New Beer Weekend #96

...busted...!!!...point taken...

 

Well it really looked good when I poured it, sure smelled nice too.....but it was all downhill after that.....good thing my wife liked it....


3.57/5 rDev -17.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
by ZebulonXZogg from Illinois

Nice black pour, not exactly "chewy", a small brown head that vanished, no lacing, none of that expected. It smells like a Lehmann Kringle, pecan, cinnamon, brown sugar, it even tastes like that, and that's where the problem lies, for me. 1st sips pretty good, each one gets sweeter. Nice thick opaque body. My wife doesn't like beer but thought this was "really tasty".
Please don't ad junk to beer!

 

Today was hot enough to feel like being near the Mexican border so let's hit the dark version of 50 Miles To Mexico from War Horse.

War Horse calls this a Dark Mexican Lager even though the “Mexico” they refer to is the 220 year old town of Mexico, NY.


Not much info on the can or the website, just that this 4.7% lager is a “medium bodied dark Mexican lager brewed with New York pilsner malt”

50 Miles Dark pours a double strength iced tea with a tan short lived head that dissolves into a thick film and a faint burnt make\malt aroma.

The taste is a pleasant toasted (almost burnt) malt with a background of almond, dark caramel, and apple seeds.

Thinner bodied then you would expect with minimal carbonation and a dry slightly bitter aftertaste, again reminiscent if biting into an apple seed

Overall this is a nice, refreshing beer. I wouldn't recommend it for a hot day, but it's works well on a warm evening and would go well with spicy tex-mex food

3.96/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Mother's Brewing ( Springfield, MO ) Super Solid Orange Pineapple IPA, 4.2% ABV; 3.84 overall

Pours a very effervescent & slightly opaque gold with one finger of cream colored head. Average head retention & a little better lacing

S: Slight breadyness & citrus, a little grassyness, all pretty muted

T: Orange, lime & a little pineapple up front, slight breadyness. Lime, oranges & pineapple, plus a little dryness & grassyness as this warms. Finishes dry with oranges & grassyness

MF: Light/medium body, fairly firm carbonation, nice balance

Great drinkability, delivers a lot flavor for a "light" IPA, a shame the nose didn't come along for the ride. Perfect float trip beer

 

I always ding beers for appearance.

 

Got the hockey game on, it’s nice to be able to watch a western conference game, usually I’m sound asleep when they start out here. I cannot wait to be able to watch the game tomorrow night @Beersnake1 starts at 8 for us another western one I’ll be able to watch.

Now to beer, another one from @ovaltine; sent in the same box as the Columbus I just finished.

Dovetail - Grodziskie



Pours a an almost dark lemonade (maybe brownish ) like color and appearance, very cloudy. Head dissipates very very quick, leaving a small white ring.

A unique smelling smoke to me, it was very heavy at first like band aid; as the nose adjusted it became more pleasant. There is an estery almost hefe like aroma hiding. I’ve noticed this in several dovetail beers which is interesting. It also has a crisp crackery smell to it.

The taste pretty much mirrors the nose, no surprises but it definitely again shows the Hefeweizen like notes.

Light body, with an extra snappy zing to it; finishes with an almost lemon like pop. Very refreshing.

I enjoyed this beer; the smoke was way too much at first but as the palette adjusted the other notes became noticeable. Thanks for sending Mike.

 

The nose of that slightly hazy, light brown beer is ….. startling at first.

 

Philipsburg American Hefeweizen Haybag

3.65/5 rDev -7.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75




Canned 4.5.22, opened 5.21.22

New brewery for me

Brewers Notes: Citrusy and dry, this wheat beer uses 40% malted white wheat from Washington to give a mouthful of cereal flavor, all while being incredibly drinkable and thirst-quenching. Cascade and Willamette hops provide grassy citrus flavors and aromas. The special yeast strain stays in suspension for that signature cloudiness. “Haybag” is a term of endearment used by some local men when referring to their wife or girlfriend, eg: “Look at all those haybags sitting at the bar.”

