New Beer Weekend #66

Jester King Cherry Grisette, 5/3% ABV; 3.64 overall

Pours a pinkish gold with traces of cream colored head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Cherry & grassy notes

T: Follows the nose, mostly tartness from the cherries, a little dryness up front. More cherry tartness, a little sweetness, & dryness as this warms. Some fig notes mix with sweet/tart cherry & dryness in the finish, a little Golden Delicious Apple as well

MF: Light body, low carbonation

Decent take on the style, nothing special

 

Okay, a couple of beers this evening that are both tied to NBW BIF #14. This first beer is courtesy of my friend @BBThunderbolt and is part of a fresh hop blitzkrieg he aimed my way that I have been working my way through for two full weeks.

That is not a typo.

This is my second fresh hopped beer from this brewery. I am a fan.





4.23/5 rDev +17.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a nicely hazy apricot color with a creamy white head that provides ample lacing. The nose features ripe orange and some peach notes, which fits the Amarillo hop profile, which I really enjoy, so I am now entering salivation mode.

The taste features the ripe oranges, but what I really enjoy are the peach flavors and a subtle oat flavor at the back of the palate that balances this beer nicely. Lip smackingly tasty.

The mouthfeel is medium and sort of wavers between dry and soft. I’d drink more of this - lots more, especially if it was tap.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned this week. Pours an amazing purple pink, with a 2 finger pinkish head that clings to the glass like a fat kid the last snickers bar on Halloween. Excellent retention. 5

Aroma is boysenberry, strawberry, blueberry, and vanilla. Pretty insane. 4.75

Taste follows blueberry, strawberry, boysenberry, and vanilla. 4.75

Mouthfeel is really big, a little sticky but not dry, really gentle carbonation, and goes down really easy, but can not imagine having 2 in the same session. 4.5

Overall this one can battle any in this style I have ever had. Wow factor for me. 4.75

 

The first of my weekend:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46703/422717/



16 ounce can.
Canned 10/11/21.

Moderate to vigorous pour yields a one inch tan head over a dark, dark, brown body with a bit of sticky lacing.

Nose is coffee, coffee, coffee with a hint of mocha.

Taste is coffee, espresso, and all things coffee with a finish of coffee bitterness.

Nice feel and a real nice job from from Hyde Park, VT.

Go get you some!
Cheers!!

 

Yet another from @Ozzylizard 's BIF box, The Fallen by Funk Brewing. The label call it a WCIPA, but it is certainly a murkster. Some Citrusy bitterness, and some overall frootiness, make this a beer with a bit of split personality:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34006/484603/

 

I'm posting about two very similar new-to-me beers. One from now and one from yesterday. First up is the Coronado offering: a "NOLA style milk stout" with chickory, coffee, and lactose. Pours nearly black, with the deep mahogany color coming through only in the right light. Light brown head, not very long lasting. No lacing. The smell and taste are both as described by the ingredients. The lactose lends a bit of body, which is nice, and it has a bit more (welcomed) carbonation in the mouthfeel than what I have had in some past milk stouts, but I would still characterize the carbonation as low. I would say this is a nice flavored milk stout that accurately lives up to the description on the can.
Second up is the yesterday's Mocha Stout from Abnormal. This is another one that is dead nuts right on the money as far as matching the can description in terms of taste and smell. I like this one better than the Coronado offering, perhaps in part because I like mocha better than chicory. Both are in the mid 5% ABV range. The Abnormal stout is a bit more voluminous and lighter color in the head but similarly short lasting and with no lacing. My nose is poor but I also judged the Abnormal to have more obvious coffee notes as soon as I poured it. The Abnormal has a really nice balance of chocolate and coffee flavor that in no way seems fake or artificially flavored. It is currently one of my favorite milk stouts. The Abnormal is a little heavier in body than I expected for a milk stout, but pleasantly so.
Both do a nice job of matching can descriptions without resorting to indications of fake flavoring additions.

 

#2, a significant component of the madness of the NBW BIF’s are the LIF’s - that’s where you make up a goofy game for the BIFer participants to make (educated?) guesses at whatever contest you’ve dreamed up to drive all the participants crazy.

The winner gets a box of fantastic beer, then has to hold a LIF to BIF another box of fantastic beers.

