Shovel Beer - The Beer Thrillers https://thebeerthrillers.com Central PA beer enthusiasts and beer bloggers. Homebrewers, brewery workers, and all around beer lovers. Wed, 19 Jan 2022 13:08:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://i0.wp.com/thebeerthrillers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/cropped-The-Beer-Thrillers-December-2022-Logo.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Shovel Beer - The Beer Thrillers https://thebeerthrillers.com 32 32 187558884 Beer Review: Out of Order: RAWRGWAWGGR (RAR Brewing) https://thebeerthrillers.com/2022/01/19/beer-review-out-of-order-rawrgwawggr-rar-brewing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beer-review-out-of-order-rawrgwawggr-rar-brewing Wed, 19 Jan 2022 13:08:28 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=8578
Out of Order – RAWRGWAWGGR by RAR Brewing

Feeling a lot like Hoth lately

If you are in the Central PA, its been feeling a lot like Hoth lately. We’ve had two recent snow / mix storms and just really cold temperatures in general. The picture above was taken from the first snowstorm a bit ago, and you most likely saw the pictures on our Instagram (The Beer Thrillers on Instragram) if you are a follower. And if your not…. why not? Check us out!

It was a perfect day for snow shoveling and using the newly acquired Hoth Lego sets to build up a little scene. Did some shoveling, drank a great beer, and played with Legos taking some fun nerdy Lego pics… like I was a six year old all over again.

And speaking of Star Wars and Legos, be sure to check out my buddy’s YouTube page – and Facebook page (which he just started up). He does Lego builds (primarily Star Wars) as well as all kinds of other videos. Give Josh a subscribe and check him out. MasterMind X Studios.

The Book of Boba Fett

Switching gears now, going from the snow covered planet of Hoth to the desert planet of Tatooine, lets go back to The Book of Boba Fett. As per usual on Wednesdays now, we’ve been doing a weekly Star Wars themed beer review. Some past ones have been:

This is the fourth episode (S1: E4 – “The Gathering Storm”) and thus will be the fourth of this series. But don’t worry, its far from the only Star Wars beers we’ve reviewed on here. You’ll be able to check out all of the others at the end of this article.

As per usual, I’ll also link up to some of the various Book of Boba Fett discussion pages that I follow along with:

And now, just for some interesting background information about Tatooine, a YouTube video by Star Wars Explained:

The Oceans of Tatooine by Star Wars Explained

Just some nerd insight into Tatooine and Star Wars for everyone before we move on to the beer review itself. So how about we get right down to it and actually do that beer review that I say I’m gonna do right?

Beer Review

Beer: Out of Order: RAWRGWAWGGR
Brewery: RAR Brewing
Style: Sour – Fruited
ABV: 6%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Our lactose sour base conditioned on Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Black Currants, Vanilla Cake, and Cream Cheese Icing.

First, quick discussion on RAR Brewing. They are a micro brewery (according to Untappd) from Cambridge, MD. They have 634 unique beers and a total of 404, 881 ratings (as of 1.19.22). They have a global average rating of exactly 4. Their Untappd Description reads: Based in Cambridge, MD on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay. Their link on Untappd is – RealerRevivalBrewing (just as an FYI).

Now let’s break down the beer.

Appearance is a juicy colored fruit drink. Looks like it could be a light cranberry juice or something similar. It looks sweet, looks tart, looks like juice you could pour straight from a carton out of the fridge. Its a slightly reddish hue, transparent mostly, with the thinnest carbonation based head.

Aroma smells like juicy, tart, and definitely a fruited sour. You get the notes of the blueberries, the strawberries, the raspberries, the blackberries, and the black currants all kind of swirling together into one big fruity berry mixture. No real notes (as far as aroma goes) of vanilla, cake, or cream cheese icing.

This is a juicy juicy juicy boi right here. Chewbeccca definitely knows how to get down with the berries. Be it on Hoth, Tatooine, or Endor, and no matter what berries or where they come from; Chewbacca … gets… down. This is a fruity punch of a beer right here. There is some definite tartness to it, there is a lot going on with the flavor profile too. You get everything the Untappd description lists. You get ‘all the berries’. The Blueberries. The strawberries. The raspberries. The blackberries. The black currants. Check. Check. Check. Check. Check. Five berries. Five checks. Done and done. There is a hint of vanilla cake and cream cheese icing I suppose, in the lactose thats added to the beer. I don’t think its more than just the lactose giving it some kind of creamy feel and taste; than it is exactly vanilla or cream cheese icing per say. But you get this creamy hint to it all. Its still got the tartness and the juiceness, so its not like that lactose takes away from that. The mouth feel could maybe be a bit heavier, but I think its still right on with the beer, and there’s nothing cloying or any real bad aftertaste. It pairs well with shoveling and cold Pizza Boy pizza, as well as reading books and playing with Legos on a day off (natural day off; not a day off due to snow). All in all its another impressive outing from RAR Brewing and the Out of Order series, and in particular the Star Wars Out of Order series.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Average Untappd Rating: 4.31 (as of 1.19.22)

