New Beer Weekend #49

Evening all! An all-together too short short weekend is rapidly coming to a close and Im going to sneak a beer in here real quick before bedtime. This is another one from Art History Brewing - Modernist a märzen. Brewed with German, Vienna, Munich and melanoidin malts and hellertau mittelfruh hops. 5% ABV and 21 IBU.



Pours a cloudy, dull orange color. Two finger off-white head appears but dissipates pretty quickly leaving a thin layer of foam on top of the beer. Aroma has notes of sweet bread, bready malts, a light toasted character with some spicy from the hops. There is also a light sweet white wine like note which is likely from the hellertau mittelfruh hops. Its a nice aroma with the malts driving the aroma, but the hops providing a nice curveball.

Taste follows the nose with notes of bready malts, a light toasted almost nutty malt character with a touch of sweetness that gives way to the hop flavors coming in which provide this earthy orange citrus note, some light sweet white wine and a spicy kick towards the end. Its really interesting because the hellertau mittelfruh do bring a certain uniqueness to this beer with that earthy, almost herbal orange citrus character in the profile. Feel is medium bodied, verging on chewy, but not quite there. As with some of their other beers, a tad on the drier side on that finish.

What I like about this beer is that its recognizable as a traditional märzen, but uses modern German hops to give it some unique flair. In the end, its a delicious beer.

 

It’s not yet 8 pm here, so I will chime in with my only contribution this weekend (I hate posting from my phone): a side-by-side with my partner in red solo cups.






@JayORear sent me FW 23 previously, knowing I’m such a fan of their anniversary beers - which I also split with my partner. At an excellent Honolulu bottle shop this afternoon, I was happy to see plenty of FW offerings, and the opportunity to review FW 24 - and do a side by side! - was just too much to pass up.

As always, I’ll post the review link below, but for this post, I’m going to focus on the differences.

Every single FW anniversary blend is notable for its depth, richness, complexity, and the way each part of the blend contributes its unique character (well, other than bourbon - they all have a LOT of bourbon character). Oh, and they are all delicious.

Contrasting the two, 24 has waaaaaay less Helldorado (only 4% of the tequila BA version, as opposed to 4%/15% tequila/bourbon Helldorado for 23). The proportions of Velvet Merkin and Parabola are basically switched, from 5%/28% in 23 to 27%/16% in 24.
(All respectively.)

In place of Helldorado (BBA), 24 has 16% Smoked Imperial Walker’s Reserve. They’re roughly analogous in terms of Stickee Monkee (28%/26%) and Bravo (20%/11%).

Overall, then, I’m expecting a much less “bright” and less bitter experience.

The first thing I notice (as does my partner) is that 23, despite being a year older, has way more bourbon presence. This continues to mellow as the beer warms, but it’s notable. I suspect lowering the Parabola percentage, and getting rid of BBA Helldorado - where the bourbon expresses stronger in the lighter beer - are factors there.

Not at all to say there’s no bourbon flavor in 24.

The lower brightness and bitterness (Helldorado and Bravo driven) is definitely noticeable, as well.

A change I didn’t entirely anticipate was far less roastiness in 24. Parabola is a bitter, roasty stout, and by moving it more into the background, they reduced the roasty burnt coffee char.

At the same time, amping up the Velvet Merkin component means replacing that roastiness with more sweet, rich milk chocolate flavor.

The smoked aspect is mostly in the background, likely contributing to the overall profile, but not directly making itself known - until the aftertaste, and even then it’s a subtle but very pleasant presence.

Overall, given the circumstances, it’s hard to say that I like 24 more, or think it’s a better blend … but I definitely can’t say otherwise, either. Both for me and my partner, it’s a more satisfying profile for our particular palates, but at the same time it seems just a little bit lighter and weaker - the drawback on relying on over 50% of a sub-10% ABV stout and a Quad, as opposed to over 55% Quad and 14.4% ABV stout. Using less Parabola made it sweeter and less roasty, but also less thick.

No matter what, it’s another amazingly satisfying blend from FW. I’m his closing notes on the blend, Matt stated: “…I have to smile knowing this is created with only traditional brewing ingredients, oak, barrels, and time…”

In a world of pastry stouts and milkshake IPAs, I, too, have to smile, Matt. This is artisan brewing at its finest.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2210/503975/?ba=Roguer#review
4.57 / +4.3%

Cheers!