New Beer Weekend #91

I’m not sure how many days just happened in the past 12 hours…what a wild yet fun ride. Hopefully anyone else who saw family today had as great a day as us. Now all is quiet, hockey is on and I’m sipping on this lovely beer from @ovaltine in the current BIF, what a great decision it was to finally join the madness.

I had never had any transient beers and was told “that will change in a big way…” I’ve only opened two so far and there are plenty more.

Transient - KFB



Pours black and thick, glug glug type pour, a light brown head builds and quickly and audibly fizzes away to all but a thin ring. The liquid itself clings to the glass after each sip.

Big chocolate heavy nose, a slight char like note and some sweetness which I’ll take as the vanilla, subtle bourbon heat shows in the nose.

Taste big on chocolate as well, it is also followed by charred barrel/bourbon. It is nicely smoothed out but some vanilla sweetness. I get the slightest hint of peanut in the aftertaste, but it may be power of suggestion. The chocolate also comes back in the aftertaste and just lingers beautifully.

Very big mouthfeel, not overly thick, just big…some minor heat on the take and a little warming in the throat and nasal canal. A nice toasty char like bitterness shows itself on the finish.

A good beer to sit and sip on after a long family filled day. This is not overly sweet as one may expect by the label. The adjuncts are well balanced, more of a great barrel aged stout with some minor desert notes thrown in.

Thanks for such an awesome variety of beers for when I’m in the mood for a Sunday night sipper. You sent quite a few I would say…

Have a great week everyone, this beer will do me in for the night.

 

Hope everyone had a fantastic day whatever you celebrate!
Im home after quite a busy day and week at the restaurant. Believe it or not Im going to try to squeeze in a couple of new beers. First:
Aslin Beer Co Master of Oranges DIPA.
I can guess what this is all about ...
Pours a bery hazy yellow gold with quite a large off white head that has great retention and plenty of lacing.
Aroma - yup tons of sweet orange and tangerine followed by some mild mango and tropical notes, peach.
Taste follows those notes.
The finish is mildl citrus pith bitterness.
Its pretty damn soft in feel but there is a nice long lasting carbonation throughout the medium/full body.
A little drying hop oil on the front of the tongue. No hint of 8.4%. Im downing this way too fast after a long day. Pretty darn good. Havent had a bunch from Aslin but have another for tonight if I make it. Maybe not the master but orangy as heck. And good.
Short but sweet. Cheers!

 

Double church service this morning, grandson's egg hunt was fun and included our tradition going back to our own kids of giving some flowers for his garden. Then the missus and I had basically brunch while the sprout visited his other grandparents. My parents dropped in totally out of the blue. We had one of our grandson's adoptive aunties from church over for dinner - she was home alone and that ain't cool.

Anyway...seems like there have been a few weird beers in the mix this weekend and I think this one qualifies:



OEC Phantasma Sour, Blend 9. Bottle conditioned. A "Wild Ale" by BA nomenclature, weird sour extinct German porter according to OEC.

According to the web site, "this is an interpretation of an old style German porter brewed with wheat, oats, molasses, and licorice root. It pours a viscous jet black color and has notes reminiscent if red wine, dark fruits, and hints of dark chocolate. Finishes with oak and tannins." No two blends taste the same.

Unfortunately, there is no further elucidation about Blend 9 like there is for the previous eight variants...so let's dive in and wing it!

Do not really agree on the pour here. It is far from viscous and more like cola color with reddish hues, close to but not really black. Bottle conditioned, yet almost flat, no head at all. It looks fine as a "porter" but certainly doesn't reflect what the brewer states.

Alrighty then... The smell at fridge temperature is very non-descript. As it warms, it delivers a very nice red wine aroma. But there is also a porter-like component of toasty malt. Vinegar that I think seems balsamic. Cherry, figs, prune-like. As if that isn't enough, oaky and slight sweet molasses or brown sugar.

