Ymm, Beer

[devildeac]

I'll check in a great beer today that many of you have already had:

Bright A$S Tank Top - The Unknown Brewing - Rum Barrel Aged Key Lime Gose

4.1 % ABV - 5 IBU

I'm rating this Fuse Category 1 - Holy Sh!t - get some!

Buy a 4 pack. This goes down so easy, you'll finish the 4 pack on a nice summer day like this one. It's very refreshing and smooth.

The Funky Buddha Key Lime one I had tasted like Key Lime Pie. This one does not really taste like Key Lime Pie at all.

But it does taste like dessert. It almost tastes like a limey apple pie (which doesn't sound very good, but this is outstanding). It's not too sweet, but there is sweetness from the oaky, vanilla rum flavor that is balanced very nicely with the sour key limes (prominent). There is some definite saltiness making you want another sip.

It's a complex gose and simply refreshing. Props to Tripping William for suggesting this one.

Nice wanker avoidance tool.

Guessing you'll preview a few more goses before August 17.

[devildeac]

As long as you avoid Shipyard, Geary’s, and Sea Dog you’ll probably be just fine.

I’m not sure about the specific Bangor beer scene, 2 Feet and Friars are listed as local.

Nocturnem draft house has a good reputation.
I’ve never been.

Can’t wait to learn more about the beer in Bangor after your trip.

Lob-stah roll there was pretty good...

[devildeac]

I’m in Bangor for tomorrow and Tuesday.

If you look through posts here after about 7/4, you'll find a bunch of brews that fuse has reviewed from his recent trip. Being the slow, clumsy fellow that I am, some of my reviews are a couple weeks behind his but I did manage to "scoop" him on one or two. Maybe.

I'll likewise be very interested in what you sample.

[devildeac]

Drinking our final Allagash River Trip with a smile.

This is a beer that would make a phenomenal house beer, if it were available in NC.

For that matter, so would Lone Pine Tiny Tess.

What is your go to, always have in the house, goes with most things, beer?

I've pondered this for hours now and honestly still can't arrive at a good answer, but, the closest I might come would be Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. Why? It's readily available, reasonably priced, high quality, established (brewed since 2001), high IBUs but perfectly balanced by its 9% ABV and I think pairs with many foods (not breakfasts) from deli sammiches to grilled fare or mildly/moderately spicy beef/chicken/seafood entrees and stands very well alone sipped from a snifter as a nightcap.

[Tripping William]

Well I do have an answer. We always have Red Oak in the house. I had some with dinner last night and it always tastes good with everything to me. But I have no clue how to pair beer with food except what I read from devildeac's reviews. If I'm out at a local restaurant with mostly crappy limited selection of draft beer, I can often get a red oak on draft and be very happy with it.

We have probably 9 more Red Oak bottles in the fridge right now. My wife bought that 12-pack because she needed 1/4 cup of a "lager" for a recipe she was making, and she didn't know what a lager was except that Red Oak was one.

Red Oak used to be my favorite beer, when I knew even much less about beer than I do now (which admittedly still isn't very much). When I trained for 2 years in Charlottesville for fellowship I was bummed that I couldn't get Red Oak. But I quickly started catching on with breweries like Blue Mountain, Wild Wolf, Devil's Backbone, and South Street (still miss Satan's pony) that there was even better beer out there than Red Oak.

Now I've learned there is much better beer out there than Red Oak which I would rate fuse category 2. Like Devildeac, I enjoy trying different beers every week, and there are too many great ones out there than I can even try. Good problem to have! But FWIW we always have lots of Red Oak.

This is a great choice, and probably where I land as well. But I think the only beer I have continuously kept in my “beer storage unit” is some version or another of Sexual Chocolate.

[richardjackson199]

Mother Earth - Berlinerweisse Mojito - 4.9 % ABV -

Nice citrus, minty aroma to this one. The taste is a beautiful lime citrus with some salt. Then the finish abruptly shifts to perfect amount of deep mint mojito flavor. The sour is mild and nicely balanced.

I'll rate it Fuse Category 1 - definitely buy this and try it if you see it and like this style.

Thanks fuse for the rec! Mother Earth makes outstanding beer

[fuse]

Mother Earth - Berlinerweisse Mojito - 4.9 % ABV -

Nice citrus, minty aroma to this one. The taste is a beautiful lime citrus with some salt. Then the finish abruptly shifts to perfect amount of deep mint mojito flavor. The sour is mild and nicely balanced.

I'll rate it Fuse Category 1 - definitely buy this and try it if you see it and like this style.

Thanks fuse for the rec! Mother Earth makes outstanding beer

Had one this evening also.

Sadly, while I enjoyed it, Mother Earth Mojito was really dissonant with a grilled salmon salad, largely due to the balsamic dressing. Both were excellent apart, so I set aside the beer and enjoyed the salad first. Mojito made for a great after dinner drink.

[fuse]

A brief note that HiWire Rose IPA goes great with mexican cuisine, and I suspect would also pair nicely with most any food, and also be great standalone.

[devildeac]

A brief note that HiWire Rose IPA goes great with mexican cuisine, and I suspect would also pair nicely with most any food, and also be great standalone.

