New Beer Weekend #249

It's birthday weekend here for my sister and oldest daughter. Neither of them wanted me to publish their ages.
I'm drinking Le Petit Prince, a grisette from Jester King.
The beer is a hazy pale yellow with a huge white head and some impressive lace.
Aroma of lemon and floral hops.
Taste follows the nose: lemon first, a little tart, then some mild hop bitterness.
Dry mouthfeel.

 

Just a couple new to me big Bruery imperial stouts today:

Tuesday Morning | The Bruery | BeerAdvocate



https://i.imgur.com/MukDG6Q.jpeg

Caramel Mocha Wednesday | The Bruery | BeerAdvocate



https://i.imgur.com/U6te1Ld.jpeg

Don't plan on having any more new to me brews tomorrow but we'll see. Cheers everyone!

 

We went up to Ogunquit, ME for a few days with our grandson as we have for the past few years during school vacation. Perfect weather for three days. Hardly anybody around on Wed and Thu, but pretty packed on Friday. A lot of swimming and seafood eating plus miles of walking and an absolute blast of a morning at Footbridge Beach - the water was way too cold until he started playing in it, then it was fine (water temp was like 46 F so knee deep only, but pnce he started we couldnt drag him back). @lordofthewiens we drove past York River landing two more times without stopping - one of these trips we are gonna eat there and we'll post a pic!

Visited Tully's and went up to Barreled Souls so will have some tasty treats from Maine plus one I never expected to find.

Sampled eight beers at Barreled Souls with mostly good results. SpeakeasyTequila Mango Gabanero was actually quite good, but I think it'd be hard to down a full 16 Oz as the heat is mild but cumulative. Hip Hops are F-n Dead is a hazy and it was OK but kinda typical. Bombs Over Broadway Hemingway Rye was an excellent barleywine. Inner Space Sagamore Rye stout was...interesting with lots of rye, lots of dark cherry and toasted marshmallow - a little muddled but unique.

The missus' flight was Speskeasy Puliki Suitcase - green like lime Jell-o but very tasty pineapple and lemon fruity sour, non-alcoholic curacao but really tasty if a bit weird. Le Tigre fruited gose with raspberry and lime - way over the top with the lime and raspberry - the missus said OK but way too much lime for me. I Will Jam You Into The Middle of Next Week - a stout with raspberry and vanilla and neither of us cared for it as the raspberry seemed to clash with the base stout. Then back to the fruity sours with Speakeasy Rose Sangria which is a riff on their red sangria - quite tasty and refreshing.

So some of these may show up in future posts. Plus I couldn't leave without a couple new barleywine variants. Plus the right place at the right time find from Tullys I can't wait to try!

 

Winning…

Sounds like an awesome trip as always Larry. We’re wrapping up our spring break week too. Lots of fun, and exhaustion haha, we don’t want to; but we’re ready to go back to school and wrap up the year.

 

Don't ask me why this picture turned out as blurry as it did and I didn't catch it until after the fact, sorry.


Covert Artisan Ales - Egg Pie (2024)

4.46/5 rDev -0.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
2024 edition, courtesy of @bbtkd

Pours pitch black with one finger of quickly-recessed mocha-colored head. Smell is raisin, dark berry, brown sugar, and vanilla. No lacing. Taste is dark chocolate, dark fruit (cherry/plum come to mind) with notes of rum, char, oak, and bourbon. Mouthfeel is moderately carbonated, full-bodied. Finish is dark chocolate, char, and oak and it becomes increasingly pronounced as the beer warms. Excellent.

 

You mean eggcelent...

 

Now at Bobbing Bobber Brewing in Hutchinson, MN, and having this.

Wee Bonnie Burd - Wee Heavy - 10.5%

The aroma of this beer is lacking, but the flavor is amazing. Delicious.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/52949/544392/
3.81/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery

Clear amber color to this beer. There's a bit of a tan head.
The aroma is very super light. I am getting some caramel notes to this beer. Very light.
Taste - the beer is malty for sure. I am getting a lot of caramel in this beer. I get licorice notes in here. Toffee also comes into play.
This beer has a great body. It is very smoth. Full bodied. Minimal burn, just a warning feeling.
Quite delicious beer overall.


Be back later at home for more.

 

New Belgian Saison Weekend at my place:

I have always loved their cartoony ghost logo.