The Book of Boba Fett – Episode 4 Thoughts

So, just finished Episode 4 thoughts, and will give you some quick spoiler free thoughts on it. I enjoyed it, and thought it was one of the better episodes of the season. Light years better than the horrific episode last week, which I honestly thought was out and out drek. Some cool scenes in this episode, but nothing crazy, and definitely a ‘building’ episode, a “calm before the storm’ episode.

Here’s another YouTube video for any interested:

Temuera Morrison Interview

Popular Culture and Nerd Culture Beer Reviews

Now moving on…. to listing and showing all of pop and nerd culture beer reviews:

Star Wars:

Rick and Morty:

Space Balls:

Game of Thrones:

The Simpsons:

Back to the Future:

Scrooged:

A Christmas Story:

Pro Wrestling:

Matrix:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

Seinfeld:

Other:

Thanks For Reading

Well, we only got three episodes left for ‘The Book of Boba Fett’, so please stay tuned each Wednesday for another Star Wars themed beer review for at least the next three Wednesdays. Who knows…. maybe I’ll extend it past that. Because I still got plenty of Star Wars themed beers.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you!

If you like Star Wars and like our Star Wars themed beers, be sure to check out every Wednesday while The Book of Boba Fett is airing, as I will do a new Star Wars themed beer each week!

Thanks for reading, and cheers everyone!

-B. Kline

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

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Beer Review: Chocolate Covered Pretzel (Blown Gasket) (Braxton Brewing Company) https://thebeerthrillers.com/2021/02/07/beer-review-chocolate-covered-pretzel-blown-gasket-braxton-brewing-company/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beer-review-chocolate-covered-pretzel-blown-gasket-braxton-brewing-company Sun, 07 Feb 2021 14:02:00 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=7273
Chocolate Covered Pretzel – a Blown Gasket variant – by Braxton Brewing Company as part of their “Braxton Labs” series.

Good happy snowy Super Bowl Sunday morning. Oops… “Big Game” Sunday. (Sits by his mailbox tapping his foot waiting for the cease and decease for using the term SUPER BOWL…. oops!)

Yet again another snowy day here in Central PA in 2021. Unlike previous years where we got relatively little snow, this year we’re actually getting the snow the weathermen and women have been calling for. Thank goodness…. (he says sarcastically). But with the snowy weather comes shoveling, and with shoveling comes snow shovel beer(s).

And I present you this morning’s snow shovel beer – a Blown Gasket variant by Braxton Brewing Company as part of their experimental brewing and experimental batches section of their brewery – Braxton Brew Labs.

I had stopped at Braxton Brewing Company when I was in Cincinnati on my trip. Braxton Brewing Company is just across the river in Covington Kentucky. I picked up a few four packs and six packs (Oktoberfest being one), and talking with the bartender he offered me a couple (two) crowlers (for free) (and without even mentioning the blog) to go. Was a fantastic time there and I absolutely loved the brewery. Beautiful building, fantastic atmosphere, amazing workers and all around high quality beers. I highly recommend the place if ever in the area, and talk to all the workers you can, they are all wonderful people.

For a quick recap of my time in Cincinnati you can check out the article here: Indy Trip Recap – Day Five – Cincinnati and Kentucky.

Make sure – if you get the chance – if / when visiting Braxton Brewing Company that you say “hi” to Adam the bartender, tell him I sent you. I can’t wait to come back and hang again for some beers. Extremely great guy and so very helpful too.

Braxton Brewing Company

Ok, so let’s dive in and go straight into the brewery behind the beer before getting to the beer review proper itself. As I’ve stated in several recent past beer reviews, I’m making a point to highlight the breweries behind the beers now. As a way to distinguish our beer reviews here on The Beer Thrillers, as well as to let people know the “behind the beer” and get to see who makes the delicious brews their imbibing in. Too rarely do some people know anything about who make their beers.

