Ymm, Beer

[devildeac]

From the brewer:

You wake up and that first thought is . . .

Today is going to be a big day. It may be a tail gate, a pontoon party, a wedding, or it may be getting ready to run with the bulls.

The fact remains you’ve got to get ready for the big day or prepare for a long night. It’s time to Pre-Game.

Pre-Game is a Session Ale, this means this beer has great drinking potential. At 4.5% it beholds all of the craft flavor that you crave, but stays away from being too heavy. This beer is golden in color and low in bitterness. Hops do come through in a sweet piney aroma that makes the end of every sip sound like . . . Game Time!

I grabbed a six-pack of cans for poolside imbibing over the Fourth holiday. The brewer's description is accurate to my eyes and tastebuds. It was as sessionable as the Southern Pines Duckhook cream ale reviewed upthread, but more flavorful. I would guesstimate IBU in the 20s. Of course, it sounds like it wouldn't make the cut at Duke football pregame events, but that's just a testament to the quality beer tastes of the tailgaters . . . . .

Sometimes we start low IBU and ABV and work our way into triple and double digits, respectively. Rules are pretty simple: no macros/crap, try and bring something you think few have tasted before and bring enough to share w/4-6 folks. Some folks bring a single or two, some bring bombers or 750 ml and a few have brought mini-growlers. Come join us any (or all) weekend/s this season. We'd love for you and your family to meet us on Devil's Alley.

[fuse]

Pinot Aged Brett beer? Yes, please!

Smells sugary sweet, a little vinous/ red fruit with some mild straw funkiness.

Wonderfully complex as wild ales tend to be.
Definitely some nice Pinot smoothness and cherry like fruit mid palate, with a dry, musty delightful finish.

It's a shame there's so much good beer to choose from in the Triangle.

Huge hit- thanks devildeac!

[devildeac]

Pinot Aged Brett beer? Yes, please!

Smells sugary sweet, a little vinous/ red fruit with some mild straw funkiness.

Wonderfully complex as wild ales tend to be.
Definitely some nice Pinot smoothness and cherry like fruit mid palate, with a dry, musty delightful finish.

It's a shame there's so much good beer to choose from in the Triangle.

Huge hit- thanks devildeac!

Speaking of good beer in the Triangle:

Bad Penny-Big Boss Brewing

Not in the league with Pretty Polly but a very good brown ale. Malty, nutty, caramely and toffee-ish. Nice pairing with a couple grilled Italian sausages, onions, peppers and marinara sauce. I'll guess IBUs about 30 with the ABV at 5.2%. I'll be ready for another beverage later this evening.

[devildeac]

And root beer...but it's not your father's root beer.

Root beer float tonight, but not your father's...

To celebrate the devildeac's anniversary.

[Tripping William]

Root beer float tonight, but not your father's...

To celebrate the devildeac's anniversary.

Happy anniversary! I hope the full-time duties associated with your soon-to-be-confirmed place atop Mt. Hatemore allow for an appropriately joyous celebration . . . . .

[devildeac]

Happy anniversary! I hope the full-time duties associated with your soon-to-be-confirmed place atop Mt. Hatemore allow for an appropriately joyous celebration . . . . .

I'm not counting any monuments until they're carved but I am counting on a Not Your Father's Root Beer (float) before it's poured.

[Tripping William]

I'm not counting any monuments until they're carved but I am counting on a Not Your Father's Root Beer (float) before it's poured.

Then I shall raise a glass of 2015 Dragon's Milk in your honor. "To 20 blissful years!"

[devildeac]

Then I shall raise a glass of 2015 Dragon's Milk in your honor. "To 20 blissful years!"

Raise a second glass. We're much closer to 40 than we are to 20.

[devildeac]

Not Your Father's Root Beer-Small Town Brewery (LaCrosse, WI on the bottle but Wauconda, IL on their website)

Yet another reason why this is a great thread, in-season, off-season, any season. I'd have never given this beer a second look had it not been for fuse's review 6 weeks ago. But, as I wandered about in Total Wine today with my $1 off on up to four 4 or 6 packs of beer, I spotted this and thought, why not?

