New Beer Weekend #87

Pregame for Spartans, Old Nation Fritts Helles Lager, pours clear straw colored, nice frothy head well sustained, medium carb, smooth slight sweetness, spicy hops are present, well balanced malts and hop bitterness - fantastic Helles, Old Nation brews Lager with the best of them. Cheers

 

Ive been atop those gems
Enjoy your time
Cheers

 

We just started getting Tox in MA recently, so can assume NH also has their stuff. Or maybe SD ventured slightly south to grab it? Is their stuff good? I have seen it but just haven't been intrigued enough to buy any.

Okay, here's my second of three new ones. Taking a break from exploring in Elden Ring to drink this, Mortalis Brewing Company's Hades... it is a DIPA with the completely new and exciting combination of Galaxy and Citra hops. Joking aside, I had their Pan last night and it was solid, so let's see what's up here. Canned 2/9/22, by the way.



Righteous looking pour, for sure. Super dense, creamy head that lingers for many minutes. Perfect lacing that looks like a straight-up sheet plus nice legs and retention? I'm totally in. Of course, it's a completely opaque beer, which is apparent from the image... on to the nose.

Smoothie-like tangerine + apricot with some notes of mango and melon in here. Hmm, I wonder if these guys have been influenced by/worked with Equilibrium? Extremely similar nose to the expressive yeast-driven profile of EQ, for sure. Some subtle hints of dankness and spice as well, but they're definitely buried under the blanket of bright, peppy stone fruit and light tropical notes. It amuses me how a lot of these 8%+ DIPAs have this dainty nose, though. Like, yeah, it smells good... there's just something amusing about double IPAs that smell all demure and non-aggressive.

Flavor profile is pretty modest, as well. It's throwing out some grassy flavors among the passion fruit and mango, along with hints of starfruit and peach. Not sure on this one. I mean, sure, it's fine, but it's not really doing anything for me that shouts "I am a successful beer worthy of being made." Does that sound harsh? Maybe it is. Most of the palate is just numbing hoppiness that doesn't effect anything in me, if that makes sense. It is not inspiring, rousing, or really giving me much to talk about. I would definitely drink this any time, don't get me wrong. However, the thread is New Beer Weekend. Sure, this is a new SKU for a brewery and so, by some definitions, it is a new beer. But, it's so derivative and uninteresting at the end of the day that... it really isn't very new.

Don't mean to wax cynical! I'm glad I picked this up. I had their Pan DIPA last night that was better (prob due to Mosaic, but I digress) if that helps counteract the critical nature of my post.

I have one more in me tonight. Probably. It's another DIPA, and will be my very first beer from the brewery in question. Stay tuned, NBWers... cheers!!

 

PM me when you go to Little House, I'm less than a 1/2 mile from there.

 

Trying Powder Day From Sierra Nevada. I prefer the SNPA to this beer. I gave it a 4

 

Thanks for the start @Roguer. Wow its evening already!
Went for a hike this am @wickaboxet,
Beautiful day. Pic is a panoramic view from the top of the rock looking towards @Roguer territory- right on the CT border.
Truth be told I may have had this beer but I have no notes and if I did it was a long, long time ago back when BB was on Industrial Drive. Im fairly sure I havent had it but in any case a Rye Ale Hopped with Mosaic is singing my song...
LUX, Mosaic Hopped PA
Pours a burnished very hazy gold with a quite nice off white creamy head with good retention and lots of lacing.
Ripe pineapple, mango, passionfruit and cantelope on the nose along with freshly baked rye bread, mild caramel.
Taste is tropical fruitiness, a touch of stonefruit, mild sugar daddy balanced by spicy rye notes and white pepper, finishing a mild piney bitterness and some "rye dry".
Feel is medium light, slight watery, mild but lasting carbonation, thirst quenching and loaded with flavor for 5.1%. In conclusion...
Man do I miss rye beers!!!!
Really tasty brew. Expect nothing less from BB. Happy I bought the 4pk and will probably go back and get another.
Getting ready to cherry wood smoke n grill a frenched ribeye....this will involve wine. Cheers!

 

Holla @Whyteboar for this Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura Sour Belgian Stout, from a LIF in NBS BIF #14: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9897/28309/

 

I am done for the day. I am going to make Josh Rogan and enjoy some reading. JREAM is a liquid sundae with granola, Tasty beer! if you could call it that. 4.25

 

Pretty hiking spot.

 

American Solera Terpy Triple IPA, 10.0% ABV; 4.02 overall

Pours a very hazed gold with 2 fingers of cream colored head. Okay head retention & lacing

S: Citrus in abundance, papaya and mangoes, a little cakeyness as this warms
T: Pine, oranges & cakeyness, plus a little dryness up front. Grapefruit, pine & pineapple cakeyness as this warms. Finishes piney with grapefruit bitterness & a little herbal hoppyness as well, just a little booze bite as this warms

MF: Fairly chewy body & subdued carbonation, Nice balance

Nice old school Imperial IPA the ABV shows as this warms

 

Howdy NBWs

Other Half Green City
Double Dry Hopped IPA 7%abv
Citra centennial and simcoe hops



Poured from a can dated 2/9/22 into a tulip glass yielded a creamy grapefruit colored beer and a foamy white head, nice lingering soapy lacing

Aroma is somewhat muted with hints of grapefruit, lemon , orange and white grapes

Taste is citrus and tropical, maybe a note of pineapple to go with the grapefruit and grape

Mouthfeel is creamy and light ish. Smooth to drink and a lingering bite on the finish. Medium carbonation

Overall it’s a very nice drinking beer, light, smooth some bitter but for a double dry hopped beer it’s incredible soft.

