New Beer Weekend #54

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Also, hello from from central Minnesota, where the smoke from the Canadian wildfires settle. Let's put it this way, when you look outside, and it's yellow, you're in a world of hurt.

I'm going to be taking it fairly easy for reviews this weekend. I've just got too damn much to do. Work is hectic as heck, and I love it. I've also got to deal with the County Fair, and running my booth at it, as well - yes, I'll be back in the restaurant business for a week. I've also get a new responsibility this County Fair - I get to help judge homebrew beer, wine and mead. So excited about that.

So, on to the new beer.

Bourbon Barrel-Aged Honees Honees - Oliphant Brewing - Somerset, Wisconsin - Golden Ale/Blonde Ale - 6.6% ABV.

Oh, yeah, this is hitting the target with me tonight. My review will tell it all, at least I hope it does.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36484/561633/

4.26/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Even though the can and Untapped lists it as a golden ale, the pour is an amber color. The head is a slight off white color, and is 1 finger. The retention is decent, however, there's almost no lacing on the glass. All there is is a ring of the foam around the edge of the glass.
The nose is a nice, and pretty powerful, peanut butter aroma. There's also hints of the bourbon barrel that this beer was aged in as well on the nose, but they are in the background.
Taste - Like the nose, there's a lot of peanut butter flavor here. There's a hint of lactose flavor here, as well. The peanut butter flavor lingers throughout. On the back side the bourbon barrel kicks in. It's not a strong flavor, but more of a background flavor that compliments the peanut butter. There's also a bread, biscuit, sweetness going on from the malts used, as well as the honey added to the beer.
Creamy feeling. Full body. Smooth as heck.
Overall, this is one hell of a beer, and damn good. Another win from Oliphant.


I might be done with new ones for the weekend, and might not be able to be back for a couple of weeks. If not, see you all down the road.

 

Good evening all! So glad it’s the weekend!
This is one I have looked at on the shelves now for years but for whatever reason never bought it. That changed yesterday.
Poured orange copper color with off white really thin head and sparse lacing.
The aroma was curious as it featured cloves and the malts which made for an almost metallic aroma.
The taste makes up for the smell though, very nice representation of the style, complete with both banana and cloves present, and quite pleasant.
The feel was excellent, not too thick and not too thin, ideally viscous for the style.
Sad I waited so long to try this but happy now that I know about it.

Cheers!

 

Is that sausage from Edelweisse?

 

Opening Revolution Supermassive Café Deth for my night cap. I love Revolution’s barrel program, I think it’s one of the best in the country and this is a stand out in their line up! If you enjoy coffee this is a must try.
4.65/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz can poured into a tulip

A- Black with a small mocha head.

S- Rich roasted coffee, so much coffee, fudge, oak, some bourbon.

T- Coffee, lots of rich roasted coffee, toffee, fudge, chocolate, oak, some vanilla, bourbon.

M- Smooth, full body.

O- This is great, pretty much great coffee with 14.3% ABV, lovely chocolate fudge undertone and nice bourbon quality.

Cheers!

 

Sadly , you probably answered this question from me before...

 

Hi all, I have one new one for tonight. Perhaps I'll have another tomorrow night before the stroke of midnight as well? Only time will tell!

Up right now is this collab between Widowmaker and Obercreek Brewing called Interstellar Skylight. It's an 8% NEDIPA that features additions of Citra Incognito, Mosaic, and Idaho 7 in the boil along with dry-hop additions of Citra, Strata, Nelson, and Galaxy. That sounds great, so I hope it comes together well.



As you can see, this is a very typical NEIPA pour, but the foam buildup was a bit better than some other style examples, and the lacing gives a strong showing as the collar fades to a half-finger of suds. Otherwise, this is pretty much par for the course, but not bad by any means.

Nose comes across with light pineapple and apricot immediately, though it does settle into a groove of resinous undertones backed up with grapefruit and a whiff of herbal grassiness. Surprisingly, this feels more cohesive than the wild "all-star lineup" of hops they threw in might initially have you believe, and I like that Mosaic still pulls a bit of weight with its piney funk and unusual dank earthiness alongside stuff like Strata in this recipe. I think I feel the pull towards Idaho 7 and Citra more than anything else here, in all honesty, but who's to say the flavor profile won't bring out more diverse charms?