Poured a root beer color with an initial fizzy head which lasted less than 30 seconds. It smells, well, like root beer with dark caramel, vanilla and earthy/herbal tastes as fuse alluded to above. Tastes like, well, root beer. Very sweet, naturally flavored root beer. Essentially no bitterness. It can't have any hops because it's, well, root beer. ABV listed at 5.9% but tastes non-alcoholic like, well, root beer. Too sweet to drink more than one at a sitting unless you're a, well, root beer fan. There is zero doubt that my next one of these will be with a scoop or two of Breyer's or Edy's vanilla ice cream and served with a spoon and a straw. I'll report back on that one. Not sure what I'll do with the other 4 from the 6er however.

Attachment 5238

http://smalltownbrewery.com/our-beers/year-round/

This one might even be more interesting:

http://smalltownbrewery.com/our-beers/limited-10-7/

WTH? A root beer with 10.7% ABV?

This one might be even much more interesting:

http://smalltownbrewery.com/our-beers/limited-19-5/

Holy @#$%, are you kidding me? A root beer with 19.5% ABV?

Not Your Father's Root Beer Float (NYFRB-see below)-Small Town Brewery

Maybe this belongs in the Ymm, Dessert thread.

I wasn't kidding folks. This is now my 3rd career beer float. The first was with Breyer's vanilla ice cream and Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout and the second was the same brand ice cream but with Fort Collins Double Chocolate Stout. This tasted like it was right out of a soda fountain from the corner store 50+ years ago, only with 5.5% ABV root beer this time. Poured about 3 ounces of NYFRB into a tall, wide mouth glass and then added 2 small scoops of ice cream and then filled to the top of the glass with about another 3 ounces of beverage. Nice creamy, foamy, frothy head topping the creation that I sipped with a straw and repeated the creation with another 2 small scoops and the remaining NYFRB. Could have drizzled it with some chocolate syrup and/or topped it with a dollop of whipped cream and a cherry. Yummy!

[BluDvlsN1]

So, we were on a get away to the beach and my son and I went shopping for
Supplies, I pick up a sixer of Fat Tire for my SIL and myself. My son points at this
and says why don't we get this too, without even glancing I grabbed it to continue shopping.

Got back to our place and iced a couple of each down, when I opened the Trippel, the scents and
the flavors were curious, pleasant, unique to any beer I had tried.

Then and only then did I really look at the label,(had a nice personal pic but it posts sideways). then I discovered "brewed with corriander".

What I can add is, try it with Mexican, Cajun, Indian or other spicy foods.

I did a site search and did not see this Trippel reviewed, if it's a rerun, my apologies.


Can't add much to their site desciptions, which by the way are really detailed.


image.jpg
http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/detai...3-9d72445c6db6

[fuse]

Lord Rear Admiral-3 Floyds Brewing

Labeled as an ESB, it really smelled and tasted more like an ESB-IPA hybrid. Pour was a copper-amber with a moderate khaki foamy head which lingered to the bottom of my half bomber serving into a standard pint glass. Aromas of stone fruits, mostly apricot with a little peach and a bit of orange marmalade and mango. Taste were the same with a bit of butterscotch and caramel. IBUs listed at 57 and ABV at 6.4%, both outside the expected ranges for the style. I'll finish the bomber tomorrow night but send a huge thank you tonight to ricks68 for beer hunting when he was in the Annapolis in April. This would make an enjoyable style to sip with grilled/BBQ fare, pot roast, stew (beef or lamb) or a beef brisket.

I actually thought this tasted fairly true to style.
Nice caramel notes, malt forward with mildly bitter finish. A really versatile beer. Was sorry to see this evaporate from the glass so quickly.

Many thanks to ricks68 and devildeac!

[fuse]

Chocolatized-Pisgah Brewing

2014 gold medal winner for chocolate beers at the Great American Beer Festival. Amazing beer. I'm glad my birthday yesterday coincided with fuse's and finished with Tripping William's today. I needed 2 days to finish this bomber that ricks68 was kind enough to procure several months ago.

