New Beer Weekend #73

How about a beer released this week, or yesterday, for that matter?



BKS Forgot to Forget.
Triple India Pale Ale.

Pours a completely opaque pale orange with two fingers of dense, white foam. Aroma is absolutely loaded with hops, to the point it has a little hop burn in the nose. Papaya, melon dew, grapefruit, orange zest, and sticky resin hops form a dense shell of hops. It really doesn't lean into sweet or bitter, netting a more neutral balance. Part of this balance is due to some light heat seeping into the aroma. Flavor profile is a dense, nearly chewable, papaya, mango, tangerine, grapefruit, and melon dew. That rindy grapefruit tartness punches through the mix, working to create contrast against the underlying sugary notes. It never leans into sweet or bitter though, suspending the tongue in hoppy matrimony. Alcohol doesn't pop through, but there is a light sense of heat at the back. It's more of a density thing than straight up heat; regardless, it still elevates the presence of this beer. Mouth feel is dense, nearing chewable, with a thick, full consistency. Overall, a dense IPA absolutely loaded with hops. Tropical fruits are abundant, and yet refrain from running this beer into the overly sweet category.

Score: 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.5 | BA Score: 4.46 | rDev: N/A

 

Good game, could have been called better, exciting end of regulation. Not sure if you are a Portland fan, or a fan of a team we beat, but either way better luck to you guys next year. Cheers!

 

Brooklyn Winter IPA (Red IPA) - I am a fan of the Red IPA style and wish that there were more. This pours a nice red/kind of darker orange color with a nice pillowy head. On the nose you can smell the hops but the malts are definitely the star here. Taste is nice and smooth and very well balanced, leans malty but the hops come through right at the end to give almost the perfect balance for my palate. This is good stuff, grabbed a single but could drink more of this.

@JackHorzempa did a this vs Celebration side by side recently and for my palate I choose this one but that's because I prefer malts to hops; if you are the opposite Celebration would be your pick here. I'm looking forward to seeing how the flavors morph as it warms up (although I did pour this after it being at room temperature for about 30 minutes). Prost!

 

Following up with Flagship Brewing's Fresh Killz. The name isn't the most appealing though the beer sure is. Lovely amber color, almost touching red. Fluffy white head, holds onto it for the longest time. Really elegant. And a big bitter bite throughout. Reminds me a little of say Dale's Pale Ale or Centennial. Really lovely chewy beer and super drinkable. Something you could imagine just rolling through one after the other.



Maybe another after this. Tasty stuff.

 

From Common Roots Brewing Co., South Glens Falls, NY.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/38068/457703/



16 ounce can.
Canned 11/04/21.

Moderate to vigorous pour yields a one inch white head over a hazy golden body with sticky lacing.
Head recedes quicker than most.

Nose of citrus and slight tropical fruit with even slighter floral/herbal notes.

Taste mirrors nose quite closely with orange through the middle.
Finish is a gently bitter citrus pith.

Very good mouthfeel from start to finish.

Overall, a real nice take on the style from a new-to-me brewery.
Cheers!

 

Surly Midnight Manhattan Rye BA Darkness Imperial Stout, 12% ABV. Pours black with a 2-finger tan head that left foamy lacing. Nose is cherry and orange zest. Taste is cherries, zest, and rye, slightly sweet and slightly bitter. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.17/5 rDev +6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

It's OK, but not sure I've ever had a manhattan to compare it to. The orange zest overpowers the cherry, but the rye flavor saves the day. So, of the three new BA Darkness variants, I'd rank them;

1. Gimme S'more (outstanding cinnamon beer, but not a s'mores beer)
   
2. Midnight Manhattan (decent, but too much orange zest)
   
3. Blueberry Crumble (tasted no crumble, medicinal fruit flavor, drain pour)

 

Matchless - Warehouse in the Woods (2021), a brown ale from a local brewery. This was given to me by a friend.

16oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. No date (aside from 2021 on the label). Gift from an Alaskan math teacher friend.

Pours dark brown with a couple finger head that collapses to about a centimeter with some thick lacing. Smell is nutty and grainy.

Taste is nutty/grainy sweet and nut husk bitter, little bit of honeysuckle. Quite nice.

Mouthfeel is light, clean, smooth. Overall, pretty nice beer!

 

New Belgium Accumulation Winter Hazy IPA - This has Mosaic in it which isn't my favorite hop but enough others to make me want to try it (Strata, Lotus, El Dorado); and I generally enjoy hazies. Pours a nice light yellow hazy color with a light and fluffy head. Smell is a little muted and not much going on. Taste is just interesting enough and nice, light and crisp and the 6.5% is well hidden. This is enjoyable and light enough that even some non-IPA drinkers may enjoy it. Prost!