This is a great way to get some recognition to these breweries and workers who we review here on the blog and who make the fantastic beers we love. They deserve that recognition for all their hard work; and Braxton Brewing Company is certainly no exemption to that.

According to Untappd – Braxton Brewing Company is a regional brewery located in Covington Kentucky. I visited the brewery there in Covington. They also have a barrel house. Untapped says they have 647 unique beers, with a global average rating of 3.75 out of 253K ratings (as of 2.7.21). Their Untappd description reads: “From a humble start, a love for brewing has become an entrepreneurial obsession. Melding technology and tradition, at Braxton ideas are born and fermented.” They are a hop skip and a jump (just across the river) from Cincinnati Ohio.

You can follow them on their media pages here:

The brewery’s venue on Untappd can be found here. They are a verified venue on Untappd, so you can stay up to date on their beer menu. They also have the Braxton Labs in Newport Kentucky, the Braxton Barrel House in Fort Mitchell Kentucky, and Braxton Brewing Cincinnati in…. Cincinnati Ohio (shocker right?). All of their locations are verified venues.

Don’t Blow a Gasket

I had gotten a crowler of this and enjoyed it immensely, and only after doing some digging did I see that its not just an experimental brew, but its also a part of the series for Blown Gasket. (Pays to do some research sometimes when doing beer reviews huh?) I don’t think it makes much of a difference that its a variant of Blown Gasket, but in case, for anyone familiar with Blown Gasket and Braxton Brewing Company, I’ll give the specifics for the original here.

Beer: Blown Gasket
Brewery: Braxton Brewing Company
Style: Porter – American
ABV: 7.5%
IBU: 20
Untappd Description: This robust porter is a darker offering with a noticeably roasty aroma. Supportive notes may include bready, toffee-like, chocolate, and/or sweet aromas. A moderate hop aroma containing no fruity esters. Dark brown to almost black in color, with a beautiful tan head with excellent retention. The flavor profile is of moderately strong malt character, followed by roasty-dryness throughout to the finish. Medium hop bitterness, and low to moderate hop flavor to balance the roasted malts. This is a medium/medium full bodied beer.
Untappd Global Average Rating: 3.78 (as of 2.7.21)

I provide this here just to give some baseline information on the beer behind the beer, or the genesis of the beer I am reviewing. (Do with this knowledge as you will….)

Beer Review: Chocolate Covered Pretezel

Chocolate Covered Pretzel by Braxton Brewing Company (Braxton Brew Labs) – a variant of Blown Gasket

Ok… finally, about time I get down to the review? Ok, simmer down folks, here we go, (you know you could have just easily skipped to this right? Yea…. yea… yea….). Ok, first, lets get the specs out of the way, then dive into the beer itself.

Beer: Braxton Labs – Chocolate Covered Pretzel
Brewery: Braxton Brewing Company
Variant: Blown Gasket
Style: Porter – Other
ABV: 8%
IBU: None Listed
Untappd Description: (Blank)

What does a snowy day call for? Shoveling unfortunately, but what does shoveling call for? A deep, dark, tasty beer. And for me, that means stouts, porters, barleywines, brown ales, coffee beers, and anything minimum 8%. Gotta warm those cockles as you shovel in shorts right?

Breaking this down as I usually do – appearance (then aroma, then taste / overall discussion); let’s jump right into that appearance. As usual with porters, they can look very similar to stouts and be indistinguishable at times. Sometimes they can have a browner look, but this is a pure black near stout like porter. The picture doesn’t do the carbonation justice because I poured it and realized I didn’t have my phone on me for the picture so I had to go and retrieve it, but there was a nice lovely foamy head. An off white brown tinted foam head, and great carbonation. A thin quarter inch head with various and diverse bubbles. As I drank the several glasses of it (it was in a crowler afterall), it left lovely lacing on the glass. As per my usual definition of dark black beers – “Its Razor Ramon hair black.”

This has a nice rich, dense smell to it. Very bready, very heady, a fair bit malty. A nice chocolate undertone to it, like a baker’s chocolate, but its more background to the bready, and even earthy notes. There is a slight roast note to the aroma but its certainly muted and not overpowering and comes through with the breadyness not behind the chocolate.