Poured into a cheap plastic hotel nonic style plastic cup

Frothy two finger off white foam cap , recedes to a solid layer , clinging lacings, over a translucent orange liquid

Aroma is grassy

Taste is slightly grassy, slight lemon citrus , no clove, no banana

Sudsy , smooth

Nice beer while discovering Yellowstone



saw this in Gardner , MT…thought it was appropriate.

 

Fat Head's Lime Feelin' Good Mexican-Style Lager - I am a big fan of Lagers and lime so I can't see how this could be a miss for me. Pours a clear yellow with a decent head that quickly disappears. Smell is about perfect for me and the lime is there but not overwhelming. Taste is excellent, nice and crisp and is perfect on a day like today where the heat index was 100F (in May!?). Sure, you could always buy a Macro and add your own lime (and some sea salt, which for me is a necessity) but since this has the perfect mix why bother? I would gladly drink this again and would take this over most IPAs tbh...yeah, I said it

Sidenote: the can has their usual "Handcrafted unfiltered pour slowly" on the side but it's a little odd on this one, as this was as clear as can be. Also, FH does Lagers very well and I hope that they do more.

 

hahaha...thanks, @jonphisher!

 

Good evening NBW
My boss just returned from a trip to South Dakota and brought back a few beers. This is a Maibock called Festbier from Spearfish Brewing Company.


32oz crowler purchased at the brewery 9 days ago poured into a pokal glass at fridge temp 7.1% ABV. The beer pours bright light amber with light khaki colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Minimal lacing. The aroma is multilayered malt with a hint of floral hop. The taste is semisweet caramel and toasted malt with persistent moderate bitterness and some floral hop notes popping through on the finish. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, good maibock.

Well, 32 ounces of 7.1% is going to do it for me tonight. Cheers all!

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 5/05/22. Pours a very hazy and attractive yellow orange with a finger plus sticky white head, that leaves plenty of thin streaks of lace, with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma is peach, honeydew, mango, tangerine, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows honeydew, tangerine, peach, mango, and apricot. 4.5

Mouthfeel is big, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8% big on flavor, but easy sipping. 4.5

Overall this is pretty darn tasty, I highly recommend. 4.5

 

Deschutes Southern Sister Mixed Culture Sour Ale, 7.5% ABV; 4.21 overall

Pours a super effervescent treacle/honey color with rapidly disappearing beige head. A little head retention & lacing

S: Grassy, funky & a little barn yardy, some peach notes too

T: Grassyness, peaches, pears, much tartness, plus lemons. Super tart peach & lemon as this warms, acidity & leathery notes, plus a little grassyness, plus some white wine barrel. Finishes tart, super oaky dry with lemon, peach & grassyness
MF: Medium body, delicate carbonation, very sticky on the teeth

Nose could be better, but otherwise, a superb wild ale, takes a while to drink, nothing simple about this

 

Howdy all! I have a few to introduce this weekend... let's start with a doozy.

This is Burlington Beer Company's Geodesic Snow Globe, a 10.4% barleywine brewed with dark candy sugar and aged in Malbec barrels. Malbec is a dark purple grape, and it is one of the six varietals allowed in a Bordeaux wine blend. It's known for its strong tannins and plum-like, juicy, rich flavor. Sounds like this will be pretty interesting, if nothing else.

Pours a moderately-clear dark-brown color with a semi-stable head of khaki-colored foam that lingers for a few minutes. No lace here, and legs are nonexistent as well for the most part. This is decent-looking for a modern barleywine-style ale, and I won't disparage its lack of legs/lace due to the aging process from wine barrels... however, I would certainly not be averse to better or consistent appearance-bolstering qualities.

Nose is primarily toffee-driven, which means the English barleywine character is mostly intact. Some notes of dark fruit like plum and raisin are hinted at fairly strongly as it warms, and the Malbec barrel seems to come across fairly logically as well... dark fruits shown by the wine aged in the barrel are also echoed by the base recipe of the beer. Makes sense to me!

