New Beer Weekend #296

Premium German Pilsener from Warsteiner Brauerei

From a 500ml can dated BB 2026 09 18. Poured into a pint glass. A two finger white head on a clear straw. The head soon diminishes to a thin layer that sticks around. Some patchy lacing.

Sweet mats in the nose. Grainy malts. Well balanced. A dry, moderately bitter hop finish.

A medium/light body with good carbonation. A classic German Pilsner. True to the style and an easy drinker.

3.68/5 rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

to me this is the Gas Station bier I used always see at Autobahn stops (01-04 )

 

Martin House Brewing Car Ramrod Maple Cream Ale, 10% ABV; 3.85 overall

Pours an effervescent & hazed honey color with a thumb+ of fast-falling cream-colored. Never drops bright, viscous & near zero head retention & lacing

S: Maple candy, not much else, pretty one dimensional, some ghost booze

T: Maple candy, some vanilla, dryness, some woody & leafy hops sneak in. More maple syrup/candy & just a little hop bitterness, just a little dryness & just a little booze bite once warmed up. Finishes with a little booze heat, maple & butterscotch candy, dryness & leafy/woody hop bitterness

MF: Medium body, carbonation starts firm, some booze heat, slight stickyness on the teeth. Enough bitterness to reign in the crazy sweetness

Artificial aspects to this but holds together for what it is. Worth a try if this is in your wheelhouse, better have a sweet tooth. One the better ones I've had from them

 

It's not he best but better than many.

 

I was a nice change from Bitburger back then

 

The Big Lubelski from Royal City Brewing Co.

I was hoping for a smoked lager, because this brewer uses smoked malts in other brews, but sadly no.

From a 473ml can dated 23 Jan 2026. Poured into a pint glass. A one finger bubbly white head on a clear gold. The head soon diminishes to a thin layer that sticks around. Lots of fine lacing.

Some citrus in the nose. Noble hop. The taste is malt forward. A mildly bitter hop finish.

A light body and good carbonation. Overall a solid European Pale Lager. True to the style.

3.75/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

This is good question. I used to seek out new styles, and I found it to be very educational. By focusing on "Style" I learned a lot about different styles and beer in general. Eventually, though, I ran out of low hanging fruit and moved over to other searches, such as ticking all my locals.

Anyway here is what I still need:

Finnish Sahti
Brut IPA
Cold IPA
Hazy Imperial IPA
Imperial Pilsner
American Imperial Stout
English Stout
Pastry Stout
Czech Amber Lager
Rotbier
Biere de Champaign / Biere Brut
Braggot
Chile Beer
Kvass

One of my locals brewed a 40L cask of Kvass, but it was only available on tap and I didn't feel like paying $8 to try it.

Annoyingly, I have had some on the list, but never reviewed them so on the list they remain.

 

I like it. Hoppy as hell, grassy, diesel dankness, easy to drink.
Victory Dirtwolf DIPA

 

Beast of an old school in your face IIPA, nice to read your thoughts on it @LesDewitt4beer and nice that you enjoyed it.

 

Similar to my experience, tasty enough, but very muted hop-wise.

 

Good afternoon, NBW crew. I have a beer for today, since the GF has continued to be a little more adventurous in beers while I've gotten more into other liquids and don't buy as much beer as I once did. That said, when I go out, I always look for the odd style that a place is offering, and will likely opt for one that isn't an IPA or big stout. Luckily, I usually get a sip of the GF's IPA and we can share a pour of a higher ABV stout that looks interesting. I do wish I saw a bit more variety, overall, though.

Today's beer is not too oddball a style, being an IPA. Though it also has pineapple - I think added versus just having flavors that remind one of pineapple. Sixpoint's website is not working, the can doesn't say much, and the Untappd page just mentions a "meeting" of pineapple and IPA for this Pineapple Resin.


Pours quite nicely, a clear ever so slightly on the amber side of golden with a fluffy head that sponges up as it falls. It seems a little haze works itself in - so likely a little chill haze. The nose does bring pineapple, but given how powerfully fruity and aromatic the ingredient can be, it isn't too heavy handed here. The hops are shouldering through, and it seems like they may be pungent if not blocked by the pineapple. The combination is like a very unripe pineapple next to a better one that has been cut into, with a mint plant at the edge of the counter.

Taste has the hop bitterness rolling in more than the pineapple, scoring 2 points for the reversal (1/3 of the way to the brewery's goal??). As I sip, I get more and more piney mint in the nose, maybe the retro-nasal effect setting in. It has a mildly artificial vibe to it, which is a bit of a negative.

