New Beer Weekend #251

The Bruery's Stack's Reserve Maple (2024)

4.31/5 rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2024 vintage courtesy of @Roguer

Pours black with a thin, minimal head that quickly turns into an off-white ring of bubbles. No lacing. Nose is boozy (oak barrel and bourbon), maple, brown sugar, some vanilla and smoke. Taste follows much of the nose with prominent oak and whiskey notes, maple sweetness and campfire smokiness. Mouthfeel is moderately carbonated, syrupy, almost oily slickness. Gastric warming. Finish is spirit-worthy, heavy bourbon, some smokiness and wraps up with some lingering maple sweetness (overall finish reminds me a lot of Knob Creek's Smoked Maple for perspective).

 

Greetings, fellow NBWers,

It's a cloudy, sometimes rainy day in the southern wilds of Spokanistan. 59°F, despite the temperature reaching about 80 yesterday, which led me to discover my apt's AC does not work.

No beer was consumed yesterday, as I was too busy alternating between icing and heating my knee, which struck me down with righteous indignation and furious anger last weekend.

Today I'm going non-regional, with a TIPA from Evil Twin:


Surprisingly robust head even after 5min, despite the high alcohol content:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24300/654013/?ba=woemad#lists
Drinks sort of like an Orange Creamsicle, except it's skewed decisively in the favor of citrus fruit. Creamy mouth feel. High abv well hidden.

Probably my only new beer this weekend.

Cheers!

 

Happy New Beer Weekend and Mother’s Day! Just picked this one up at random on a quick stop at one of my local bottle shops. Docta-Ron from Russian River. Preliminary review below. Cheers!
_______________
3.75/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

500mL bottle (packaged 4/3/2025) into a tulip. Pours a clear pale golden color with a 1-finger head.

Aroma is pleasantly hoppy, equal parts floral and citrus. Lemon, mandarin orange, peach.

Taste leads off with a surprisingly assertive bready/biscuity character, followed by a more subdued hop presence. That crushed-aspirin taste you get with some pale ales. More lemon. The overall impression left is a strong acidity. Is it interesting? Yes. Do I love it? Probably not.

Mouthfeel is crisp and light with a clean finish.

Overall, while I’m glad to have tried this NZIPA, it might have to be a one-and-done for me.

 

Heirloom Rustic Ales Hound's Share English Mild, 3.4% ABV; 4.36 overall

Pours a chill-hazed Auburn/Chestnut with a thumb of tan head. Average-ish head retention & lacing

S: Biscuitty malt & brown sugar, nose stays strong

T: Sweet cakey malt, woody hops, toffee & brown sugar, & some roasty grain notes up front. A little dryness, woody hops, brown bread & brown sugar as this beer warms up, some tannic notes, tea-like flavor, along with dark cherry pipe tobacco. Finishes a little dry with brown sugar & toastyness

MF: Light/medium body, slight carbonation, nicely balanced

A ton of flavor delivered here for the ABV; great drinkability



Cope was helping me pack some beer boxes

 

Happy New Beer Sunday!! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there too. First beer in three or four days due to a nasty cold that lingered annoyingly, still not 100% but I'm ready to have, and enjoy beer again. The weather was just begging me to buy and drink this beer out on the deck so while everyone was chilling in the Phisher household I happily obliged.

I love Von Trapp and I love grapefruit, as I stated in my haul pic, so when this one showed up I wanted to try it. It has been around before but something told me to give it a try this year, maybe it was the "lawnmower beer" thread...anyway, here are my thoughts.

Von Trapp - Radler (Lager with Grapefruit 3.9%)



Pretty attractive looking color; creamy straw with some orange, cloudy but opaque around the glasses edge, white head that lingers surprisingly long given the style, there’s no lace or anything noticeable but a nice little thin layer of white sticks around a while.

A very lively nose on this beer; zesty and refreshing fresh red grapefruit; the base beer lies nicely underneath; pale malt that comes off a bit like ritz cracker.

Taste is pleasantly balanced; obviously grapefruit, and it’s lovely, tastes so fresh and real; once the palate adjusts the lager pops in on the finish, again a cracker like pale malt; it may just be the grapefruit but I swear I’m getting just a hint of light hop character on the finish too.

Mouthfeel presents a light body that is zippy and very refreshing; it has a really nice grapefruit bitter bite; there is very low, to almost no, sweetness on this one and it indeed has a drying bite on the finish.

This is a very good beer and I’m glad I grabbed a six pack; it’s an ideal warm weather day time outdoor sipper; anyone weary this style do to sweetness need not worry on this beer; a super refreshing grapefruit lovers dream with enough beer quality and great bite.