Flavor is pretty much consistent with what you'd expect... dark fruit with intense toffee/caramel bringing the majority of the mid-palate. Some dark wine-like flavors of red grape skin in the finish, but most sips are fairly similar in profile if this is allowed to reach room temperature (which I do recommend for most, if not all, barleywines). Hints of barrel-relayed tannins and just a slight hint of grape-driven acidity to balance the otherwise-overwhelming sweetness... this is certainly a well-rendered wine barrel barleywine. I had some reservations, to be honest, but I ended up impressed. More tomorrow!

 

Received from @beergoot as a gift last night and drank today.
Poured transparent light straw color, showing active carbonation and a massive nearly white dense head.
The aroma was mild but did have that biscuit and floral that I really enjoy in a Pils.
The taste, wow, this is one of the best of a specific genre that I remember drinking. The crackers or biscuits are primary but the yeast and hops squeeze in the say hello, so it’s not a one note beer.
Feel is excellent, the sole quibble was how long the head lasted as it slowed me down!
OA, really enjoyed this, thanks Dave!

 

Mirage - Matter and Superposition, an NEIPA.

16oz can served in a footed pilsner. Dated 05/13/22. Bought it at Full Throttle Bottles earlier today.

Pours very hazy pale yellow, darkening a little toward amber in the shadows, with a two finger, thick, creamy head that falls down to about a centimeter with thick, heavy lacing. Lots of active carbonation. Smell is awesome. Tons of citrus pith, some tropical juiciness, hop resin and flowers.

Taste is leaning toward overripe tropical fruit, still has a lot of citrus pith, slow fruit skin and citrus zest bitter finish, strong juicy vibe without being too sweet.

Mouthfeel is on the light side of thick, airy, satisfying. Overall, very good beer.

Couple interesting things about this beer:
(1) Apparently it's an 11th Anniversary beer for Special Brews -- a store I like a lot, since I finally discovered it last year. I think I've visited it like ten times now, but actually only had a beer there the last time. Nice place.
(2) From the label: "NE style IPA mash-hopped with saaz and whirlpooled with freestyle nelson, phantasm, and frozen gewurztraminer must from Brehm Vineyards, fermented with a thiol-unlocking yeast strain and double dry hopped with freestyle Nelson and Crosby Hops' nelson CGX cryo." Lots going on here.

 

So, this was earlier today, Peche Mortel day at Slow Boat Tavern in the Columbia City area of Seattle. @Coronaeus wrote of his own local version of the same event.

My wife and I dropped our kids off at a birthday party, had this flight, and then went back to pick up the kids. We didn't have a ton of time to sit and savor (or try any of the other things on tap that we wanted to try).

From right to left: Bourbon barrel (B), kumquat (K), Tajumulco (T), and dulce de leche (D) versions of Peche Mortel. I was surprised (and so was the staff) that no regular Peche Mortel was available.

I basically took a comparative approach to this. Writing up from sparse notes scribbled while trying to balance between paying attention to my wife and paying attention to an exciting beer event. Good thing the lady loves me.

Up front, K stands out in appearance, with a huge, almost out-of-control head. B also has a little bit of a head, but tiny in comparison. T and L are basically identical to each other, with basically no head, just a thin ring around the edges.

B's aroma is powerful -- coffee, alcohol, chocolate, vanilla. K is way milder, mostly coffee and chocolate. T gives me a very intense coffee aroma, not nearly as much booze as B and lacking the chocolate and vanilla notes. D smells sweet, creamy, caramel-y.

B's taste is a ton of chocolate, sweet, bourbon and vanilla again. Booziness isn't as powerful in the taste. K gives me a unique note of vague fruity sweetness and citrus zest bitterness, which I assume is related to the kumquat. T is dominated by coffee, but is also sweet, but different than D, which has more of a creamy sweetness and isn't nearly as sweet as the aroma suggested, and finishes with a dark roast bitterness.

Mouthfeel of B is thick, and the others are all a pretty similar "somewhat thick" texture.

Overall, I rank bourbon barrel aged (B) as my favorite, with dulce de leche (D) as a close second. Then kumquat (K) and Tajumulco (T). My wife's rankings were B, T, D, K.

All of them are excellent beers. Kumquat was probably the most interesting.