This was a delightful beer to drink, especially starting early morning while shoveling on Super Bowl (errrr…. Big Game) Sunday, and getting to drink throughout the day. Its got a deep, full body to it, and nothing about it is watery or thin or light or airy, even though its “only” 8%, it feels full, rich, deep, and dark. It looks and tastes like a heavy hitter even though it only clocks in at 8%. Like getting hit by a 280 lb boxer but the dude only weighs 220…. which…. is still more impressive than being punched by a 140 first time boxer…. but you know what I mean. Its still got a good jab going for it. I think the chocolate is interesting in this. It seems its “in sips”. I dunno quite how to fully describe that, but first sip seems very heavy baker’s chocolate, but then you’ll drink and sip and not taste it again until sip number six, and then you get some muted hints of chocolate. Like somehow its not even throughout the beer, like its in swirls hidden here and there. Hard to describe that. Perhaps its my own taste buds, or perhaps its just how the process is with baker’s chocolate or a bitter chocolate – you don’t notice it until the previous bittering wears off? Not sure. But its not a detriment, just an interesting noticing on my part. (I could also be totally wrong about all of it, maybe my taste buds just don’t know what their doing, as if its their first day on the job or something, who knows.) There’s a very nice bready taste to this, a roasty note, some good malt flavor as well. I think it certainly nails the “pretzel” part of “chocolate covered pretzel”. It has that lovely cooked pretzel taste, with a bit of the baker’s chocolate to go over top of it. This isn’t a massively complex beer, but its far from a simple beer, and there is a lot of nice notes to it. The mouthfeel just feels right too, (see what I did there?), its not watery, its not thin, but its not too heavy, its just right. There is nothing cloying to it either, its smooth with the only bitterness coming from the baker’s chocolate and it isn’t unpleasant. This is definitely a wonderful and delicious beer, I would recommend it far more as a “sipper” and at room temperature than cold (despite my picture of it sitting in the snow), it got better after I drank a few sips outside while shoveling, and came back inside and let it warm up. A crowler is the perfect amount and size for this.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.86 (as of 2.7.21)

Super Bowl LV

So whose everyone got tonight? Tom Brady and the Buccaneers or Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs? The GOAT vs. The KID? The returning Super Bowl Champs vs. the elderly Tom Brady and a bunch of up and comers? Hopefully it should be a good game. My team – the Bengals – were long way out, (as usual for every year; I mean, our last playoff win was before the first text was ever sent), so I’m just interested in a good game.

Whose everyone taking money on? Any good bets or side bets or prop bets? I made a 5$ wager straight up (1 for 1) on The Bucs, and I made a 2$ bet (pays 7 to 1) on Tom Brady being named MVP. We’ll see how it all plays out. Fingers crossed that I become 19$ richer by the end of the game.

Let me know your thoughts or opinions on the game, the NFL Season of 2020 – 2021, Braxon Brewing Company, the beer, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Ohio, or whatever else is on your mind. Always love hearing from you guys.

And as always, make sure to hit the follow and subscribe. As well as check out our social media pages.

Thanks for reading everyone and stay safe out there with the snow and enjoy the Big Game tonight!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

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Beer Review: Dunkel Shaun (Great Barn Brewery) https://thebeerthrillers.com/2021/02/01/beer-review-dunkel-shaun-great-barn-brewery/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beer-review-dunkel-shaun-great-barn-brewery Mon, 01 Feb 2021 21:37:27 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=7247 It’s another snow day in Central Pennsylvania, and we all know what that means? We need a shovel beer! Thus I produce for your enjoyment…. the Dunkel Shaun!

Dunkel Shaun – a peanut butter Dunkelweizen by Great Barn Brewery

Shoveling is just one of those activities that requires a beer. And usually I try to go heavy or darker rather than light or IPA. Sometimes I try to be thematic like when I had Snow Tracks by New Trail. And I won’t lie, I once had Julius by Tree House for a shovel day beer too…. but still, typically, I try for darker beers. Stouts, porters, barleywines, wee heavies, dunkels, schwarzbiers, etc, etc. etc. There is just something about being out in the cold and shoveling that requires a darker, usually heavier, beer. Just like mowing requires a lighter, crispier, lower ABV beer, like pilsners, or wheat beers, or hefeweizens, etc, etc.

Shrug.

This came from the mix a six I had picked up at Breski’s Beverage back for the December snow storm that hit right after we went into our second shut down of 2021. I picked it largely because of two factors: 1) I love peanut butter in beers, and 2) Shaun of the Dead reference.

We’ll hoist a pint to that….

