New Beer Weekend #72

Alright I had the idea of doing a NBW winter/holiday beer advent. Picked up these four singles today, one for each weekend of December…



I’m hoping to do them each Sunday up until the weekend of Christmas. If anyone wants to join in I think it would be kind of neat. Sort of an official winter/holiday beer tasting within NBW

Hoping to start with the st bernardus tomorrow night @cjgiant my goal of finding a single was fairly easy today.

 

Here's a new-to-me that's been in the fridge for about three weeks.
It's time has come!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46703/580025/




16 ounce can.
Canned 21315 (315th day of 2021.

Moderate to vigorous pour yields a one inch white head over a hazy pinkish orange body with scant lacing. Head dissipates down to a thin cap rather quickly

Nose of citrus and cranberry.

Taste mirrors nose closely with a finish of cranberry and citrus.

Nice, sort of creamy feel, with the just the right amount of lactose.

Overall, a refreshing DIPA that hides its 8.2% abv pretty well.

Cheers to the boys just up the road in Hyde Park, VT!

 

St. Bernardus is our favorite Christmas brew. I finally ran out of the stockpiled bombers I would pick up on sale in January. Went shopping Friday and was surprised to find it in cans. Will be watching for your review of the canned product...cheers!

 

Good evening fellow beer nerds and geeks!
My contribution for today is a beer sent to me by @Roguer in an LIF associated with NBW BIF 14.
Second Fiddle from Fiddlehead Brewery, DIPA.
Poured nearly transparent with bright brassy color and bone white 3 finger head. Really nice looking.
The aroma promised piney hops and guava and, I think, apricot. Very nice aroma!
The flavor was good but not like the aroma, almost like drinking a different beer! Dankness abounds and piney bitter with malts playing second fiddle and any guava or apricot was essence in my mind. Still very good, just not like the aroma.
The feel is ideal, way too easy to quaff this quickly.
Really good beer, thank you Andrew!

 

Beautiful dog, hopefully she heals quickly and well.

 

Full disclosure - I had this one about a week ago, but I feel as though I really couldn't grapple with it. I'm posting it to NBW cos that kind of funnels me toward actually contemplating the beverage.

I like this more now, though, not that much more. Albeit, not that much less either. It's... decent.



Oskar Blues Can o Bliss Resinous? Not much pine or resin. It's really just a run of the mill somewhat hazy pale ale. I'm not much a NEIPA-head but yeah, this is decent but that's about it. Decent. Hopefully onto something more interesting from here. Cheers!

 

Thanks, we certainly hope she will. She’s currently still passed out, just like in the picture, keeping the leg nice and rested.

 

Good work!

I may need to grab some regular Christmas Morning to go with my already purchased Kentucky variants to compare notes with you. They won’t be new to me (hell, I started with KCM this morning), but I’d even be up for a “pseudo-live” tasting if we could find a way to coordinate.

Cheers!

 

Not my first new beer of the day (in fact, it's my fourth), but it's the first one I've sat down to review. Yet another beer from @WunderLlama associated with NBS BIF #14. Moby Dick's Ishm-ale. This guy's generosity knows no bounds!

16oz can served in a Mayflower pint glass. Don't see a date on it.

Pours a dark amber with a small head. Smell is fairly mild, bitter nuts, a little toffee, maybe some dates.

Taste is leaning in the dates, burnt toffee direction, something slightly sour that kind of makes me think of sourdough. Nutty bitterness is still one of the dominant flavors.

Mouthfeel is very light, clean. Overall...I think it's OK. I don't have a ton of experience with this style, but the main detractors for me for this specific beer are overall mildness and the sourdough note, and the main points for it are the the light, clean body and clear nuttiness.

Thank you, Maynard!

 

@cjgiant The only hardwood I’ve had was the regular gingerbread when it was in bombers. I did grab a single of that as well but the Christmas morning ones will be new to me. I hope I don’t regret skipping regular GBS barrel aged, I opted for the the Christmas morning version.

 

Ozark Beer Co.'s Mall Santa hazy IPA, 6.3% ABV; 4.09 overall

Pours a hazy gold with 2 fingers of ivory colored head. Below average head retention & lacing

S: Pineapple, green melon, light bready notes

T: Peach, strawberry, a little dryness up front, just a little pineapple as well. Breadyness, pineapple, a little grassyness & dryness once warm. Finishes a little dry with orange, pineapple & peach

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation, good balance

Easy to drink, decent hazy IPA

 

My first Kentucky Christmas Morning ever ruined Bourbon Barrel GBS for me for a little while. After some years, though, I actually quite appreciate BB GBS (might do a mini-vertical in your thread at some point) and would say the gap isn't as large as I made it to be at the time.

