New Beer Weekend #63

This is the first year I have seen cans.
I visit frequently enough not to have missed last year
Cheers

 

All the cool kids were drinking one so I tried it.

Random but related factoid: Some people cannot have any cilantro in their food as their brains (via taste buds) taste it as soap and it ruins the dish. I am wondering if some people are like that with cinnamon in beer. I cannot be certain as some I rather like; but at the same time, most I cannot enjoy. This one straddles the line.
Pours a lovely viscous black and has a dense, near brown head that leaves considerable lacing.
The aroma starts and stops with cinnamon, but typical KBS goodness is swirled in somehow. Interesting.
The taste is indeed KBS, with a bit of vanilla sweet; I get no cocoa at all and the entire flavor is immersed in not so much the flavor of cinnamon, but the heat. I try to enjoy it for what it is, but think I'll stick with the original,
The feel is very nice, no qualms there. Founders does a good job on this.
OA, I have no doubt that some will love this and some will hate it. I can appreciate it, but that's about it.
Good thing there are enough KBS varieties that I don't have to drink this one if I don't want to! (And want to drink a KBS variant) Yeesh, explaining my sentence, that must mean I wrote it poorly.

 

Good afternoon group, a second offering today. In full disclosure I had a few of these yesterday. So employing the NBW rule I present Hopfenpflucker from our dear friends at "The Brewery at Four Star Farms" (they got to work on that) A lovely Festbier that could be misconstrude with a "meaty" pale lager.. The feel is excellent, flavors are in line with other Festbiers ive had. They use thier own Mt Rainier hops, which to my senses adds the slightest citrus notes. I find that aspect very nice
Cheers all
Hopfenpflucker

Lager - Festbier / Wiesnbier | 5% ABV

The Brewery at Four Star Farms
Northfield, Massachusetts

4.1/5 rDev 0% | Average: 4.1
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16 oz can, undated, purchased at the brewery yesterday.
A - Deep golden straw color, excellent clarity, steady lager carbonation, meanders topside.
Nice white frothy cap, has some legs to it.
S - Cereal grain, cracker, some ever so slight citrus from the hops.
T - Start with that doughy delightful element, spread a bit of orange blossom honey in there and you have it.
M - Medium in body, dances across the palate, with a lively feel. then a delightful slightly bitter shift. the offering ends on a bit of a citrusy note thats quite welcome.
O - A very good offering from 4 Star wonderful malt expression, the use of Mt Rainier hops adds a hint of citrus, while keeping in the noble tradition

 

Founders Velvet Rush Imperial BBA Brown, 11.1% ABV. Pours dark brown with a two-finger light brown head that left no lacing. Nose is vanilla, chocolate, and lactose - pretty much chocolate milk. Taste follows, plus coffee, moderately sweet, slightly bitter. Smooth mouthfeel, overall outstanding.

4.25/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Cheering for the Browns to beat the Vikings while waiting for the Packer game...

 

Greetings fellow NBSers! A gray, overcast, semi-rainy day here in the Fourth Corner, the rainy season isn't supposed to start until next week, but, here we are.

Starting off with a nice little fresh hop beer, Fresh Hop Centennial Pilsner from Lucky Envelope down in Seattle. Nice and crisp, with plenty of floral hops: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40494/570843/

 

You were there yesterday ? Nice. My friend and I got there around 4 or so. I was rocking my Valkyrie brewing shirt while there.

Now as promised earlier: I'm at my local, about 2 blocks, as the crow flies, from where I live. If the damn fence wasn't there, it would take me under 5 minutes to walk here.

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/5Z7ImaV
SeptAmberFest - Back Shed Brewing - Waite Park, MN - 5.3% ABV.

To do a proper Oktoberfest beer, you need one important thing: time. This is something that this brewery didn't have because they opened up in mid August. They brewed this amber instead.

Overall it's not bad. Nice caramel malt up front, with a bit of hops on the back. Good.

Review
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/61553/570840/

3.62/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Beautiful amber pour. Fairly clear. The carbonation bubbles rising in the glass looks good. The carbonation produces a 1 finger white head when poured from the tap. This head is long lasting, and produces a good amount of lacing on the glass.
The nose is lacking. There's not much there. I just get a faint caramel note from the malts.
Taste is a malty, caramel biscuit flavor up front. This changes on the back to a bit of a pine hop on the backside. Not too strong, but there.
The body is pretty good. Not thin at all.
They didn't have time to brew and fest bier, but this is a good stand in.


Be back in just a bit for their pumpkin version of SeptAmberFest. Just got to add it.

 

YA Saturday 10/2/2021 I was at Trap Rock from about 6:45 till about 7:45pm

 

Ok. I was already home at that time because I am no longer a fan of driving through rural areas at dusk due to the damn deer running around.

