New Beer Weekend #273

Nice glass!

Of course this is in the coffee table book about DFH that they published a few years back (and I am currently making my way through). Just one of many tales told within that make it a fun read. That and write ups about the beers they once made, including many references to the late Dr. Patrick McGovern.

Although many of the beers come with a dose bitterness in reading about them because they no longer make them. Which maybe sort of ties into an aspect of the OP. DFH doesn’t seem to me to make as many “off-centered” creations as they once did; and that was definitely a part of what attracted me to them.

Family from Portland arrived yesterday and they surprised us with an outlandish amount of fresh hop beers. I might be able to sneak in some time for a review or two.

 

Did you buy the Dogfish Head Rewind Variety Pack that is available now? That pack includes a couple of oldies.

Cheers!

 

We did get that - and Chicory was nice to have. Although I'm waiting (likely endlessly) for a wine-bottle six pack with the likes of Bitches Brew, Theobroma, and Sah'Tea and maybe a few other "Ancient Ales"

 

Make sure that you get your ‘votes’ in, in a timely manner:

“Dogfish Head invites drinkers to rediscover some of its first brews with the debut of its new, crowd-sourced Rewind Variety Pack. Offering a blast from the past, Dogfish Head’s Rewind Variety Pack is a limited-time-only 12pk/12oz can assortment of four off-centered ales, two of which were voted on by Dogfish Head’s social media followers.

“Late last year, we put the call out to our 1.3M fans on sosh to help us decide which beers to bring out of the archives and include in our ‘Rewind’ Variety Pack,” said Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Founder & Brewer. “After sifting through hundreds of comments, the winners were clear, and they were some of our first-ever commercially brewed beers – Raison D’Etre and Chicory Stout.”

https://www.bostonbeer.com/news/202...ty-pack-featuring-crowd-sourced-fan-favorites

And maybe you can provide a suggestion for the branding of the next pack. Perhaps call it “Ancients Variety Pack”?

Cheers!

P.S. Maybe buy another(s) of the Rewind Pack? Your support will further the effort to bring back some oldies.

 

Tsingtao Classic Lager from Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd.

A good looking pour. Too bad about the taste.

Poured a 330ml green bottle into a pint glass. A one finger white head on a clear pale gold. the head soon disappears.

Adjuncts in the nose. Some kind of off flavours. Not good.

Medium body and carbonation. Overall best avoided. No redeeming features except an OK pour. Downhill from there.

2.84/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

One of the lowest ratings I have ever given this year

 

Central Waters Brewing Black Gold 2025. A completely new beer. Central Waters Brewing went with their disastrous Twenty Six and beyond formula. The look is ugly. The smell is cigarettes and cough syrup. The taste is cigarettes and cough syrup. With ham and charcoal. The mouthfeel is cough syrup. Why? Based on other people's assessment of Twenty Six, everyone else will love it. 3 Sheeps Brewing just went full The Ultimate Warrior on The Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship of Wisconsin barrel-aged beers.

 

Good afternoon NBW
The entire JKBLR family has converged on Nashville, Indiana for a mini-vacation. There's a new brewery in town and when I spotted Lukr pour Festbier on the menu, I knew where I was spending the afternoon.

Moontown Festbier
Lukr pour at the Nashville location served cold in a mug. Bright gold in color with nearly white head. Aroma is mild with bready pale malt. The taste is semisweet pale malt with floral hop notes and mild bitterness. The feel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Cleanly lagered. Overall, delicious and super smooth.

Cheers all!

 

Happy NBW everyone! Heard great things about Wandering Monsters for a while now, and finally saw some of their brews at a local store recently. Of course I had to pick one up!

Monsters' DOS: Samoa | Wandering Monsters Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate



Thought this was pretty good, definitely a sweeter tasting imperial stout. Should have a couple more new beers posted here later!

 

Remedy Legit Treasure Buffalo Trace BBA Imperial Stout, 11.4% ABV. Pours thick and black with a one-finger brown head that left great lacing. Aroma is malt, chocolate, and strong bourbon. Taste is mostly bourbon, a touch of licorice, no sweetness, moderately bitter. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.08/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I added this beer in 2019 based on a Brewery announcement, hoping to get my hands on one, but never did until yesterday. I stumbled across a dusty bottle still on the shelf of a small local liquor store. I'm not a fan of Buffalo Trace, but I'm not punishing it for that. Still a great BBA stout. I found a sibling bomber of BBA Cherry Porter, also from 2019. That one is aged in Blanton's barrels, which I prefer.

 

Nice review! This beer was my first exposure to Sketchbook and I’d definitely try more from them based on it.

