New Beer Weekend #58

Hey What's Going on?!?

Good fulfilling weekend. Laying low, got a brisket to prepare... still working on my technique.. It's not my usual bbq/grill cut of choice... but others are happy and like what I come up with.

Other than that, happy to just relax for once.

This is a good beer to be drinking today.



Poured from the can into a stange glass.

Bright beaming light brass color, with reams of nice carbonation some big some small, but not excessive. Top up brings a bit of unfiltered like haze, but it's the frothy rich bleach white haze that hits with large foam and four fingers of controlled height. Some pill lacing, and a good crown while settling. Bit of an aggressive but controlled Kolsch, and a great looking one.

Pretty good nose. Fruity esters mixing in with a touch of chewy malt flavors in the aroma. Hints almost a peach to passion like fruit American hop angle possibly too, or something like it. Very interesting Kolsch.

Palate goes more dialed in and also down. Light touches of malt and less hinting bakery and dough flavors. However, exceptional fruit quality, touches light lemon and something bordering on tropical quality. Clean finish with barely a touch of herbal hop presence going in the mix. Pleasurable surprising fruit flavors of peach, pineapple and orange coming out nicely.

Seems less traditional in taste but comes with a great unique package. More please!

look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 | Final score: 4.08/5

Cheers!

 

Which (marketing aside) means it is basically your standard AAL, doesn't it?

 

Sipping on Muckraker Muscadine Kriek, thanks @TheGent, while making some red sauce for lasagna later tonight.
4.16/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

375 ml bottle poured into a tulip

A- A hazy reddish orange with a small white head.

S- Tart, cherries, white wine, some grape skins, touch of oak, some funk, hint of bandaids.

T- Tart cherries, grapes, touch of wine, hints of oak, tannins, mild funk.

M- Smooth, medium body, low carbonation.

O- A tasty wild ale and easy to drink. After doing some research I did see this was in gin barrels for a little and I think that’s the flavor I’m having trouble placing.

Cheers!

 

Could you please provide clarification here? What do you mean by "standard AAL"? Does "standard AAL" = a beer like contemporary Budweiser, Miller High Life, Coors Banquet,...?

Cheers!

 

I mean not a Classic American Pilsner. The brewer claims it is a "a fine example of american (sic) early 1900s brewing."

So, really, is it?

Or is it merely an AAL with big claims? (Like Schell's Deer Brand, for example.)

 

2 beers this Sunday both lagers
The 1st is a brand new beer Afternoon Breeze a hoppy lager from Untied Brewing a local brewery. This brew is the 2ond in a series of Hoppy Lagers.(i haven't had the 1st one). Untied uses the same grain bill and 2 hops, Cashmere and Callista then they add a different 3rd hop. This time they added Mandarina Bavaria. They added Motueka the 1st time, The result is a excellent lager. This beer is 5.1 ABV it pours bronze with a lasting head. nice aroma of malt and fruit, The taste is about the same except there if a nice bitterness also. Full mouthfeel nice bitter finish. A fine refreshing lager. Well done
The 2ond lager has been around for a long time but this was the 1st time I drank it. Old Milwaukee a 6 Pack of this was given as a joke birthday gift to a buddy. He decided not to just dump it but to share it. Back in the when I was drinking AALs i never drank the cheap ones. This beer is cheap a 6 pack of canned pints for $5.99. Pour into a glass looks as one would expect light in color small short lived head. Not much aroma at all. The taste has a hint .of corn and malt. To be honest slightly better than expected, refreshing if nothing else on a hot and humid afternoon,

,

 

Good afternoon NBW
I picked up this Stillwater Extra Dry at a store I rarely visit while hunting for trade beers. A saison brewed with sake rice.


16oz can stamped BATCH #031 poured into a pilsner glass at fridge temp 4.2% ABV. The beer pours mostly bright straw yellow with nearly white head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and few scattered bubbles. The aroma is mild with floral, grassy and hay notes and a bit of sake. The taste is similar with grass, hay, lemon and rice all mingled together with mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin bodied with average plus carbonation and a bone dry finish. Overall, good. Less saison than rice beer to me, but it's different and interesting.

Not sure if I'll be back today. Making home made neopolitan pizzas for the family tonight on my new pizza oven. Cheers all!

 

OK, I think I am understanding you now.

