New Beer Weekend #80

Looking forward to joining you later today @Roguer I think I have the perfect beer for this cold, snowy and windy day.

 

Thanks @Roguer for kicking us off and I came across a good amount of new beers for the weekend and will see you often. Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 1/12/22. Pours a very attractive hazy yellow with a finger plus sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with solid retention. 4.5

Aroma is mandarin, papaya, mango, passionfruit, apricot, and grapefruit rind. 4.5

Taste follows mandarin, papaya, mango, passionfruit, apricot, and a little white grapefruit in the well balanced finish. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, not sticky or dry, soft almost creamy mouthfeel, and at 8.7% big flavor, but real easy going down. 4.75

Overall this is really good, I am glad they did a great job with this one. I will definitely get more batches of this in the future. Nice work Concord Craft Brewing. 4.5 Cheers all.

 

Great kickoff. Sounds like they got the cinnamon and vanilla "right", which many brewers don't (at least to my tastes).

I'll be back shortly with my first beer. Nothing but snow and catching up on work here today, which hopefully removes many of the weekend distractions that often compete for my attention.

 

What’s better than finding a ‘lost’ beer?

Right there on the top shelf of the refrigerator, right behind a jar of pickles: Evil Genius Santa! I know him – Festive Saison.

I bought this can for holiday season enjoyment but for some reason I ‘lost’ it. It’s like Christmas all over again!



Below is how this beer is detailed via a web search:

“Evil Genius Beer Company kicks off the holidays and brings the Christmas cheer back with the return of Evil Genius Beer Company’s famous holiday beer, Santa!! I Know Him! which is a festive Saison, 7.2% ABV, now in cans everywhere Evil Genius is sold. The special holiday release is brewed with rose hips, chamomile, black currants and dark Belgian candi syrup. At 7.2%, this one will keep you warm on those cold winter nights! This is the very first year Santa! I Know Him! is being released in cans, and they make great host gifts and stocking stuffers.”

https://breweriesinpa.com/evil-geni...christmas-tree-stand-hosts-holiday-drag-show/

Well, that is an ‘interesting’ mix of spices in this beer. I must confess I am approaching this beer with just a bit of trepidation. Beers that are heavily spiced often do not agree with my palate and I am not certain what flavors will be presented by the rose hips and black currants additions. I do have some experience with chamomile within the context of chamomile tea.

Will this beer be ‘better’ than the sum of its parts? Or will it…

To quote the wise owl: “Let’s find out”.

Served in my Heavy Seas tulip glass:

Appearance

Amber colored with a tan-ish head. Darker than you would typically expect for a Saison; likely due to the addition of dark Belgian candi syrup.

Aroma

Very intriguing. Mostly candied fruit but there is some spiciness (e.g., clove) there as well.

Taste

The flavors follow the nose with that interesting combination of candied fruit and spicy (e.g., clove) flavors. Low - Moderately bitter.

Mouthfeel

Medium bodied with a dry-ish finish,

Overall

This beer is very good! I really enjoyed drinking it, quite different. The unique spice and dark Belgian candi syrup additions make this beer moar than a Saison – the festive aspect I suppose.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH

 

I've been tempted on many occasions to crack open this bottle of Dark Lord that @ovaltine sent my way almost two years ago in my first NBS BIF. For whatever reason, this snowy Saturday seemed like the right day to finally crack open this bad boy. Mike, after this one, I only have two beers left from the crazy haul you sent me. I think my FedEx guy threw out his back delivering the boxes you sent me!

4.38/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

2019 vintage.

An aggressive pour resulted in a small amount of short-lived head that once gone left behind a cool looking swirl. Nice legs. Color is dark brown with a hint of light showing through around the very edges.

Aroma is fantastic and bursts from the glass. It's sweet with plenty of vanilla. There are some underlying notes that I'm having trouble distinctly naming, but they add a nice depth to the aroma.

Taste is really nice, and quite complex. There's a roastiness that wasn't apparent on the nose, with the vanilla & sugar present but well balanced. Hints of fig lurk in the background. Overall, it's plenty sweet but hovers just under the threshold where it would be too much. Feel is medium full. Very smooth, and low carb. An easy sipper.

Overall, this is excellent.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned with in the last 2 weeks. Pours a very attractive reddish orange with a 2 finger sticky off white head, with pinkish hues with excellent retention and leaves thin streaks of webby lace. 4.75

Aroma for me strawberry and lemonade dominate, maybe some raspberry and a hint of vanilla. I really am digging it. 4.5

Taste strawberry lemonade are the stars, with vanilla and raspberry in small supporting roles. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above average, plenty of life, maybe a tad dry, and at 7% it is loaded with flavor, but easy going down. 4.5

Overall this is pretty special, bring this back in the heart of the summer and people will go insane. 4.5

 

One might assume by my avatar that I am a Dogfish Head, or at least a Burton Baton fan. You'd be right on both counts. But I don't think DFH can do no wrong. Double but I also think their "weird concoctions" are more well thought out than a lot of the non-Reinheitsgebot bews out there today.