I'd say if you had the means, grab a BB GBS, but I'd also argue you definitely didn't "go wrong" with either Christmas Mornings.

 

That's more like it. Big west coasty bite. Chewy. Malty. Resin. Yum. This one's a little older but I wouldn't know the difference hah!

 

Just saw it in cans Thursday...

 

Left Hand Black Forest Cherry Chocolate Stout ( Nitro ), 7.7% ABV, 3.94

Pours an effervescent mahogany with one finger of tight tan head. Great head retention & average lacing

S: Faint cocoa notes, some roastyness

T: Cocoa, a little coffee, some vanilla notes, some dryness up front. Roastyness, cocoa, dryness, a little coffee, hints of dark cherry as this warms. Finishes dry, roasty with some vanilla sweetness

MF: Medium body, smooth carbonation

Pretty drinkable, I do always think most Nitro beers have fairly muted noses, also the case with this

 

Last of the evening... Relic's Death by Peanuts. I love the label here... a reference to their Death of Venus imperial stout from a few years back. Been missing these guys in my fridge; not sure where they've been or why I haven't seen anything, but I digress.



Pour is alright; oily black with a dense tar-like appearance. Thin head that doesn't really build up to much (what's shown in the picture lasted only half a minute or so), no lace, and no legs. Eh, it's not great. However, even though I do count appearance as an important aspect to a beer in some ways, if the nose and flavor profile are great, the issues with aesthetics can be surmounted.

And, I am happy to say that the nose alone has me thinking this will be very good. It has a bit of roastiness, some mushroom-like umami elements, cocoa, and dark roast coffee. I also get some molasses that reminds me of rum, given the decent 8.5% ABV. The peanut element is not played up as an adjunct but it feels like a natural component of the base beer, which is probably the best case scenario with something like this. Very much looking forward to how it comes across on the tongue.

First few sips are just great... slick chocolate-y goodness backed up by a very solid peanut butter component that mingles well with the malty roastiness and darker malt flavors. Slightly savory, rich and dense with brown sugar, molasses, and toffee that bursts with peanuts in the transition to the finish. It's quite awesome, and I'm happy I grabbed it. I'd like to get some more of this one if I can... hope to see more Relic on shelves in MA soon.

Cheers all!

 

Yet another beer from my never-ending supply of NE brews from @WunderLlama: Rise, a dry-hopped American pale ale from Whalers.

12oz can served in a tulip. Dated 09/10/21. Just within my three month freshness expectation for hoppy beers.

Pours a hazy light amber with a medium sized head. Moderate amount of fine, slow carbonation. Smell is piney and grapefruit/lemon zest. Something about the aroma makes me think of marshmallow fluff.

Taste is interesting. It almost comes across as a session IPA, in being really hoppy relative to the rest of the beer, giving it a watery vibe. But it's not really that watery, just not heavy enough to support the dry hopping. Hops still come across lemony/grapefruity/piney, although there's a distinct flowery resinousness to it. Clear "pale ale" style graininess.

Mouthfeel is light, smooth. Overall, this is good, but a bit confusing to me.

Meanwhile, Mrs. snaotheus decided to "whip together" a "simple" dinner.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 11/22/21. Pours a very hazy yellow with a solid finger sticky white head that leaves thing streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma is passionfruit, honeydew, mandarin, apricot, and a little grapefruit rind. 4.5

Taste follows passionfruit, mandarin, honeydew, apricot, and a little pink grapefruit really well balanced. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle carbonation almost creamy, not dry or sticky, and at 8.2% big flavor but easy going down. 4.75

Overall this stuff is really good and well made. So many collaborations these days and I have found most have been really solid. This is worth a try for sure. 4.5 Thanks @Roguer I just don’t want to open this sucker every week, but I love the thread. Cheers

 

Good evening NBW
I missed this beer on it's first release. Not this time. Founder's Frootwood


12oz bottled 11/10/21 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 8% ABV per label. The beer pours bright in a red tinted light amber color. The head is light khaki and recedes to a thin ring and island leaving behind some lacing. The aroma is faint with hints of sweet fruit and bourbon. The taste is semisweet with notes of cherry, vanilla and bourbon with the maple intertwined with the earthy, mildly bitter finish. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Not overly sweet or sticky and no trace of the ABV in the taste or aroma. Overall, very good.

I foolishly picked up a weekend shift tomorrow so my workweek starts at 5am. I'll drop by here tomorrow evening anyway. Cheers all!