 

It is funny you say this part, I’ve used this exact point as another reason I love them. I wouldn’t say they’re anti marketing, obviously they are a business, but they never creat hype, rarity, fancy style names, etc. just good people making great beer, they have a genuine and organic feel to them.

That beer to me would 100% fall into that Italian pils window. I had one the day after I had the Italian pils that @Coronaeus sent and they shared a lot in common.

Anyway glad you enjoyed it, I like it because the hop kick doesn’t inhibit any of its drinkability or cleanliness.

 

... @WesMantooth first mentioned the brewery to me a while back, and I've been to the brewery once...they do an excellent job of making German-styled beers...now @Blogjackets frequently trades me WP for PtE, a fair enough trade with me (even better than trading for Stroh's like I've done a few times)...

 

Jack, I've never tried a clone of Orval but I read your links and now think there's one in my future. I tried brewing with Brett early in my home brewing and wasn't pleased, but time marches on and (hopefully) experience teaches us something. Prosit!

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 5/10/22. Pours a very attractive hazy yellow orange with a finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace. 4.5

Aroma passionfruit, mango, a hint blueberry, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows passionfruit, mango, a hint of blueberry, and apricot. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above medium, not sticky or dry, soft gentle carbonation, and at 7.1% pretty big flavor, but easy going down. 4.5

Overall this a little unique and not a complaint, it stands out as different and tasty. 4.25

 

Welcome one and all to New Beer Sunday #900! Going to pay homage to this great tradition with another weekend beer from Drie Fonteinen. My slight trepidation is the fact this bottle is just short of 2 years old, and never had one this fresh before.

Drie Fonteinen Hommage



Bottle Notes: Purchased 3/16/22 from Beer on the Wall for $33.01 w/ tax. 12.7 oz bottled July 1, 2020.6.3% ABV, n72 blend, 2019-2020 season. Imported by Lime Ventures Inc., Concord, California. Best before October 26, 2040.

3 Fonteinen Hommage is the slow and all-natural maceration of hand-picked whole raspberries and sour cherries on traditional lambik. Unfiltered. Unpasteurized.

For this Hommage, we blended a kriekenlambik and a frambozenlambik in a forty-sixty proportion and with a final fruit intensity of 529 grams of fruit per litre of Hommage. The weighted average maceration time was five months, and we used both jonge and two-year old lambik from seven barrels and eleven brews, This bottle was left for a year in our warm room before its release.

Appearance: Light pink head dissipates near instantly, medium carbonation, pink violet murky base, no lacing. 4.0

Aroma: Smooth mild in strength raspberries leads, vinegar, light sour cherries. 3.75

Taste: Bolder than the aroma, but restrained overall. Nice sour tart fruit leads, cherries and raspberries share equal billing. Nice funky composition, stays same strength throughout. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Light, medium tartness, slightly funky, dry. Fruit balanced, nice smooth blend. Faint carbonation, very refreshing and easy drinking. The tart/funky aspects are far more felt than the fruit flavors. 4.25

Overall: Nice subtle mellow offering. Not sure if the relatively young age or just the specific blend played a role in either aspect. Enjoying this beer. It is nice for a one time splurge, and might consider trying again in Europe, but not a value here with other offerings I enjoy more, including from Drie Fonteinen. 4.0

Thought I would have liked this more coming in than the Kriek from yesterday, but you never can tell until you try it. Still prefer their standard Geuze over the two fruit ones from this weekend, and liked the Kriek over the Hommage, but it's always nice to take the plunge and broaden my beer range.

Cheers!

Musical Selection: Emmylou Harris - C'est la vie

 

Best of luck with homebrewing your version of Orval.

Cheers!

 

New Holland Dragon's Milk White

Appearance: Hazy gold, thin head.

Smell: Very slight, finally picked up some vanilla pudding.

Taste: Vanilla and almond flavor, red cherry flavor. Kind of strange, almost tastes like a cocktail but with more body, since it's a beer.

Overall: I thought this was going to be something like DKML from Founders since I knew nothing about it. Then after closer examination of the can, it's only 6% or so. One of the more uniquely flavored beers in that it was so almond and cherry-like that it didn't really taste much like beer. It wasn't bad, and I might actually get another can or two for a curveball every once in a while.

