New Beer Weekend #81

Any pictures from the hike @SABERG ?

 

North Coast Old Stock Ale Cellar Reserve 2014 vintage. I love the base of this and this beer has always been a want of mine. I actually picked this up from a local liquor store a few months ago that has a really nice selection of "old money" beers that have been just collecting dust on their shelves. $13 for a beer that they "cellared" for 7 years? I'll take it.

Pours a deep, rich mahogany color with a finger of light khaki head that went away quickly. 4.0

Wonderful aroma. Caramel, toffee, burnt brown sugar, brown bread, raisin, date, slight nuttiness, slight maple, bourbon, light oak, some sherry from the oxidation. Happy that the barrel is still coming through nicely. 4.5

Taste brings waves of caramel, Sugar Daddy candy, raisin bread, some maple, some crème brulee, toffee, slight nuttiness, date, slight fig, some star anise, vanillin, bourbon, oak tannin. Like the aroma, oxidation presents some sherry notes, but it isn't off-putting at all and adds another layer to an already complex beer. Warming as it goes down. The oak tannin and bourbon spirit heat on the finish dry out the beer nicely. 4.75

Medium body. Light carbonation, slick, oily, sticky. Could use a bit more body and carb, but I'm sure it's age has a lot to do with that. Age has done this well though in terms of drinkability, quite smooth for 14.5%. 4.0

I had pretty high expectations for this beer because I love Old Stock Ale, but I also had reservations due to it's age. This exceeded everything. Extremely complex. The age has, from what I'm guessing, smoothed this one out quite a bit, but it also still retains a good amount of the wheated bourbon barrel character. 4.5
Overall: 4.52

 

I'm jealous! That beer is unbelievable. The taste kind of reminded me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but with a twist of chocolate and bourbon.

 

Happy Birthday Week! Hopefully it’s amazing.

 

Here you go @jonphisher This from the fire tower on Mt Toby
View is south facing
Cheers

 

That is beautiful! Do you winter hike mountains often? Something I hope to be able to do down the line when the padawans grow up. Right now were back to being confined to shorter, warmer family friendly ones.

Thanks for sharing!

 

I do and have winter hiked all my adult life, the padawans will be there soon!!
At least that was my experience with both sons, we made them hike!
Both now adults, #1 son loves it today, #2 son not so much.
Cheers
Here’s another from yesterday @jonphisher

 

Another beautiful shot, and that is good to hear, I'm hoping the same happens with ours. The oldest 5 loves going on hikes with us, littler one loves it too but demands carrying more, he's about 3.

For spring our goal is backyard camping run and hopefully a couple overnight camping nights locally. Hopefully I'll have some pics and stories to share in here as the weather warms.

 

Buoy Dunkel lager

new Brewery, new beer!

4.05/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4




Can received in a zombie strike….I’m living yet dead from all of the strikes he keeps landing on me…from @snoatheus poured into a bearded iris footed pilsener glass . Dated 12.21.21 opened 3.6.22

Brewers Notes: Inspired by the original beer style of Bavarian Villages, Buoy Dunkel yields flavors of chocolate, toffee, caramel, and fresh baked bread that are perfect for a cozy pint in our riverside village. A gentle kiss of hops brings a nice, crisp finish to this smooth, complex lager.

20 IBU

One fat finger of taupe bready foam , good retention, settles to a pencil thick layer with noticeable lacings over a clear mahogany liquid with active carbonation streams. Layered levels of lacings after each sip

Malty aroma , spicy, peppery hop note, brown bread, toffee, caramel

Taste is malty, brown bread , hint of spice

Sudsing that quickly settles, crisp, tangy

Good beer, thanks @snoatheus !!!

 

Gosh that beer was good!!