You see where this is going, correct? A never ending (in a couple of cases) BIF. Or beer nerd heaven, if you prefer.

I just held a LIF in NBW BIF #14. The winner will receive this beer (Junie
Double Barrel) in its 2021 iteration plus other variants I picked up today - and some other Transient goodies.

Consider this your heads up, dear target.





4.59/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours onyx black with a dark tan head that dissipates in seconds. The nose is a beautiful boozy mix of cocoa, caramel, maple syrup - and did I mention booze, as in bourbon? Wow.

The taste is led by the cocoa, which is rich and decadent, and there’s a heaping helping of maple syrup, but it’s the barrel that’s the star of this massive stout, with the booze, vanilla, and oak flavors actually providing balance for the sweetness at the front of the palate.

The mouthfeel is rich and creamy, perfect for this big, boozy beer. The Transient BA stout game is on point.

 

Hey man thats a great story!! I have to say I am very happy for you. There was a period when I was a pretty concerned about you. Congrats to your new adventures.

 

I have a little bit of family left in that area. Love the beaches there. My brother worked at Wrightsville Beach.

 

Hello Almost Late Night NBS/NBW
Well we're getting locked and loaded for a serious bit of rain out here in the west. And if anybody here has had the joyful experience of driving in SoCal when it rains, you would know that of the millions who live here only a mere fraction know how to drive in the rain... Ugh

But in the meantime...there is beer. And thanks to @Whyteboar I am awash in Michigan beer.


Scarlet Dawn IPA by Founders
12 oz can stated 08.12.21
Beautiful, clear amber liquid capped with a sandy dense head. Great retention and light layered lacing.
Nose is floral citrus, peppery spice, and an earthy grain note.
Flavor follows the nose and goes forth. Bountiful citrus notes: lemon zest, orange, and a mild grapefruit. An earthy pin resin is now contributing nicely as well. Caramel begins the malt show but tempered by a brown bread dough note. Herbal and spicy pepper notes pop in again and contribute to taming the malt. Quite tasty.
Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium, mellow carbonation, finishes slightly slick, bitter, and a tad dry.
Overall a really nice ride.
3.87/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Thanks Craig!

 

Love the story behind the glass! Congrats to you and your partner!

 

Lucky to get that one!

 

This has finally showed up around here and I gotta say with each post I see I’m more convinced I should buy a single if not a whole four pack (assuming it’s not a 6 pack).

 

Glad to hear. I bought that on a recommendation. I bought one for myself but didn't pop it yet.

 

Hey...this beer tonight claims to be world-renowned, so maybe you've heard of it...


Yep...late to the party again with KBS Cinnamon Vanilla Cocoa.

Pours black with the brown, foamy head. Head falls but clings well. Looks proper.

I get chocolate and vanilla on the nose backed by coffee as the initial impression, so it puts me in the "plain" KBS mindset and that's a good thing. Guilty pleasure of mine is strong coffee, a packet of Swiss Miss plus a heap of Coffeemate powder. This beer smells like that until the cinnamon shows up as it warms. A bit boozy, bourbon emerges as it warms and the cinnamon ramps up but never overwhelms.

The taste follows along for me. I get the base beer reasonably represented with a wash of coffee and cocoa, then a decent level of the vanilla. The cinnamon seems to arrive late, but it's certainly there. If there was any more cinnamon, we wouldn't be getting along. There's enough barrel presence and enough bourbon. It's slightly sweet, but the pungent cinnamon tames it. So I am surprised that cinnamon, which I typically do not enjoy, is playing the role of unifier here. With more sips, it becomes more present but not any stronger in intensity. The other flavors kind of peek out and around, showing up at different times for me...last sip finished sweet vanilla, for example.

It is not heavy, it is a tad sticky, fairly dry and with a small bitter sensation.

Random thought that this would be good with yet an additional flavoring....some kind of smokey hot pepper...too expensive to try it on, though.

Overall, I think it is very good partly because the OG KBS is fairly easily identified. As with the other variants, I just don't enjoy it quite as much. It's an easy 4.2 or so. I appreciate the judicial use of the flavorings, so I think that is done right as it has been for the variants.

@superspak - so, so good to read that post...awesome.

 

Indeed!

 

Yeah man that was really good. Thanks again