Snowstorms, beers, Shaun of the Dead, and Criticism

Firstly, I find this somewhat relevant and wanted to dive a bit into this before going into the actual review. So I hope you’ll allow me this slight divergent tangent before we head into the proper beer review. And by now, I’m sure anyone familiar with this blog knows I usually go off the rails a bit, on tangents, or rants, or side-notes and side-bars, and just completely random thoughts before getting to the beer review at hand. (But I do promise I always get to the review, have no fear.) I am currently finishing up a book called “How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read” by Pierre Bayard, and the final chapter is about an essay Oscar Wilde wrote about criticism, critics, and NOT reading the books you are to criticize and review and all that.

The main thrust of Oscar Wilde’s essay is actually that criticism, and critics themselves, are writing about more than whatever it is they are reviewing, and being critical of and providing criticism on. That they are actually providing more writing, more insight, and more thought on themselves than the actual product (in his case of discussion – books). I found this quite interesting as I sat down to write today’s beer review after some strenuous picture taking of a beer outside in the snow and preparing myself for some actual arduous work of shoveling.

By the way, this is probably an accurate depiction of me taking a picture of my beer in the snow, if my neighbors happened to be looking out their windows:

And hold it there….

I think it would be great fun if there was a collection of pictures of the people trying to take the perfect pictures for Untappd and other beer related apps and sites. I know I’d be guilty of looking ‘quite the fool’ at times trying to take this perfect beer picture.

Now, lets discuss Shaun of the Dead real quick before getting into the beer review. Firstly, if you have not seen it, go about your business…. no….. I mean, drop whatever you are doing (its freaking snowing in Central PA right now anyway!) and watch this movie. You don’t need to be a horror fan or horror buff (though it will help) to appreciate it. Simon Pegg is fantastic and a great comedic genius. Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and World’s End are all fantastic. And any brewery hopper or pub crawler can appreciate World’s End immensely. Simon Pegg follows that fantastic British style of comedy and he has perfected it in a way that appeals to Americans greatly.

I won’t do a full breakdown on the movie, as I don’t think there’s a full need to do that here, but let me just say, its well worth your watching it. Worst case is, you start watching it, hate it, and you’re upset at some second rate beer reviewer on the internet (aka – me) and you vengefully take it out on me in the comments section. Shrug.

Moving on….

Great Barn Brewery

Before we dive into the beer, lets quick discuss the brewery. I think I’m going to make this a more regular section of the beers I review from now on. Devote a quick little heading and few paragraphs to the brewery of the beer itself. Instead of just a passing mention or something, I think this will be more helpful to people reading and not knowing the brewery in question (as often times I don’t even know the brewery before drinking the beer). And with the added features of subheadings on my new blog, this provides the perfect opportunity to discuss the breweries behind the beers we review here on The Beer Thrillers.

Great Barn Brewery

I have not yet been to Great Barn’s brewery location, but as a Pennsylvania brewery, and one within a two – to – three hour drive, its certainly on my list of places to visit. (Ah, who am I kidding, any brewery I haven’t been to before, no matter the distance, is on my list of breweries to visit…..). It is located in New Hope, Pennsylvania (Bucks County). According to the Great Barn Brewery’s Untappd page – they are a micro brewery from New Hope, with 61 unique beers. As of 2.1.21 they have 14,345 ratings with a global average rating of 3.51. Their Untappd description reads: “The Great Barn Brewery is located in historic upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania in Durham Township which is best known for forging cannon balls for the American Revolution and building the boat George Washington used to cross the Delaware in 1776. The brewery sits on a family owned farm that has been growing crops for hundreds of years. Our brewery’s founder, Stephen Ferguson, has owned the land for over 40 years and built its namesake barn by hand back in 1976, exactly 200 years after America’s Declaration of Independence. Now the 40 year old barn has been converted into a brewery to preserve this historic land as a working farm and bring the real flavor of Bucks County to life. Using grain grown right on the farm, Great Barn Brewery strives to brew beer that is uncomplicated, unadulterated, close to its source, and coming from the heart. The idea of simplicity is one of our basic principles. It’s about going back to the land and honoring the ingredients that naturally grow in abundance. It encompasses a fiercely independent spirit, like our forefathers before us, that is the complete opposite of mass produced products. Our philosophy requires that everything is handcrafted with extreme care and attention from basic raw ingredients. When it comes to making beer you need two things: great ingredients and great execution. By growing our own grain and sourcing local ingredients we ensure that our product represents the best of Bucks County.” For more information on them you can also check out their Facebook page here: Great Barn Brewery Facebook.

Beer Review: Dunkel Shaun

Dunkel Shaun by Great Barn Brewery

Beer: Dunkel Shaun
Brewery: Great Barn Brewery
Style: Dunkelweizen
ABV: 6.2%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: (Blank)
Can Description: “A peanut butter and chocolate ale that tastes like a scrumptious creamy chocolate ice cream and peanut butter swirl. Bam! PA Preferred. Farm crafted. Brewed and packaged by Great Barn Brewery Kintnersville, Pennsylvania.”