The taste...whoa...ok not sure what is happening here, but I like it. Porter gone wild? Certainly a porter and the roast malt give it that brown bread foundation for everything else to play from. Tart cherry, red wine character, a very clear oak woody note, initially seemed quite acidic. The dark fruit component tastes more of dates. Molasses certainly in there, I will stick with mild balsamic vinegar, and a hint of tobacco. This all morphs around - the flavors play off each other and the presentation changes with successive sips. It's almost...playful? The tart aspect fades in and out, and some sips are very much porter first, others more tart initially, or even sweet and fruity. Definite porter aftertaste of roasted malt stays pretty consistent. A little bit of brown sugar/ molasses stickiness. Eventually there is a mild spice sensation building and by Grabthar's Hammer it's licorice. Very subtle, but definite.

It's medium bodied at best. Not much carbonation. No bitter sensation to speak about. Slightly dry. Acidity certainly present but at a fairly mild level. I have no idea where the claimed 9.5% ABV is hiding- nothing on the nose nor in the taste indicates 9.5.

Odd but intriguing beer that I am enjoying quite a lot as it dances around the taste buds - the complexity is there, yet it's somehow pretty easy to drink. This lands in the 4.2 region and I think I have to go style-blind on this one. I'm not sure it is a "wild ale" as called here. I think it is certainly a porter singing Motley Crue.

 

Aslin Laser Raptors
Wth they come up with these names?
Pours a hazy yellow gold. Off white head with grrat retention and lacing..like the last.
Aroma is berries, mango, passionfruit, melon, spring flowers, dank cannabis. Nice stuff.
Taste follows fruits with a nice sweet underlying caramel malt base and a piney, bitter, wet needle dryness on the finish. This is tasty.
Tiny carb throughout. Medium light bodied for the incredibly easy to drink 8.3%. Hop oils dry out at mid palate. This is really hitting the spot. Good brew. No hint at all of abv.
Sorry for the shorts tonight been a long day but wanted to share. Cheers

 

Each Beast a god. BBA double stout with coffee and maple.
Received from @Coronaeus in an LIF related to NBW BIF #15.
Poured very dark brown and appeared black in the snifter.
Aroma was bourbon and maple and malts, not coffee. Curious, but really nice.
The taste followed, quite sweet in a BBA way, Deep chocolate and mild coffee, full bourbon barrel presence. Maple is definitely there.
Feel is smooth and viscous, very nice sipper.
Really enjoyed this today, thanks Peter!

 

Lost Signal Brewing Co. Smoked Pecan Porter, 6.1% ABV; 3.77 overall

Pours an effervescent Chestnut/mahogany with 2 fingers of tan head. Zero head retention & lacing

S: Some smokeyness & pecan hulls

T: Follows the nose, a little dry & peppery with a little vanilla sweetness up front.
Dryness, smokeyness, a little chocolate sweetness, & pecan hull bitterness once warm. Finishes dry, sweet & astringent with smokiness

MF: Medium body, pretty firm carbonation

Not a bad Smoked porter, got better as it hit room temperature

 

Larry's Last Stout by Bell's, sent to me by @FBarber.

12oz bottle served in a footed pilsner glass. Dated 01/29/2022.

Pours black with a smallish head that fades slowly, leaving a thick, uneven ring and a thin, very uniform skin. Smell is roasty, anise, coffee, a little chocolate.

Taste is along the same lines, anise is much less noticeable, it's a really gorgeous balance between the roasty and chocolate notes.

Mouthfeel is thick, satisfying, but not sticky or chewy. Overall, this is a very good beer. Thank you, Frank!

 

Happy Easter NBS. I was up until 5 AM finishing Pirate Latitudes by Michael Creighton. Amazing book all around. Now I am reading 2001: A Space Odyssey. I marinated a butterfly leg of lab in seasoned salt, black pepper, onion powder, and soy sauce. I then seared it on a hot skillet with avocado oil. 20 minutes in the oven to 140. The most tender meat I have eaten in a long time, my meat skills really amaze me sometimes. Instant pot rice with spices too. Had a $9 white zinfandel from Aldi as a palate cleanser.



The cats like the luggage.