In my opinion a Classic American Pilsner (CAP) has attributes that differ from a present day AAL:

• It is much more hoppy in all three phases: bittering, flavor and aroma.
• It is more restrained in the content of adjuncts (e.g., corn, rice)
• From a historical perspective the base malt should be 6-row barley malt

I have personally not tasted the Live Oak Pre-War Pils but from the information provided both on the brewery website and the recent Lager Fest (Booth and online tasting video) some comments:

• Pre-War Pils is not produced using 6-row malt so this deviates from a historical perspective.
• They use a lot of corn "almost 40%" according to the video in the Booth thread.
• It sounds like this beer is heavily hopped so that is consistent with what a CAP should be

From a conformance to a CAP beer style definition I think it would be fair to 'ding' Live Oak on the aspect of base malt. I would suggest that "almost 40%" for corn is on the high side but maybe OK overall? It sounds like from a hopping perspective Pre-War Pils is conforming to style.

Does the above adequately 'answer' the question?

Cheers!


Edit:

Below is a snippet from the BJCP style guidelines for the Pre-Prohibition Lager/CAP style:

“Characteristic Ingredients: Six-row barley with 20% to 30% flaked maize (corn) or rice to dilute the excessive protein levels; modern versions may be all malt. Native American hops such as Clusters, traditional continental hops, or modern noble-type crosses are also appropriate. Modern American hops such as Cascade are inappropriate. Water with a high mineral content can lead to an unpleasant coarseness in flavor and harshness in aftertaste. A wide range of lager yeast character can be exhibited, although modern versions tend to be fairly clean.”

 

My kiddo sent papa bear some Ohio beer. I asked for Bodhi and got it. Although it's almost 90 days old it's still a nice DIPA with a malty, mosaic and citra hop taste. Probably a real killer fresh.

 

Thanks to @colby600 I have another German style in the lineup for today.

Fox Farm The Cottage Helles Lager

Clear golden color with snow white cap and lacing.

Aroma of sweet honeyed malt with first quality yeast rolls in the background. Floral spicy hops sing a high lilting note that complements rather than covers the malt.

Taste is a thing of beauty. I am immediately struck by malt richness perfectly offset in counterpoint by hop bitterness. Balance is so complete all the parts merge into a seamless whole.

Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

What can I say? This is Helles Lager done right.

 

Ok, I wasn't in the mood to rush in to this one earlier today, despite my desire to compare notes with three of you people. However, I am now getting to it - Velvet Rush.


I took a quick sniff and sip to form a first impression and then took the time to read the reviews from earlier this weekend. It seems the feel was enjoyed pretty well by all and that no one could detect any alcohol. Also, the barrel aging seemed lost in the flavor additions, it appears.

These points I can agree on - the sweeter feel is soft, if a little too full for a standard brown ale. Of course, this is an 11% beer, which is also not typical. I feel the heft of the beer, if not the alcohol so directly. That said, I will counter others slightly in that I do get just a little bite of the alcohol / bourbon lingering after a couple sips.

Interesting to me that no one mentioned the coconut in this beer - as it stands out pretty strongly to me in the nose, more than any note other than the coffee. The coffee itself has a nutty lean to it.

Like all the other reviewers, I also get chocolate (in brownie form) on the nose, but it becomes more of a dark brown sugar coffee cake crumble in the taste. The coffee in the beer joins with nutty sweetness to form a quick breakfast impression - coffee and biscotti / breakfast cake.

So yes, this is quite like a flavored stout, but with a nuttiness replacing the roast of the darker malts. I think the lack of bitterness a dark malt can bring makes the beer seem a little sweeter without feeling to think with residual sugar.

Cheers to all, whether you had a Velvet Rush this weekend or not

 

The Cottage is easily one if my favorites, I'm glad you're enjoying it as well.

 

It would make an excellent session beer. Not as corny tasting as a Lone Star or PBR. Unfortunately the distribution has not reached DFW. I'd buy it.

 

Brewing Projekt Passionberypeach Puff Tart Fruited Sour, 4.4% ABV. Pours thick and murky medium red wit a 1 thumb pink head that left puree residue. Nose is Passion Fruit, Blackberry, Peach, and Marshmallow/Vanilla. Taste follows, with the fruits up front and the Marshmallow/Vanilla following, quite sweet, slightly tart. Mouthfeel is smooth and thick with decent carbonation. Overall world-class.

4.51/5 rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

 

Old Nation Oktoberfest, nice copper hue and well sustained head that is inviting, light beady aroma, little sweetness but primarily a earthy hop profile with some bitterness. Less sweet than most Octoberfests Ive consumed this year and an excellent example of the style. My setter in the background is waiting for the Little League game between Michigan and Ohio to start! She’s excited LOL

 

Yeah, that's pretty much answering (or, at least, further discussing) my points.