Isn’t this just a beautiful looking beer and picture? Lovely brown – light brown – dunkel, bock, coloring. Brown to amber hue. Gorgeous off white to brown creamy foamy head with various and dispersed bubbles. Wonderful carbonation from the can. Transparent and translucent with no haze or sediment floating around.

This is a peanut butter beer straight from the smell. Much like Molly Pitcher’s Peanut Butter Porter, as soon as you crack the can you are hit with a “whooomphhh” of peanut butter aroma. Strong, heady, with some bready notes too. No smell of chocolate however.

This is a really ‘scrumptious’ beer – to steal a line from the can’s label. Its a beautiful looking beer, its clean looking, its an enjoyable beer. Before even sipping this you are hit with that wonderful aroma of peanut butter and then as you take that sip, your tongue is pummeled with the peanut butter just as your nose was. This is a very heavy peanut butter intense beer, which is fantastic and wonderful (if you like peanut butter beers – which I do – times a thousand); although here I’d like to point out that, unlike the can’s description, I didn’t taste a single bit of chocolate. Nothing. Not even a little smidgen of chocolate. Which is really ultimately fine with me, because the can label (minus that description) and title of the beer never implies that there would be chocolate in it, and I never expected it until I read that description. The flavor profile doesn’t exactly match of “peanut butter and chocolate ice swirl” but thats fine with me, I wasn’t expecting it, nor wanting the chocolate, and am happy with just the peanut butter. But marketing wise, I would likely drop the ‘chocolate’ mention on the can label, or do something different if you want to incorporate it, because I didn’t taste a single bit of chocolate in this. The beer is very nice, its not thick, its not cloying, it might be a slight bit on the watery and thin side, but nothing detractable and nothing that ultimately takes away from the taste. By the end of the beer, the peanut butter taste does taste as if its ‘flavor added’ rather than being natural ingredient throughout, but this isn’t really a super issue, its just something to note. I certainly enjoyed the beer, and it was well crafted and made, it has no off flavors, nothing astringent, no bad aftertaste, looked pretty, smelled great; all in all everything I look for in a well crafted beer.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.81 (as of 2.1.21)

Well, its now become 4:30PM and its looking like its time for some more shoveling as the snow keeps falling (which means the beers will now keep adding up). I might even re-watch the Royal Rumble (2021) from last night, which was an enjoyable pay-per-view if you are all interested in that. (No worries, I won’t spoil anything here.) And to be honest, this is really the only time I truly pay attention to wrestling anymore (from Rumble to Mania). But first, I’m off to do some more shoveling, and probably enjoy another beer – I’,m thinking Hummelstown Lager by Rubber Soul Brewing from here in Hummelstown.

Let me know what you’re drinking to get through this snowstorm in the comments. And as always, make sure to check out our other articles and posts here on the site, from beer reviews, to brewery reviews, to news, there’s tons of things to read. Be sure to stick around a while, and hit the subscribe and follow buttons to be notified of new posts, and follow us on our social media pages!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Dunkel Shaun by Great Barn Brewery

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think

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Beer Review: Snow Tracks (New Trail Brewing Co.) https://thebeerthrillers.com/2020/12/16/beer-review-snow-tracks-new-trail-brewing-co/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beer-review-snow-tracks-new-trail-brewing-co Wed, 16 Dec 2020 23:04:10 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=6461 I’m gonna come right out and be honest on this one, I picked this up from Breski’s Beverage solely for the blog, and knowing that today would have the blizzard, I got it for the aesthetics and the blog. While running my errands and doing some Christmas shopping yesterday, I stopped at Breski’s for myself, as well as getting a gift card for a friend, and I picked this up primarily for the blog. Knowing it would look good for a beer review photo op in today’s Snowmaggeddon. Call me a hack, a fraud, or whatever you like, I purposefully picked this thinking about the background of snow and making foot prints in said snow for the sake of the photo to go with the beer….. and…. well… here it is:

The perfect photo op: Snow Tracks by New Trail Brewing Co.