Which of course brings us to Where the Wild Hops Are. The beer uses some newer hops in an IPA that is then blended with on of the beers from the brewer's relatively new wild ale program.

The beer pours clear golden at the start, but the lower part of the beer drags some haze along with it and into the glass. The head forms nicely according to pour strength, and lasts with a little lacing until I dive in.

The nose leans a little more to the barrel-aged wild ale than IPA. Hops come through with to add a damp, earthy edge to the oak notes which constrain the more acidic sour fruit notes that are most prominent. Nectarine and pickled pear come to mind as I sniff and notice the hops providing a pseudo-herbal addition to the preserved fruit notes.

Taste slams the car in reverse, and the opening seems more like a slightly bitter hoppy pale ale. It leans a little more fruity than classic pith/pine, but the conifer still comes out. The oak is involved more than any wild ale sour note, though the latter prods my palate lightly.

My nose tried to trick me into thinking this was more wild ale, but the description the brewery has on their website rings true - this is an IPA first "with a touch of barrel-aged wild ale that’s been aged for four years in French Oak barrels." To repeat, the oak plays more in the taste than the wild things it contained, though the contents do run a little more wild in the aromas. I sorta wish the wild ale broke through a little more and the oak was more mellow, but it's still a pretty dang tasty IPA adjacent beverage overall.

 

Good Morning All
It is a frigid 8° (-13.3° C for our international friends ) on the overcast morning.
I need some warming sunshine, so what better way to start the day than with a Tequila Barrel Sunrise from Firestone Walker?



The 2021 vintage comes with a plethora of information on the label, including that FW calls the color of this blonde barleywine Pacific Dawn (they must have been looking out at the Pacific through some LA smog )


FW's description of TBS is a well written wall of text which does accurately describe this beer


The look is nothing special, but the aromas are very nice. as soon as you open the bottle you're hit with tequila, orange, generic flowers, caramel, and a hint of cherry

The flavors build on the aromas with aged tequila, agave nectar, hibiscus tea, orange zest, candied orange peel, caramel, brown sugar, oak, and quality maraschino cherry (Luxardo, not those bright dyed red things).

The barleywine aspect comes out in the feel and body. TBS is smooth and full bodied. The carbonation from the constant tiny bubbles give it a bit of tingle and there is a pleasant pepper on the back of the swallow.

At a full bodied 11% ABV this isn't really a morning pick-me-up if you have places to go and things to do before lunch, but it an excellent brew for a cold winter's day or night.
Tequila Barrel Sunrise is a great example of a beer "mocktail", evoking the intent and memory of a Tequila Sunrise while remaining true to the underlying beer.

4.24/5 rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

Well it still windy and snowing so I figured I’d join the fun early today since were not gonna be going anywhere today. Plus I’ll need the rest of this can to warm up after shoveling.

I actually think this is my first clown shoes beer ever, that I remember at least. I can’t turn down a maple only stout when I see one.

Clown Shoes- Snow on the maple tree


Really attractive dark brown pour, nice dense creamy looking brown head forms quickly. Slowly recedes to a nice little ring around the glass. Good looking beer.

No coffee in this beer but it is very coffee like in aroma; followed by milk chocolate, some char, maple and a little booze.

Taste is coffee, chocolate, a really nice smoke like char flavor, pleasant and balanced maple; little bit of oak shows in the finish.

Big full body and creamy beer, little heat, and some roast driven bitterness.

Overall I enjoy this beer but the heat gets in the way of the maple for me. It’s not overpowering by any means but it goes up the sinuses thus affecting the more nuanced flavors. Nonetheless a fitting beer for this snow storm of a day.

 

3 Sheeps Brewing Cuvee Blend 2022. I look forward to this release every year. The look is dark matter infinite black. Lucious brown foam that quickly dissipates. The smell is very strong with milk chocolate, graham cracker, barleywine malt/sweetness, fudge, bourbon, fig, and molasses. The first sip is a rush of flavor. Barleywine jumps to the forefront, the sweetness of the Belgian quad follows, along with milk chocolate, bourbon, rye bread, with bitterness at the end. The mouthfeel is oily, thick, with a lot of carbonation, but smooth. Overall, this is better than last year's version, and it is quite unique, but I may just prefer any one of the base beers on their own. Just like Aaron Rodgers, I would enjoy getting more of this, but I would be fine if that did not happen.