I don't want to further derail the NBW thread with a beer (sub)style discussion, so I'll end with this: It seems to me that if there is any real distinction / bright line between a pre-war/prohibition pilsner/lager and a post-prohibition/mid-century AAL, it is the use of 6-row barley with corn to lighten it up.

Otherwise, just about any ol' AAL could be called "pre-war/pro" at the brewer's marketing whim.

 

Brewing Projekt Storm Tide Pineapple/Mango Gose, 5.16% ABV. Pours hazy golden with a two-finger white head that left nice lacing. Nose is light fruit, taste is pineapple and mango, quite sweet, very slight tartness, with slight saltiness on the close. Excellent mouthfeel with decent carbonation. Overall outstanding.

4.36/5 rDev +9.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

 

I received a surprise bomb pack from my good friend and exemplary BA @JayORear. All new to me except one. And new breweries as well. Of course he knows his Nelson and knows I dig it too so lets start with:
Slice Beer Co. Mega Clouds
DIPA w/ Mosaic, Citra, Nelson and Simcoe.
Pouring a hazy golden yellow with off white foamy and quite large head thats leaving alot of sticky lacing after lasting for quite a few minutes.
The aroma is huge and full of overripe pineapple, peach, passionfruit, dark berries, tangerine and hints of pine.
Taste is all that with a subtle hint of crushed white grapes, orange zest and even tiny bits of strawberry adding to the complexity. Its medium in its body, with a bit of hoppy slickness at mid palate drying out quite nicely at the finish with earty pine and pithy bitterness balancing the slight sweetness. A very slight hint of alcohol. A balanced and complex brew.
My first beer from Slice. And I am loving it. Great brew. Thank you Jay!

 

I worked real hard on my garage addition today. Burned out, I was looking forward to a good beer. I knew I didn't have much in my fridge.
Surprise, my son ran into a high school friend of mine and he gave him 2 Hill Farmstead beers for me.

4.21/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 12oz can stamped "canned 08/09/21 drink by 09/06/21" to a Nonic.
Pours hazy pale yellow. A 3/8" super white head sits on top.
A wonderful combination of hops rules the aroma. A little citrus a little grape, all clean.
Taste is similar, clean with citrus and grape and a dry finish with just a hint of the alcohol.
Mouthfeel is medium for a hazy.
A really nice beer, what else would I expect.

 

Cheers all,
My offering today is courtesy of @WunderLlama associated with NBW BIF 13 and one of it’s many LIFs.
Dinner. From Maine Beer Company. I am one of the fortunate people able to drink this. Thanks Maynard!

Poured golden amber color with a vanilla white 1/2” head that left copious amounts of lacing.
Smelled like an IPA should smell (ok, my opinion only here, but take my word for it!)
Citrus and piney dankness and fruit, pitted I think, all balanced nicely with what malts are in there.
The taste followed the aroma and beyond, it keeps going! I can only imagine what this is like on draft, but even in W. Michigan and 4 weeks past the bottling date, it’s amazing.
I am officially envious of you folks on the East coast for this beer.
The feel is ideal, smooth and soft and way too easy to drink. Yowsa, I could get into serious trouble with this in quantity.
Thanks Maynard, I didn’t even know how much I wanted to drink this until now.
Good beer. Really good.

 

@Rub_This_BBQ sent me two exciting lagers from the NE aside from the homebrew sour that I won last weekend. I am patiently waiting for my wife to be available to try the sour with me. In the meantime, I get to try Jack's Abby for the first time: Hometown Rising, a double hoppy lager clocking in at 8% abv. The label says it is hopped with strata, sabro, and citra.

16oz can served in an angular wineglass. No date on the can, but I trust that it is fresh.

Pours a fairly clear amber-gold with a fairly large head that collapses to a thin skin that craws right up the sides of the glass. Smell is hop resin, grass, a little lemon pith, if I work at it I can get a little bit of a lager yeast aroma (but this is probably self-delusion).

Taste is moderate citrus, lots of ripe tropical flavors, makes me think of papaya or passionfruit or very ripe mango. I get a moderate earthy bitterness fairly late.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly light and refreshing. Overall, this is a really nice beer.