WTH? No Fullsteam lunch today?

[fuse]

WTH? No Fullsteam lunch today?

Dos Perros today.
Fullsteam every other week for a couple more weeks.

I did, in fact, snag a Haw River Tasseography four pack- their saison done as varietals called Red, Green, Salt, Smoke- assuming based on peppercorn varieties.

Will be a fun tasting in the future.

[fuse]

Allagash Coolship Balaton
Bottled 1/3/2019

Open air fermented, aged for up to 2 years.
Near the end of aging, 2 pounds per gallon of balaton cherries are added.

Looks like cherry juice, almost like a beautiful light pinot noir.

Funky barnyard nose.

Wooo- this is a dirty, tart, funky beer.
There is a brief initial burst of cherry juice, which disappears into a funky stew that ends in a dry woody note with a little cherry on top.

Hard to believe a 2 year old beer might be “young”, balaton is a little hot.
I could see aging it for a year.
I’m glad I opened it- incredibly enjoyable.

Cheers! 🍻

[devildeac]

Allagash Coolship Balaton
Bottled 1/3/2019

Open air fermented, aged for up to 2 years.
Near the end of aging, 2 pounds per gallon of balaton cherries are added.

Looks like cherry juice, almost like a beautiful light pinot noir.

Funky barnyard nose.

Wooo- this is a dirty, tart, funky beer.
There is a brief initial burst of cherry juice, which disappears into a funky stew that ends in a dry woody note with a little cherry on top.

Hard to believe a 2 year old beer might be “young”, balaton is a little hot.
I could see aging it for a year.
I’m glad I opened it- incredibly enjoyable.

Cheers! 🍻

Glad I read this thread and let you "beat" me to some of these reviews. I'll let mine age in the beer fridge until next summer.

[accfanfrom1970]

First bottle opened after returning from Ohio. Rockmill Brewery out of Lancaster, Ohio. Cask Aged Tripel, golden ale aged in whiskey barrels. 10.5%. Poured golden, nice foamy head. Their Tripel aged on OYO whiskey barrels. OYO is a local distillery. Similar to the Allagash Crueux, the whiskey barrel gives it a lighter finish than a BBA. Clean, crisp ale with a touch of alcohol burn/finish. Easy to drink. A great beer.

[richardjackson199]

Nancy - Allagash Brewing - American Wild Ale - 5.7 % ABV

From the bottle - "a tart ale that brings local cherries together with Brettanomyces yeast. The beer is fermented for over a year in a stainless steel tank on a blend of Maine-grown Balaton and Montmorrency cherries. Copper in color, Nancy's flavor is a medley of citrus, cherry, and pie spice, with a hint of graham cracker. The finish is dry and refreshingly tart."

If you like fruited sour beers, this is a Strong fuse Category 1 - get some, highly recommended, crazy good sour. They have lots at Stella.

It's delicious, and a perfectly balanced cherry sour. It's funky and sour (not puckering), but the powerful cherry flavors are most prominent. The light cinnamon enhances the cherry with some bready pie crust in there too from the malt. It's complex, starting out tart, unripe cherry followed by sweet ripe cherry flavor but not too sweet. That is followed by a dry but still sweet flavor. It's very drinkable, crisp, and refreshing, with bubbly carbonation.

I will revisit. I've found the perfect beer to pair with that dark chocolate cherry ganache pie from Grand Traverse. If only I could win another one!

[devildeac]

Final installment of my "consultant fees."

I'll check in a great beer today that many of you have already had:

Bright A$S Tank Top - The Unknown Brewing - Rum Barrel Aged Key Lime Gose

4.1 % ABV - 5 IBU

I'm rating this Fuse Category 1 - Holy Sh!t - get some!

Buy a 4 pack. This goes down so easy, you'll finish the 4 pack on a nice summer day like this one. It's very refreshing and smooth.

The Funky Buddha Key Lime one I had tasted like Key Lime Pie. This one does not really taste like Key Lime Pie at all.

But it does taste like dessert. It almost tastes like a limey apple pie (which doesn't sound very good, but this is outstanding). It's not too sweet, but there is sweetness from the oaky, vanilla rum flavor that is balanced very nicely with the sour key limes (prominent). There is some definite saltiness making you want another sip.

It's a complex gose and simply refreshing. Props to Tripping William for suggesting this one.

Bright A$S Tank Top-The Unknown Brewing Company

Read what RJ199 posted above. Looked like a Key Lemon Pie (for all you degenerates out there ) with a very small, fizzy head. Wood/oak on the nose with the same along with vanilla (not added), muted rum and a limeade-lemonade finish for me with more tartness than sweetness and a splash of salinity. I'd be happy pairing this with a fruit plate before dinner, with some lightly spiced and/or fruited seafood for dinner or knocking down a couple of these after dinner, with or without dessert.

An excellent final payment by the honorable, suave and debonair richardjackson199. Thanks!

Edit: Forgot to add the Fuse Cat 1 rating here .

