Ymm, Beer!

[devildeac]

New River Red IPA (draft)-Boondocks Brewing

Sample #3

Reddish-amber color with a small head. Toasted, biscuity nose with flavors that were a bit "off." Not spoiled, just a bit different. Mild herbal/earthy bitterness with a bit of a caramel drizzle. No IBUs listed but I'll guess 40-50 range with a quoted ABV of 7%. Reminded me of poor man's 21st Amendment Toaster Pastry.

[devildeac]

JMB Stout (draft)-Boondocks Brewing

Final member of the flight.

This is named after the owner's father, James Martin Brown, who died suddenly before the release of the first batch and not after some booze/barrels.

Pour was a bit thin with no head. Aromas and tastes of mild chocolate with very little coffee nuances. Mouthfeel also a bit thin for the style. I'll guess IBUs around 50 and the ABV was a deceptive 10% so it's really an imperial stout. They had a barrel-aged version during the cooler months. Sure with I had a chocolate chip cookie or brownie with this .

[devildeac]

Tropicpale (draft)-Booneshine Brewing Company

On fuse's erudite suggestion, I politely requested a small sample of this at Boondocks (guest tap; they like each other) after I finished my flight.

Mildly cloudy yellow-orange American Pale Ale with a moderately foamy head. Featured hops are Australian Galaxy and impart stone fruit, orange, pineapple and mango scents and tastes. Gentle on the palate at 42 IBUs and top end of the ABV scale for pale ales at 6%. Pair with fruited fish/chicken dishes.

[devildeac]

We got "Lost" after driving/touring/walking/hiking on Grandfather Mountain this AM.

Alpine Meadows (draft)-Lost Province Brewing Company

Drink local! (Boone)

Beer #1 from a four beer sampler (16 ounces total). (well, plus a couple big gulps from the older son-in-law's pint and half pint)

Labeled a French Farmhouse Ale, it lived up to its name. Pour was a light straw color with a thin head. Grassy nose with light pears, apples and floral tastes. IBUs were 24 and the ABV was 6.2%. This would have been tasty with a berry-laden mixed green salad.

[devildeac]

Sipa Sumpin' (draft)-Lost Province Brewing Company

Beer #2

This was a Saison-IPA Hybrid and my favorite of the litter.

Appeared a pale orange-yellow with a small head. Smelled and tasted like tropical fruit juice with mango, papaya and pineapple. Very Saison-like and palate-pleasing at 36 IBUs with the ABV of an IPA at 7.4%. That same berry-laden, mixed green salad, this time with some goat cheese and candied pecans, begs for this beer but some jerk chicken screams just as loud.

[devildeac]

Booneberry Saison (draft)-Lost Province Brewing Company

We interrupt your sampler for a couple stolen sips from our older son-in-law's glasses.

Light purple-gold hue (blueberries added), modest head and some light berry flavors along with hints of apples and pears. Minimal bitterness with IBUs at 11 and very thirst-quenching at 5.2%.

[devildeac]

Pink Velvet (draft)-Lost Province Brewing Company

Another stolen gulp or two. This time a raspberry wheat ale. Elvis(14) was NOT in the building .

Certainly happy to have tasted this one as a certain source has named it as one of the Love Ninja's favorites, plus it was highly flavorful. Cloudy, light purple-orange pour with a mild, foamy head. Orange-y/zesty nose with raspberry juice/jammy tastes along with a bit of orange again. Moved another small step down the IBU scale at 9 and also a notch lower ABV at 4.7%

[devildeac]

Last 2. Promise. For now.

Mosaic IPA (draft)-Lost Province Brewing Company

A nice side-by-side with the next one. I thought this might be a single hop ale so I might become more edjumacated. Alas, there are 4 hops listed in the flavor/aroma/dry-hopping/finishing hopping brewing process.

Pour was a clear bronze with a small head. Aromas of orange and rind with tastes of the same with some pine and resin. Mild caramel sweetness. IBUs of 64 and ABV at 6.6%. Other hops listed include Magnum, Centennial and Simcoe in addition to the Mosaic. A really good IPA. Would pair nicely with one of their specialty pizzas or burgers.

[devildeac]

Pink Drink-HiWire Brewing (aka The Three Ring Brewing Company)

An Ashevillian is going to have to explain the brewery names to me .

