New Beer Weekend #64

Last week I mentioned in one of these threads that I actually found a brown ale on the shelf of my local beer store. Although it's listed here as an American brown ale, it has one of those European-sounding names, @Shanex - Autumn Ale, by Breckenridge. Also, it seems that the pictured tree got the wrong instructions for the fall season.

(note: not a new fallen tree, just a different angle of one I have shot before)

Ok, the beer pours like an extension of the container it is evacuating, both in color and clarity. The light beige head builds on a strong pour, without threatening to escape its new vessel.

There's a little acidic note to the nose, almost a little like the sour note of a sourdough bread. With this comes some dark bread and a nutty coffee note. It seems to me to be a mix of yeast and malt (Munich is listed) more than hops (Bavarian), which might be giving off a light woody scent.

The opening of the beer somewhat resembles the presumed yeasty note, with a nutty and earthy undertone. This brown ale isn't a hearty or robust brew, with a light body that some might view as near watery. I find a deceptive depth to the feel, though, with soft carbonation that envelops the palate a bit from the edges.

Middle has a bit more of a generic fruit impression (subtle and integrated note of perhapssome apricot with a sprtiz of lemon). This takes over a little more than expected, and hides the bread and light, nutty coffee notes I anticipated would come through from the nose (and do peek through in occasional sips).

I will be happy to have the rest of the six pack as a change of pace over the next couple weeks. However, what I described as being a fruity / yeasty note is detracting from my excitement of having a brown ale in front of me. I want the toasted malt to exert its influence a little more.

Cheers to the lot 'fy'all!

 

I almost meant to use the term "real" brown ale in my post, with specific references to these same beers. However, I am now able to accomplish that with this post and the grinning comment that NBW has two "brown ales" in the first five posts. Who'd-a-thunk-it?

Edit: and then I looked at the beer page, and this thing is 7%!?!! I verified via the fine print on the beer label. Well, it doesn't feel 7%, for sure, but I'm now not think this is as "real" as I thought it was (as if I am the arbiter of the style)

 

My wife is under the weather this morning, so I handled the dog-walking by myself. I have found it is easier, in terms of dog behavior, to walk them singly and not as a threesome. The other benefit is I walk three times as far as I normally would. A win-win situation!
Today's new beer is Threat Level: Turquoise, an IPA from Ex Novo. It is brewed with Chinook, Columbus, Cascade, Centennial, and Citra, and is 6.8% ABV.
A clear gold color. Small white head with a bit of lace
Citrus fruit aroma, some pine. Sweet malt
Taste of grapefruit, orange. Late pine
Just the right amount of hoppiness

 

Nice to see you here @Shanex , thanks for kicking things off! Also, just wanted to give a shout out to the upcoming Brown Ale tasting coming to BA over the next few weeks, more details to come.

It is 10/9, and typically I'd be at Spiteful enjoying my favorite local, and one of my favorite West Coast IPAs, 10/9 Bike Messenger Appreciation IPA. Last year, I scheduled my flight to Vegas on Saturday 10/10, to allow me to enjoy and stock up the day before. Alas, COVID struck the production last year.

When I hit the taproom a few weeks ago, they stated their production schedule did not permit them to release it today, but it will be released later this Fall rebranded without the 10/9 notation. So in lieu of this beer and a trip to Spiteful today, I am pulling two Spiteful Beers from my cellar that are also both currently available at Spiteful brewery.

The first beer is one of my highest rated stouts, Cinnamon Bun, though the one today is the Barrel Aged version. I tried the BA version with Coffee, and liked it but not as much (4.57 vs. 3.99). Hope this one comes closer to the OG.

Spiteful Brewing Barrel Aged Cinnamon Bun



Can Notes: 2020 Cinnamon Bun Hostile Harry Russian Imperial Stout 12 oz., 14% ABV. Aged for 9 months in a bourbon barrel. Canned 11/10/2020 @12:23:52. Purchased at the brewery and refrigerated both there and at home since purchase.

Online Brewer Note: Russian Imperial Stout with Cinnamon and Vanilla.