Zesty, clean herbal focus on the palate with juicy grapefruit/pomelo and pineapple mixed with hints of ripe apricot in the flavor profile. Quite drinkable and refreshing with powerful citrus in the finish mixing with dankness and a soft complexion that nevertheless remains engaging throughout. I was initially concerned with a potential lack of carbonation here, as my can barely popped when I cracked it open, but the pour and overall feel here are great and allayed my concerns rather quickly. Nice flavors that are maybe not quite as potent as I'd like, but which play consistently-well together. Can't really fault 'em for that, as I'd definitely rather have a really good beer that could've been slightly better than a big ol' mess of a beer because the involved breweries' reach exceeded their grasp, as it were. Satisfied with this one and happy to have received it from my buddy... I'd definitely buy it if I were to see it in stores.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 7/16/21. Pours a very attractive hazy dark yellow, with a finger sticky white head that leaves thick webs of lace with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma is ripe melon, guava, tangerine, pineapple, a hint of blueberry, and apricot. 4.5

Taste follows cantaloupe, guava, tangerine, pineapple, blueberry, and apricot really well balanced and really tasty. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, soft gentle almost creamy carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 7.8% loaded with flavor, but extremely easy drinking. 4.5

Overall this is a really impressive beer, would highly recommend this one. I love having them on shelves in NH and I really dig that they are getting on shelves plenty fresh. 4.5

 

Poured into a 16 oz skinny pint glass best by get this 12/25/21 oh lord. Pours a attractive hazy yellow orange with a 2 finger sticky off white head, that leaves some thin streaks of lace with solid retention. 4.25

Aroma pineapple, peach, mango, and marijuana really can’t get anything else. 3.75

Taste follows pineapple and marijuana are the leads with some peach and mango. 3.75

Mouthfeel is about average, not sticky or dry, soft gentle carbonation, and at 7% it goes down easy enough. 3.5

Overall I feel like they should have added some extra dank hops and maybe even some Sabro or cashmere to give it more of a full feel, but what do I know. 3.75

 

Good morning, NBW sub-committee of the BA world. I got a good night's sleep last night and since the GF is away, I get to enjoy some peace and quiet and a few beers around the house. I mean, I love you, dear (in case you're reading).

Either way, with her out of the house, I get to drink all the IPAs I would otherwise share with her. Hold on, I'm getting a text...

Ok, apparently I "shouldn't do that if I know what's good for" me. I haven't even hit "Post Reply" yet, how did she...???

Oh well, I can have this one can of new-to-me "retired" IPA (I'll request an edit unless @FBarber is listening to my thoughts as easily as the GF does) from Alpine Beer Company - Dankster's Paradise. Apparently this was initially a collaboration with Pizza Port, which I know a few BAs are fans of.


So, if you look at the bottom where the night's rain has not regrouped against the side of a cold glass, you can see this beer is clear and reflects a spectrum of colors that produces golden to my eyes. The head forms a decent, properly sized cap on the beer for the pour strength used, and the nucleation points on the bottom of the glass will hold it there easily.

The initial aromas I wouldn't call "dank," but there is a familiarity with the general profile given off by Alpines chosen mix of Columbus, Mosaic, Citra, Rakau, Galaxy, Pacific Jade, and Nelson. Whew! I am tired just listing those. Not sure if any are meant to stand out, but none do right now.

A nice, medium feel greets my palate as I take a full gulp. There's a light bread note with just a little bit of toast and honey. The hop notes don't jump in right away, but grab hold before I get too comfortable with the malt profile.

Again, dank isn't coming to me initially. There's some grass, a little dry but still green pine needle, and some tea and grape leaves (which I get from Nelson and if the order of hops listed indicates amount, that's interesting).

I am noting a strand of honey sweetness working its way deeper into the taste the more I sip. But I am also noting the bitterness building up more and more to counter this. The profile is turning a little more piney and getting a bit "fresher" as the beer warms up a tad. This occurs both in the nose and taste.

Reading the couple of other reviews, I can see a little bit of what the reviewers were getting. Pineapple does come out a little bit after the suggestion was planted, and maybe a little guava. It's interesting how the sweeter notes notes seem more distinctly malt-driven initially, but start pairing with the driving hops to be a little more tropical.

However, this beer just keeps growing more and more piney and resinous to me as I sip and type (and type and type). The bonus - it never gets to the palate wrecking stage. The finish dries up and allows a little bit of the sticky bitterness to occupy my palate.

