got during takeout time a few weeks ago weren't great, so I'm happier today, since RK was my favorite local brewery. It's the same brewer, so it makes sense the beers would still be good. Maybe someone else can sample them if you join the NBS BIF.



Pours a deep black color with a very quick, fizzy tan head and no lacing.

The smell is sweet with clear peanut butter and maple but not overwhelming.

The taste has a subtle blend of peanut butter and maple. There's a definite char underneath with a little bitterness. It's sweet but not cloying.

The mouthfeel is thick, low carbonation and slightly fizzy.

A very good beer. A nice sweetness and flavor without being over the top.

 

It's worth the protein shot. Bug and all.

 

Congrats and best wishes ! Pretty exciting !!

 

This is not technically a "new" to me beer, but this is the first time I have reviewed the beer, and the first time I have really sat down, and done nothing but think about this beer and give it serious consideration. As such, it's new enough for this thread.

New Orthodox - Boss Tweed (Double IPA)



Before I get to the review, I know I know. You're thinking: Wow, that looks juicy! Right? Well, light plays a pretty big role. I am using a small "soft" light on my desk for this photo. The photo below was taken in my kitchen with "normal" overhead recessed lighting. Big difference, right?



Pretty much anytime I am drinking this beer, I don't have the light to make it look juicy. Personally, I kind of think the first photo is a bit of a farce - making it look like something it isn't without doing anything but putting a light close to the glass. Regardless, the first photo is pretty. On to the review.

Appearance: Score: 4.0 (Based on the second photo, the "real" one. I've had other IPAs actually look like that; this one does not)

The second picture is right on with the color. It's much more of a brown-yellow or brown-orange than a bright orange or yellow-orange. Definitely cloudy, as any NE IPA should.

First impressions: As soon as you open the can, the aromas of hops start coming to you. It pours with the viscosity of a NE IPA (i.e. much more similar to that of a stout than a lager. Perhaps thicker than a belgian.) Nice hop aroma as you pour. A gentle pour (just before the end of the can) leads to about 1 inch of head. Not much lacing - perhaps a result of the "age". Can on date is 6-18-2020. I purchased it with about 20-30 days on the can. I've had this and M-43 at much older and haven't found any issues with taste, so not worried about the flavor associated with the COD).

Smell: To be honest, not much smell. In general, I don't find IPAs have nearly as much smell as, say, a heavy barrel BA stout, or a funky sour. The nose is just much more muted on an IPA. That said, the smell is mostly a hop pineyness. I don't get any grass. Maybe a slight amount of tropical fruit? But it is awefully faint if so. Really just heavy on the pine. Score: 4.0

Taste: Most IPAs go this way for me, but in general I haven't had "that many" since IPAs are often too bitter for me (hence why I like NEIPA and not WCIPAs): Starts with a little non-descript "fruit" note, and then as the liquid passes down, past your palate and you get that "ahhh" feeling from swallowing and tasting what you swallow, I get the pine that just kind of goes on, lingering. I can press my tongue against the roof of my mouth, sliding it, and really get more of that pine, and really "pinch out" some additional bitterness (which isn't enjoyable for me). Personally, I think this could be a tad less bitter, but I assume it's pretty close to where it is supposed to be. This is good, or even great, but not great. Score: 4.15

Mouthfeel: overall, it's great. It's not cloud-like or especially pillowy, but it is light and much lighter regular IPAs. It has a nice viscosity. Score: 4.25

Overall, I'm glad there is an overall score group, especially for beers like this, although sometimes I wonder if it should really be 20%. Overall, this is a good beer. It's solid, it's good - maybe even great - but, again, not great. Before this hit Indiana (and now Ohio, where I live, although at the time I lived in IN) I did actually trade for a few cans of this. After having had others, I don't think I'd ever trade for this, but it is great if at your local store. $4/can feels high for me, but it's nothing crazy. Score: 4.10

Review Score: 4.11

Review added to BA.

 

By the way. I once participated with a NBS BIF. It was a bit hard for me to meet the review that were expected. I have a family, and having only one day was really tough. With it being sunday (what has always been "our" day) made it all the tougher.

I was gone for few months from BA. I went back and saw that back in march there was a little drama. I understand what happened, and I understand how the NBS thread changed. I understand why some got upset. I don't know what happened since then, or how this changed to a NBW thread, but however that happened, I am grateful. I finally get to participate. (yea, I know it's sunday, but usually I'll be posting on saturday). I'm pretty excited about this.