 

I'm thinking this morning that if we hadn't moved from Maine to New Mexico when I retired, we could be enjoying a Nor'easter, with 18-24 inches of snow and winds up to 50 mph. I would pretty much guarantee we would lose power. Stay home and stay safe.
My wife sent me out to get some prosecco for her mimosas she's planning on drinking. I found this guy in the fridge, so let's open it up and see what's what.
The beer is a very dark brown color with a small tan head.
Aroma of chocolate, spice, and faint bourbon.
Taste of dark chocolate, cinnamon, faint bourbon. Raisin/date late.
Tart mouthfeel

 

Good morning NBW
I'd been avoiding bottle shops during January, but when I caught wind of this release, I stopped in and bought a four pack. Taxman Brewing Cherry & Amburana Tax Holiday

12oz canned 11/24/21 (2 months ago) poured into tulip glass at 52° Fahrenheit 10.5% ABV 30 IBU per can. The beer pours very dark amber, almost brown with chestnut highlights and light brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of tiny bubbles. Leaves a nice web of lace as the level drops. The aroma is mild and malty with notes of cherry, honey, cinnamon and gingerbread. The taste is semisweet malt with more gingerbread & honey. The cherry, raisin, prune and cinnamon flavors are less powerful, but still present. Mild bitterness on the finish with drying spice. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good. The amburana and house Belgian yeast really amplify the spice here, as the base beer is sweeter. Really smoothes out and comes together as it approaches room temperature.

This makes the 5th variant on the original Tax Holiday that I've reviewed on BA. This is nicely done, but I was hoping for the magic of Oskar Blues Bamburana. I sincerely hope they utilized some amburana for their annual stout release on April 15th.

Cheers all and enjoy your weekend!

 

After completing my mission to have a beer from every state in the Union I shifted my attention to a new mission, namely to sample a beer from every brewery in my bucket list. The list is rather long but I have managed to complete a decent portion of it. One of the prominent breweries in that list has been Oregon's deGarde and its allegedly superb sours/wilds. After setting up a trade earlier this month I finally got my hands on some deGarde and it's time to crack one open.

And what better style to do so with than a Kriek (one has to live up to his username after all!).

De Garde Lee Kriek.
Wild ale aged in oak barrels with Montmorency and Morello Cherries. A blend of three years. Bottled on 9/2019. ABV 7.1%.

Look: At first it looks more brownish than red but once you let some light near it becomes clearly a red hue of maroon. A bit hazy too. Quite lovely actually. And the head is out of this world for a wild ale. Huge, rocky, and it sticks around forever. Never seen this before in a Kriek.

Nose: Despite the age, the brett is VERY restrained. Barely there (in a good way). Lots of cola and cherry pop soda aromas. You can smell the oak barrel too. If you don't like your wilds to be TOO stinky this one's for you.

Taste: So well balanced. Sour, tangy, fruity, lemony with a hint of upfront bitterness and hint of sweetness. The bitterness lingers forever like a good DIPA. I do not think I can do it justice. I lack the vocabulary.

Mouthfeel: Spot on. Some good wilds can be a bit thin but not this one. It coats your mouth nicely. Carbonation is there to enhance the sourness. Refreshing.

What a beer. I'm pairing it with some Manchego cheese because that's how I roll. They go well together.

I approve.

 

As part my New Year’s resolution, I’d planned to participate more here in preparation for the next NBW BIF. I believe this will be my first beer shared for NBW this year…. Lots of good excuses though. I will not bore you with them.

My wife has a ridiculously long work day today doing language tests (9 AM - 8 PM). So, I’m looking after the kids. They seem occupied with some toys at the moment, so, I will make productive use of the next 15 minutes!

Untitled Art x Angry Chair Midnight Toffee Stout thanks to @Beersnake1.



Pours a slick, thick black with minimal head that disappears within a minute.

Strong, bold enticing aromas. Toffee/treacle jumps out first. There is also vanilla. Butterscotch. Despite the ABV, there is no boozy note to the nose. It smells like a treat/dessert.

On the tongue, the toffee and vanilla work together. Traditional non add-junk stout flavours are absent, but there is a slightly bitter finish that is welcome as it cuts into the pastry stout sweetness a little. The beer is sweet as expected, but not nearly as much as I’d expected. I’d probably prefer sharing a can of this, but I don’t think my 5 year old twins will oblige. They prefer water to beer.

A little syrupy in the mouth. Not in an off-putting way, but noticeable. Substantial.

Overall, I like this. The alcohol is imperceptible. The flavours are on point. A different body would improve it for me, but it is definitely quite good as it is.

Cheers and thanks Tim!

 

Have a good amount of snow here so just enjoying a lazy day inside. Starting with Mezcal Barrel Eclipse.
4.4/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

2021 bottle poured into a tulip

A- Black with a two finger tan head.

S- Chocolate, smoky, earthy, roasted malts, oak, some dark fruits, some mezcal.

T- Dark chocolate, some smoke, mezcal barrel, dark fruits, earthy, some roasted malts. Nice balance.

M- Smooth, medium to full body.

O- A tasty stout, very nice balance of flavors. Mezcal barrel is interpreting with how it works with the stout


Cheers!

 

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass they went with the best by 4/15/22, fresh. Pours a hazy orange yellow with a 3 finger sticky white head that leaves a thin wall of lace. 4.5

Aroma mango, peach, white grapes, mandarin, apricot, and grapefruit rind. 4.25

Taste mango, white grapes, mandarin, peach, apricot, and a little grapefruit in bold finish. 4.25

Mouthfeel is pretty big, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 10.5% it goes down rather easy. 4.25

Overall a really solid NETIPA I would recommend giving it a shot. 4.25

 

That seems like a very long trip for a beer from Wisconsin.