4.25/ 4/ 4.25/ 4.25 4.25/. 4.19. rDev +0.5%

 

Founders Imperial Stout

12.5% 2020 bomber shared with a couple of friends

Pours a tan head with a black as motor oil body. Minor lacing throughout.

Nose is a mix of delightful chocolate, oak, vanilla and bourbon.

Taste generally follows nose. After two years, the barrel is strong but not harsh. There is a sweetness that counters, but does not fully balance, the bourbon. A late bitterness is added that provides yet another facet. Mouthfeel is good with the chocolate stopping before approaching cloying.

A must for bourbon barrel fans, this beer delivers the flavor and power expected from this variant of a beloved stout.

 

Nice! I have seen their Fugu IPA around here and there in MA, so I shall grab a can if I see it and it's fresh. Thank you for the information!

Cheers! I had a can dated 1/18/22 on 2/14/22 on NBW here. It was pretty good stuff. I just wished it was a bit more affordable, cuz it was solid enough to be an "everyday drinker" type of IPA.

Alright, here's my.... second-to-last entry. I know, I said it'd be the last. I lied.



This my very first Drekker Brewing Co. beer. Underwater Ally is an 8.1% ABV DIPA featuring Mosaic, Citra, and Ella hops. I was intrigued by the can listing spelt as a malt, too, cuz I'm a nerd.

The pour here is alright. Pretty much an intense opaque looking beer with an appreciable cap of foam on top. Head isn't worth writing home about, but lace is definitely quite solid, so I guess they're about 50/50 here.

So, this hop bill... I mean, Mosaic and Citra are always gonna hit the spot if the approach is correct on the part of the brewers, but Ella throws a wrench into things. I don't think I've had an IPA that claimed Ella as an added hop that didn't have some kind of weird issue. This hop tends towards extreme spice character, focused into that element unlike its sister, Galaxy. The nose of this beer is slight anise mixed with mango and guava. Kind of weird, yeah, but there are some other herbal elements along with tangelo, so perhaps it's well-balanced.

First sip leads off with some bracing tropical fruit that starts coming across more anise-inflected after a few gulps. Definite spice/herbal stuff happening here. I don't get a lot of the interesting blueberry/blackberry that Mosaic can impart, weirdly enough... almost expected that given the Ella/Mosaic duo. Citra is trying its best to catch up here... some tangerine and hints of orange/mango, but... overall this feels bitter and odd. I know people like Drekker, and perhaps my can is just older than it should be, but this isn't too impressive to me.

 

Another NB!
Picked up a single which is hard to do here in RI and when you do you pay too much but sonetimes its worth the risk...lets see.
A new Brewery as well as beer for me.
DSSOLVR Double Dry Hopped IPA.
Brewery is located in Asheville NC - Thats a great start.
Pours a murky yellow with a rocky white head which dissipates quickly leaving very spotty lacing.
Aroma is pineapple, lemon-lime, tangerine, grapefruit, melon and strawberry.
Taste follows that with a hint of strawberry I seem to get from Belma, but the citrus is the star here - oily lemon, lime and orange and a little acidic. The sweetness of the other fruits and pale malts is countered by a grapefruit pith bitterness.
There are some oils in the front but the finish is drying and the presence of prickly carbonation that doesnt fade lightens the feel of medium/light. 7.5% is very easy to drink. This is really good. DSSOLVR is on my radar. Its going to fit in the NEIPA category but its not thick but its plenty juicy and soft with that carb carrying it through.
Another surprise from a new to me brewery. Really worth checking out.
Cheers.

 

Hello NBS...I mean NBWers, thought I'd log this into the haze category- nothing super distinct about this, but since I reviewed it, and it IS a Sunday, why not?

New Image One More Time DDH IPA (though close to DIPA)

4.13/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
by eppCOS from Colorado

L - another solid hazy, foamy banger - orange, opaque, decent lacing and head. Nothing exemplary though.

S - Solid waft of citrus-weed and prickly pear (I think) on the nose; citrus and tropical notes dominate.

T - Better, drier than I expected and that was great; otherwise this would turn sweet with all the Mosaic-Citra showing through up front, bitter enough with the balance of this second release (canned 3.2.22) from the Columbus hops added, too. Nice. Still has a full front citrus assault that bites enough to pose as "hop burn" but smooth and dry enough... good.

F - Prickly on the tongue, good palate saturation, tastes "bigger" than its 7.8% would suggest, but pretty nice to enjoy over an hour's worth of time.

O - another great little NEIPA'ish beer from New Image. They do good haze; wish they would brew more low ABV and clear IPAs, but hey... this is the trend.

 

I havent had that one yet but Ive had a couple of their brews. I thought Fugu was really good. Cheers

 

The MSU Duke game is very high level basketball. Legends are looking.