 

I've been impressed with everything I've tried from this brewery to date.
This is the 7th beer I've had from them in the last 6 weeks and while it ended up with the lowest rating of the 7 it's still a Very Good rating @ 3.75.

Family Business Cosmic Cowboy American IPA
3.75/3.75/3.75/3.75/3.75

12oz canned 7/1/20, opened 8/16/20.
A - 1 finger off white head, dense foam. Medium retention - falls to a solid cap. Spotty, sticky lacing.

S - Golden, a deep shade, with an initial chill haze but good clarity in the end.
Floral hops, light citrus and a hint of caramel malt sweetness.

T - Citrus - orange, grapefruit peel and an underlying piney-ness, and a hefty malt sweetness.

F - Medium body and carbonation. Persistent pine bitterness in a medium to long off-dry finish.

O - Classic leaning IPA in all categories, definitely sits in the WC spectrum.
Very Good.

 

I've had Dreadnaught, which is great, but not Permanent Funeral. Hopefully, we'll see it here with FFF distro. If not, then there's always BIFs and trades.

 

Copper Kettle Brewing Company - Well Bread (Bourbon BA English Style Barleywine) - 2019



I was given this beer by a good, close friend of mine. He was out in CO with his family, and asked again what beer I liked. I told him. He told me he'd pick up a few beers. Sure enough, within the next couple weeks I got beer mail. Inside were 5 or 6 beers, and to my surprise, this was one of them. How the hell did he actually find a BA BW? I don't know, but I was pretty excited. If memory serves, I received this in....September (of last year)?

Anyway, on to the review. I actually tried (oh no, foreshadowing) first. Review is from notes I took on my phone, since I wasn't in a place to review at a computer at the time of consumption.

Appearance: Poured a light red/orange, very opaque in the same way that a carbonated cola is poured brown-clear out of a machine as the carbonation is mixed with water and the powder. Thin looking (wuh-oh). Score: 3.75

First impressions: Low if any carbonation (which is fine for BWs). As the liquid settled, the color so too settled, resting on the color seen in the photo above - much of an opaque mix of red and browns, with some orange notes mixed in. Not as dark (and not cloudy) like you might find with other BWs, such as BCBBW (2016, 2017).

Smell: Not much. Basically nothing from feet away, all the way up to and when my nose is in the snifter. I get a faint alcohol aroma when my nose is completely inside the snifter. The more I focus, I seem to get a pretty strong orange scent. Not orange zest - that would be too vibrant. Almost the somewhat dull but distinctive orange flavor associated with the orange gummies (covered in chocolate) you see at the holidays. Finally, a hint of cola. This took me awhile to nail down - but once identified, it's definitely cola. It's sort of that effervescent cola smell associated with carbonation. Score: 3.9

Taste: Surprisingly not bitter, which is unusual for a BW for me. Even if they are sticky sweet, I normally get a type of bitterness associated with the leather and tobacco flavors, which although normally present in a BW, is lacking here almost completely. Maybe a faded p[assing presence. There is a sweetness to the taste that is best described as a bleached white sugar simple syrup (not to be confused with a simple syrup made from turbinado sugar). Definitely similar orange flavor as was noted on the nose - perhaps a bit of earhty dark berries as well on the back end. Only the faintest hints of cola came through on the palate. Score: 3.65

Mouthfeel: Nothing special, but the viscosity is mostly right. Perhaps a little thin. No carbonation, which is certainly appropriate for this style. Score: 4.0

Overall: This has very little going for it. It just doens't have much flavor. If it is going for least offensive, it wins. if this was from a brand new opened brewery, I might say, "Man, they could really ahve promise.' Absent of knowing that, all Ia m left with is wanting. Wanting for more traditional English BW flavors, wanting for more sweetness, but without the taste of sugar, and wanting for flavor in general. There is also no barrel presence (ok, very minor on the palate, but not on the nose), which is hugely disappointing.. Score: 3.5

Review Score: 3.72

Review added to BA.

 

I haven't had Gotterdamerung so I can't compare them but LazerSnake is tasty and probably deserves a less comic book name.

 

This too is not a new beer to me, but similarly it is the first time I have ever just sat down and thought about what was in my glass. A good enough reason to write a review and post here. (This was actually consumed and finished very early Saturday Morning. Still part of NBW though!)


