New Beer Weekend #293

Ha, I didn't even notice that at the time or while I posted it. They are small plates (free for all for the holiday @Whyteboar ), and my main concern is not spilling anything walking from the spread to my bar seat. I'll try to keep things G or PG rated tomorrow.

Have a great trip James! Looking forward to your beers next week in WBAYDN.

 

We got a few of that series down here then bupkiss

 

Enjoy that vaca

 

I would say Spring is in the air, but with temps up into the mid 90s this weekend, feels more like Summer. Adapting my beer choice accordingly - pretty sure I've had this in the past, but no review so - cheers!

3.75/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Best before end December 2026 - enjoyed on March 1st, 2026. Poured from a 500mL bottle into my Ayinger Weißbier glass.

Hazy Naples yellow body with golden highlights and a fat papaya whip crown. Thick even lacing; excellent retention.

Lightly phenolic aromatics with peppercorn, lemon pith, and wheat. Subdued but inoffensive.

Sweet palate entry with honey, citrus, and a slightly metallic lager flavor. Mild, clean, but persistent bitterness. Faint bubblegum and green plantain in the medium-dry finish.

Creamy yet well carbonated and refreshing.

A decent, balanced wheat beer, though not as good as the best examples of the style.

 

Great Horned a barrel-aged stout from Kishwaukee Brewing in Woodstock, Illinois, a truly sessionable stout at a paltry 9.9% with 40 IBU's. Purchased at Beer Bazaar in Graylake
Label Notes:
Barrel-aged in whiskey barrels this Imperial Stout has a full body, great aroma of vanilla and oak. Aged on cocoa nibs prior to the barrel-aging creates smooth dark chocolate notes from start to finish.

Aged on cocoa nibs, then 9 months in Koval Barrels. Oak tannins, Vanilla, Dark Fruit and Chocolate.

4/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thick, oily pour, minimal slow rising, quickly receding light brown head, some spotty lacing. Snot locker gets cocoa, licorice vanilla and oak. Taste buds get the dark chocolate from start to finish, some roasted notes and a hint of barrel. Smooth creamy and feels thicker than it looks. I'm not an adjunque fan, but for once the cocoa/chocolate didn't overpower with sweetness.

Probably named for the Great Horned Owls who frequent thes parts.....

 

Another new to me IPA, this time a 10% TIPA from Mortalis Brewing Company, Avon, NY - NEMEAN:

Pours milky, hazy pale gold with some clarity under tight, white head; some cap retention; some sudsy lace and solid ring. Lemon, lime, grapefruit; a whiff of dank in the nose. Taste follows suit; grapefruit finish. Medium body; almost juicy feel; moderate minus carbonation; no astringency; minimum warmth from 10% ABV. Overall, an excellent high abv IPA that is tasty and easy drinking:



4.25 | 4.25 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.5


I’ve found Mortalis delivers in the “hazy” category and I will continue to buy their beer. Cheers y’all!

 

A trip to Equal Parts Brewing this afternoon...

The aptly named, Imperial Porter is new to me. 12% ABV. Its exactly as the name suggests, just a strong porter...



Pours a dark, nearly opaque black color. A tan head rises to about a finger, and recedes after a minute.
Aroma is roasted malts, coffee, chocolate. All the malty aromas you would expect.
Taste wise, oh, the malt character here is so much more nuanced. Light roast, more toasted malts and baked bread. Espresso coffee, dark bakers chocolate. Its all around very warming.
A full body with moderate carbonation, that becomes ultra smooth. Not overly viscous or heavy, but the perfect amount of silky smoothness. A warming, slow sipper for sure.

The difference between a porter and stout, let alone an "imperial" port and stout has always been a bit murky for me. Though this is a good example for an Imperial Porter. Big alcohol that is warming, plenty of malt characters, but not overly roasted and not over viscous. Which can always be a personal taste thing, and certainly a bit vague. Though, in this case, I think it works great as a descriptor, and just well made all around. Even for the ABV, I want to come back and have some more.

Overall score is 4.13, easy A-
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/44383/789666/?ba=champ103#lists

 

My new-to-me closer for the weekend. My first beer from Transient

Transient Artisan Ales ESB

16oz undated can poured into a mug at just above fridge temp 4% ABV per label. The beer pours mostly bright light copper tinted amber with off white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island. Slight lacing. The aroma is mild with pale English malt and tea like hop scents. The taste is semisweet pale malt with more black tea hop notes. Medium bitterness. The feel is thin bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, spot on for the style with, what tastes like to me, Maris Otter malt and East Kent Goldings hops. This can has a hint of oxidation, but was bought warm at a big box liquor store in Indy while passing through, so i have no idea how old it is. I have a feeling I could drink this one fresh on draft for hours.

That's it for me this weekend. Cheers all!

 

2018 can from @mlench10 via the Superbowl 2026 Squares BIF

Pours an effervescent chestnut/cola color with a thumb of tan head. Above average head retention & better lacing, viscous enough

S: Serious barrel, figs, raisins, trace amounts of toffee

T: Barrel, peppery Rye, caramel, plums & figs & faint woody hops up front, brown sugar as well. Raisins, toffee, boozy cola spicy Rye & barrel once this beer is warmer. Finishes with spicy Rye, barrel, caramel, some dryness, leafy hops & a little dark cherry

MF: Pretty chewy but fairly firm carbonation that smooths out as this warms up, very warming beer, I am all aflush

This held up well, enough booze presence to keep you honest, tons of flavor. May well be the best beer I drink all year. Mad props Mike!

