New Beer Weekend #87

Ok I lied about new beer in fridge, I didn’t think to post an NA beer but hell, why not. Mrs Phisher asked for some NA options and I have never ever had a craft one so here I am. My one and only NA beer was some sips of odouls given to me by my Grampy when I was 10 or younger. Here goes…

Athletic - All Out


*nod to @champ103 with the current book

Really dark cola brown, with a bubbly head. Leaves some initial lacing and a thin layer of head remains.

Aroma to me is roast in the form of coffee; an earthy musty hop aroma, and honey like sweet smell.

Taste is similar; like a soft black coffee that has some hops thrown in. The sweetness comes back to in almost tangy fashion.

Light body, drinks a little watery; guessing this is expected but this is my first NA beer. A nice roast driven bitterness on the finish.

I gotta say this is actually a pretty pleasant experience. It is surprisingly beer like. The only thing that I don’t like is the watery feel and the twang it has but it’s easy to forgive knowing there is no alcohol. It also becomes less noticeable as my palette accustoms to it.

 

It's still early, but do I have a chance of winning the "Degenerate of the Day" award today?

Beer #3 is Round the Bend, a porter from Suarez Family Brewery.

3.55/5 rDev -15.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Canned late 2020. Drink by 3/23/21 (oops!) Fully opaque, dark, dark brown bordering on black. A finger + of dense coffee ice cream colored head with good retention and very nice lacing. Overall, an attractive beer.

Very light roast on the nose, but overall the aroma is best described as muted. Some faint malts, but not getting much of the way of chocolate or heavy malts.

Taste is a little heavy on the roast. It's tasty, but lacks a little bit of complexity / depth. Lightly bitter, and a nice dry finish. Body is a little thin.

Overall I'm enjoying this, but it doesn't stand out the way most Suarez beers to me. That said, I may need to revisit a fresh version to see if this is due to age.

 

Thank you @Roguer for kicking off the weekend!

I pulled an audible, pulling back the planned Drie Fonteinen due to cold, rainy, miserable conditions here the past two days. I enjoy drinking beer seasonally, and I love enjoying saisons relaxing on my porch or outside enjoying warm sunny weather. Stouts were selected instead, and I have a new WCIPA brewed by the women of a local brewery that I picked up this week slated for NBS.

Will there be a Hanson Hop Jam Fest this year after a two year hiatus? It's a secret no one knows at this point. However, if there is one, you'll certainly see this brewery represented.

(Krebs Brewing Company) Prairie Artisans Birthday Bomb



Bottle Notes: 12 oz bottled 12/18/17, 13% ABV. Imperial Stout aged on coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and chili peppers. Brewed and bottled by by Krebs Brewing Company, Krebs, Oklahoma.

Purchased for $5 at Fischman's September 2019 going out of business sale. Cellared since purchase until refrigerating on 1/20/22 until opening.

Appearance: Very dark brown near black base, cream dark tan head clears within 5 seconds, leaving a whit tan bubbly ring above the rim. Significant active carbonation. 3.75

Aroma: Let it sit for 10 minutes to warm to proper temperature. Hot chili peppers the predominant aroma, no fade after 4 plus years. Getting a bit of oxidation as well. None of the other flavor components noted initially or 15 minutes after opening. 3.5

Taste: More complexity than the nose offered. Chili peppers still lead, spicy, pleasant, appropriate level. Creamy vanilla follows at the right measure. Faint roast coffee, but that is to be expected, perhaps it shifted to the pepper profile. This beer has held up well over time, definitely not fresh, but no ill impact on the taste. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Very thin body for an imperial stout, thinner than other Prairie Artisan Ales I've tried. Balanced mouthfeel, sweet components balanced by the pepper. The ABV hits you fast and furious, an $800 Jeopardy clue under Potent Potables. Barely their carbonation, less so than what visible cues provided. Easy drinking nonetheless, I foresee a nap after finishing this. 4.0

Overall: Really think this comes together well, exceeded my expectations in terms of balance and withstanding four and a quarter years. Glad I have three more, eager to find a fresh one in the wild to revisit and possibly alter my ratings if warranted, including the coffee flavor. Really solid offering by Prairie Artisans. 4.0

Stay warm and thirsty my friends.

 

Different path?

 

Happy Saturday Advocates! and thanks again @Roguer for this thread. I thoroughly enjoyed this brew a couple hrs ago. Great tasting and easy drinking for it's 6.8%ABV. I'll be picking up a 4pk when I spy it. Cheers!
Blackstack Local 755 NEIPA
4.11/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota
16oz tap at Grizzly's bar in Plymouth, MN.
L: Pour is dark grapefruit juice/hazy straw grey yellow with a thin white sudsy head that recedes quickly to edge foam. Low carbonation. Light lacing & sheeting.
S: Pineapple, citrus, citrus rind, lightly bready.
T: Lemon lime, orange, berries, citrus pith, a suggestion of bread dough, light grapefruit. Very centralized sweetness & bitterness.
F: Lightly zippy semi-juicy medium bodied mouth feel that is very lightly chalky, lightly drying and soft. It has a medium fast finish.
O: An extremely easy drinking and well balanced fruity NEIPA that is not overly drying. Somewhat crushable. It is excellent in it's style.