 

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass canned 10/21/21. Pours a hazy yellow orange with a 2 finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace. 4

Aroma peach, mango, a little alcohol, apricot, and some grapefruit rind. 3.5

Taste peach, mango, apricot, grapefruit, and again some alcohol is present. 3.5

Mouthfeel is above medium, fairly gentle carbonation, maybe a little dry, and at 10% it drinks pretty big in alcohol, but still very approachable. 4.25

Overall not amazing, but still solid Thanks @jzeilinger for this can. 3.5

 

This one is sent to me via @Coronaeus , and is a long time 'grail' beer of mine. It's a BA coffee stout, which is right up my alley.



Dieu du Ciel!'s Peche Mortel - Bourbon.
American Imperial Stout.

Pours black with two fingers of frothy caramel colored foam. Aroma is roasty and toasty malts out front with hearty nutty, earthy, and bready notes underneath. Coffee is present, but not forward, with a sly bourbon and char finish. Fragments of chocolate and toffee pop through, but never retain the spotlight. The whole flavor profile leads with malts, coffee and bourbon being after thoughts. That bourbon finish really starts to amplify as the beer warms. Flavor profile is roasty, toasty, nutty, and earthy malts with coffee afterwards. Coffee is better centered in the spotlight here than in the aroma. After the mild acidity via coffee trails off, bourbon and light char sweep into the picture, bringing a thunderous storm cloud to the mix. Chocolate and toffee add some sweet characteristics to the flavor profile. Mouth feel is thick with a consistently creamy and velvety texture throughout. It's unrelenting in texture, delivering that consistent, tightly woven, fuzzy nep throughout. Overall, a hearty stout that packs in coffee with swelling bourbon heat to wash it away. It tastes something like an alcoholic's breath mid-morning - loaded with coffee and bourbon - but not in a bad way.

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.75 | 4.25 | 4.5 | BA Score: 4.5 | rDev: +0.7%

 

Something more local. I feel like most of Relic's pale ales are just variations of one another, but perhaps that's true of most buzzword breweries these days. I grabbed these at a sale price, 4 bucks for the 4pack. Tasty stuff. Not much to stay, a bit of spice, some sweetness at the front which turns into mild malt body and the back end is all vegetal, earthy character. Plays like a lot of what I've had from Carton funnily enough. I couldn't wager why. Nice beer.

 

It’s a pleasure to be back after a long week. Too many posts to keep up with but I’ll get around.

Well last week I posted about our injured dog, turns out she tore her acl and we just had surgery done on Thursday. She is doing very well but man it’s stressful dealing with her and two kids in a small house. On to beer…a fitting one consider the topic courtesy of @BBThunderbolt

Kulshan - Bark in the Dark (black lager)



**enjoying this one on the kitchen floor keeping our dog company while she’s contained for a while now

Pours a very clear dark brown, head settles with some very nice lacing and that pretty light brown.

Aroma is woodsy and earthy, roasty, something almost raisin like, tobacco and a touch of really dilute weak coffee.

Taste is a pleasant combination of earthiness couple with roast and light coffee.

Light body beer that has a really nice moderate bitterness to it. It pairs well with the flavors described above.

The neat thing about this beer is that at first to me it drinks much lighter than it looks. The roast and typical darker beer notes come out more in the finish and aftertaste. A pleasure to drink. Hopefully another new one tonight, we’ll see, and one more new one for tomorrow.

 

Excited for this new bottle from down the road in Waitsfield, VT!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/17980/580646/



500 ml. bottle with no date, but we received the first case of this on the 30th of November.

Moderate to vigorous pour yields a nearly one inch off white head with sticky lacing.

Nose of dark roasted malt, rye whiskey, vanilla, caramel, and oak.

Taste mirrors nose rather closely with the juniper berries and spruces tips coming forward on the finish.

Mouthfeel is very nice from such a unique offering.

Overall, seek this out and you will be rewarded!
Cheers!!

 

Damn it I almost posted my first beer FT in a while cause of this beer, you have pushed me one step closer to doing so.

 

Poured into a 20 oz tulip glass canned on 12/6/21. Pours midnight black with a 2 plus finger mocha head, that leaves thick streaks of lace with amazing retention. 5

Aroma is roasty coffee grounds, cocoa nibs, and vanilla beans. 4.75

Taste follows big shot of coffee, cocoa nibs, and vanilla one dimensional but insanely good. 4.75

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, not dry, soft creamy carbonation, and at 8.2% it goes down bigger in flavor, but goes down really easy. 4.75

Overall this is a pretty amazing stout, a must try if you get the chance. 4.75