New Beer Weekend #61

Thanks for kicking the thread off, @JackHorzempa. IDK if I'll be getting to any of my new-to-me Oktoberfest beers this weekend, though...

 

Thumbprint Pear 21 by New Glarus

4.46/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5


This weeks travels took me to Wisconsin and I sought out some New Glarus freshies. Purchased at Genoa City Liquors in Genoa City, Wisconsin, right over the Illinois border

Chilled bottle poured into a teku

New Glarus notes:

"Luscious notes of pear totter between sweet decadence and bright orchard tartness. The perfect balance of five pear varieties traveled from the Pacific Northwest to ferment in our Wild Fruit Cave. American wheat and barley, malted in Wisconsin and Minnesota, politely support this pear perfection. Inspired by Berliner Weisse styles of brewing and the creative genius of our Brewmaster Dan Carey. A rare and unique triumph to celebrate the return of sunny days!"

Creamy dense white one finger foam cap , good retention, settles to a thin layer and a few lacings over a translucent amber liquid

Aroma is sweet pears and yeasty

Taste is tart - sweet pears , yeasty

Low sudsing , slight tartness , quaffable , you would almost think that this is a pear soda, low abv which was not stated

A really good beer and worthy of a beer hunt if you like pears. I like pears. Need Glarus is an excellent brewer

 

We’ve been in Seattle since Wednesday around midnight. We’re here for my wife’s college roommates wedding. First trip away from the kids and perfectly timed with fresh hop season. I’m not a big wedding or “forced travel” fan but damn if this isnt the perfect scenario, couldn’t have worked out better. We’ve had a great time in this beautiful part of the country.

Technically I had this last night but to my east coast brain it was after midnight so here it is.

Bale Breaker - Homegrown beer no. 8

*fresh hop ipa canned the day before I drank it and grown completely by bale breaker!



Crystal clear light/pale gold. Initial head gives way to nice layer of opaque white, splotchy minor lacing.

Hops jump out of the glass and hit you in the face. This beer has a perfume like intenseness when smelled from the can, I could smell this all day and it wouldn’t get old. Its somewhat fruity, maybe strawberry like, but also has sweet floral smells and some citrus rind.

Taste is grapefruit like citrus but with an underlying strawberry note. This beer also has a nice light malt background.

This beer has a huge tingly hop bite that becomes super resiny and coats my whole mouth. It has a medium body that has really nice bitterness and finishes dry.

This beer is amazing, out of the 4 fresh hop beers I’ve had so far this has been my favorite. Can’t wait to drink more of them, got a nice box packed up for checked baggage. With no scale I just have to hope I don’t go over that 50 lb mark


Little nod @champ103 finally had some time to read while away from the responsibilities of home and worn

 

Good morning NBW
My mother-in-law purchased a Costco membership recently and my wife tagged along one afternoon this week. She was really proud of herself for the purchase of this mix pack.


I made a deal that I would drink all but the two Oktoberfest beers in the random order of the calendar. Both are new to me and this is the first review of this one from Schloßbrau Rheder. Previously listed here on BA as a Euro Pale Lager with no ratings. Untappd has it as a Helles and the box and a German webstore both call it a Märzen. Confused yet?
Husarentrunk


500mL can from the 2021 Costco advent calendar stamped EXP 2023/5 poured into a dimpled mug at just above fridge temp 5.3% ABV. The beer pours bright dark gold in color, just short of light amber. The head is off white and recedes to a pencil thin ring and partial layer of tiny bubbles. The aroma is pale and bready malt with a hint of floral hops. The taste is semisweet pale and bready malt with noticeable grassy and floral flavor before a mineral heavy, mildly bitter finish. The mouthfeel is thin bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Cleanly lagered. Overall, very good and repeatable festbier. A bit of a surprise coming from this box.

Cheers all and enjoy the new beer in your glass this weekend!

 

Thanks for kicking things off @JackHorzempa ! I’ll catch up on the thread later this weekend, will be doing a second mini brewery crawl today as long as I can survive. I’ll be saving the Oktoberfest home new beer reviews for the dedicated tasting thread, will on post brewery weekend tastings in NBW/NBS.

First up is Little Fall, brewed at the Goose Island Clybourn Brewpub, my OG brewery when I started my BA Beer Journey over 5 1/2 years ago.



Brewery Notes: Bock, 5.4% 16 oz, $6. Strawberries, Mandarina Bavaria Hops & Eternal Gratitude. Slightly Sweet. Rye. Great for Fall Weather.