Appearance: Single pour into a stemless Revolution Deep Woods glass. Short lasting and in since dark brown bubbly head lingers for about 15 seconds before vanishing. Heavy carbonation visible during pour, fine small bubbles linger above the base along the rim. Base impenetrable very dark brown to black. 4.0

Aroma: Very strong and pleasant cinnamon noticeable immediately after opening the can. Smells wonderful as I let this warm up, and as it does, the bourbon is very smooth, the blend smells great. Did not note vanilla until a few minutes in, this all blends well. 4.5

Taste: Taste consistent with expectations, the bourbon strong and upfront, very smooth and warm going down, though not a "burning" sensation. The base is next, wonderful roast malt, dark chocolate, a bit of fruit, raspberry. Cinnamon follows, well incorporated. Vanilla faint, stronger on the nose. The sum works better than the quality parts comprising this version. Really enjoying this, it is most excellent. 4.5

Mouthfeel: Faint fizzy carbonation holds on throughout, more so than a typical BA stout, despite being 11 months after canning. Medium very creamy, silky smooth on the tongue. Bourbon silky smooth and well incorporate, helps balance the sweet components. Drinks under the ABV at first, but then kicks in full gear, perhaps even stronger, about 15 minutes in. Definitely packs a punch. Very clean finish, light cinnamon enjoyable aftertaste. 4.75

Overall: I am thrilled I grabbed these and opened this today. I have backed off a bit purchasing stouts with adjuncts, but this one is very well made, everything blends well and tastes wonderful. I love it when a barrel aged stout comes together! Definitely A Team worthy. Highly recommend for those looking for a well blended BA Cinnamon backed stout. 4.5

Tomorrow I return with a Barrel Aged version of their award winning Barleywine. Wishing you excellent beer this weekend!

 

Happy New Beer Weekend.

Today is a new beer to me.

Shared Brewing – Achromatic Vibes (2020)

12% ABV

The beer is listed as an Imperial stout with vanilla beans and coconut on the bottle, and a “Stout – Russian Imperial” on BA.

The beer was removed from a 45ish degree temp fridge after having been refrigerated for approximately 10 months. Beer poured into a Hill Farmstead tall wine-style glass. Consumed (domed) across approximately 2 hours, across 3 separate pours with the beer kept refrigerated between pours.

First Impression: As soon as the cap was popped, a little bit of vanilla escaped. Poured heavy and thick, like motor oil. Perhaps thicker than any other stout I have ever poured, including the two derivations from SP that I have tried. This left me intrigued. 4.25

Appearance: As is always the case with SP/Shared, this beer is essentially still (just like all the stouts). Very little head which dissipates quickly, never to be seen again. It is very thick, and that is evident both during the pour and when swirling. After taking a sip, the glass is coated. Small particulates and residue are also left on the glass in a way that a strictly oily stout (e.g. BCBS rare) simply does not. 4.25

Smell: For a stout this is quite aromatic, but for any beer this is pretty subdued. Immediately you get vanilla. After that what you get definitely changes. Mostly I get a vague sugar-sweetness most akin to turbinado sugar with layers of vanilla like that of powdered sugar. What ruins this a little bit is that you get some of that vanilla-alcohol almost burn in your nose much like you do with vanilla extract. At first I would rate this higher, but over the course of enjoying the beer I have to rate it more fairly. 4.15

Taste: This is a beer that definitely changes as the temperature of the beer changes, and I would argue that the beer is better off at a colder (i.e. fridge) temperature of 45-55. In that range you get more of the vanilla with less of the bitter malt-chocolate, and less of the sticky-sweet feeling (see mouthfeel below). You certainly get vanilla first and foremost. The coconut you really have to search for, although perhaps you wouldn’t if just the vanilla were not present, since coconut already has vanilla-like flavors, particularly when it is limited. When cold the beer presents more as a vanilla and chocolate beer – with some taste towards the back (and aftertaste) that I can’t quite put my finger on. At first I liked this a lot, but I like it less 15 ounces in. 4.35

Mouthfeel: This has a good mouthfeel when cold, less when warm. But there are two components – there is literally the mouthfeel during a single sip/drink, and then there’s the mouthfeel over the course of the entire bottle. I have a bitter sensitivity, so while this may be sweet for others, it isn’t for me. -But, I recognize that it clearly has a lot of sugars, as it will make your mouth sweet/sticky. So, after about 4-5 ounces, you’ll quickly get to this point of ‘saturation’. 4.15