I will be forthright here now too…. I’m not the hugest fan of New Trail. Don’t get me wrong – they make wonderful beers. Actually, their IPAs are typically top notch IPAs…. but… here’s where my problem with them kind of lies; every New England IPA (which is practically every IPA they make) is pretty much indistinguishable from the last one. IF they set a sampler flight in front of you of ten different taster glasses of ten different New England IPAs from New Trail Brewing, and then told you, and then asked you to spot differences between them…. you’d be real hard pressed to do so. And then, swerve, they tell you that three of the ten were the exact same beers, and you need to pick which ones out of 1-10 were the same beers, and which seven were unique beers…. again, I think you’d be hard pressed to do so. And thats going off visual and aroma and taste.

This isn’t really a knock on them. They make great beers, and they are good beers. I’ve only had a few times where I’ve been ‘meh’ to them, and then thats usually the rarity. But when it is a ‘meh’ its usually a ‘meh’ out of…. wasn’t that the same as X beer they made? Not because its ‘meh’ bad, or ‘meh’ boring, its more out of the idea of ‘meh’ the same. Like Hallmark movies….

The Citra / Mosaic Hallmark Meme that’s been going around the interwebs lately.

This. This above pretty much sums up New Trail IPAs to me. Could I tell you the difference between Goggles, Hammock, Broken Heels, and Neither Here Nor There, Double Broken Heels, Rocksylvania, or any of the other dozens of NE-IPAs they’ve done? Nope, probably not. Shrug. Maybe this is because its now 5:12PM, and I’ve shoveled, walked the dog, and worked through a few ‘Snowmaggeddon beers’ (a few of which were 10%+ stouts, like the Lickinghole Cookies and Cream); maybe its also me being grumpy old man shaking his fist at the clouds, but I dunno, they all seem so much the same, so much repetitive, but still very good.

According to Untappd, New Trail Brewing Co, has 190 unique beers. Of those 190 unique beers – 50 are New England IPAs, 30 are Double New England IPAs, and 5 are Triple New England IPAs. Of the remaining 105 beers, 11 are Milkshake IPAs, 15 are American IPAs, 2 are Double American IPAs, 2 are Triple American IPAs, and 1 is a White IPA. So thats 190 unique beers and a total of 116 are IPA variants. Leaving a remainder of 74 non-IPA variations in beer. Thats not the worst thing ever, and if you know your strengths, play to them. I agree with that. But, I want to be a fair reviewer, and I’m working my way through a good Snowstorm buzz, and drinking now my second Snow Tracks, so I am trying to be fair and impartial. I have enjoyed all of the IPAs and NE-IPAs I’ve had from New Trail, but, at some point, originality has to factor into the beer review, and I feel like after so many iterations of “Same Beer but with X hop changed” you have to ding them for it. Maybe I’m crazy, I dunno. Online, in Facebook groups, such as Breweries in PA, and others, they are constantly touted as being great. Their beer names lend to some great photo ops (see myself for being a hack, doing just that), with hiking photos, hammock photos, twilight sunset photos, and snow related photos, etc.

My resources to survive the Snowmaggeddon 2020 blizzard of December 16th, 2020. Or as I like to call it: The Season Finale of 2020.

So, last night at Breski’s I picked up the 4 pack of Snow Tracks, as well as two mix a six packs, I had also stopped at 2nd and Charles for books (both for Christmas and for myself), and stopped at Rubber Soul for food for the night. Everything I got from Breski’s is pictured above, as well as some others, both from the cellar and the fridge. Working my way through these as I shovel, do indoor stuff, like reading, watching JoJo Rabbit, writing, and just working myself a good buzz. Isn’t it funny though, how much easier it is to drink when with company? When hanging out with my friends, I can kill a four pack in no time, but by myself at home, its a little bit slower. Am I alone on this?

Anyway, enough blabbering, lets get to the review, because I need to walk across town to my parents to shovel their driveway and sidewalk…. because god knows their not going anywhere for the next three days, but it needs done tonight while its still snowing an inch to two inches every hour……… onward review:

Snow Tracks by New Trail Brewing Co.

Beer: Snow Tracks
Brewery: New Trail Brewing Co.
Style: IPA – New England
ABV: 6.7%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Snow Tracks is a Hazy IPA, brewed with light wheats and honey malt. Impressionally hopped with Ekuanot, Mosaic, & Sabro. Expect big citrus and fruity notes complemented with light tropicals and dankness. Follow your path, or don’t and go make your own.