[devildeac]

First bottle opened after returning from Ohio. Rockmill Brewery out of Lancaster, Ohio. Cask Aged Tripel, golden ale aged in whiskey barrels. 10.5%. Poured golden, nice foamy head. Their Tripel aged on OYO whiskey barrels. OYO is a local distillery. Similar to the Allagash Crueux, the whiskey barrel gives it a lighter finish than a BBA. Clean, crisp ale with a touch of alcohol burn/finish. Easy to drink. A great beer.

Sounds wonderful. We drive near Lancaster on our way to/from Columbus. I'll have to stop for this in September, but, Mrs. dd may make me walk home from there if we do. Perhaps having our son seek out this ale before we arrive might be a smarter plan...

[devildeac]

Nancy - Allagash Brewing - American Wild Ale - 5.7 % ABV

From the bottle - "a tart ale that brings local cherries together with Brettanomyces yeast. The beer is fermented for over a year in a stainless steel tank on a blend of Maine-grown Balaton and Montmorrency cherries. Copper in color, Nancy's flavor is a medley of citrus, cherry, and pie spice, with a hint of graham cracker. The finish is dry and refreshingly tart."

If you like fruited sour beers, this is a Strong fuse Category 1 - get some, highly recommended, crazy good sour. They have lots at Stella.

It's delicious, and a perfectly balanced cherry sour. It's funky and sour (not puckering), but the powerful cherry flavors are most prominent. The light cinnamon enhances the cherry with some bready pie crust in there too from the malt. It's complex, starting out tart, unripe cherry followed by sweet ripe cherry flavor but not too sweet. That is followed by a dry but still sweet flavor. It's very drinkable, crisp, and refreshing, with bubbly carbonation.

I will revisit. I've found the perfect beer to pair with that dark chocolate cherry ganache pie from Grand Traverse. If only I could win another one!

Sounds decadent. I'm a bit surprised they allow that one to "escape" from Maine .

[fuse]

Nancy - Allagash Brewing - American Wild Ale - 5.7 % ABV

From the bottle - "a tart ale that brings local cherries together with Brettanomyces yeast. The beer is fermented for over a year in a stainless steel tank on a blend of Maine-grown Balaton and Montmorrency cherries. Copper in color, Nancy's flavor is a medley of citrus, cherry, and pie spice, with a hint of graham cracker. The finish is dry and refreshingly tart."

If you like fruited sour beers, this is a Strong fuse Category 1 - get some, highly recommended, crazy good sour. They have lots at Stella.

It's delicious, and a perfectly balanced cherry sour. It's funky and sour (not puckering), but the powerful cherry flavors are most prominent. The light cinnamon enhances the cherry with some bready pie crust in there too from the malt. It's complex, starting out tart, unripe cherry followed by sweet ripe cherry flavor but not too sweet. That is followed by a dry but still sweet flavor. It's very drinkable, crisp, and refreshing, with bubbly carbonation.

I will revisit. I've found the perfect beer to pair with that dark chocolate cherry ganache pie from Grand Traverse. If only I could win another one!

Reads delicious! Allagash also has a beer called Ganache, which I believe is a chocolate raspberry sour. Can’t recall if I reviewed it here or not, it was a great beer.

[devildeac]

From 11/25/18:

From 1/20/18:



From Friday night:

DKML (brewed on: 7/27/17 stamped on back label)-Founder's Brewing Company

I'm a bit sheepish to review this after fuse's link upthread.

Well, almost made it to 2019 , or, and then there was one. I poured a 50 degree ("cellar" temperature) 12 ounce bottle into a Founder's snifter after a long drive home on Friday and sipped for about an hour.

Clear/clean, medium amber color with a thin, off-white head. This one is a bit more palate friendly than the above review. There's still a lot of booze on the nose and on the taste buds but it's a pleasant warming sensation with perhaps some oak, vanilla and toasted coconut now, too, even moreso as it warmed to room temperature. Guessing about 20 IBUs and the ABV was a numbing 14.2%, IIRC. Very happy to have waited on this an look forward to the final bottle in another 6-12 months.

From last PM:

DKML-Founders Brewing Company

"Kicks you where you most expect it" on the label.

Bottled on:
07/03/17 0421 6

Last of the litter with pretty similar experience to the 1/20/18 and the above. Lots of booze from start to finish with corn (added) likker for the aromas and bourbon-flavored grain alcohol on the palate. The BBA lends wood/oak, butterscotch, vanilla and lightly toasted coconut flavors, too. Minimal bitterness but a continuous alcohol burn over the 60 minutes it took to sip this bad boy from my new Stella snifter, courtesy of richardjackson199 (thanks!!).

This one earns the fuse Cat 2 rating (with some Cat 1 features).

[fuse]

DFH Super 8 Gose

Maybe the cleanup batter for upcoming gose day, although I suspect I may not get that far down in the lineup.

A deep pinot rose color.

Smells faintly briney, like an ocean breeze.

Starts fruit tangy, and stays that way.

Any saltiness is fleeting, appearing mid palate and then a light dusting of saltiness in the finish.

A very nice pleasing beverage on a hot day.

I expect Super 8 gose may get a little more complex as it warms up, but what’s the point? Gose is a drink best served cold.

Cheers! 🍻