Oskar Blues Death by King Cake. 1/13/20 dated. Great head retention and spotty lacing. Aromas and flavors of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange peel, pear, apricot, red apple, herbal, grass, bread; light cocoa, dark fruit, peppercorn, and yeast earthiness. Light-medium herbal/grassy bitterness, cinnamon spiciness, and light tang/tartness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium body. Creamy/bready malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Lingering bitter/spicy dryness, with no cloying/astringent flavors. Minimal warming 6.5%. Not sure what this is trying to be, but it sure feels like a spiced Belgian pale or blonde ale. Well balanced yeast and spice flavors. Very drinkable and unique. 3.68


Cheers. We are watching El Camino now. Trying to get her into breaking bad. It would be my 5th runthrough of it I think. Did second episode last night.

 

Stonecloud Footlose & Fancy Triple Hazy IPA, 9.0% ABV; 4.27 overall

Pours a hazed gold with 2+ fingers of fluffy eggshell colored head. Stellar lacing & better than average head retention

S: Orange creamsicle, fades as it warms

T: Follows the nose, some less sweet orange notes, a little lime up front. More sweet orange, vanilla & lime as this warms, plus some dryness. Finishes with sweet orange, vanilla & some lime & just a little dryness & acidity

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, nice balance

Stonecloud has their IPA game on point, this is lovely, ABV is well hidden. Super drinkablity

 

Stopped into a neighborhood liquor store today that I've never been to before, only to discover they had a surprisingly enormous beer selection that belied their seedy exterior. I picked up this stove pipe can of "Robot Panda" hazy IPA by Hopworks Urban Brewery. Another brewery from Portland, OR on my radar.



Unfortunately, I was a fool who neglected to check the date. It was canned November 2021 something so it was starting to taste old. Iced tea and cardboard notes becoming prominent. Which is a shame because otherwise is a pretty good beer, probably delicious fresh. Mango and orange notes dominated and drinkability was smooth.

 

Now I'm trying the Stoneface IPA from my latest haul!



It's pretty good! Pithy orange, grapefruit, and mango notes are the dominant show here. Malt is pretty neutral. Slightly biscuity. Nice fluffy body and mouthfeel. Finishes with nice bright orange peel/citrus oils, but not much lingering bitterness at all. This is a really nice old-school style NEIPA in the vein of The Alchemist and Bissel Bros. Really good. I'm glad I picked this up.

 

Blood Brothers x Town Brewing Blood 50.



A Labatt 50 clone with ‘borrowed’ label art.

Pours a light clean straw with a moderate head that dissipates fairly quickly. Rings of lacing stay behind as the beer is consumed.

The aroma has macro adjunct beer all over it. Sweet grainy notes up front. Some apple/fruity notes as well.

Taste follows. Light malts, sweet corn. Apple.

Light bodied with slightly lower carbonation.

This is serviceable. I’m not sure I see the point of a beer like this when Labatt 50 already does the job of tasting like Labatt 50. Adequate beer.

 

Hey yall it's still the weekend in California so I figure I'm not quite too late!

The other day I picked up a sixer of some Calidad Classic Beer it was on sale for $6.99 in a liquor store with nothing, not even bud, for under $7.50. Shelve talker descrived it as "like modelo"

I thought to myself it's cheap not a macro, and I've been digging lagers lately so screw it.



It's quite a light beer with very excitable carbonation, bit the head dies down to a half centimeter cap that sticks around for the rest of the brew. Good lacing for a beer this cheap.

Aroma is lager with a hint of corn and the rest of the aroma can only be described as musty gym socks and lager funk. Not the highest quality beer out there, but not skunky, pretty standard for a cheap lager.

Taste is a bit of a curve ball with detectable hop bitterness and a nice light but present corny malty aftertaste. It's a pretty simple beer, but not sweet like a lot of adjunct brews out there. Not a lot ovlf evolution in the sip it's bitter up front that fades into a mellow corny maltiness. Dry all the way through.

The feel is exactly what you want from the "mexican lager" category. Crisp Dry and refreshing all the way through but never water and the head sticks around for the whole glass and lends a creaminess to it.

Overall for the price point amd the category this is actually really good with only "old lager" notes bringing down the aroma. Obviously there's way better out there but for dirt cheap you can't really beat this.


The company seems a bit odd though, made by some entrepreneur, no taproom, only one beer, and only recently expanding distribution to colorado from California with a possible nationwide push only after opening a brewery in denver that nobody seems to know the address to.