 

Around 2002 as a distributor we were able to garner about 20 cases of Peche Mortel, only one flavor and bottling. Allocating those 20 cases to retailers across North Carolina was a delicate dance. I always wanted to take care of long time supporting customers, but also wanted to lure newer retailers to do business. No one was ever really happy with what i allocated, but it was fairly done. I cannot imagine splitting up all of these flavors and sending them statewide. I would probably have to sell them by the bottle- like wine- and spread them thinly so that the retailers would feel the exact same pressures.

 

These were on tap...and I think only 12 places in the US got them.

I know the bourbon barrel version got bottled, because @Coronaeus sent me one a while ago, but I don't know if any of the other variants did.

 

Ah. Still, picking who gets the kegs is very "political'. I do love Peche Mortel!

 

I’m certainly no expert, but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen bottled BA Peché or any of the variants sold outside of Québec. We may have had the BA version in bottles in Ontario years ago, but I don’t remember. In Québec the BA is sold in 341ml 4-packs. The annual variants are also sold with a BA bottle in a mixed 341ml 4-pack.

Kegs travel all over for Peché Day celebrations. Two spots in Toronto had it this year, Birreria Volo, one of the best local beer bars and Godspeed Brewery, the owner and brewer of which is Bim Lafontaine, the original brewer at DDC who made the first batches of Peché Mortel.

Here is a picture of the list of spots that had it yesterday (and likely still have some today):



BA Peché 4-packs aren’t too difficult to find. They release some periodically in their cellar sales. The Peché Day 4-packs are a little harder to get. My usual source was only able to grab one for me this year, but I did ask a few weeks after the release.

 

That's great. Thanks for the very clear picture. Very nice events!

 

Good afternoon NBW
I have another beer gifted to me by my boss. Chanter Scottish Export Ale by Marto Brewing Company Sioux City, Iowa. Just having a reason to dig out my thistle glass is cause for celebration.


16oz stamped CANNED ON 03/14/22 poured into a thistle glass at fridge temp 6% ABV. The beer pours mostly bright light brown with chestnut highlights and khaki colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. The aroma is mild with toffee and notes of sweet bread and nuts. The taste is semisweet toffee, caramel, nutty malt with just a hint of earthy mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Never overly sweet, and really well balanced. Overall, very good to excellent Scottish Ale.

I'm probably done with new beers for the weekend. My youngest graduates high school at 4pm today, so plenty of activity around here. Cheers all and enjoy your Sunday!

 

Back home after spending the last few days in Philly. I received an excellent box of beer from @Coronaeus earlier this week, and hope to be able to enjoy a couple new beers from said box today. First up is Devil's Trill XXIX: Trilling in the Name

Appearance is a cloudy orange / yellow with loads of dense off-white colored head. Outstanding retention and good lacing. Overall and attractive beer. Aroma is relatively standard fare. Tropical hops with some piney notes. Taste follows the nose. There is a pleasant enough light bitterness up front, complemented by mango and faint grapefruit. Medium bodied with a fairly clean finish. .

Overall an enjoyable DIPA. Thanks, Peter!

 

Poured into an 8 oz straight glass with a half finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with solid retention, a nice hazy yellow orange. 4.5

Aroma is tangerine, cantaloupe, papaya, apricot, and pink grapefruit rind. 4.5

Taste follows tangerine, papaya, cantaloupe, apricot, and a little bit grapefruit bitterness. 4.5

Mouthfeel is above medium, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8% ABV big flavor and easy going down. 4.5

Overall another excellent brew from for me, NH finest all around brewers. 4.5

 

Sonnen Hill x Volo Altro American Pils.



Pours a very light straw with moderate head that dissipates slowly leaving light lacing as the beer is consumed.

Biscuit, light floral hop notes. Fresh and inviting.

Taste follows. Very mild. Soda cracker with floral and grassy notes. Light.

This is lighter bodied and appropriate to what one would expect from the style.

Nice, easy drinking Pils that I’d gladly drink again.