Overall: I want to like this a lot more than I do, and I wish I liked it as much near the end of the bottle as I did at the start. Look, when I finish a bottle of BCBS, especially something like Rare, my palate may be a little wrecked, but I have enjoyed myself. Other than the ABV, nothing is a chore to consume it. This is totally different. This is heavy, this is sticky, this is tiring, and this is a slog. I’m convinced that this beer is not intended to be consumed by oneself, but this is the way it is packaged, so this is the way that I am going to review it. My review started off higher at the start of the bottle, and keeps falling the more I consume. I can understand how someone would rate this a 4.8 with only 4oz. and I can see how someone might rate this a 4.6 with only 5-7oz, but I don’t see how someone rates this higher than a 4.3 if they are consuming the whole bottle. It’s a chore, and a little part of me wishes I had just traded it away (Although, as always, I am grateful for the opportunity). 4.25

BA Review Score: 4.256

My review (apparently 1 of only 4) can be found here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47799/502600/?ba=Beer_Economicus#review

Cross-posted with WBAYDN and Cellar Review Thread (This is just over 1yr old).

 

Drekker Chonk Peach Melba Sundae Sour, 7.7% ABV. Pours thick and opaque light orange with a 1.5-finger orange large-bubble head that left puree residue. Nose is peach, raspberry, and vanilla. Taste follows, plus lactose, quite sweet and equally tart. Excellent thick and smooth mouthfeel, overall excellent to outstanding adjacent.

4.24/5 rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

Good afternoon NBW
A rare miss by Taxman today

Incider Trading

12oz canned 8/31/21 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 6% ABV 20 IBU. The beer pours mostly bright honey colored amber with minimal khaki colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. The aroma is mild with Belgian yeast, malt and apple. The taste is barely tart apple and Belgian yeast clove up front with a little pale malt and an oddly favored mild bitterness later. I reminds me of apple seeds, which is not a great taste. Mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, ok. This is not a big beer and the apple seed bitterness is out of place and distracting.

The good news is that I have next week off and plenty of time for more beers. I will also experiment with some spirit additions in the remaining three cans of Incider Trading. I suspect a half ounce or so of sweet bourbon will straighten things right out. Cheers all and enjoy your weekend!

 

Apple seed bitterness is a new one for me - can’t say that I have any idea what apple seeds are like, or even knew that they were bitter. (Not critiquing, just found it interesting, as I know nothing about apple seeds. )

 

Drekker Pineapple/Guava/Passionfruit BRAAAAAAAAins Double Fruit Smoothie Sour, 7.3% ABV. Pours thick and opaque/murky orange with a 4-finger light orange head that left puree residue. Nose is Pineapple, Guava, Passionfruit and vanilla. Taste follows, quite sweet, slightly tart, salt on the close. Excellent thick and creamy mouthfeel, overall outstanding. Some of the BRAAAAAAAAins variants don't work, but this one does.

4.38/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sometimes it seems that Drekker pairs fruit randomly, but this one was either thought out or blind luck, either way it works well.

 

Carlsberg Premium Danish Pilsner

Light yellow gold color with white cap and lacing neither of which last very long.

Light aroma of sweet malt and herbal, spicy hops.

Taste on entry is malty with a good smash of hard edge herbal hops which come across as a bittering counterpoint to the malt. Fairly simple flavors that balance each other out. Quick finish and clean aftertaste.

Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

Pretty good example of a Euro type Lager that's food and people friendly.

 

I'm two for two today...

3Floyds Crom's Beard
12oz bottled 8/17/21 poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 7.5% ABV. The beer pours hazy, dirty peach in color with sticky, bone colored head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves plenty of lacing. The aroma is tropical & berry fruit salad. The taste is more fruit salad, just enough bitterness to stop it from being overly juicy. No malt to speak of. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a somewhat dry finish. Overall, ok. 3Floyds should stick to what they know and hazy ain't it...

It's my fault for buying it. I just assumed caramel malt and earth shattering bitterness. Still not a single wet hop beer in southern Indiana after checking all three quality stores in the area. I'm switching to stouts and brown liquor despite the temps in the upper 80's.

I truly hope your beers are treating you better than mine. Cheers all!