Fantome Light Spiritus Spring Project
Belgian saison • 6% ABV • Lot 19 02 22, best before the end of 2026 printed on label

I've never had a Fantome brew, but I have had a Jester King-Fantome collaboration that was off the charts good called Fantome del Rey that I rated 4.8 back in 2016. I bought this bottle based on that experience.

This experience is far from 4.8 good, but for everything it might lack, the beer is a solid saison. It's got some a wonderful nose that mixes tart, sweet and funky notes nicely. The flavor is too earthy/dirt bitter for my tastes, but as I've gotten into the glass and it's warmed a bit, it's showing a bit of malt sweetness that makes it more pleasant. Probably the strangest thing is how soft and flat it went after showing a lively active pour ... I expected it to be super carbonated, but that heavy-handed pour robbed this glass of most of it's activity. I'll pour the rest of the bomber a bit more gently to see if that carbonation can help fill out the mouthfeel.

Official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/738/615512/?ba=Premo88#lists
3.91 (-6.9% rDev)

Not a bad brew, and for some of you saison fans who like the stripped-down, no-fruit-added versions that have a lot of clove or allspice flavor, it might be right up your alley. This one is definitely clove heavy IMO.

Cheers!

 

I aint scared of no egg!

 

I guess we are just going to start guessing ages, if that’s what the gals want…

 

Mortalis/ Other Half collab
Back Through Lima

Thank you to our host @bbtkd for this NBW!
Another week for me is another IPA!


Reviewed by TCgenny from New York

4.16/5 rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Purchased at the brewery in Avon, NY pours light yellow, with 1/2 inch head that disappeared quickly to only a soap ring at liquid line in the glass. Weird. Smell is lemony white grape. Taste is citrus, grapefruit, again lime zest, omg this is delicious . On draft the feel was classic OH smacky, from the can the feel is soft, and it’s a bit more Mortalis. Either way , I love it, I love Other Half, I love Mortalis!

Excellent! I have 3 more cans to get that look corrected.
Btw: Avon, Lima, those cow towns are the hinterlands that my hillbilly cousins live

 

That music description at the bottom is...haunting.

 

$120 nachos

....very cloudy pale orange/gold appearance with a lasting white head
...light carbonation with a slightly thick body
...aroma is mixed citrus but heavy on the earthy less sweet peel. There's something similar to mango juice in the background
...taste is a mix of citrus fruit,peel,mango juice and something that reminds me of wet dough.
...overall a complex interesting beer

 

Under odd circumstances, I found myself on the west side of Houston today, and I couldn't really get back to my side of town as the freeway was closed...what do I do? Visit a brewery I haven't been to in about 10 years. Lets see how this goes...

No Label Brewing.

Cali Boy West Coast style IPA, 7.1% ABV.



Pours with a chilled haze. An orange color that clears up as this warms a bit. A small head forms with little retention, and not much lace.
Aroma of pine, orange rind, grapefruit citrus notes. Simple and pretty standard, which I would be more impressed with if it was more aromatic.
Taste wise, again, that pine, orange rind, grapefruit citrus is up front. Caramel malts become a bit to apparent, with a candy like sweetness. This actually starts to resemble more of an orange creamsicle. Light bitterness lingering.
A medium body and moderate carbonation. Just kind of there and wet. OK to drink one, but I'm looking for something else quickly.

Not the worst thing to drink, but misses the mark for a so called "West Coast IPA" for me. The bitterness needs to be dialed up, and the sweetness toned down. Very average.

Overall score is 3.25, that is a C range for me.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24326/514948/?ba=champ103#lists

El Carlito, Pale Weizenbock, 8.3% ABV


Pours an opaque yellow/orange color. Almost no head or lace left behind.
Aroma is all banana esters up front and center. Nothing else, and it becomes like a banana fosters after a bit.
Taste wise, is over done and cloying sweet banana. The esters are big, and it is more like a dessert that over stays its welcome, with a lot of residual sweetness.
A medium to full body. That could be more carbonated for my tastes. A viscous and chewy/sticky feeling. Which all leads to something that become a chore to drink.

I'm always excited when I see a pale Weizenbock available. I love the style, and Vitus is one of my favorite beers. I would love to have a good, true to style local version. This isn't it.

Overall score is 2.94, a big old eh for me.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24326/529719/?ba=champ103#lists

Well, sub par beers, "boss pours" in crappy plastic cups, on the west side of a very large city. It will probably be at least another 10 years, if ever, for another visit from me.