New Beer Friday 1/30/15

It looks like Sockeye Brewing will dominate this New Beer Friday. These guys have been a staple in Boise for many years. They busting into the Utah market with six beers from their "Natives" Line. Coming soon a session ale that will be available in cans at grocery stores and on tap in select locations. I know the Beer Bar is stock these today, They will be popping up all over town in the coming days and weeks.

Sockeye Woolybugger Wheat - Pours a hazy straw/amber color with nice fluffy white head. The nose is bready wheat with a hint of tartness. The taste starts with wheat crackers and a bit of yeast. Lemon notes come next adding mild twang. Finishes light and mildly dry. This is nice drinking wheat ale, not too out of the box, but enjoyable. 5.0% ABV @ Beer Bar

Sockeye Galena Gold Sockeye Galena Gold - Pours a clear yellow/amber color. The nose is bready with some grass and orange peel. The taste starts with some dry biscuit and caramel. Herbal hops come in next and soon transition into some minor citrus notes. The end is slightly bitter and grassy.
This is a really nice drinking golden. A pleasant surprise. 5.9% ABV @ Beer Bar

Sockeye Hell-Diver Pale Ale - Pours a slightly hazy copper color with a good amount of foam cap. The nose is malty with a bit of dry biscuit with citrus hops lingering in the back. The taste starts with more biscuit and some rich caramel flavors. Grass and pine notes come next adding nice a balance to the malt. Citrus peel comes next on the back of the tongue, drying out the the end. Nice straight forward drinking pale ale. 5.0% ABV

Sockeye Dagger Falls IPA - Pours a hazy amber orange color with some nice dense foam. The nose is bright with grapefruit, tangerine, and pine The taste starts nice and grapefruity. There's a lot of citrus and tropical flavors going on here. Some earthy malts come next adding to the complexity. The end has nice floral/pine notes that leave you wanting more. The finish is dry and lingering. This is a damn fine beer. It has everything you want from an American style IPA. 6.5% ABV

Sockeye Power House Porter - It has a great nose full of coffee and cocoa aromas with a hint of dark fruit in the back. The taste starts with nice roasted malts and bitter chocolate. Coffee flavors come next adding a slight acidic character. Creamy "Whopper" malt flavor providing balance and body. Mild dark fruit rounds out the back end.A solid porter, very enjoyable. 5.7% ABV

Sam Adams Cold Snap - Pours a hazy, golden/honey color. The nose has sweet citrus notes with a slight spiciness. The taste starts bready and sweet. Orange peel comes next with nice yeast spices adding a bit of depth. The end has more citrus notes with a nice peppery character. Finishes grassy and clean. A nice surprise! 5.3% ABV @ DABC

Boulevard Pop-Up Session IPA - I haven't had a chance to try this one yet. It's described as having an assertive hop flavor and aroma while maintaining a thirst-quenching drinkability by balancing the bitterness with a slight caramel malt character. A blend of our base pale, Marris Otter, and amber malts creates a simple, yet adequate malt backbone that allows Mosaic, Cascade, Amarillo, Citra, and Centennial hops to shine with bright, fruity, citrus notes. At 4.3% ABV and 41 IBUs, Pop-Up I.P.A. is a full flavored beer that’s suitable for all-day drinking.

Ninkasi Expo 58 - Golden straw in color with a bit of haze. The nose has some nice spicy clove Belgian yeast notes with nice grassy hops. The taste has a bit of toasted grain up front. Clove and honey come next with a huge spicy/grassy hop punch in the end. Finishes crisp and dry with lingering yeast and hops. Probably not for everyone, but I found enjoyable. 5.0% ABV

Vernal Chocolate Raspberry Stout - Have not Tried this one either. Please share your thoughts.

Roosters Imperial Stout - For an Imperial Stout the nose is a bit subdued. Grainy and slight roasty with a bit of cola. The taste starts with roasted malts, sweet chocolate and some dark fruits. Vanilla and cola come next with a slight chocolate finish. At 9% ABV it's on the low side for style. Could use a bit more malt character. Not too bad for the first batch. @ Roosters locations and Beerhive

Wasatch Polygamy Nitro Porter - A hard pour produced a nice foamy nitro cap that contrasts well against the ebony body of the beer. Chocolate and black coffee dominate with caramel, raisin and fig. The taste is much sweeter than the standard Polygamy Porter. Mostly chocolate and vanilla up front with nice raisin and espresso notes rounding it out. The finish is light creamy. This is a nice beer. But it's not very porter-like. Had I not known I'd swear this was a Milk Stout. Very Drinkable. 5.5% ABV @ The Beer Store, Squatters/Wasatch location and DABC soon

The Annex Schwartzbier is all gussied up with lots of Coconut for the Annex's End of the Firkin Work Week Firkin. It's described as being like an Almond Joy. 4.0% ABV Tapping is at 4pm.

Also the Annex has on a fresh batch of Berlinerweis along with a killer single hopped, Amarillo Golden Ale.

Whew! is that enough for you?

Prost!