I do like the level of pineapple - it is an accent that brings a little interest. However, I feel it might be combining with the hops and the higher ABV in a way that is bringing out the artificial to somewhat household cleaning product note.

So, it may sound like I hate this, saying it tastes like drinking cleaning fluid, but that is just one aspect of the experience. Overall, it is just okay, and I will only be snagging this one from the GF's recent purchase.

 

Happy NBW everyone! Started off with this tasty imperial stout from Rhinegeist:

Blackberry Red Wine Barrel Aged Night Whale | Rhinegeist Brewery | BeerAdvocate





I plan on having another new Rhinegeist brew next. Cheers!

 

Thoughtful question @Beersnake and thank you for the opening this week, it will be neat to see if the planned host format works in this format. Hopefully we see more an more opening with good dialogue.

I'm almost beer ready but I'll entertain your question in the meantime...

I rarely seek out new styles to try, I may get adventurous from time to time but at this point in life I know what I like and too many times I end up regretting purchases when I branch out. I wouldn't call me a one style pony maybe a 4-5 style pony these days.

To be honest, the only reason I try most new beers at all these days is to hang out with this group. Sure there are new beers that breweries make from time to time that I really look forward too, some on the horizon...but those are few and far in between.

So to me almost, new beers be damned but beer friends are more important

 

Thanks buddy! Really nice to have it. Seeing that I got a 12er I'll take a good long couple of 'em and finally do a review, which will def be high on the charts. Victory is a fine brewery.

 

Aslin Orange Starfish
Hazy IPA
4.31/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
260213. Poured into a Samuel Adams Perfect Pint.

A: Bright hazy gold with 1-2 finger foamy white head with average retention and plenty of craggy lacing.

S: Very nectar-like bright fruity aroma with big pineapple, peach, mango, guava, red grapefruit, and tangerine with a lighter but obvious dank, herbal, weed undercurrent. Esters are light and tropical fruity.

T: Flavor is a bit pithier and flatter with more white grapefruit, green grape, tangerine, lemon-lime, and pineapple with the same dank, weed background note. Bitterness is low. Esters are mild and fruity.

M: Feel is less full than most hazies but for the most part more drinkable for it with medium body and lightly dry finish.

O: Aslin Orange Starfish achieves to the hype no doubt - highly aromatic and delicious with a somewhat lighter more drinkable feel. Great hazy.

 

Another Jai Alai as we check out the band:



Absolutely gorgeous day - Cheers y’all!

 

Hey there beer friends, all in all it has been a pretty solid week; with a few more glimpses of spring, including a beautiful day today. Thanks again for starting us off @Beersnake and for introducing us to the planned host format. I’m looking forward to seeing how we get started in the coming weeks.

Oldest has a soccer tourney today, so we missed lacrosse, I stayed home with our youngest and took him to my brothers for a cousin hang; good times. Best part is I got a new beer out of it, a family beer from my brother.

I have had Genessee Cream before and it wasn’t my favorite cream ale; found it to syrup like and hefty, with minimal crispness. With that being said I’m curious to see how this new dry hopped version compares as it is lower in abv.

A fitting beer for an early spring like weather afternoon, here we go…

Genesse Dry Hopped Cream Ale (4.5%)



Pours a cloudy yellow; bubbly white head, clumpy and sticky with gold lacing, puffy cap.

Nose caught me off guard; quite hoppy; distinct lemon leaning citrus, slightly doughy with straw and dried grain; there is a light sweetness that leans this into lemon pound cake land.

Taste again, wow; quite hoppy departure from the original; there’s doughy sweet white bread and pretty bright citrus, almost sprite like; some pith to it as well; slightly husk filled finish.

Body is light; soft on the palate; zippy carb with moderate grass and citrus bitterness, quite drinkable and refreshing, some lingering sweetness but it dries out nicely for the most part.

Overall this beer is quite refreshing; it’s a large departure from the original in my opinion and for me that’s a good thing. However; given the name I’d expect a closer to the original experience. I would say this is a good refreshing bargain beer that is hitting the spot in early spring sunshine, a pleasant experience.

Anyone else had this one? or contemplating trying this one? My brother said he got the 12 pack for $12.

————

Cheers everyone, I doubt I’ll have another new one tomorrow but I’m looking forward to what gets posted, and the conversations to come, in the remaining day and a half.