New Beer Weekend #58

Good evening NBW
I rarely pass on a Founder's release

Founder's Velvet Rush
12oz bottled 07.29.21 poured into a perfect pint glass at 55° Fahrenheit 11.1% ABV. The beer pours bright light brown with ruby highlights and light brown head. The head recedes to a thin cap. Slight lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring cold brew coffee, chocolate and vanilla. The flavor is semisweet coffee forward with the vanilla and chocolate making themselves known as well. The barrel is way in the back and more oak. I'm not sure I'd pinpoint bourbon if it wasn't proclaimed on the label. Mild coffee driven bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with average carbonation and a somewhat dry finish. The barrel and coffee seem to perfectly balance the sweetness of the lactose, chocolate and vanilla. No trace of the ABV in the taste or aroma. Overall, excellent. I was worried this sounded overly sweet, but that was not the case. Some may knock the lack of bourbon, but the oak is nice.

I think Founder's is using some or all second use barrels for some of these releases. I'm ok with that as long as the price is right and it fits the beer. I'll also say that Founder's may use coffee as well as any brewery out there.

I'm done with new stuff for today. Might get into a few more over on WBAYDN or risk the ire of my wife and head off to "other beverages."

Cheers all!

 

New Province Brewing's Good Day Session IPA, 4.5% ABV; 3.98 overall

Pours an effervescent gold/honey with slight hazing with a thumb+ of rocky pearl color head. Average head retention & ;acing

S: Some citrusy notes, a little breadyness. Citrus is stronger as it warms

T: Pineapple, lime, & tangerine, plus dryness up front. A little green melon, dryness & pink grapefruit as this warms. Dryness & pink grapefruit dominates as this warms, a little lime as well

MF: Medium body, light carbonation, nice balance

I'm usually not a fan of session IPAs, but this one pops, Found a single down in Fort Smith, Certainly would buy again

 

#2, picked this up recently, time to take it for a spin.





4.39/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours black with a dark tan head that sticks around a while. The nose has rich milk chocolate, a heavy barrel presence (booze and oak), and a little coconut.

The taste haste that rich milk chocolate up front, and then there’s a nice stone fruit flavor via black cherries, which was a pleasant surprise, and some coconut and a nice little alcohol burn at the very back of the palate. Man is this delicious.

The mouthfeel is a bit on the thin and watery side, which I didn’t expect, but this is overall still a pleasure to drink.

 

Great start @Victory_Sabre1973 . And I see NBW is welcoming as usual. I see some veterans and some newer folks as well. Just wanted to pop over, sorry I don't have my beer ready, yet... But I do have a New Beer Weekend related announcement. Today is the day. It begins today.

NBS BIF #14 Sign Up Thread

Take the fun and camaraderie of NBW to the next level, consider joining us in this circular firing squad of fermented fun that supports New Beer Weekend.

 

Pretty sure it was me. Glad you enjoyed it!

I thought that beer was very enjoyable as well. Glad to see folks drinking Taxman. I'm actually sending a can of BBA No Sparge out this week in a trade.

 

I'm actively avoiding the posts so I can rip into objectively compare against the other reviews tomorrow.


Different times it must be that we won't be able to compare notes, hmmm.

 

Prairie Sundae Service Imp Stout, 14.9% ABV;3.92 overall

Pours a chestnut hued ebony with ZERO head. No head retention or lacing

S: Cherries, chocolate, Bourbon

T: Follows the nose, a little barrel, vanilla, a little figgyness up front. Tastes like a ice cream sundae with a splash of Bourbon as it warms, barrel picks up. Finishes with warming Bourbon, with a touch of maple? Then vanilla & chocolate

MF: Fairly chewy, near zero carbonation, warming. A little carbonation as it warms

Hits the target on flavor, but falls short on mouthfeel & appearance, this will be a pass if I ever see it again

 

Apparently a new beer for the database, Ami Jean from Fair Isle, a saison with peaches, apricots, and pluots. Bottlecap on the 750ml bottle didn't fit into my wall mounted bottle opener, and with the ongoing kitchen remodel I'm not sure where my regulars are...so I used my wife's novelty bottle opener.