They took the beer formerly known as Vortex II, which I'm guessing was an imperial stout, and added 25 lbs of raw cocoa nibs to each 5 bbl brewing and transformed it into Chocolatized. Poured an almost opaque onyx color with a modest beige head. Smells like a dark, iced chocolate malted and tasted like semi-sweet chocolate covered raisins, dates and figs with a very small splash of whiskey-laced espresso in the finish. Well, maybe there's a bit of black strap molasses here, too. Incredible smooth, silky and almost oily mouthfeel make me think there are some oats in the heavily roasted dark malt grain bill. Hops have a minimal presence here but, considering the style, I'll guess IBUs about 50 with a numbing ABV of over 11%. Flavors are enhanced as I let tonight's serving warm over the hour I sipped it. Decadent liquid dessert, as expected, but I could imagine a small square of a triple chocolate brownie or a sliver of a flourless chocolate torte as an accompaniment to this also. I've got a 2nd bomber but I'm not quite sure what to do with it-save for a tailgate this fall or share it with family later this summer. Hmmm...


Attachment 5220

Not really sure I can add much beyond if you want to get fitty in style, this beer is not a bad way to start. The Love Ninja and I started with dessert before dinner with this.

I could almost be convinced a lighted match would take on top of this beer. Liquid, lush rich malt, chocolate liqueur flavours. In a word, decadent.

Another huge thanks to ricks68 and devildeac!

[devildeac]

I actually thought this tasted fairly true to style.
Nice caramel notes, malt forward with mildly bitter finish. A really versatile beer. Was sorry to see this evaporate from the glass so quickly.

Many thanks to ricks68 and devildeac!

Evaporate? You shouldn't have left it on the counter in this warm weather then.

[fuse]

Evaporate? You shouldn't have left it on the counter in this warm weather then.

I find many beers put in front of me tend to evaporate unnaturally. :-)

[Tripping William]

This counts as "imbibe indigenously," as it was brewed in the Mills River, NC, location.

Picked up a 32-ounce growler at our local Whole Foods yesterday, and drank it with lunch just now. 5.9% ABV, it poured a nice golden brown. Wonderful mouthfeel, and a hint of spiciness at the end. Much more saison-like than India-ale-like, and nicely balanced. Very tasty with a grilled chicken sandwich.

Separately, tonight's DMB-Charlotte tailgate beverages include a mini-growler of Bell's Oberon Ale, a 750-ml bottle of Blue Mountain's Local Species Belgian-style ale, a couple of 12-ounce bottles of Mother Earth's Dark Cloud, a couple of cans of Unknown's Pre-Game ale, a couple of 12-ounce bottles of Red Oak's Hummin' Bird Munich-style lager, and a 16-ounce can of Mystery's ordinary bitter offering. And lots of water. Given the likely near-triple-digit temps in Charlotte today, we'd be crazy to finish off all of this, so we'll see what's left over . . . .

[fuse]

Not sure we'll make it to Asheville, will be in Boone area in near future.

Lost Province is good, not sure about other options.

[mattman91]

Not sure we'll make it to Asheville, will be in Boone area in near future.

Lost Province is good, not sure about other options.

Check out Appalachian Brewing. I have a friend that works there. They have some OK stuff...had the ipa at a recent Michael Franti concert...pretty nice.

[devildeac]

La Bonte-Wicked Weed Brewing

Sour blonde ale meets Brettanomyces fermented farmhouse ale, age gracefully together for a while with some plums and live happily ever after at the Funkatorium. Mattman91 gets huge props for including this in our May trading session. It was a 500 ml bottle I divided over 2 nights after a 12 ounce gose each night, making a very nice sequencing of beverages and styles. Poured a cloudy, lavender-tinged straw hue with a bit of funky, mustiness up front followed by some light berry, apple and pear aromas. Initial sourness upon tasting gave way to mild floral bitterness with a light plum, winey finish. This sounds rather complex and it really was. Makes me think of what an ale would taste like if Southern Tier and Catawba Brewing collaborated with their Plum Noir and Sour Zombie, respectively, with just a splash of Plum Noir (it was an imperial porter) being added to a generous aliquot of the Sour Zombie. Minimal bitterness, guessing IBUs of 20 with a very sessionable ABV of 6.5%. This was actually La Bonte 2.0 as the original was an apricot-based ale. Wouldn't hesitate for a moment having a draft of this or purchasing/trading for another bottle of yet another outstanding concoction from Asheville's South Slope.

