New Beer Weekend #84

The Barbaric YAWP from Blackrocks
Poured reddish amber, dark and translucent with an off white head gracing the top.
The aroma was first scotch ale, malts of dark bread and caramel scents and the rum seemed to trump the bourbon.
Taste followed, sweet and bready malts are carried along by a curious liquor blend of bourbon and rum and somehow the rum leads the way. Certainly a different BA scotch ale, quite unique.
The feel is thinner than expected, but not unpleasant at all, actually makes it drink easier and belies the ABV.
Nice tasting beer, easy to down a pint (or 12 oz can) and certainly worth trying.

 

Packing up to go home tomorrow. Currently drinking Mermaid's Spell, a kettle sour with vanilla, raspberry, and lactose, from Hana Koa.

16oz can served in a little plastic hotel cup.

Pours a slightly cloudy, translucent, bright pink color with a small head and little carbonation. Smell is kettle sour, berry/fruity, vanilla.

Taste is kettle sour, but not overpowering, quite dry, not sweet. Raspberry is there, tart is there, vanilla is noticeable.

Mouthfeel is light and dry. Overall, it's not a bad kettle sour, and I'm bumping up my scores slightly to account for my preference against kettle sours.

 

Will have to reshoot

 

Hana Koa - Plaid Suit

25.4oz crowler served in a little plastic hotel cup. Got it filled at the brewery a couple hours ago.

Pours a dark brown with a huge, stiff, lasting head. Smell is dates and toffee, nuts, maybe some smoke.

Taste is heavier on the smoke, but by no means a smoke bomb. Some roasted grains and nuts, sweet and woody.

Mouthfeel is medium, though has a bit of a dry texture. Overall, nice beer.

 

Hello everybody and welcome to New Beer Sunday #888!



The first New Beer Sunday thread was started on February 27, 2005 by @malty ! We today enter the 18th year of this outstanding community share.

Whether you are a longtime participant, or someone relatively new to the thread, I hope you are able to share a beer and perhaps a recollection or two about what this thread has meant to you over the years.

I picked a celebratory new to me beer to celebrate from my cellar, released on Black Friday in 2020. At this stage of my craft journey, I'm mostly focused at this point on getting original barrel only and "special" barrel only if the price is reasonable, BA imperial brand stouts. This bottle likely is the threshold (just over $2 / oz) at my max, at least with the current value of currency. Skip through the Box Notes, which are quite lengthy, but which I wanted to capture for myself and anyone else interested.

Goose Island Anniversary Bourbon County Brand Stout



Bottle Notes: Stout Aged For Two Years In Twelve-Year Weller Bourbon Barrels. Chicago made. Develops in the bottle for up to 5 years. 16.9 oz, Brewed, Barrel-Aged & Bottled by Goose Island Beer Company, Chicago, Illinois. Bottle date approximately 6/10/20, drink by 6/8/25 13:50. 15.2% ABV. Enjoy in a snifter.

Purchased Black Friday from Capones as part of a multi-bottle allotment, IIRC $36.99 + tax. Properly cellared in a dark unheated underground basement until 11/17/21, transferred to the refrigerator until this morning.

Box Notes: In collaboration with our friends at Weller. Weller's wheated mash bill yields some of the world's finest bourbons, but it also helps tell the story of the spirit itself. Founder W. L. Weller is credited as the first to use a "wheated" bourbon recipe rather than the traditional rye. He spent a lifetime educating drinkers about his new "softer" and smoother tasting bourbon.

Finding a bottle of Weller bourbon is always special, but to enjoy a pour of the longer-aged 12-year expression is a true treat. As such, we couldn't be more excited to celebrate this year's anniversary Bourbon County Brand Stout, an equally unique beer layered with those softer notes of wheat and subtle nuances found in Weller 12-Year Bourbon Barrels.

Limited only in quantity. Boundless in flavor. Brewed with respect for tradition with a unique story to tell. These barrels & beers are meant to be shared.

Back in 2008, Goose Island was lucky to receive 23-year old wheated bourbon barrels from Buffalo Trace distillery. After aging for two years in these rare barrels, that Bourbon County Brand Stout was bottled and became the first vintage of Bourbon County Stout Rare (2010). Released on an iconic day, Black Friday, this set a new precedent in the Bourbon County Stout Family of Beers, all of which continue to be released on the day after Thanksgiving.

To celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of our Black Friday release, our brewers teamed up with Buffalo Trace once again for this release. Two years ago, we filled the highly sought-after Weller 12-Year Bourbon Barrels with Bourbon County Brand Stout and left them to age yet again for a two year period - A celebration of tradition and continued collaboration.

Cheers!
The Brewers of Goose Island.

Appearance: Just over 10 oz first pour into a 12 oz Bourbon County snifter. Near pitch black base with a bit of very dark brown coming through, nice dark tan cream head last for a few seconds, than has a light cover before fading completely a few minutes later. Burst of carbonation upon the pour, followed by about a minute visible reaching the top of the base before fading. 4.0

Aroma: Quick check after 10 minutes, light bourbon base, with oak, leather and tobacco. Ten minutes later, it's close to proper temperature, I am getting plum leading, which I don't recall in prior BCBS tastings. Leather and oak, bourbon emerging stronger, very smooth. Beyond the plum, the typical BCBS profile. 4.25

Taste: Quick sip ten minutes after opening is smooth bourbon and cherry cola. Ten minutes later, a the cherry cola disappears, replaced by plums and molasses. Sweeter than typical, perhaps it's the bourbon's impact, which is very smooth, packing a very smooth warmth / heat with zero notes of burn. Pretty consistent ten minutes later, now at proper temperature. Unique in my experience over the years, not better per say, just different. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body, the faintest of carbonation, feels syrupy creamy providing additional depth. Close to halfway in, the abv is potent, but still under the mammoth 15.2% ABV. Becomes a bit more balanced, but still leans to holds sweet, sweeter than any non adjunct BCBS I can recall from memory. Not too sweet, but definitely noticeable. Slight dryness, finish leaves a maple syrup / molasses aftertaste. 4.5

Overall: This is a solid 2 year aged BCBS release. Sweeter than typical, not necessarily my preference, but enjoyable nonetheless. Was surprised the bourbon wasn't stronger as I've experienced with other double barrel versions aged over two years, but really enjoyed the smooth bourbon taste and feel. Not sure I would buy another one, as it definitely wasn't a value play with regular selling for less than half, and better suited to my tastes, but I am glad I took the plunge both with a single bottle purchase and opening today. Would seek again at a Block Party which will hopefully return this September. 4.25

Likely my only pour today, but will try to catch up with the thread and offer a few memories of past New Beer Sundays.

 

Have a good NBS. Things have been going amazing here, will be 17 months this week, and we want to go to Wilmington for the weekend. Been watching a lot of movies and reading a lot of books lately. After Vietnamese food yesterday we watched Scarface and 5 episodes of Squid Game. Julia still not seen Breaking Bad and I haven't binged watched it in a few years since they did the holiday marathons. We will start it after Squid Game. My sister/nephew got me into that one, and it's really a great series.

Had a bit of cuddle envy this morning, as well. They slept on the couch during the films next to us. Steg demands pets quite often, and forcefully.


Taxman La Maison. Awesome Saison. Lasting rocky head and foamy lacing. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, orange, citrus peel, pear, red apple, white grape, peppercorn, clove, pine, wheat, cracker, honey, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate peppery yeast spiciness; and pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy bitterness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation, medium body, and fairly crisp/clean finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts, sticky hops, and some resins in the mouthfeel. Increasing hop resin dryness, with no astringency. Very drinkable, pretty refreshing. Minimal warming 7%. Might be Amarillo hops. Great balance of vibrant/dank hops and French Saison yeast, with a clean malt backbone. This held up incredibly well for being canned 2 years ago. Spot on base style example as expected of the brewery. 4.13


Cheers

 

Hello, NBWers, and NBSers of yore,

A little entry that I've been delaying to make sure I got this "right" for my own impressions.

Ye olde Founder's KBS Vanilla-Cinnamon-Cocoa BBA Stout variant. 12%
Tis around 3 months old, I believe.