A little bit of a foamer, but I thought it looked pretty.

Split between a pair of angular wineglasses. Batch number 1, bottled September 2020.

Pours a hazy straw yellow with a medium sized head. Head fades to a generous ring and a sparse layer. Smell is primarily fruity tart, unripe peaches and apricots come through clearly, with a little bit of a funky/woody aroma as well.

Taste is mildly fruity, mildly tart, mildly funky, but rich in some way I haven't the words to describe. Earthy might be the best descriptor that I can come up with, but it leans in a slightly sweet direction and a slightly bright direction.

Mouthfeel is very light, very dry, just disappears. Overall, this is a very nice beer.

 

Hello Late Night NBW.
I am sipping on a bit of a style bender. A lagered IPA formed in a collaboration between the new brewery, Radiant (yet staffed by brewing veterans)& Beachwood Brewing.

Evidently this is the first collaboration that Radiant has brewed on premises.

The 710 To The 91 To The 5 (Lagered IPA)

The name is basically the route from Beachwood, in Long Beach, to Radiant, in Anaheim, CA.

Just came out, but no canning date.
Pours a brilliant, clear gold. Fluffy white head asserts itself just past 2 fingers in height, hovers there for a few, then slowly settles into solid1/2 inch cap. Great retention. Lacing looks like a mountain range silhouette.
Nose dons a plethora of tropical flavors: pineapple, passion fruit, lychee, and hints of oat, berry, and juniper.
Flavor is a subtle meandering of lychee, passion fruit, underripe blueberry, buckwheat, and a mild drying herbal note.
Mouthfeel light, crisp, and the carbonation is mellow but consistent. Slightly dry finish.
Overall, a smooth IPL, or Lagered IPA...Hmm.
3.74/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

 

Good day BAs! Yet another NBS has rolled around and I've got a beer enjoying its retirement. While the thunderstorms roll around outside, here's this weeks New Breakfast Beer entry to NBS/NBW:




Origin of Darkness from Collective Arts, Hamilton, ON. Purchased on 20 Oct 20 from Shangy’s, Emmaus, PA. $ 14.78 (Including tax) per single capped 16.9 oz bottle ($0.874/oz). On room temperature shelf at the store, stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 29/8/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
2019 Release, as marked on label. Served at 51.2 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 58.8 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), nearly opaque.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. When rear-lite, same with minimal penetration at the extreme edges - amber.
Head – Small (Maximum 1.5 cm, aggressive center pour), goldenrod, high density, fizzy, quickly diminishing to a two mm crown and some small islands for a cap. Second pour produces a one cm fizzy head.
Lacing – Fair - Narrow (0.9 cm) band of torn curtain lacing
Aroma – 4 – “Dark fruit”, no malt, no hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins slightly sweet with marked raisins and dates. No malt, no hops, no yeast. No ethanol (9.6 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. Moderate gastric warming. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Full, just short of creamy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4 Heavy on the “dark fruit” in both aroma and flavor, not surprising since raisins, dates, and prunes were added to the fermentation. Seems a bit light on alcohol but that’s OK, it is well-hidden from both nose and taste buds although it is evident in the head and lacing. A good brew but a bit sweet for my taste.
Rating 4.2, rDev +5.8%.

Be sure to check out and sign up for Beer It Forward #14 - check it out!

 

Thanks to @colby600 I have this.

Fox Farm Gather German Style Pilsner

Clear light golden color with full white cap and good lacing.

Aroma of sweet malt, fresh yeast rolls, a light citrus touch that I will call lemon and floral, spicy hops.

Hop flavor is more aggressive on entry but that quickly fades into the full body malt sensation. The hops are more spicy than floral but that actually creates a better balance with the malt. I get more dry bready flavor from the malt with just a touch of sweetness. Finish is crisp with the flavors lightly lingering.

Full body with balancing carbonation.

Just a beautiful beer well worth the experience.

 

Welcome to New Beer Sunday #862!