[devildeac]

[QUOTE=ricks68;815885]Good choice on the White Duck Taco Shop. I should have remembered that for you for lunch one day. Too bad One World didn't have one of their great Saison's on tap for you to try. Great choice on their cherry stout, however. Wish you had called to ask about Sylva. I would have sent you down the street to Innovation Brewery instead to try a number of their numerous different specialty beers on tap. I was there on Friday and had some of their Nut Brown and a take home mini growler of their great Mosaic Saison. Excellent. Bog is the name of the beer at Burial you don't remember. It's a brand new seasonal. Pretty good, IMO also. You missed out on maybe the best one that day, however. The Winnower Chocolate Raspberry Porter. Also, you missed on their outstanding Bolo Coconut Brown, but I think they can that one now. Mattman and I know that those beers were available for you, as we (along with Mattman's delightful S.O. and missus ricks) got to Burial that same evening after our preliminary beer rendezvous at The Wedge, and proceeded to remain sipping our Winnowers and Skillets outside until about an hour after closing. We all agreed that the Winnower was just plain deliscioso.(sp?) It now ranks up there with Pisgah's Chocolatized for a favorite desert beer. Unfortunately, I may never find out for sure, as they don't can it and won't let it out in a growler, either. (The Skillet is the very best for breakfast/brunch, as far as I am concerned.) Hmmmmmm. One World's Saison of Love and Innovation's Dandelion Saison may be my favorite mid-afternoon beers, but then Innovation's Lavender Saison should be included here, also. Pisgah's Red Devil is no slouch for supper time ("dinner" in Yankee talk) Although, there are probably another dozen or more area beers that I could plug in for late afternoon and supper here. (Make that probably 2 dozen for now.) Y'all must come back to try them all, plus the new ones that constantly keep coming out in small batches. Sorry we couldn't get together, but it sounds like you made some fantastic activity choices on your own. Life is to be enjoyed here in AVL, and you seemed to have successfully accomplished that while you were here. Congratulations!

Oh, I just thought of a great idea. I cannot wait to tell missus ricks that we will be sharing a Wellbred éclair for desert after dinner tomorrow night at Burial along with the Winnower. Nirvana.

ricks[/QTE]

Yet another reason to visit and enjoy this thread which is always in (some) season.

Winnower (draft)-Burial Brewing

I'd have never sought this out if ricks68 hadn't posted it here and, fuse hadn't suggested a meeting at Bottle Revolution last PM (which I unfortunately couldn't make as we were out of town) and my wife and I hadn't decided to work for an hour at my office this afternoon which is (dangerously) located about 1.5 blocks (3 minute walk) from the original Bottle Revolution (there are now 3 with the others in Morrisville and the newest in North Raleigh). It was on the chalkboard as a chocolate raspberry imperial stout that was $7 for a full pint pour. The Burial website lists it as a porter. Well, it's dark enough and almost alcoholic enough to be an imperial stout but was a bit thin for that style, plus Burial lists it at 6.5% ABV and Bottle Rev had it at 7.6% on the board. I'll guess IBUs about 30. Poured a dark, dark brown with a hint of ruby and a very small head. Seductive nose of dark chocolate, a whiff of coffee and raspberry jam. Tastes and mouthfeel border on decadent as they're smooth, silky and a bit oily and leave a delicious, lingering coating on the lips and palate. Think about jellied raspberry candies that have been dipped and dipped again in a semi-sweet chocolate fondue for your dessert and then finished off with a demitasse of a dark Turkish roast espresso. Liquid dessert (with my seafood leftovers for lunch) and one I'd be ecstatic to find again.