A tart wheat ale brewed with raspberries and lemongrass. So, what do you get? You get a 16 ounce can from fuse (thanks!), that looks like raspberry lemonade. There was a small head and a somewhat sour/tart nose and a bit more prominent sour/tart tastes. Unsweetened raspberry lemonade? Sour Patch Kids/Warheads sour lemon/raspberry candy? My palate says "Gose," especially with IBUs of 5 (are there even any hops in this brew? ) and a crushable ABV of 4.2%. I think you pair this with a small bowl of berries and summer melons. Very interesting and refreshing brew.

[Very Duke Blue]

In my vAriety pack of Highland Brewing Co., is one I haven't had before. It's Big Briar tart Raspberry. I would differently tasted the berries. I like it for a hot summer time beer.

That sounds delicious. If you have an extra, bring it to the first tailgate if you attend. Pleeeaaassee...

I would if I were coming. I'm am not going this year.

[Very Duke Blue]

In my vAriety pack of Highland Brewing Co., is one I haven't had before. It's Big Briar tart Raspberry. I would differently tasted the berries. I like it for a hot summer time beer.

That sounds delicious. If you have an extra, bring it to the first tailgate if you attend. Pleeeaaassee...

I would if I were coming. I'm am not going this year.

Rick and I are supposed to cat h up soon. Ill give him soon. Ill give him two to pass to you.

[devildeac]

That sounds delicious. If you have an extra, bring it to the first tailgate if you attend. Pleeeaaassee...

I would if I were coming. I'm am not going this year.

Rick and I are supposed to cat h up soon. Ill give him soon. Ill give him two to pass to you.

I guess we can trust him.




Thank you!

[devildeac]

Boone Creek Blonde-Appalachian Mountain Brewery

Blondes have more fun (just don't tell Mrs. dd ).

A very pleasant and refreshing, light-bodied trader from fuse. Thanks!

Pour from a 16 ounce can that was well, blonde. (D'oh!) Small, thin head with a very European light beer nose of flowers and grain. It's made with wildflower honey which lends a mild sweetness to the finish but it starts with a bit of orange zest (also added) bitterness and some very subtle toasted cereal tastes. IBUs quite gentle at 19 and the ABV a totally crushable 4.7% on the website and 4.9% on the can. This would pair well with a fruit platter or mixed green, fruity, nutty salad.

[devildeac]

Voodoo Ranger IPA-New Belgium Brewing Company

A pilfered 12 ounce bottle (from a friend's fridge with Best By 2Jul17 on the label).

Pour was an orange-yellow with a moderate, foamy head. Strong citrus nose and lots of mango, pineapple, papaya and guava tastes with a touch of pine/resin and light caramel sweetness. Nicely balanced at 50 IBUs and 7% ABV. Would accompany summer grillings quite nicely. Main actors:

HOPS: Nugget, Cascade, Simcoe, Chinook, Mosaic, Amarillo

MALTS: Pale, Black

[devildeac]

From 9/22/16:

Dreadnaught (draft)-3 Floyds Brewing

I liked this half pint better than the Arctic Panzer Wolf, but not by much. This similarly-colored elixir had more tropical-tasting/smelling hops than the APW at least to my palate as I perceived plenty of pineapple, mango, papaya flavors to accompany the balancing act of light caramel and honey-ish, malty sweetness. Another massive IIPA at 100 IBUs and ABV of 9.5%, but still, dangerously drinkable. This short review does not do this beer Justise as it is really an outstanding brew. I'd have bought some bombers or 4 packs of this if available in their to-go area, but alas, it wasn't packaged (and might never be found in cans or bottles).

From tonight:

Dreadnaught (bottled on 2/3/17)-3 Floyds Brewing

Let's see if I can pull this off. A side-by side of 2 bombers, but only 11 ounces of each one. You'll see why in a moment or figure it out from the above post .

Bottom line: draft>bottle (silly me thinking it would never be found in cans or bottles) and fresh>six months old.

Fuse has quality reviews of each somewhere upthread in the last couple weeks. Pour to the middle of matching non-beer glasses yielded a foamy, meringue-like head but not enough to make me think "spoiled." Clear, yellow-gold color with a mixture of tropical pine tree scents (?) and tastes. Mildly astringent and sweet at the same time. IBUs and ABV should be the same (FFF doesn't put the stats on their labels as they spend too much money on graphic designs ).