Closing out the weekend with another saison, this one also from Illinois, but this time from my hometown. This offering was released August 14, 2020.

(Editors note - By the time I finished my review I realized I grabbed a different KT bottle than I intended to review. I have too many KTs, if that is even possible ). I meant to grab one still available for purchase at Half Acre (several currently are). My apologies, but bottom line just look at what she has for sale and buy.

Keeping Together At The Still Point Of The Turning World



Appearance: Poured half the bottle into a tulip glass. Beautiful sparkling golden colour, heavy carbonation throughout, bright cream rich white head leaves generous fine white lacing above the base and coats the glass throughout. Perfect. 5.0

Aroma: Sweet pleasant lemon lime, citrus, lightly tart, faint funk, no rye noted. Mild to bold in strength, persistent throughout. 4.25

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, lemon lime, citrus, light funky yeast, get a bit of black crushed pepper, rye emerges half into the first glass. Love how this all comes together. Squirt meets funky pepper. Really enjoying this. 4.75

Mouthfeel: Creamy medium body for a saison, carbonation persistent and constant visually, easy like Sunday morning on the tongue. Drinks lighter than ABV, refreshing, clean easy finish. 4.5

Overall: I’d have to confirm the other reviews, but I believe this is my favorite Keeping Together offering in an already impressive stellar lineup. Only change is make would be slightly upping the rye and pepper, since I was first steered toward this with the rye in the description. That said, this is very enjoyable, complex, rewarding so perfect on a warm Summer Day. Outstanding! 4.75

Musical accompaniment: Pink!

Was out all day yesterday, looking forward to catching up with the thread and enjoying all the reviews. Enjoying the nice light cooling rain and breeze coming through now.

Cheers!

 

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass canned on 8/5/21. Pours a very attractive hazy yellow, with a 2 plus finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace, with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma is mango, passionfruit, pineapple, some dank and weedy, and apricot. 4.5

Taste follows mango, passionfruit, pineapple, dankness, and apricot really well balanced and juicy. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, not sticky or dry, soft creamy perfect carbonation, and at 7.2% it goes down really easy but loaded with flavor. 5

Overall this is a really special treat, wow factor for me. Thx @jzeilinger for this impressive can. 4.75

 

It's surprisingly not hotter than hades this morning in the Brazos Valley, so maybe firing up the gumbo pot in the kitchen today won't feel quite so warm ... in the meantime, I've got a new beer:

Buffalo Bayou's Lighten Up! • American blonde ale • 4.6% ABV • 20 IBUs

My expectations were pretty low for this beer, but it's delightfully simple and tasty. Buffalo Bayou so often trades in the tricked-up side of things, adding coffee and lactose and spices and all of the rest of it, yet Lighten Up! proves that they can still brew a good beer without the tricks. The highlights for this one are a strong, solid base of barley malt and a nice green, grassy kiss from the Hallertau Mittelfruh hops. It's a deft touch, not an in-your-face thing, and I love it. I'd look for this beer when I'm out and about.

The official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28255/466272/?ba=Premo88#review

4.05
(+14.1% rDev)

Hope your Sundays are off and running!

Cheers!

 

Looks like it might be a standup double for this Astros' fan

Buffalo Bayou Crush City IPA • 7% ABV • 60 IBUs

There's nothing much to see here, just another American IPA with a chunk of earthy/bitter hops that smell wonderful (like oranges, orange pie) but taste bitter, yeasty and dry for the most part. It's not terrible, and I love the fact the brewery didn't resort to adding orange/citrus flavors to juice it up. But it could use a bit more contribution from the barley.

The official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28255/222278/?ba=Premo88#review

3.79
(+2.7% rDev)

Cheers!

 

Historically Classic American Pilsners were brewed with 6-row barley malt; 6-row malt is 'extra' high in proteins and this aids in head formation/retention.

For some reason Live Oak decided to use their 'base malt' of Czech Pilsner Malt to be the base malt for Pre-War Pils. That decision along with using a rather high proportion of corn in making this beer will have impacts on this beer as regards head formation/retention which needless to say you noticed.

Cheers!