New Beer Weekend #52

Totally agree. I bought a single, because I wasn't sure how this would turn out, but my fear was more toward something weird from the popcorn. I thought the smoke malt, if properly balanced, could add an interesting element, but it completely overwhelmed everything else, and it wasn't particularly good (and I like a good smoked beer).

The failed opportunity was disappointing. I was looking forward to popping open a Kid Kolsch, or if buttery, a Pilsner Urquell, to compare and contrast. I like many offerings from Off Color, but their Tooth and Claw is one of my lowest rated beers (little to no taste, less than AALs) and they can be hit or miss, at least for me. I typically stick with their saisons and wild beers, which they do well, and their stouts are typically good.

I'm OK with a brewer experimenting, and occasionally coming across a clunker, if they can also come through with something unique and very good / great. I would have grabbed a Dovetail's Grodziske or a wonderful German offering like Aecht Schlenkeria Eiche Oak Smoke if I was looking for a solid smoked beer.

 

Good morning (at least at the time I started this), NBW! I'm sitting at home alone watching baseball and wondering where my friend who is only somewhat interested in beer came across this vienna lager from Tennessee, Mountain Lager from Blackberry Farm Brewery. I don't see Tennessee beers out here in western Washington all that often.

12oz can served in a snulip. Dated 11/10/20, if I can read it correctly, so probably not as fresh as I would like.

Pours a deep amber, fairly clear, with a medium sized head that fades quickly into a ring and a dusting. Smell is nice, grain tea, husk, hay. A little bready yeastiness.

Taste is a bit of a surprise. I get all that grainy goodness, with a little bit of a bite. More toasty flavors, and a clear (but not overpowering) bitterness. Maybe lacking a bit in sweetness.

Mouthfeel is light to medium. Overall, this is tasty, better than I expected at six months old, just leans a bit toward the dry and bitter side for the style.

 

New location for Barrique Breeinf and Blending in Nashville at the Former Old Harpeth Brewing location

Tap room and oak conditioning are located in a warehouse within walking distance to Nissan Stadium . Although they usually feature Belgian styles , they had on tap a Cologne styled brew, Kobes Kolsch. A Kobes is the traditional blue aproned beer waiter from Cologne


Kobes by Barrique

4.02/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Barrique , poured into a stange glass, one finger frothy white foam cap quickly settles to a faint ring over a clear golden liquid

Aroma is grassy with a whiff of white grape

Taste is grassy , white grape

Sudsy mouthfeel

Good beer

 

Howdy all!
Decided to input this sucker into the system and then.... yeah, why not, it's still the weekend...?

CEREBRAL Brewing Shadow Council Black IPA. 7.1% - no canning date but no more than 2 weeks old from their Instagram info. It's good, but I was a little underwhelmed by the lack of hops in this... almost too smoove. Cheers!

4.09/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

L - Dark foam, decent lacing, and a good amount of opaqueness. Not dark as night.
S - where this beer stands out, along with mouthfeel, as it has that nice black IPA "funk" I'm always on the look-out for but is rare to find these days. It's not roast, and it's not horse-blanket exactly, but just "dark funk." hard to describe.
T - this is where I think Cerebral could have dialed in a bit more hops presence in this beer; right now, it's almost too smooth to stand out as an IPA, so does "ale" more than "Indias" (sure, that's a verb right?). Solid taste but needs more hops presence.
F - Good, though I think a little more CO2 would have helped "mask" the lack of hops in this one.
O - DO IT MORE, BREW IT MORE Cerebral.

 

Full disclosure- I had this beer about 5 years ago in a restaurant, enjoyed it, but haven't seen it since. I remember really liking it, but did not review due to the company present and my personal ABV at the time.
I picked up a 4-pack at the brewery last weekend.

4.27/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 16oz can stamped "7/08/21 HAIRY FEET" to a Nonic at fridge temp.
A clear gold body sits below an aggressive pure white head that laces well.
The aroma is beautiful. Nelson hops lend a unique a distinct aroma. Grassy and not too dank, some melon, some peach.
Taste is even hoppier, but with NS hop characteristics of being bitter, yet smooth. However the alcohol is a little strong on the finish. I know its a double, but some hide it well.
Mouthfeel is smooth but it could use a little more carbonation.
I know I sounded harsh above on some points, but this is still a really good beer.