2017 Bourbon County Brand Barleywine - also known as BCBBW



This bottle was taken from a fridge (kept somewhere between 34 and 40 degrees F, although I'm not sure where (still haven't set up the thermometer since moving). This particular bottle has been refrigerated for probably 9 months, although it may have been refrigerated longer before that (I moved, don't know if this bottle of the BCBBWs that I have was refrigerated).

The bottle was popped and poured into a wine-style Hill Farmstead Glass (made me feel classy tonight). It poured a deep mahogany, cloudy, with low carbonation.

Appearance: Score: 4.25

First impressions: This beer hasn't changed a bit in 3 years. Perhaps it is less alcohol forward (i.e. not as 'hot' as fresh), but it's a subtle difference if the difference exists. After having slowly sipped on this for hours, I think it's unfair to say that it hasn't changed. The flavors mesh better together than what I recall when fresh. I certainly find this more enjoyable 3 years old than fresh.

Smell: A mixture of bourbon, dark fruits, perhaps a hint of chocolate, and an almost wave of berries, as well as fusel alcohol. To get the berries I really have to tilt the glass back, inhale slowly through my nose and allow the alcohol to pass through, opening my sinuses in the same way that horseradish might. It's almost a mix of blueberries, raspberries, and perhaps another red berry (but certainly not blackberries). The fusel alcohol note isn't inherently off putting. With enough alcohol presence, if you put your nose deep enough, you get this. In this case, I'm getting a whiff of that just on the back end. I've never gotten it from 2013/2014 BCBBW, but I have from 2016/2017 BCBBW. Score: 4.0

Taste: Classic barleywine, with some bourbon (and barrel) on both the front and the back end. Classic notes of Leather and tobacco. I also get a hint of dark fruit, which when combined with tobacco and leather work, but are some of my least favorite flavors in a stout. You can tell that it's sweet on your palate, and will leave you sticky, but it doesn't come off sweet. After most tastes have left your mouth, you can still feel/taste this at the very back of your mouth, right at the point on your tongue where if a doctor depressed a tongue depressor, it'd make you gag. What remains there is the heavy leather and tobacco. Score: 4.35

Mouthfeel: Thick and viscous, almost like I (imagine) simple syrup would be. It has a "weight" to it, that you can feel on your palate, that you won't get from an IPA, a lager, or water. Score: 4.75

Overall, I love this beer. I don't love it as much as I love the 13 and 14 vintages, and to some degree I don't even love it as much as I do Rev's Straight Jacket, because that beer as a certain amount of "drink ability" that this one doesn't have by toning back the leather and tobacco. That said, I've not been a fan of every iteration of straight jacket, and if given the choice between the two (knowing nothing about that version of SJ), I'd probably choice BCBBW. This beer is good, and should be compared to other similarly produced BWs that aren't of an extraordinarily limited nature. For example, I'd argue that Circle of Wolves (from The Veil) is better, but the availability (at release or now, for either) isn't even close to being the same. In my opinion, this beer is also a good value at $10-14/bottle. Score: 4.25

Review Score: 4.28

Review not posted to BA. With so many iterations, I need to wait until I can properly review a 2013/2014 at the same time to give different views. Doing anything less would be skewing the ratiing. 2013/2014 is truly a best of all BWs beer, whereas 2017 is not at that level. They aren't the same though - one has 2nd use barrels, one has third.

 

Great news. Congrats and blessings to you and your family!

 

New to me is this easy drinking Saison from Allagash Brewing Co. of scenic Portland Maine.

Cheers.



4.02/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A strong pour was needed to reach a finger of creamy white foam with a hint of fuchsia, short retention yet a cap and ring persist with spots of lacing. Cloudy and semi-opaque due to chill haze, it becomes clear and bright. The color is red cherry and grapefruit juice blended together.

A wet cardboard funk greets the nose, grainy silage, fresh cut grass, a touch of barnyard and a general smell of fermented berries tags along. Malt is faint, wheaty and crackery. Coriander replaces hops.

Semi-sweet with low bitterness, lightly tart and sour. Sweet berry juiciness competes with the spicy and bitter coriander. The funk differs from the smell, milder without the cardboard and features the berries over the grass and grain. Wheaty malt moderates and ties flavors together. The finish is quick, mild funk and spice linger.

Light bodied with plenty of lasting carbonation per style. Refreshingly tart and interestingly sour. It has a berry flavor that is not confined to blueberries, well balanced and session-able. Alcohol well hidden, it warms well as flavors shine.