I liked the beer a lot but thought it could use more smoke, but with the caveat that I had it from the can while on the train. It was a great example of the style

Great to see you volunteering for a great cause! Hope the day goes well!

 

Glad you like it, Dave! I thought it already "very good" and then I stuck a can into a big bowled glass and the aromas/impressions got even more complicated. I still think the simcoe profile is stronger in Blind Pig, but really enjoyed this mix of hops in the ORB after some "meh" hazies in recent weeks. Cheers....

 

I didn't go, I almost went, well maybe tomorrow I will go to Amherst. Get there at noon to 1. I want to go to District 1, and maybe O'so, Point, Bull Falls also.
What brandy barleywine was on tap in Milwaukee?

 

For my 2nd new brew of the day, I had a pretty good Dragon's Milk variant:

Dragon's Milk X Dungeons & Dragons: Coconut Rum Barrel Reserve | New Holland Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate





Certainly worth trying if you like the Dragon's Milk beers or rum barrel aged stouts!

 

Skydance Skoden 013 Triple Hazy IPA, 9.0% ABV With Mosaic & Waimea Hops; 3.95 overall

Pours a very hazed gold with 2 fingers of tight ivory colored head. Average-ish head retention & lacing

S: A little citrus, peach & passion fruit, nose opened up once warm

T: Pomelo, guava & passion fruit up front. Passion fruit, dryness & lime as this beer warms up, some guava & green melon too. Finishes with pineapple/orange juice, dryness & passion fruit

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation, good balance

Easy to drink, ABV is fairly well hidden

 

@russpowell i had to go with your Sooners in my weekly pick'em pool (roughly 10 college/10 pro games with weighted picks). i do not watch a lot of college football anymore but the press had already awarded the Manning kid the Heisman without much of a track record. Arch is definitely going thru growing pains this season and i suspect will continue to do so with the reputable Sooner pass defense. Good luck!

Onto my new brew, this one a pickup at Fidens at the end of September. This is a Double NEIPA hopped with Citra, Simcoe, and Vic Secret. I occasionally enjoy NEIPA's but prefer WCIPA style beers. Have to say the four Fiden beers i have had have been really well done with this one having just enough of a bitter edge to peak my palates attention. Onto the review:

Refurbished Tranquility - 8.5% abv
4.41/5 rDev +3.5%

look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Picked up a four-pack from the brewpub on 9-30-25 for $25.00. Split the pack with a buddy. Canned on 9-26-25; consuming can #1 10-11-25.

Beer poured turbid light orange with a nice white head that is leaving lacing behind.

Nose is citrus with stone fruit and herbal hops forward, very nice.

Taste is a moderate sized malt base in which the hopping brings peach, orange, and passion fruit up front. Finishes with a nice touch of pine and rind bitterness; 6/10 on my scale.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and so very soft and smooth.

Overall, gotta say this is a dangerously drinkable beer, so good!

 

Okay, cheating here a little. I actually have previously had one Focal Banger at a restaraunt in VT 9-yrs ago. I remember I had it, don't remember the profile and did not rate it. So here we are, I consider it new to me.
I actually have some cans of Heady also, which I've had often (but not often enough). Later today or tomorrow, I may do a heads up comparison Heady vs. Focal. I have seen people on this site who like one or the other better.
One more thing- I blindly (literally) gave this beer a 4 for appearance. A few years back I did a 1-1 comparison of Heady Topper in the can and in the glass. I am going just can on this review, so appearance is basically the can.

4.84/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Purchased yesterday from a store cooler and kept cold until severed. Drank directly from the 16oz can stamped “Canned On 9/9/2025”. Someone I respect about beer knowledge last night told me that Jim Kimich says Heady is best at 10-weeks. Well I have Focal at 4.5 weeks.
Obviously I cannot comment on the appearance of the beer itself, but the black and silver label has nice artwork of a dude drinking from a can with his picture on it drinking from a can.
The aroma is really, really nice. Pleasant hops, not stinging, not sweet, but almost like a hop cone in your hand.
The taste is similar. Very pleasant hop features. The can says Citra and Mosaic is used. I’ld like to imagine that this is the best example of these. I can sense resin, citrus, spice and floral notes. None really dominate. Nice dry finish.
The mouthfeel is medium to light. Carbonation is medium plus.
I know there is a lot of hype surrounding this beer, but I truly think I would still be blown away if given this blind.
A moment ago Edit Delete

 

Here's my last new brew of the day, it was similar tasting to a Reese's peanut butter cup but not quite as sweet:

All Hallows Treat | Brewery Ommegang | BeerAdvocate





Would like to try this one again sometime, but I have a lot of other beers I need to drink first before I start buying more new ones. Should have a few more to post on here tomorrow. Cheers everyone!