 

Pours a very attractive yellow orange with a sold finger plus head that leaves thick webs of lace with excellent retention. 4.75

Aroma mandarin, papaya, apricot, white grape, pineapple, and a little grapefruit fairly strong nose. 4.5

Taste follows mandarin, papaya, apricot, pineapple, white grapes, and grapefruit. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, maybe a little sticky but not dry, and at 8.5% ABV it goes down easy with a bunch of flavor. 4.5.

Overall a very nice DDH NEDIPA, from a brewery I had never heard of. 4.5 Cheers and thanks @Roguer for kicking it off.

 

We Norwegians like to hedge our bets, in that regard. I very specifically want to drink beers with you on 4/1/22! I will send you a message soon.

 

First brew of this Saturday comes from Machine House from Seattle, a purveyor of fine, English-style cask ales. Comet Guzzler is indeed a brew for guzzling: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31031/595219/

 

Found this new-to-me Counter Weight Brewing gem. Can stamp makes me think it's probably one of the last beers brewed and canned at their old facility. I see on their web page that this weekend is their first at their brand new, building. I'm anxious to check out the new digs, but I will wait until the crowds die down a little. Well, on to the liquid in front of me-

4.46/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by woodchipper from Connecticut

Poured from a 16oz can stamped “CANNED ON 03/01/22” to a Nonic at fridge temp.
The body pours as a completely opaque apricot color. A 1.5 inch white, tiny bubble head sits on top. Lacing is medium.
The aroma is quite sweet like the smell of dehydrated mangos or peaches with a subtle dank
background.
Taste is similar to the smell on the front end but with a nice hop hit finish.
Mouthfeel is creamy but not mouth coating for long, the carbonation clears things out rather quickly.
Overall, this is an exceptional beer, I really enjoyed it.

 

Another super fine local brew here. Sweet, clean, a complex hop arrangement and well hidden ABV. Cheers!!
Blackstack Home Field Advantage Imperial IPA 8%ABV.
4.14/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota
12oz tap into a snifter at Grizzly's bar in Plymouth, MN.
L: Pours dark straw yellow & light gold with a 3/4" off white semi-creamy head with decent retention down to a thick edge foam. Low carbonation. Random light sticky lacing.
S: Light citrus, caramelized malts, slightly vinious, light alcohol as the beer warms.
T: Citrus rind, caramelized malts, green grape, a hint of root beer, floral, rich hard candy, a hint of orange cognac, lightly tangy. Hops are complex and it is full-flavored. It's sweetness goes wide and lingers. Quite clean overall.
F: Firm & soft medium heavy bodied mouth feel with a medium long finish.
O: A rich and fairly sweet American Imperial IPA with a very pleasing and profound hop approach. It's alcohol is well masked and it is excellent in it's style.

 

Crna Kraljica (Black Queen) from Pivovara Medvedgrad in Croatia
Dark Lager/Schwarzbier 4.8% ABV

500ml Bottle with the best by date left blank
dark brown (almost black in low light) body. Dark amber/copper when held to the beer light. Very nice head, tall, fluffy ,very fine, persistent and and leaves plenty of lacing.
Smell: roasted malt, grain
Taste: roasted malt. Grain. A little spice that is a mix of pumpernickel, Dark fruit and maybe a hint of dry chocolate and caramel. Smooth and somewhat bitter. It's more bitter towards the finish.
feel: is a little on the thin side. But is makes it easy drinking.
This bottle seems rather fresh. A solid beer. Paid $4.99 at South Lyndale Liquors, Minneapolis.
I will give it a 3.93/5. I would buy it again but probably will not since Greek Witch doppelbock is the same price and I like it better.
https://untappd.com/b/pivovara-medvedgrad-crna-kraljica/44043
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18223/130181/

 

Good afternoon BA
It's the last day of winter so I'm starting off with a Winter Ale that I received in a recent internet order.

Val-Dieu Winter Ale

750mL cork & cage bottle best before 18/08/23 poured into a Duvel glass at 60° Fahrenheit 7% ABV. The beer pours opaque light amber with copious light khaki head. The head eventually settles to an irregular ring and island leaving a few spots of lacing. The aroma is mild with some sweet pale malt, clove and slight earthiness. The taste is semisweet pale malt with subdued clove and banana trailing off into mild to moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with high carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, good. It's a bit basic, but easy drinking, pleasant and unflawed.