Chances are pretty slim I'll see Jack's Abby on the shelves out here in Washington. Boo.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. I'm continuing to review new releases from this weekend's celebration of Four City Brewing's second anniversary. First up is a triple IPA brewed in collaboration with Other Half, More Medison than Hedison. It's brewed with OH's proprietary Galaxy hops, along with Nelson Sauvin, Citra Cryo, and Mosaic Cryo. As you would expect, it's outstanding. Lots of ripe tropical fruit balanced by citrus, white wine, and a lot of hoppy bitterness. I'm thinking it will be even better in another week.

Reviewed two days after release and less than a week after canning. Poured into a snulip glass. It pours a turbid, dirty tangerine color with a full finger of foamy, milk white head and thick, sticky lacing. A very attractive pour. The nose is big and fruity with lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, ripe melon, and lots of pinot gris. The taste absolutely pops with a lot of ripe melon and passion fruit, along with lemon, lime, and grapefruit. White wine grape is also present but it's initially in the background and becomes more evident as the ale warms in the glass. The first few sips were very bitter but it settled out quickly. The brewers used Other Half's proprietary Galaxy hops and I'm assuming it accounts for the bitterness. There is a slight astringency at the finish. The mouth feel is luxuriously thick and creamy with appropriate carbonation and it drinks surprisingly easily for 9.4% ABV. Overall, this is super, big, fruity, bitter TIPA. It reminds me of Other Half's collaboration with District 96, "All Snake Everything."

4.49/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I'll be back shortly with a Stout from Four City and Twin Elephant. Cheers!

 

Great review! I hope you join us regularly. This is a really fun thread with good comraderie. The NBS BIF is also a blast!

 

Moving on to Odd Muse Fiber Optics.
4.02/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

16 oz can poured into a teku

A- A hazy golden orange with a two finger white head.

S- Citrus, melons, hints of stone fruits, earthy, touch of alcohol.

T- Citrus, oats, melons, touch of stone fruits, slightly earthy.

M- Smooth, medium body.

O- A solid NEIPA, easy to drink, a touch on the sweeter side.

Cheers!

 

Man, I just KNEW they skipped the 6-row barley malt!!!

PS: what is 6-row barley malt?



I’m guessing it’s not 3 times the malted barley of 2-row barley malt, which I remember referenced in some Sam Adams beers (maybe Sam Light?) years ago.

 

2 row is from Europe, where they have small fields of 2 rows of barley.

6 row is from America, where the fields are larger, so they plant 6 rows.

 

two row barley


6 row barley

It refers to the number of barley kernels around the head of the grain.

 

Abita 35th Anniversary Pilsner, 5.0% ABV; 3.75 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with a thumb+ of pearl colored head. Average head retention & lacing

S: Bready, some lemon notes

T: Dry, bready, grassy notes with lemon up front. Sweet breadyness melds with grassyness, soapy & lemony hops as this warms. Finishes dry, grassy with lemon & lime notes

MF: Medium body, soft carbonation, pretty good balance

Solid effort, pretty drinkable

 

Greetings All from the Great Northwest where we are off the heat of the summer, but still warm with temps in the mid 80s.

Today we have Jai Alai IPA from Cigar City Brewing all the way from Florida.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/17981/46363/

It's a hazy fruity citrus tasting beer.

Looks like football season and Oktoberfests are just around the corner.

Until next time,

 

Back with my 2nd HF of the day (after a "pallet cleanser" of Goose Island IPA). This one really hit the spot.

4.34/5 rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 16oz can stamped "canned 07/27/21, drink by 08/24/21", (oh well), to a Nonic at fridge temp.
Pours light orange haze with a 1/2" head with multi-sized bubbles. The head fade in a minute or so but lace nicely.
The citrus is strong with this one. Orange pith, lemonade all with a back ground of subtle must.
The citrus really hits in the taste. Its almost like the bitterness comes from citrus rind rather than hops, but its pleasant.
Mouthfeel is rather light. I think it would be a detriment to the "lemonade effect" if it were creamier.
Another excellent beer from HF.

 

Ive been out of the loop lately and would like to know when the next BIF is happening. Please let me know the info. Cheers!

 

Next up is an Imperial Stout collaboration between Four City and Twin Elephant Brewing: Only Built 4 Brewin' Drinx. I have to say that my initial reaction was disappointment. The head fizzled out before I could snap a photo. That's okay if it's a BA, high ABV Stout but this is neither (well, it is 10%). But I've calmed down and can report that it's a nicely-brewed Stout with lots of cocoa and peanut butter and just a tiny hint of dark fruit. I was hoping for a little more but this is still a fine Stout.