Lesson learned: I should have delivered and consumed sooner. Hope fuse doesn't hate me too much as these were $13 each for the bombers .

[devildeac]

From 9/22/16:

Out of sequence posting:

Arctic Panzer Wolf (draft)-3 Floyds Brewing

Yes, these folks are dangerously close to I-80/94 in Munster on the way from Chicago to Michigan.

This was a 2 ounce sample "taster" so I could decide between this and the next one.

Pour was yellow-orange with a small, creamy head. Really pungent nose of grapefruits and oranges and tastes to match, along with a fresh, oily mouthfeel and some light caramel and honey. IBUs on the menu at 100 and ABV 9% but frighteningly sippable.

From tonight:

From tonight:

Arctic Panzer Wolf (bottled on 3/15/17)-Three Floyd's Brewing

Half a bomber. At 9% ABV and 100 IBUs during a side-by-side with Dreadnaught, I'm not sure I can sip much more tonight .

This pour was slightly hazy but still with a rather foamy head. Pretty similar nose with tastes similar to the draft review above. I "think" I like the bottled version of APW a tad better than Dreadnaught, but both were better at the brewery than from the bomber. I'd be very interested to read if luburch and/or davec liked this better bottled or drafted.

Again, IPAs and IIPAs are betterer if they're fresherer.

[devildeac]

Wisconsin Belgian Red-New Glarus Brewing

Well, it is a Belgian-style ale so Happy International Beer Day to all and a tip of the glass to Tripping William for his heads up.

Fuse and I have reviewed this any number of times but it's worthy of another short posting. I keep wondering when I'll ever tire of this (or any) NG fruit ales. I hope it's never.

Pour was a fizzy, cherry-brown color with a small, quickly-disappearing head. Smells like cherry juice and tastes like cherry champagne with slight woody, sour, brown sugary finish. Minimal bitterness, guessing 10-20 IBUs. ABV is 5-6%. Mrs. dd even had a half a champagne flute of this without her usual facial contortions () and I had half a red wine glass serving to accompany our dinner of Schweinebraten, Kartoffelpüree mit Speck und Käse und grüne Bohnen, keeping with the International theme .

[devildeac]

A tip of the Teku to fuse for his heads up yesterday about the Imperial Hop, Drop and Roll.

NoDa tap take-over at Bottle Mixx today.

Four beer sampler, four ounces each. First up:

Boba Bretts GaLACTIC Trip-NoDa Brewing

A hybrid/blended sour . Yellow-straw color, no head with funky/barnyard-y scents. Tastes were acidic, sour, salt, lemon-line and more funk, all pretty much anticipated given the Brettanomyces yeast fermentation and Berliner Weisse sour style blending. IBUs of 3 (no typo) and ABV of 4%. Pairing? I dunno, maybe a bleu cheese burger?

Sour beers not your thing? Don't bother trying. Like the style/s and/or challenges of trying new stuff? Worth a tulip/half pint.

[devildeac]

Woody and Wilcox (draft)-NoDa Brewing

An American IPA on the tap list but a pale ale on the NoDa website. You decide .

Orange-yellow hue with a small, foamy head. Featured El Dorado hops impart tropical fruity aromas and tastes of underripe tropical fruits with hints of peachiness and a light, caramel backbone. I'd guess about 50 IBUs but the website says 30. ABV 6.2% on the tap list but the website claims 4.9%. Once again, you decide: PA vs American IPA.

[devildeac]

Mosaic Belgian Blonde (draft)-NoDa Brewing

Hoegaarden, only better. Yes, really.

Light yellow pour with a small, fizzy head. Orange, zest and grainy aromas and similar tastes with a bit of spice (coriander?) and light brown sugar sweetness. Very pleasant combination of Mosaic hops with Belgian yeast for fruity, estery tastes and scents. Web site lists 0 IBUs but I think somebody failed to proofread the ad. I'd guess 10-20 IBUs (Belgian blondes aren't bitter-interpret that anyway you'd like ) with IBUs beyond the standard and quoted at 7.2%. I'd like a plate of fresh fruit with this.