This one is classified as a Belgian style strong pale and it's very typical of the style, just a bit lower in ABV. It's not my favorite Belgian style, but I have a really hard time finding quads, strong darks or dubbels that are new to me, so I'm branching out more. I've got a box full of Belgian beer to review over the next few weekends including 6 tripels for next weekend's tasting. Cheers all!

 

Thanks for getting us going today, @Roguer.

@LesDewitt4beer, you seem to be hitting BlackStack today, and with you having posted 2 of their beers already, I thought I'd chime in with one out of my refrigerator.

This afternoon is sunny and warm (for a MN March, anyway) at 53°, so it seemed like a good time to have this beer that's been residing in my refrigerator for probably too long (I bought it on a whim back in January)

The brewer subtitles this "The Real Deal... Italian-style Pils."

Browsing around, I find the brewer's description for this beer varies a bit, but boiling them down, there is this in common:

"Italian-Style Pils dry-hopped adoringly with Czech Kazbek."
"Brewed with German extra-pale pils malt and dry hopped adoringly with Czech Kazbek."
"Dry-hopped adoringly with healthy portions of Czech Kazbek..."

So, German pils malt, Czech Kazbek hops (dry-hopped "adoringly" don't cha know), makes an Italian Pilsner?

Guess so. Anyhow, here goes.

BlackStack Fugazi "The Real Deal" Italian-style Pils
ABV: 4.8%
IBU: 39

Crystal clear light gold body with decent carbonation rising to a 1 inch thick white head with good retention leaving spotty lacing. This is a gorgeous beer when highlighted in a pilsner glass.

Aroma pops as soon as I open the can, but from the glass it could be stronger, especially given the promise of the "adoring" dry hopping. Smell is floral, lemon, grass, bread.

The taste is bready, floral-hoppy, and grainy at the initial sip. Somewhat sweet transitioning to a quite bitter middle, which carries on growing with each drink, into the finish and aftertaste. The combination of flavors from both the malts and the hops is quite good, quite enjoyable. The bitterness is not out of bounds for a Czech pilsner, perhaps a bit strong for a German-style (as it is entered here) but, then this is "Italian-style"! The finish is dry-ish.

The mouth presence is moderate for a pils, with good carbonation feel.

Overall, an excellent St. Paul-brewed pilsner. I'll gladly buy it again.

L: 4.25 | S: 4.0 | T: 4.25 | F: 4.0 | O: 4.0 | Rating: 4.02

Editorial comment: The brewer calls this "Italian-style" (which I suspect is a code-word for "dry-hopped"), and BA does not have "Italian Style". So, given the choices, this beer fits more closely - IMO - into the Czech pils style than German style in which it is entered in the BA database. This opinion is based on the use of kazbek hops and how hop-forward this beer actually is - well "hop forward" as it might apply to a pilsner, not as it might apply to an IPA. IOW, since the Czech hops are featured, it should be entered as a Czech pils. But, my palate is not trained well enough to actually suggest an edit to the style for this beer. Perhaps another BA who has had this beer has a view on this?

 

Up next is a Pink Boots collab between Old Schoolhouse and Stoup; Zymurgirl - intoThe Zymurverse. The label called it a West Coast IPA, but the written description said it was a hazy. (narrator voice: it was a murkster) https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1395/59524

 

Pours oily black with a finger of rocky bubbles rising and quickly falling. A film of sorts is left behind in the glass. Nose is spot on carrot cake. Cinnamon, cloves, other spices and carrots melding with cream cheese frosting, taste follows suit perfectly! What a decadent treat. Feel is slick and smooth. I really dig this.

I’d like to point out I’m the highest rating on this sucker and this is highly unusual. Cheers.

 

You buried the lead (from your linked review): "[a] solid dose of cat pee"!

 

Yes sir I got the two Blackstack brews the bar has and both are very tasty. The Fugazi Italian Pils I had/reviewed Feb. 02, 2021. It was their 1st batch (AFAIK) and I rated it highly at 4.5. I really like it! Crisp & bready, a light dryness and effectively ornamented with hops. I see it around fairly frequently in cans but I'm wanting to have it on tap. Glad you like it as well. Cheers!!

 

Through zero planning, I'm apparently working my way through porters today. First was a Baltic Porter, then a plain old American Porter, and now an Imperial Porter...Abstraction Coffee from Tree House. I knew this wasn't fresh, but had no idea I'd been sitting on it for almost three years.

3.52/5 rDev -17.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Canned 4/3/19. Deep brown with a finger of beige colored head, solid retention and mediocre lacing. Aroma is faint roasted malts with a little bit of chocolate sweetness. If there was any coffee aroma, it's long gone. Taste is pleasant, if unremarkable. As with the nose, any coffee is long gone. What is present is a solid, if unspectacular base beer. Light roast, reasonably full mouthfeel and smooth. May need to revisit fresh some day.