Ok, as promised.
https://m.imgur.com/gallery/9uvMihh
SeptAmberFest- Pumpkin Pie- Back Shed Brewing- 5.3%

They used the base of their SeptAmberFest to create this beer. It has a beautiful aroma, but it is a bit too heavy on the cinnamon. Not bad inspite of that.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/61553/570847/

3.56/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

This beer pours a clear amber color. The head is 1 finger and white. Decent retention, but there's no lacing on the glass.
The nose is full of a good balance of cinnamon and nutmeg.
The pumpkin spices hit hard, and starts with the nutmeg. The cinnamon hits more on the backside. Throughout there's a bit of a biscuit flavor.
The body is similar to their SeptAmberFest.
Not bad, but maybe a bit heavy on the cinnamon .


Since I walked here, there's a few new sours I haven't tried yet, so I will be back in a bit.

 

Up next is another FH brew from Lucky Envelope, Strata FH IPA. Strata is maybe not my favorite hop, but this is a solidly enjoyable brew.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40494/509406/

 

Good Afternoon NBW and NBS regulars and dabblers.
Well fresh hop season indeed. Record this special fresh hop IPA from our very own @snaotheus Thanks so much!

Cone & Cone bt Holy Mountain


Thanks snaotheus!
Golden tinged straw in hue with a fluffy, dense cap. Slow retreat leaves clumpy lacing.
Fresh and green. Initial pop brings waves of wet resiny pine, lemon blossom, orange zest, and finally some grapefruit.
taste follows faithfully. Flush with sticky resin, slightly weedy, and bountiful citrus notes. Grapefruit leads the way but notes of orange, tangerine, and lemongrass shine as well. A grainy sweet note peeks in below all of the hop glitter.
Mouthfeel is lively while still a bit pillowy. Gently bitter and dry on the back end.
Overall, quite tasty.
4.2/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

Back, as promised with a sour.
https://m.imgur.com/gallery/2GrL2ty
La Di Da Di - Green Apple Lime - Back Shed Brewing - 5.1% ABV

The green apple just smacks you in the face, and the lime mellows it out a bit. Damn good.

Review

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/61553/570857/

look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Semi hazy golden pour. The head produced from the tap is white. There's a bit of lacing on the glass.
The nose hits you with the tart green apple and a hint of lime.
The taste is full on green apple up first, and it lingers. The lime then hits and lingers. These 2 flavors mix well on the backside.
Good body, tart, sour feeling lingers.
Delicious sour.


I may have another before I stager home.

 

Von-Albrecht 6% ABV Marzen Oktoberfest from The Bull n Bear Brewery in Summit NJ. Poured from a growler this beer is red /amber color with a thick tan head. There is a strong malty aroma. The Taste is sweet malt but there is a nice hop bitterness. (I don’t know what hops are used) The mouthfeel is full but soft

 

When it comes to cinnamon in beer, I definitely fall in the "less is more" camp. I don't mind a tiny bit, but more often than not I've found that it dominates the palate, and not in a way that I enjoy.

 

Yup, another FH IPA is next, Fresh Hop West coast IPA with Strata & Bravo from Black Raven. Nice beer.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/19765/569677/?ba=BBThunderbolt#review

 

All right, I decided 3 was enough at Back Shed, so now I'm home, and here's my next new beer.


Gyrator Doppel - New Glarus Brewing - 6.9% according to UT.

I'm going to be honest: I can not put into words all the flavors I'm getting here, and can't do full justice to this beer based on it. I do like this beer, and am enjoying it a lot.

Review:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/590/568522/

4.29/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

This beer pours a nice dark brown color. The head is 2 finger and off white, almost tan. The retention is amazing. Does it ever dissipate? A few minutes in and it's starting to dissipate, and it clings to the glass like super glue.
The nose is interesting, and a bit hard to describe for me. I do like it. I think I'm get a roasted malt aroma. Toffee is there. I'm getting a rye bread aroma. Licorice? Very interesting, but I'm not doing justice to it in words here.
Taste - Lots of dark fruit hits me, plum seems to be the flavor. There's a bread, biscuit flavor that is in there. I get toffee, and a hint of caramel. Roasty flavor.
The body is pretty thick and good for the ABV. Somewhat creamy feeling, though, I doubt there's lactose in here.
Interesting beer, and I know I didn't do justice to it in my review, but it's a good beer, and if you're in Wisconsin, I'd recommend getting it.


Be back later for more.

 

Dogfish Head Blue Hen Pilsner - poured from a can BB 01/22. Pours a slightly hazy yellow, generous head, moderate carbonation. Smell is classic Pilsner and a touch spicy, bready, grassy. Taste is...not Lager/Pilsner-ish to me and barely any crispness, no snap, thin, not much going on...tastes like a Pilsner but doesn't have the mouth feel of one and Ale-like.

Drinkable, but if this were a standalone Pilsner I wouldn't drink it much at all considering all of the great options I have available to me. Prost!

@JackHorzempa