So, this is the second straight week of reviewing a very enjoyable, true west coast IPA. I hope my store has more four packs of Gangster's Paradise (repeating it in case you forgot what I was talking about at this point), as I will purchase one much like I did of Alesmith's Oso Under from last week.

--

Alluding to ganngsters, this gal was pretty chill as she realized I was out on the deck yesterday. Her kids bounded off as soon as they saw me, and she gave them a look like, "That guy is so not threatening, kids." Ouch!


Cheers!!

 

Welp, since I'm not really drinking today, thought I'd leave the formal(ish) NBW review of

New Image Paul (a "Vermont" pale ale, whatever that is). 5%. Canned 7.9.21


3.73/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Looks hazy but is not an IPA contra the BA classification. Its 5%!
Smells generically hoppy and like lime citrus
Taste is a bit muddled and thin even for this ABV.
Mouthfeel is decent but the taste drops off a cliff. Dry but not mouthwatering. Says it's a single hop beer but no specifics given.
Overall not the best pale ale. But it was fun to try a Heady Lite attempt.

 

I am still working my way thru these posts, but I must say that this thread should be required reading for anyone who wants to review beers on BA. I have only been on BA 11 months and continue to learn a lot and many of these posts are stellar examples of how to write a meaningful review. Nicely done, all.

 

You obviously haven't gotten to mine, then

 

Sadly, this is only about the second time I have read thru this weekly thread. I wrongly assumed it would be like a weekend version of WBYDN, which I was already periodically joining in on. This thread is like jumping into the deep end of the pool after you have only seen water in photos. I can't pretend to differentiate between smells/flavors of coffee vs. instant coffee as others have done here and I am lucky to get something like some kind of stone fruit rather than a nectarine grown on the east side of an underwatered tree (ok, a mild exaggeration there) but I suspect next week I will dive in. This week I'm visiting relatives who are not beer drinkers, so the likelihood of any worthwhile beer experience is low. I have to scratch my beer itch by reading these posts.

 

@larryi86 - I hope you enjoyed the rest of your heavy Chicago evening, I also love Dovetail's Kolsch!

Speaking of Dovetail, @FBarber , which Grodziskie do you prefer, the Goldfinger / Live Oak collab or Dovetail? Is there another out there you like even more?

Happy New Beer Sunday #858!

Really enjoyed my Hop Butcher Pale Ale yesterday, hoping for another solid pour this morning. This one also from the Chicago Suburbs, near the Wisconsin boarder in Mundelein. I really liked their Longsnapper I picked up earlier this year, and hope this one turns out as good.

Tighthead Irie IPA



Can Notes: 16 oz, canned 6/1/21, 7.8% ABV, 100 + IBU.

A hoppy complex, India Pale Ale named for the Jamaican (Rastafari) word Irie (I'Ree) which is used to describe good feelings or emotions, or - anything good...

A high original gravity establishes a sturdy malt backbone for the copious amounts of Chinook, Columbus and Centennial hops. American Ale Yeast ferments this beer, cleanly allowing the dank hop qualities to come through in all their glory... Irie Mon!

Appearance: Multiple pours into a shaker pint glass, generous cream rich head lingers throughout the pour, generous lacing throughout. Tan clear pour, light to mild carbonation. 4.25

Aroma: Citrus leads, backed by a slightly dank pine, backed by a sweet caramel base smells slightly sweet overall. 3.75

Taste: Bitter pine the lead, offset to a point by a sweet citrus, malt backbone also tries to pernitrate the bitter hops but ultimately wavers. More WCIPA than MWIPA with the malt complementing the hops well 4.25.

Mouthfeel: Very dry, bitter overall with moments of sweetness interspersed. Creamy rich medium to full body, faint carbonation survives. Drinks at the ABV, sticky, dry aftertaste. 4.5

Overall: This is a bitter piney IPA up my alley. The 100 + IBU is no joke, the pine bitter hops and slight citrus sweetness penetrating momentarily at times the primary take away. This won't be for everyone, but it's in my wheelhouse, and I'm glad I have three more in the refrigerator. Another solid offering by Tighthead Brewing! 4.25

Hope you enjoyed the review, I have enjoyed the first day plus of NBW, and look forward to catching up with the rest later today. Cheers!

Musical Accompaniment: All Day Long