BEER (2017-2023) - What did we drink (today/recently)?

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

Going through beer photos from holidays in Greece.

Found these 2 in a supermarket on Santorini. Beer is from Tinos island, another Cycladic island. Not great or anything like that but I appreciated the fact the I could get something from elsewhere in Greece.

Donkey beer merchandise and adverts are everywhere on Santorini. It’s too much! I had contact with someone at the brewery regarding a visit. She said they had a 'tasting room" where we could drink. Turned out there wasn’t a chair or a place to drink. You could buy bottles and drink them standing outside. The “tastings” were just a drop, not even enough to wet my lips!

I noticed something odd about the “tap” and asked if they had beer on tap, they said the fake tap “is only for show”! Took a few hours and 2 buses to get here (then again to go back), in the BOILING heat. If I had known it was all BS I wouldn’t have gone.

Bought 4 beers to go. It’s more expensive than from any shop in the capital!

Later in the evening… all the beer I had left for my remaining days on Santorini. After they were finished I bought Volkan beers from supermarkets.

Golden ale. It’s only OK.

From yesterday…

Triple NEIPA - 5th Anniversary Beer - Dogma brewery- Belgrade, Serbia. 9%

Appearance: hazy pale orange, small head.

Smell and Taste: medium alcoholic. At 9% some other “triple NEIPAs” you get an alcohol hit with each and every sip. Very fruity. Mango, peach, apricot. Hoppy, low bitterness, pillowy mouthfeel, med-full bodied.

Well done, Serbia. Some “triple NEIPAs” can have an unpleasant taste (massive amounts of hops that’s oxidated) and you do feel the alcohol burn.

[MaxEntropy]

I’m a sucker for Citra and Galaxy hops. Craft Beer Cellar carries some Fat Orange Cat, but no Kittens in Newton or Belmont. Where did you find it?

[honkman]

That one was at my local Whole Foods - which tends to have an OK but not great selection.

[honkman]

Peach Pale Ale by Jackrabbit Brewing Company (West Sacramento, CA) - Pale Ale

Peach flavor nicely integrates with the malts and hops of this pale ale. Doesn’t taste syrupy or artificial but just gives it enough fruitiness to stand out. Finish has medium piney bitterness. Overall refreshing pale ale.

[honkman]

Lycra People by Armistice Brewing Company (Richmond, CA) - Smoothie Sour

This sour starts promising with nice berry flavors which are not overly sweet, followed by some stronger sourness but than in the finish the combination of vanilla, lactic acid and some other flavors equate to an odd finish which reminds of cheese - overall not great.

[brisket44]

Other Brother Oatmeal Stout, Seaside CA
Like Guinness, only better

[honkman]

Initial Initiative by New Glory Craft Brewery (Sacramento, CA) - IPA

Good but not outstanding IPA - some passionfruit and juiciness upfront followed by some hoppiness with piney flavors and medium bitterness in the finish. Not sure if this indeed a west coast IPA as it has more of an appearance and flavor profile of an hazy IPA

[johntannerbbq (john tanner)]

IS that served cold a la US or Coll (UK)?

[StephanieL]

I found that stout to be just OK…not a lot of depth in my opinion.

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

Cloud City - Hazy IPA - Three Weavers Brewery - Inglewood, California. 6.5%

Appearance: not really “hazy” as I could see right through the beer. Clear orangey golden with floating grainy sediments. Hazy to me is, some or high turbidity.

Smells sweet. Tastes sweet, almost like “West coast IPA”, unpleasant resinous bitterness but tolerable. Low bitterness.

To me it’s not “hazy IPA”, and certainly not NEIPA. Just an unremarkable IPA.

This one is muuuuch better.

Diffuse Light - NE DIPA - Bryggeriet/Brewery ÅBEN - Denmark. 8%.
Hops: Citra, Azacca, Waimea and Cryo Azacca.

Appearance: highly hazy, beige.

Smell: predominantly mango, and also pineapple.

Taste: very juicy and fruity, pronounced mango taste. Other fruits I can taste are pineapple and maybe also peach. Alcohol is well hidden. Medium bitter, very dry mouthfeel. A lovely fruity beer, like imaginary summer in your head.

First time making photos in the back garden this year.