@Providence

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On that note I'll probably sip on something familiar tonight while the Leafs hopefully can steal another one away from Florida, what a series it has been, regardless of what happens this is a team that makes you believe which is very different from years past, so Go Leafs Go, and I will see you all next week and hopefully find a new beer to share. Have a great week everyone!!!

 

Happy Mother’s Day: you know you either had to get family together for that brunch, or is it that tried and true: Thank you for bearing my children

Thanks for the nbw invite @Premo88
Another week, another new Mortalis brew
Mortalis Yakima Blend


4.38/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Purchased last week in Avon, NY, a blast of peach aroma right out of the can! Oofa that is awesome! Pours glug glug golden opaque with a rich merengue head I had to burrow through for that first sip. Taste is delic balance of sweet and bitter in the back end. Tastes include peach , passion fruit (yes, I have had passion fruit) , soft lemon, limey. I find the soft bitter more lime than pine, but it’s Mother’s Day, so forgive my maternal taste buds (Mario my cat looks up to me as his Omniparent). Feel is mild sweet, low smacky, very creamy. Goddamn Son, git me som more! Excellent! High Reccomend!

 

Mortalis Elea dipa



Reviewed by TCgenny from New York

3.99/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Last of a four pack hanging out in the beer fridge. Aroma is as advertised: white grape, citrus tropical notes. Taste chases the aroma. Feel is soft carbonation, soft sweet & mild smaky.

Wives are leaving their husbands, they're beginning to roam
They leave the party, and they never get home
I wouldn't change it, even if I could
You know what they say man, it's all good
It's all good, all good,

 

Hop Butcher for the World - Triple Galaxy Bowl, 10.5% NE IIIPA

16oz can served in a big snifter. Dated 4/14/2025. @Luscious_Malfoy sent it to me in Stout/Barleywine BIF #2.

Pours murky whitish-orange with a small, creamy head. Sludge poured out of the bottom of the can, some of it clung to the side of the glass. Smell is tropical fruit, fruit punch, lots of pith, pineapple and guava. Boozy, overripe fruit.

Taste is screaming booze and tropical fruit, pineapple is out of this world, orange pith and orange zest are rampaging. Leafy / piney bitterness is quite powerful but completely overpowered by the fruit and juiciness. Like a very angry heavyweight boxer in a straitjacket. Constrained, but intimidating nonetheless.

Mouthfeel is thick, almost chewy. Overall, very good, boozier than I want, but I think they hit what they were aiming for.

 

I recently picked up one of those at the only local bottle shop that gets RR beers (at least as far as I know). Thought about busting it out today but opted for saving it for a deck beer on a warmer day.

 

I wanted to like it more than I did. I did drink it on the deck (patio) FWIW. But probably only about 68 degrees, so not very warm out.

 

Tonight's Beer School.

 

So. I drank a barleywine tonight that @Sully sent me, Copestone from Fox Farm. Which is an excellent barleywine aged in bourbon and port wine barrels.
But I've had it before - in 2019, and thus I forgot. Ah well, it's good, very good but due to the ABV and quantity, another would not be wise at this point.
Cheers anyway!

 

That beer can looks like it has a beer can on the label. So meta...

 

Nice spread

 

Marshall Brewing Co. Siege's 40th Anniversary Vienna Style Lager. Sieg's is a Tulsa Institution ( Butcher shop/Deli/Eatery ), 4.6% ABV; 4.21 overall

Pours a chill-hazed amber with a thumb+ of eggshell colored head. Pretty good head retention & better lacing

S: Very bready, somewhat grassy

T: Toasty, some toffee notes, a little dryness & grassyness up front. Herbal & woody bitterness break through as this beer warms up, still plenty toasty/bready. Finishes bready, a little dry, slightly grassy with mineral & herbal presence as well

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, nice balance, feels more like it's a few more ABV points higher

Drinks fairly easy, lovely take on the style

 

From the awesome @muchloveforhops3

Bombastic Brewing Murder Mexican Chocolate Imperial Stout, 10.5% ABV; 3.86 overall

Pours an effervescent mahogany/ebony with rapidly disappearing mocha colored head. Zero head retention & lacing

S: Cinnamon, a little vanilla in spades, not much else

T: Follows the nose, cocoa, pepper heat & a little dryness up front. Chocolate & peppery heat dance with vanilla, dryness & cinnamon as this beer warms up. Finishes with pepper/Chille heat, cinnamon, a little dry, fading vanilla & chocolate

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation. Body thins a touch once warmed up

Decent stab ( pun intended ) at the sub-style, just needed more chocolate, body & nose to push it over the hump. Still lots to like here

 

Just got back from a 2 mile walk at sunset.Enjoying Union Jack on the patio