4.1/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
by eppCOS from Colorado

L - Dark as night, good head, decent but not exuberant lacing; oily looking mofo in the glass. Dense. Nice.
S - You do pick up some of the vanilla-ish and cinnamon on the nose as this beer warms but it's not one of the defining characteristics. Not sure the cinnamon is detectable or useful as an adjunct here.
T - I think normal KBS is just... better than this. The variant here loses some of that strong bourbon/imperial quality, and for me at least, I get distracted by the "what the hell am I tasting" face, especially with the muddled quality of the cinnamon and vanilla/nibs aspects. I think it doesn't do the base beer any favors. Fun to try, but won't buy again. Just not super discernible and I tried it at 40F, 50F, and 60F - didn't to much for the beer to let it warm; still a bit of a stout "puddle" mess.
F - No complaints here; I think it sits a little "hot" on the palate, but that could also be the taste bending my sense of mouthfeel on this one.
O - a fun variant to try at least once, if you're a cinnamon fan, but I'm not sure all the other aspects on top of cinnamon do anything; just a little muddled overall. Again, not hating, just think the overall balance and direct flavors of regular KBS are better, more discernible.

 

Postimages seems to be back up:

 

Thanks @SawDog505 for this NBW thread. This is a curious drop I enjoyed while hittin' the drums and this brewery is located in the oldest Latino neighborhood in ST Paul, MN. Salute!!
Wabasha West Side Popper Jalapeno Cream Ale
4.03/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota
16oz can into a pint glass.
L: Pours a thickish murky medium caramel color w/some yellow sediment chunks and a thin off white creamy head that has decent retention. Low carbonation & minimal lacing in this example.
S: Caramelized malts, musty jalapeno pith & seeds, subtle smoke, a hint of toffee.
T: A light earthy hop bite at the front, caramel malts, toffee, smoked grilled jalapeno peppers, light pepper heat in the throat, dry waffle, light yeast, gently sweet.
F: Thick, creamy, heavy-bodied mouthfeel with a smooth med-length finish that has light capsaicin heat lingering. Not at all hot.
O: A very good tasting and interesting Pepper Cream Ale that is overall fairly malty and stays with you. It's ingredients and flavors are well balanced and it is very good in it's style.

 

Good morning NBS #888 Thanks to @SawDog505 for hosting this weekend and to @ChicagoJ for keeping the NBS torch ablaze. Todays offering is from our friends at Honest Weight Artisan Brewing. An Altbier with all the elements in very good form. A pleasure to drink.
On this cold postcard perfect snow covered sunny morning

Graves Landing

Altbier | 4.8% ABV
Honest Weight Artisan Beer in Orange, Massachusetts

4.13/5 rDev 0% | Average: 4.13
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
by SABERG from Massachusetts

Poured from the 16 oz undated can into the test glass. Purchased this one yesterday at the brewery
A - A lovely beer, dark ruby/copper color. Slow parade of spheres feeds a thin off white cap. Initial pour formed a loose knit froth that was quick to exit.
S - Earthy hops, A bit of toasted grain, some light brown sugar, a bit of fruity ester, some yellow raisin
T - Here the offering moves a bit away from the nose a bit, with the grainy toasty thread being up front.
M - Delicate on the palate, stays in a beautiful almost refreshing corridor, bitter/sweet balance is near perfect. Softish water adds a nice texture
O - A very good beer, exccellent texture, full flavored, with solid aromas. At 4.8% this is a great offering

 

Good morning NBW
I had been waiting to spot a single of this one and picked one up last night after work.

Bud Light Next
12oz slim can stamped 06AUG22 VO0027 poured into an vintage hourglass pint glass at fridge temp 4% ABV 80 calories 0 carbs per label. The beer pours brilliantly bright with a hint of yellow color and fizzy snow white head letting me know this isn't water. The head recedes to a thin ring and hangs on. The aroma is faint with a hint of ambiguous citrus. The taste is lemon water with a hint of grain hidden way in the back. Mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is very thin bodied with above average carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, inoffensive light lager.

I wonder how this venture will pan out for ABInbev. This drink has little in common with beer or Bud Light, but I suppose the same could be said of the seltzer line under the Bud Light umbrella. I did notice this disclaimer in tiny print "Light beer with natural flavors and fruit juice for color"

Cheers all, I'll be back with something more beery later in the day.