Canned on 8/23/2021. Poured into a snulip glass at 64°. It pours ink black. The nose provides some redemption: it's heavy on peanut butter, along with cocoa and freshly-brewed coffee. The taste follows the nose; there is peanut butter up front, along with graham cracker, cocoa, coffee, and a touch of earthy char. As it breathes there is the slightest hint of black cherry. There is modest bitterness at the finish. The mouth feel is moderately chewy with lite carbonation. At 10% ABV it should be sipped slowly. Overall, this collaboration is fine but not as good as the best stouts produced by either brewer.

3.99/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I posted this on the WBAYDN thread yesterday. Four City did something I think is really clever for its anniversary: it created a "Boom Box" with two mixed four packs of the four anniversary releases. This was great since I would not have bought packs of all four but I was able to get two cans of each. I also bought a "full" pack of More Medison than Hedison so I think I did well. For those in the NYC/North Jersey area, Four City is worth a visit. It has a great, urban vibe. The next time I go I'll take the train. It's a 6 minute walk from my house to the local station and about a minute walk from the Orange station to the brewery. A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one.

 

Here is the sign up thread:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/nbs-bif-14-sign-up-thread.661088/

 

Alaskan Brewing Co.'s Midnight Haze Cascadian Ale, 6.0% ; 3.77 overall

Pours chestnut/brown with 2 fingers of tan head. Stellar head retention & lacing

S: Roastyness in spades

T: Pine, roastyness, a little caramel, plus dryness up front. Roastyness & dryness dominate as this warms, plenty of pine as well. Finishes roasty, dry with a little nuttyness & pine

MF: Medium body, fairly restrained carbonation that builds once warmer

Drinkable enough, but nothing really stands out about this one. This a style that I've had a few i really enjoyed, but this is just middle of the pack

 

Mikerphone Brewing -- Gold Record Status (golden ale)



3.64/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Partially hazy, golden orange body; lively carbonation; one-finger thick head, dense and creamy. Very fresh citrus aroma; tangerine; light malt sweetness to the nose. Light flavors all around; mild esters; very mild hop bitterness. Medium body; lightly coarse on the palate; okay blend of soft sweetness and airy dryness.

An okay blond ale. The flavor comes across a bit weak and watery although it does have some malt flavor and fruity citrus hints. Decent but rather bland.

Poured at 51 °F; no canning data seen on the can.

--------------

I can't argue with a relatively low ABV beer, but a bit more complexity to the taste and a better balanced mouthfeel would make this one more memorable and desirable.

 

Just read a book review about that woman in the Economist last night. Pretty interesting story.

 

@JayORear turned me on to Slice too. And it's from my state! Great stuff. And couldn't agree with you more. He be a stellar BA.
Maybe he's calibrating his sights for NBS BIF #14...

 

Last NBW, @Rub_This_BBQ offered up a bottle of his first "intentionally sour" homebrew, which I earned, clearly through deep personal virtue.

I'm impressed by his willingness to put himself out there by requesting a review in this thread, and I'm nervous that my positive feelings about his generosity will make it difficult for me to be honest if I don't like it. Based on my wife's reaction (who isn't bothering with all this preamble), that shouldn't be a big problem.

Cherry Mixed Ferm homebrew by @Rub_This_BBQ

So here it goes...22oz bottle that I retrieved from the mail on Friday, and has been resting in the fridge since then. Poured into an angular wine glass, leaving ~3/4" in the bottle as a precaution against sediment.

Pours a deep almost purple red with very little carbonation, moderately to lightly cloudy. Smell is gorgeous cherry tartness with a little bit of a wild woody twist.

Taste is very tart, lots of cherry juice, almost an unripe cherry characteristic. Slight fruit skin or grape must bitterness.

Mouthfeel is smooth, clean, could use a little more carbonation (but understand that's not terribly abnormal for the style). Overall...considering it's the only intentionally sour homebrew I've ever had, it's the best one; I've had plenty of professional wild/sour/mixed fermentation beers that I didn't think came out as well. It screams cherry in a way I haven't experienced very often.

Thank you so much, @Rub_This_BBQ! I'm really appreciative of your generosity.

Wife says: I really like the flavor of it. I wish it had a little bit more carbonation. I think it's really good -- better than a lot of professional beers of the style. She gives it a 4.5/5, and she's no newbie -- sours are her preference, Cantillon is her favorite brewery, and we've visited them three times. She says it's the best homebrew I've ever had.