[honkman]

The PB + J Incident by Bolero Snort Brewery (Carlstadt, NJ) - Fruited Sour

Great imitation of a PB&J with grape juice and peanut butter upfront. The donuts give the sour a nice doughy flavor. Rather strong sour counterpoint to balance the beer. Very good and easy to drink. That was one of the beers from the Extreme Beer Fest package and it pushes the boundaries of what many might think as beers but nonetheless it was a great example of creative brewing.

[honkman]

This is not a Caipirinha by Japas Cervejaria (Sao Paulo, Brazil) - Fruited Sour

The name says it all - sour made to taste like a caipirinha snd they are very successful. The mix of different citrus fruits and aged in the right barrels mimics the cocktail very much but the sour pushes it towards a beer - perfect beer for a hot summer day.

[brisket44]

Laughing Monk Unholy Ghost black lager
San Francisco 5% abv
Smokey chocolate flavor but surprisingly light. Very good.

[honkman]

I quite impressed with Laughing Monk as they produce many beers but tend to have good high quality standard

[honkman]

Tastes like Friendship by Hello Friend Beer (Berkeley, CA) - IPA

Crisp, clean west coast IPA with lemon and grapefruit upfront, followed by nearly pilsner like malts and piney dank and a medium bitter finish. A really nice, easy drinkable IPA which more middle of the road but still has its own character

[honkman]

Fros’e Hydra Duece by Mortalis Brewing Company (Avon, NY) - Smoothie Sour

Very berry-intensive sour with some hints of vanilla but what brings this very thick beer together is the graham cracker flavor as it balances it together with the sourness. Drinks very easily for a sour.

[brisket44]

@honkman

I quite impressed with Laughing Monk as they produce many beers but tend to have good high quality standard

I agree. Harmonic is another San Francisco brewery that seems consistent in quality across styles.

[js76wisco (Jerrold Son)]

@honkman

Fros’e Hydra Duece by Mortalis Brewing Company

I think Mortalis makes the best of the smoothie sours. I generally prefer the ones without non-fruit adjuncts. The ones with chocolate, vanilla, graham crackers, etc… don’t work for me. They do a great job with all of the tropical fruits. I had one the other day with mango ice cream. Many breweries are getting creative with ingredients in these type of beers.

[paprikaboy (Chris)]

I have been drinking a lot of German beer, mainly pilsner, the last couple of days.

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

PB, for a moment I thought you were posting from Berlin or somewhere in Germany. Would love to be in Germany now but at least I have a taste of Bamberg in my house. Drinking a Schlenkerla Ur-bock as I type.

Some beer this week:

99 Hop Cones NEIPA - Reketye Brewery - Hungary. 5.5%
Hazy. Smells hoppy and sour. Tastes dry, bitter enough. Low juicy, medium to full bodied. Predominant flavour is pine needles with some sourness.
I had high hopes for this beer but it didn’t deliver on the taste front.

I drank Einstoek in Reykavik back in 2015. Decided to give both another go some years later.

Einstök Icelandic White Ale - Viking Ölgerd brewey, Iceland. 5.2%

Appearance: pale golden, big head at first but dissipates fast.

Taste: a tiny bit sweet-ish. I detect some peach and pineapple. Other than that not much taste, really. Low carbonation, low bitterness, watery.

Drank lots of Witbier for many years in my early beer drinking days. Then one day I couldn’t stand it any more. At least this one is tolerable, maybe because it tastes a bit better than a typical industrial Belgian Witbier.

Einstök Icelandic Arctic Pale Ale - Viking Ölgerd brewery, Iceland. 5.6%

Appearance: deep golden colour, big head.

Taste: malty, a bit “spicy” (no idea what exactly), caramel, some sweet orange peel, low to medium bitterness, surprisingly alcoholic for 5.6%. Nice that it’s not too fizzy on the palate. Dry finish. More enjoyable than the Witbier.

Low Sun Full Moon - NEIPA - Wylie Brewery - Sitges (near central Barcelona), Catalonia, Spain. 5.6%. Hops: Tallus T90, Cashmere T90, Ekuanot Cryo

A gusher (good thing I opened it on the grass). Hazy orange. Smells very fruity. Tastes sweet and juicy. Yeasty mouthfeel .

On the low side: bitter, dry, hoppy. A lovely NEIPA. Goes down easily on a sunny day.