Appearance: Dark ruby brown pour, creamy tan head dissipates quickly, leaving a ring above the base and nothing else. 3.5

Aroma: Nice bread aroma, medium in strength, light rye backing. 3.25

Taste: Taste consistent with aroma, but lighter in strength. Light rye bread malt flavor, do get strawberry a bit in which works well together. This is OK. 3.25

Mouthfeel: Light fizzy carbonation, light to medium body, balanced, sweet malt flavor balanced well off the hops. Light easy drinking, clean finish. 3.75

Overall: This is a good Bock offering, light fruit giving it a unique twist, but not enough flavor to keep me very interested. 3.25

See you back shortly from a brewery I never visited before.

 

Had many of their beers before, most good to great, but never hit the “Mousetrap” before.

Came specifically for their Fresh Hop Saison, to determine if I should pick up some to go.

Off Color Aqua Predator



Brewery Notes: $6 13 oz draft into a thin glass. ABV: 6.5%. Gravity: 14 dP IBUs: 30
Malts: Pils, Flaked Wheat, Honey Malt
Hops: Nugget, Sterling, Freshly harvest “wet” hops from Hop Head Farms
Secret Techniques: Adding a shitload of wet hops into a shift hopback.

Our annual wet hopped saison made with our friends at Hop Head Farms over in Michigan. Hops are only harvested once a year and, once picked, they need to be immediately processed and carefully dried or they overheat, wilt, and burn off all the oils that make them so aromatic, distinctive, and intriguing. One day a year though, brewers and hop farmers can celebrate the new harvest by making a beer with the freshly picked hops. Timing is crucial and the beer needs to be made within hours of the hops being pulled from the vine.

Appearance: Hazy white golden base, thin white fine bubble head, loose lacing. 3.5

Aroma: Funky yeast, lemongrass, citrus and honey. Sweet and medium in strength. 3.75

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, sweeter than expected. Sweet lemon, Belgian yeast takes a back seat. Citrus. Like a mimosa. Don’t get the pepper I typically get with the Apex base. Good. 3.5

Mouthfeel: Light, thin, nominal carbonation. Easy drinking, lightly sweet aftertaste. 3.5

Overall: Glad I tried, but not getting much with the fresh hop treatment beyond added sweetness and loss of pepper I appreciate in Apex Predator. Like it, but would order an Apex Predator over this in the future. 3.5

Stupid girl the live music here. Back with more, either from here or another new to me brewery soon.

Cheers!

 

I hope to find this beer. I sold Tucher products for years and they were top quality at very fair pricing. It certainly is lovely in the glass.....

 

Surly Fifteen BA Belgian Dark Strong/Grand-cru, 10.5% ABV. Pours clear dark reddish brown, with a one-finger off-white head. Nose is sweet dark fruit, wine, and bourbon. Taste follows, plus toffee, slightly sweet, slightly bitter, faintly tart. Decent mouthfeel, overall outstanding. I'll age up the second one, this could get even better. Nice complexity, improves as it warms, but costs more than BCBS variants.

4.39/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

 

Saint Arnold Oktoberfest

new brewer for me, picked this up in Dallas a few weeks ago



3.75/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

O zafpt’s!!

Canned 8/4and opened 9/18/21

Tasting notes:

A full bodied, malty, slightly sweet beer celebrating the Autumn harvest. This rich beer has a round malt flavor and an above average alcohol content perfect for a cool fall evening.

Malt: Three different blended Munich-style malts
Hops: Czech Saaz and Tettnanger.
Original Gravity: 1.061 (15.5° Plato)
Color: Red-Amber
Bitterness: 24 IBU

12 ounce can poured into a Delaware Saengerbund glass boot, Produces a four finger off-white frothy foam cap over a clear red amber liquid with active streams of carbonation

Aroma is malty , nutty, bready

Taste is malty, bready , hint of nuttiness

Low sudsing , clean , quaffable

Good beer

 

The Kristall was delicious. And the dark was very chewy like nice sparkling chocolate.

 

I'm quite short on new-to-me Oktoberfest beers, so switching it up. Trooper IPA from Robinsons Brewery


500mL bottle stamped L1082 (about 6 months old now) poured into a nonic pint glass at 55° Fahrenheit 4.3% ABV per label. The beer pours very bright, dark gold in color with bone colored head. The head recedes to a thin cap and leaves a little lacing. The aroma is mild with sweet malt and tea like hops. The taste is moderately bitter throughout with mild pale & toasted malt and floral and tea like hop notes. The mouthfeel is thin bodied & a bit watery with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall good English IPA.

I'm not a fan of session strength IPAs, but I love English malts and hops. Unfortunately, we see next to no British imports here in southern Indiana. I'll try anything I can get once.

Cheers all!