 

The first of the Derive mixed pack I was fortunate enough to be able to pick up on my trip... had to go with the black IPA. The pour was a lot nicer in person than in a picture!

Not much to add to the obvious - very roasty in aroma and flavor, piney with some fruity notes in the aftertaste. Creamy with a dry finish. Strong reminders of drinking a cup of coffee.

Yesterday, had an American pils and a rice lager at a new place. Definitely the in things in recent times... then, the big festival on the weekend. Ought to clean out most of this stuff before everything goes topsy-turvey after that...

 

That sounds like a winner!

 

12-Pointer IPA from Back Barn Brewery Duanesburg , New York. Great little brewery. Family owned and operated. Make some great unknown brews.

 

Freak Folk Bier, "Melted" Double IPA
Citra Nelson Galaxy
Waterbury, VT
Canned on 12/23/25
Not a fan of Hazy or Nelson hops, but was gifted this can, and, hey... It's New Beer Weekend!
So...light on the nose; the white wine of Nelson and some ripe peach. Pleasant, overall.
Pours the muddled, cloudy creamscicle haze typical of the style (unappealing to my sense of beer aesthetics).
Taste follows nose. It's bright, but there's a bite- not a welcoming hop bitterness, but a harsh citrus tang.
Mouthfeel is mostly smooth, a muted carbonation, but a little chalky on the finish. Also, as, per the style, just too thick and syrupy for my tastes.
Aptly named, as everything- aroma, appearance, taste-is all kind of melted together.
Overall, probably a fine Hazy DIPA for fans of the style. Enjoy....
Cheers, BA!

 

God I hope so. Mars was spectacular. Refuse to believe it's gone for good.

 

Fidens Jasper H&C Hop Ranch Citra

killer diller!!!

Reviewed by TCgenny from New York

4.49/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Canned 2/16 openned pours a milky yellow glug glug. With points deducted for no head. Aroma is straight up grapefruit. In fact this is a grapefruit bomb , but not astringent, but a rounded grapefruit with a hint of sweet , smaky, and dankiness. Feel is creamy, sticky, dry, fizzley carbonation. This is awesome. Overall consistentl, I gotta say this is beating TH now. I love the master hazes, and the combo of creamy, scintillating , and dank is the high bar I yearn for. Oofa, Oofa, Oofa!

 

I suck, 14.9% ABV & 4.74 overall Multi-tasking not my jam anymore if it ever was.

 

Churrolungma
6.5%. brown ale with honey and cinnamon by Jackie O's



Poured from a twelve ounce can, the body is a light brown with a fluffy white head. Very good lacing. Good looking beer.

Aroma is honey and light cinnamon. Taste follows nose as both flavors are present in almost equal parts. Perhaps a skosh more cinnamon than honey. The beer really hits its stride when it fully warms. The edge comes off the cinnamon and the honey gets to shine.

Mouthfeel is good with strong carbonation.

Another variant of their Chomolungma brown ale that doesn't stray too far from the original brown ale with honey profile. Not a beer for fans who do not like cinnamon.

 

Another weekend behind us. We did actually have about two hours of light snow before the sun came out. Fifty degrees yesterday, 25 today... we have a small bush outside a window near the bird feeders and while the feeders were not busy, there musta been an Alfred Hitchcock casting call in that bush. Couldn't get a good pic thru the screen but it was pretty cool, if a bit creepy...estimated 40 birds just sitting there.

So here's tonight's beer and fresh addition to the data base:



Barreled Souls (yes...fanboi)... Wisdom aged in Grgich Cabernet barrels for 13 months and 3 days. Bottled 9/15/25, bottle 1398/1440, 12.7%, Old Ale. Collaboration with Horus Aged Ales.

Pours a slightly murky dark brown, but if I get the light on it just right there's a pretty purplish tint. Quarter inch or so of tan foam that is short-lived and falls to a string ring. Drippy temporary lacing that cascades slowly back into the viscous-looking liquid.

Not sure how well I can pick this apart - it smells pretty darned good! Sweet malts, dark fruits (cherries, figs, raisins), toffee/caramel/brown sugar, red wine must, a very faint peppery spiciness. Tobacco and slightly leathery note. Berries - red currants maybe? Light woody smell.

The taste just takes that smell up a ton of notches. The first thing I notice is the luxurious, decadent feel of the beer though. It's creamy and lucious, very slightly sticky and thick but not cloying. Smoothly integrated flavors - no rough edges here at all. The Cabernet treatment comes out in the aftertaste - clearly vinous with a slightly acidic tang. Before that there's a whole lotta other stuff...sweet, lightly roasted malts nearing brown bread territory but not quite there. Fruity - dark/sweet cherry, figs and raisins, I'll stick with the red currants as a berry-like component in addition to the wine grapes. A little brown sugar, caramel, toffee. More tannin than I thought at first - gives it a little drying character and a little "pucker". Mild woodiness, a good bit of vanilla, peppery spice.

Great feel - it's carrying a ton of flavor, it gets a wee bit sticky but it ends surprisingly clean. The wine barrel effect carries over into the aftertaste along with the peppery note - quite pleasant. It's also nicely warming.

What can be said - another stellar brew. I am not exactly sure what my expectations were, but this was a swerve. I didn't know how the wine barrel treatment would mesh with an old ale - yeah, why wouldn't it ? It's an A+ beer, so the numbers are pretty easy. I'm almost out of new ones, but we're headed up their way in a few weeks...

 

To my knowledge it is a brand new release, the Best By Date is 6/14/26.
I was rather surprised to see it myself.