Ok, lets start off with the obvious – it looks like a New England IPA. And this isn’t another ding on New Trail here. This is what its supposed to look like. Look at all of the New England style IPAs we’ve reviewed here on the blog, both my reviews, as well as Josh’s, as well as reviews on Beer Advocate, or just people’s pics on Untappd. This. Looks. Like. A. New. England. IPA. And. Thats. A. Good. Thing. Don’t know why I typed it like that, but I did, so enjoy. This is orange, its bright, its cloudy, its hazy, it looks dank, its opaque, it has a small minimal head, but its carbonated. So far, it looks like a New England IPA.

And it smells like a New England IPA. It smells hoppy. It smells piney, earthy, citrus, it smells honey, it smells wheat, it smells pretty tasty. So far, its looking like pretty good odds this is a duck – errr – a New England IPA — it smells and looks like a New England IPA; but does it taste like one?

Oh ho! It does! It does taste like a New England IPA. Huzzah! We got ourselves a duck everyone! A New England IPA Duck! It looks, smells, and tastes just like a New England IPA! Now. Let me be outright clear here – there is nothing, NOTHING, (shouts it for the people in the back of the room who have their hearing aids turned off) N-O-T-H-I-N-G W-R-O-N-G with that. ….Nothing wrong with that. Capiche? Ok? Ok. BUT…. now, lets be forthright and honest again…. there’s nothing AMAZING about that either. Especially if you’ve had a varied amount from New Trail. Maybe I’m just not enough of a New Trail fanboy? Maybe I’m not constantly singing their praises on Breweries in PA’s Facebook group, or the various other PA style Facebook groups, or even Beer Facebook groups en large, but, this tastes good, but it gets a ‘meh’ from me for originality. Is it a good beer? Yes – check. Is it a well made beer? Yes – check. Is it a good New England IPA? Yes – check. Is it pretty much the same as the last four New England IPAs I’ve had from New Trail? Yes – check. Now, your mileage may vary on this. Is that a bad thing? Is it a good thing? Is it a horrible thing? Is it worth writing a blog post or a beer review about? Eh. I dunno, debatable I suppose. Do I like this beer? Yes. Do I ding them for the lack of originality? Yes. Should I do that? Maybe, maybe not. This is where I probably come off as a pretentious hypocritical DBag. (Can you tell I watched a Bill Burr Netflix special this morning?) Do I rag on other breweries for lack of originality? No, and I haven’t yet, but if I get ten beers from Boneshire that are the same style and they taste the same, I should, and hopefully, I do so in the future. Same with Tattered Flag. Or Rubber Soul. Or Troegs. I want to try and stay impartial. But, this is my twenty fifth beer from New Trail (out of their 190 beers), and I feel like most are the same. But, I digress, and will move on. Lets actually discuss the beer itself.

This is a piney, with some citrus, flavored New England IPA. Its smooth, with no hop bitterness or hop bite. This is rich and creamy, and its relatively low ABV too (6.7%), and no booze or heaviness in that way. The pine makes this a nice ‘winter IPA’. Its tasty, its a nice juicy hop bomb with lots of flavor of the pine and citrus and a really well done New England IPA. Juicy. Piney yet fruity / citrusy. Nice flavor. Nice mouthfeel. Nice aroma. Nice texture. Nice appearance. Its a well crafted New England IPA, that I may or may not have had thirty times over by now, who knows. Shrug. I hate to make this beer review sound like a hate fest, but the originality does bug me, and I know some of ‘into craft beer but not fully into craft beer’ friends get a bit annoyed by it too. “So whats the difference between THIS New England IPA and THAT New England IPA? Whys the one 6.7% and the other 6.8%, they both look the same and pretty much taste the same….” etc. But, in all honesty, this is a GOOD, New England IPA, just a bit boring in the sense that its been done to death. Maybe I’m just over the fad of New England IPAs in general? Or maybe I just don’t buy into the New Trail New England IPA hype train? I dunno. Shrug. I’ve enjoyed all of their New England IPAs, just not been ‘wow’d’ or blown away or mesmerized by them, and they all taste so similar as to tell much apart from each other. Shrug. I do hope you at least try it, I do recommend it so far as that goes, if you like New England IPAs, you will like this. Hopefully your mileage will vary better than mine did on this. Again – double shrug.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.97 (as of 12.16.20) (6:00PM)

Well, the snow is coming down a lot heavier now, and I’m bundling up as I write this, to prepare myself and Leela (my 11 year old boarder collie) for the trek across town just to shovel my parent’s sidewalk and driveway, knowing I will have to do the same thing in the morning again. Luckily, my hoodie from Boneshire has a bit in middle pocket to hold a can or bottle beer. Which I will need for this walk.

Cheers all! Stay safe in the snow and the pandemic!

-B. Kline

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