[ricks68]

[QUOTE=devildeac;817736]

Good choice on the White Duck Taco Shop. I should have remembered that for you for lunch one day. Too bad One World didn't have one of their great Saison's on tap for you to try. Great choice on their cherry stout, however. Wish you had called to ask about Sylva. I would have sent you down the street to Innovation Brewery instead to try a number of their numerous different specialty beers on tap. I was there on Friday and had some of their Nut Brown and a take home mini growler of their great Mosaic Saison. Excellent. Bog is the name of the beer at Burial you don't remember. It's a brand new seasonal. Pretty good, IMO also. You missed out on maybe the best one that day, however. The Winnower Chocolate Raspberry Porter. Also, you missed on their outstanding Bolo Coconut Brown, but I think they can that one now. Mattman and I know that those beers were available for you, as we (along with Mattman's delightful S.O. and missus ricks) got to Burial that same evening after our preliminary beer rendezvous at The Wedge, and proceeded to remain sipping our Winnowers and Skillets outside until about an hour after closing. We all agreed that the Winnower was just plain deliscioso.(sp?) It now ranks up there with Pisgah's Chocolatized for a favorite desert beer. Unfortunately, I may never find out for sure, as they don't can it and won't let it out in a growler, either. (The Skillet is the very best for breakfast/brunch, as far as I am concerned.) Hmmmmmm. One World's Saison of Love and Innovation's Dandelion Saison may be my favorite mid-afternoon beers, but then Innovation's Lavender Saison should be included here, also. Pisgah's Red Devil is no slouch for supper time ("dinner" in Yankee talk) Although, there are probably another dozen or more area beers that I could plug in for late afternoon and supper here. (Make that probably 2 dozen for now.) Y'all must come back to try them all, plus the new ones that constantly keep coming out in small batches. Sorry we couldn't get together, but it sounds like you made some fantastic activity choices on your own. Life is to be enjoyed here in AVL, and you seemed to have successfully accomplished that while you were here. Congratulations!

Oh, I just thought of a great idea. I cannot wait to tell missus ricks that we will be sharing a Wellbred éclair for desert after dinner tomorrow night at Burial along with the Winnower. Nirvana.

ricks[/QTE]

Yet another reason to visit and enjoy this thread which is always in (some) season.

Winnower (draft)-Burial Brewing

I'd have never sought this out if ricks68 hadn't posted it here and, fuse hadn't suggested a meeting at Bottle Revolution last PM (which I unfortunately couldn't make as we were out of town) and my wife and I hadn't decided to work for an hour at my office this afternoon which is (dangerously) located about 1.5 blocks (3 minute walk) from the original Bottle Revolution (there are now 3 with the others in Morrisville and the newest in North Raleigh). It was on the chalkboard as a chocolate raspberry imperial stout that was $7 for a full pint pour. The Burial website lists it as a porter. Well, it's dark enough and almost alcoholic enough to be an imperial stout but was a bit thin for that style, plus Burial lists it at 6.5% ABV and Bottle Rev had it at 7.6% on the board. I'll guess IBUs about 30. Poured a dark, dark brown with a hint of ruby and a very small head. Seductive nose of dark chocolate, a whiff of coffee and raspberry jam. Tastes and mouthfeel border on decadent as they're smooth, silky and a bit oily and leave a delicious, lingering coating on the lips and palate. Think about jellied raspberry candies that have been dipped and dipped again in a semi-sweet chocolate fondue for your dessert and then finished off with a demitasse of a dark Turkish roast espresso. Liquid dessert (with my seafood leftovers for lunch) and one I'd be ecstatic to find again.

By the way, One World was so busy during July 4th weekend that they actually ran out of beer! In fact, they had only 2 of their beers on tap yesterday with 7 guest brews. Luckily, one of their 2 was the Saison of Love, which we came in for before hitting Catawba for some barrel aged brews.😊
They only have a 1.5 barrel system so it will be a little longer until they are able to restock fully.

ricks