 

Kloster Andechs Doppelbock Dunkel

Africa Cup soccer is on one of the thousand Roku channels. Senegal-Egypt is one of the best scoreless matches I've watched this season. Enjoying it with an Andechs Doppelbock. The date stamp is L0961 which I guess is is April 2021.
Nice finger of tan head over a pretty brown with ruby highlights. Fantastic fig and toffee aroma. Smooth creamy mouth feel. Well balanced stone fruit,toffee, and light hop flavors.
I need to have Korbinian and Celebrator again. I don't think that I strongly prefer any of these over the others.

 

Finishing off by stout gift pack.

3.71/5 rDev -8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
by woodchipper from Connecticut

Poured from an undated 16oz can to a diagonally cut tumbler.
The body is dark opaque but brown shows through around the edges. A minimal tan head fades to nothing quickly. No lacing noted.
Aroma is sweet chocolate, coconut and alcohol.
Taste follows smell, but the sweetness is even more intense.
The beer could use a little more carbonation because it is a sticky mess.
Overall, not my type of stout, but if you like sweet and can afford the apparent calories, go for it.

 

Welcome one and all to New Beer Sunday #885!

Today I present the second of two The Wolf variants, gifted from my brother a few weeks ago. Much obliged!

3 Sheeps The Wolf - Mexican Style Hot Chocolate



Can Notes: Gift from my brother Andy. 12 oz canned 6/10/21 @06:13. 14.0% ABV. Brewed and canned by 3 Sheeps Brewing in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The Wolf. Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Cocoa Nibs, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Guajillo Peppers. Refrigerated since I received, left at room temperature upon opening for 20 minutes before the start of my review.

Appearance: Dark brown to close black base, looks like coke pouring, creamy light tan head fades to leave a cream ring above the rim and a faint dusting over the base. 4.0

Aroma: Peppers and milk chocolate were predominate after I first opened. After sitting for over 20 minutes, more complexity emerges, with cinnamon and vanilla the first noted additional flavors paired nicely with a smooth bourbon aroma that really is drawing me in. Nice blend, strong, beautiful open warming. 4.5

Taste: Solid Mexican Hot Chocolate Blend, Chocolate Fudge blends well with the cinnamon and vanilla which complement, not overwhelm. First sip the bourbon was strong and sharp, but throughout the rest of the first half during this review, the bourbon blended well and was smooth and pleasurable. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Thin to medium body, nominal faint carbonation, sweetness brings some creaminess feeling, the bourbon brings balance against the sweet flavor profile. Blends well, feeling the strong ABV less than half way in, the bourbon has a strong presence both taste and strength in this one vs. the pistachio, cocoa nibs, and vanilla variant I enjoyed yesterday. Clean finish. 4.0

Overall: This is a solid take on a BA Mexican Hot Chocolate Variant. The flavors blend well, no overpowering sensation from a specific flavor, the bourbon is smooth and balances the sweet flavors well. This is a well executed pastry stout I am happy to recommend and would try again if presented with the opportunity. Thank you 3 Sheeps! 4.25

Looking forward to catching up on the thread later today, still catching up on things from the past two weeks.

Cheers!

 

Enjoying this 2018 bottle of 4th D - Himalayan Salted Caramel from Kuhnhenn Brewing in Warren, Michigan. I received this and a crazy amount of beer from @FlintB back in my first ever BIF 2 years ago. That led me to the NBS BIF, which in turn led me to this wonderful bunch of beer nerds and my favorite running BA thread.

3.92/5 rDev -10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours a really nice reddish brown with a thin, short-lived khaki colored head. Aroma is rich and decadent and despite its age (brewed in 2018), the toffee / caramel notes are still quite clear. The sweetness is powerful enough that it makes it almost one dimensional on the nose, but it still smells really good.

Taste is also sweet, but with a little more bite, reflective of the 13.5% ABV. Consistent with the label, it leads with rich, salted caramel, but on the back end there are some nice barrel notes. There's a nice subtle warming as I make my way through the glass. Feel is a bit thinner than I expected, but this is silky smooth.

Overall, a very nice sipper.