 

Up next, another from @samkuhgee , Hop Butcher Bughouse Square. This mukster actually has some personality: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40359/440481/

 

Beer No. 2 for me:

Buffalo Bayou Dreamsicle • blonde ale w/orange and vanilla • 5.9% ABV • 13 IBUs

It's beers like this that drove me over to the whisk[e]y aisle. At least I didn't pay money for this swill. I grabbed the can as a favor to a friend, who needed her fridge cleaned out, and I should've left it. It tastes like old, worn-out artificial vanilla with the sugar sucked out of it and orange peel. There's some grain flavor but almost no malt sweetness.

Official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28255/273511/?ba=Premo88#review
2.82 (-17.5% rDev)

It sucks. I'd rather have an actual dreamsicle and bottle of water ... or a Lone Star.

Cheers!

 

Yesterday I implied that I had never had a bad Jack's Abby beer. Today I have to take that back.
Destination: Australia - part of JA's “Lagers of the World” series.
This is the total information available on this 5% beer (canned on 06/01/21)
and, after tasting it, I can see why it has a low profile.

Australia has a lovely aroma; full of orange blossoms, tangerines, grapefruit, over crushed pine needles with no noticable lime.
Unfortunately the lime comes out in the taste and not in a good way. It doesn't taste artificial, but it also doesn't taste right. The limeade flavor overwhelms the base beer and leaves not only a muddled mess, but also an unpleasant sticky, bitter-tart aftertaste.

No brewery can get every beer right, but Destination: Australia is a flight they should have missed.
3.64/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

 

Greetings, fellow NBWers,

It's 91° and mostly sunny in Spokanistan. Yesterday we only got up to the mid-80s, making it an unusually cool day thus far in this hot summer, and I thought that would be a good day to drink a 15% Lumberbeard barleywine I've been sitting on, but I got busy with other things and I forgot. Maybe I'll hit it tonight, but it's supposed to hit 95, and Castle Woemad has no AC.

I did hit this today, about an hour after a late breakfast of waffles with maple syrup, which was also used in this beer:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25314/94773/?ba=woemad#review
Really well balanced for such a beast. So glad it comes in tallboys.

Might be back with another today, might not. Time will tell.

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest where summer continues to broil along. We are off the triple digits of a couple of weeks ago, but still hitting the 90s.

This weekend we have Big Little Thing from Sierra Nevada.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/526147/?ba=RJLarse#review

It's a tricky brew. Looks and tastes like a drinkable summer ale, but at 9% ABV it catches up to you fast.

Until next time,

 

Sorry to hear that.
I'll be interested to see if it's just me or if others agree that the flavors simply don't work. (The only other rating was a 3.53)

 

Grisette from Ale Apothecary. Loot from my trip to Bend in March. Don't see a date, but it can't be any fresher than four months old. 500ml bottle.

Pours slightly hazy, light amber or honey gold with a biggish creamy head that dissipates slowly. Smell is funky/brett, a little barn. Moderate spiciness, mild lemon tartness, a little honey.

Taste is moderate tartness, not exactly lemony, leaning a bit toward stone fruit, doesn't have nearly as much of the funky/brett/barn or even the spice. It's good, but a little bit of a letdown after all the interesting stuff in the nose.

Mouthfeel is medium, leaning toward light, fairly dry. Overall, very nice, easy to drink.

 

Good afternoon fellow BAs! Glorious weather here in W Michigan and a great day for a new stout.

poured a very nice dark, nearly black and capped by manilla head that curiously left virtually no lacing.
The aroma made no effort to hide the peanut butter, indeed I had to search for the beer in there.
The taste was good actually, provided you like peanut butter in your stout (which I am not normally a fan of) but the flavors worked pretty well here, and for a 5% ABV, I was a little impressed. Largely due, I suspect, the feel.
Which was clearly hitting above its average- almost chewy, but not, smooth and full bodied and just really good.
Again, not normally a fan of peanut butter in beer, but these I can drink all day if I wanted to and enjoy them. Good job Grand Armory Brewing!

 

Preach it!
(Did I say that out loud?)
Cheers!

 

I really enjoyed this beer as well. However, I didn't find it very sweet at all, I found it more tea-like and earthy. Another example as to how all our palates are different.