New Beer Weekend #99

Good evening NBW
This will be the last beer for me today

Dragon's Milk Triple Mash

12oz bottle labeled 2022 release but stamped 09/08/21 poured into a perfect pint glass at just above fridge temp 17.3% ABV per label. The beer pours very dense black with medium brown colored head. The cola like head recedes to a pencil thin ring and a few tiny bubbles quickly. No lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring fudge brownie, vanilla, light oak and very light bourbon. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt rolling into boozey chocolate, vanilla, oak and bourbon. Moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. It's not overly sweet, but it is rather sticky. The oak and ethanol nicely balance the huge amount of malt here. Overall, very good to excellent Imperial Stout.

This is the first Dragon's Milk beer I've had with pronounced bourbon flavor and aroma. Wishing I would have bought a four pack now. Cheers all!

 

I’m glad you enjoyed. I’m replenishing my stock for future salvos.

Shacklands is one of only a couple local breweries that specialize in Belgian styles. I haven’t had this particular one, but I do find their beers to be good to very good generally. Cheers!

 

The pour was pulp less apricot juice in color and the scant head was nearly white. It left regular lacing.
The aroma was faint for me, but I did get some pit fruit aromas, aforementioned apricot, peach, plum, (Plum?) and a touch of pineapple.
The taste follows; it's astoundingly fruity for a DIPA, even a NE style (which wasn't specified on the package) That said, it's amazingly smooth. I mean smooth. Not like a smoothie, just velvety smoothness in flavor and feel.
I guess the feel is covered above, velvet smooth and soft. Rather un IPA-ish but feels really good anyway.
OA, amazing how they pack that 8.5 ABV into a soft, smooth beverage with so much fruit flavor.
The sole complaint would be that if I were hankering for an IPA, this wouldn't scratch that itch.

 

Hop Tree IPA

6.5% American IPA by Hop Tree Brewing

I was poured a glass from tap at their facility. Body was a tad hazy and had a yellow-brown color. Good initial head and lacing throughout.

Mouthfeel was solid with good carbonation.

Nose follows the hop bill of Citra and Amarillo with a boost of sweet malt flavor. The taste is roughly balanced, but if you’re like me and lean on the bitter side of hop flavor then you’ve had your warning. Malty IPA fans rejoice.

 

A late new beer for me this weekend. Went to Southern Yankee's Crafthouse before a movie at the Houston Museum of Arts.

Flex Squad, Belgian Quad. 9.6% ABV.


Pours a dark brown/ruby red color. A one finger beige head forms initially. That recedes quickly with light lace left behind.
Aroma is Raisins, plums, dark fruits up front. Doughy malts and a yeast characteristic. Enjoyably.
Taste wise, all that fruit flavor is up front. Raisin, plums, and becomes more cherry like as well. An almost cinnamon like spice in the mix, with that dough malt and yeast flavor. There is a lot going on here, and again pretty enjoyable.
A full body that has enough carbonation to be crisp for a a minute. Then ultra smooth as this breaths. Just a touch of warming alcohol, and this is a good sipper.

A pretty good attempt at a Quad from an American brewery. Plenty of nuance. Maybe not one of my favorite examples of the style, and its always hard to pin point exactly why that is. Though this is well made, and something I would recommend at the brewery.

Overall score is 3.81, solid B+

It paired really well with a great shrimp linguine pasta.

 

Poured into a 13 oz Teku glass not sure when it was canned featuring Idaho 7, Nelson, and Strata hood. Pours a very attractive orange yellow with a massive 2 finger head that leaves thin streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma white grapes, mango, peach, honeydew, and apricot. 4.5

Taste follows buttery Chardonnay, mango, peach, honeydew, and apricot, well balanced and huge flavor at 8%. 4.5

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, soft gentle carbonation, maybe a little dry and not a complaint, and at 8% it is big in flavor but easy going down. 4.5

Overall I am very impressed, I love when Nelson is able to shine and it does with this one. Thanks @jzeilinger for this can.

 

MiIler High Life

4.6% adjunct lager by Miller Brewing

I’m not going to go all Katy Perry here, but I drank a Miller and liked it. Some may need to Google now… welcome back and eye rolling may cease

The beer pours a beautiful yellow as I recall. I did drink this one in a pint can at the roller derby - which felt like perfect place for a Miller.

it may be my memory, but the beer itself seems to have less corn flavor than in the past. I likely haven’t had a Miller for least ten years.

It had good mouthfeel and carbonation. I drank it very cold and the last few ounces made me feel as if warming is not the friend of this beer.

In the end, it is beer that tastes like beer, and I have no trouble imaging folks enjoying this one as their base beer. The price point is good and there’s no trouble finding one. I’ll stick with Hamm's as my cheap lager of preference, but Miller was okay.

 

Guavas and Cream by Tree House


4.23/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25


Canned 6 9 22, opened 6 12 22, poured into a tree house teku

“Guava vanilla juice bomb”

Brewers notes: Guavas & Cream is a rendition of Haze featuring guava purée and vanilla! We utilize whole vanilla beans steeped in conditioning beer to extract the most authentic and beautiful vanilla character possible. The result is an uncompromising and incredibly delicious libation with notes of ripe guava, guava nectar, and guava creamsicle. It's a stunning and highly unique flavor profile, indeed! An ephemeral beer, you will want to keep it icy cold and enjoy it as fresh as possible for the best experience. Exposure to warmer temperatures will accelerate the degradation of the flavor profile. So, what are you waiting for?

One finger frothy white foam cap over a hazy orange liquid, spotty lacings after some good retention

Aroma is guava and vanilla cream


The taste starts off sweet with vanilla, guava and then a pronounced hop bite

Good beer

 

Bruin, from Barrique, shared with me by @WunderLlama in NBS BIF 14/15 activities.

500ml corked/caged bottle served in an angular wine glass. Bottled 02/22/21. I left about a third of the beer in the bottle, so I shouldn't get a lot of sediment.

Pours a dark burgundy with a small head. Smell is rich plum and dark cherry, tart and jammy.

Taste is similar, leans toward plum/prune direction, almost a red grape juice sweetness to counterbalance, grape stems/skin. Little bit of a surprise fruit skin bitterness in there.

Mouthfeel is medium and quite dry. This is a very nice beer.

 

I need something else, but lean towards chocolate. Local Brewery New Province did a Brown Ale with Maple that might be your Huckleberry. I asked for an Imperial version, perhaps barrel aged. So that is probably where we'd part ways

 

Southern Tier 2XHaze, 8.2% ABV; 4.01 overall

Pours a very hazed straw/gold color with 2 fingers of fluffy pearl colored head. Below average head retention & lacing

S: Much tropical fruit, some white grape & tangerines

T: Grapefruit, green melon, dryness & lime up front. Passion fruit, guava & oranges was this warms, along with dryness& a little grapefruit. Finishes with a little pineapple, plenty of grapefruit & tangerine & just a touch of dryness

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation, nice balance

Very drinkable in my wheelhouse Hazy DIPA