New Beer Weekend #61

Greetings NBW friends. Mrs O and I traveled yesterday to Indianapolis to visit her sister and brother-in-law, and BiL and I made a trip to Bloomington to our alma mater IU to watch the Hoosiers play Top 10 Cincinnati.

It did not turn out as well as we hoped and it was F*CKING HOT!!!

But on the way home, we stopped at a little brewery called Black Dog Brewing Company in Mooresville IN and found a nice production facility with a good selection of beers on draft (and cans - to mule home tomorrow!!!).

So your basic lemons/lemonade story, which I love. The brewery is new to BA (submitted my second ever “Add A Place” request!!!), so obviously so is Mosaic Beams, a 6.1% APA. Let’s do this.



Pours a nicely hazy golden color with a slightly creamy white head that provides moderate lacing. Beautiful beer. The Mosaic hop profile is obvious on the nose with dankity dank citrus notes of grapefruit rind, tangerine, and some nice berry notes.

The tangerine is forward on the taste, and quite delicious, with the grapefruit rind and berry flavors in the background, accompanied by a subtle malt sweetness.

The mouthfeel is medium, and a bit on the softer side. This is a nice, crushable, sessionable APA, one I would eagerly revisit.

Rated 4.17

 

NBW success story I just share a few beers with @snaotheus I tried my best to pay for one, he wouldn’t let me. Cheers to this thread and Ryan!

 

Thanks to @colby600 I have this new beer.

Roam HBC 630 American Pale Ale from Fox Farm Brewery

Hazy medium gold color with small white cap and light lacing.

Aroma of slightly sharp deeply herbal hops with a touch of sweet malt.

Taste begins with flavors of hops and malt in about a 60/40 ratio with hops on top. Hops are clean, bitter and sharp. Malt comes across as rounded, buttery and slightly sweet. Finish is clean, short and refreshing.

Texture is medium with balancing carbonation.

Overall this is a very good example of a Pale Ale and should serve also as a food accompaniment.

 

Newest release from Wunderkammer Biermanufaktur, Albany, VT.

Found Object 2

"a triticale beer with mixed culture and goldenrod."

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47666/568778/



500 ml. bottle.
Brewed March 2021.
Bottled June 2021.

Moderate pour yields a nearly one inch white, thick head over a light golden body with sticky lacing.

Nose is earthy, floral, herbal with slight citrus notes. All aromas are somewhat muted.

Taste of citrus with hints of floral/herbal flavors; then turning earthy and finishing citrusy with a bit of spice.

Excellent feel: full, silky, soft, and smooth.

Wow!
Such a great experience from start to finish.
Seek this out!
Vasilios does not disappoint!

Cheers!

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Home from a good day at work, and ready to enjoy having the day off tomorrow.

So, on to my new beer, and I have to tank my friends Tim and Jason who kindly picked this up for me when they were at the brewery.

Fruit Cup - IIPA - 10K Brewing - Anoka, MN - 8.4% ABV.

The name fits well, because the hops tend toward melon. The flavor may be a bit weak, but it's not bad overall.

Review:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/43126/568798/


3.68/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This beer pours a dark golden color, almost amber. It's not too clear, but also not too murky at the same time. There's a fluffy, frothy, off white head. The head has damn good retention, and there's a hint of lacing on the glass.
The nose has a bit of hops on it, as expected. I get some mellon aroma, a bit of mango also.
Taste - There's a bit of hops, but they kick in on the backside. I get a malty sweetness up front, and it lasts throughout. The hops are like the nose, mellon, and mango. The hops are a bit light, however.
The body is good. There's some resin feeling from the hops.
Not bad overall, maybe a bit lacking in the flavor, but not offensive.


This might be my last new beer, because I'm destroying my taste buds with extreme hot sauce. I'm sure I'll be back tomorrow for one more.

 

Hey, kids. Nice kickoff from @JackHorzempa. Errands this morning, working on the lawnmower this afternoon to find out why it refuses to start, then wrestling the weed cutter through my two foot tall grass me and I should have a beer...



Proclamation and Kent Falls collaboration Til it Shines, a beer brewed in the Kolsch style. I admit I picked up the can because the homage to Bob Seger and the muh-muh-mmmmullet made me laugh aloud, but then I see the magic work Kolsch and it followed me home. It is brewed with Mandarins Bavaria hops.

Pours a wee bit cloudy, golden body with a densely packed white head. Said head falls over a few minutes and leaves a ring and small raft of fairly unimpressive bubbles.

The smell is quite subtle. Very slight citrus, mild spiciness, herbal and bright, maybe a bit of white wine. A faint bit of pepper emerges as we get away from fridge temp.

Smooth, clean taste. There is a very nice malty sweetness with a biscuit malt flavor, layered with a very mild citrus and I am going tangerine with this one. Thereby a touch of peach just as the spicy/bitter really emerges. The spice builds with some decent bitterness, with a zingy peppery finish. And it ends cleanly, ready for another sip. The flavors are not strong, but they play well together - oh hell, this flavor is just making me smile.Seems a simple enough beer, but it layers nicely and is just a pleasant drinking experience. Straightforward.

Feel is a bit lively, nice bitter level, and an enjoyable pepper tingle on the finish. Refreshing, extremely easy drinking. I'm glad the label made me pick it up. Providing a laugh is a bonus.

I like this beer, if you can't tell, and think it a satisfactory representation of the style, albeit "interpreted", I guess. Thinking this will be around the 4.0 mark. I'm not a style fanatic, but if you are gonna emulate a style this specific you should hit the mark and pay proper respect. In my opinion this one does.

Shhhh...I did have a sip of the missus' Velvet Rush...we will be finding some more so I can have my own!

 

Got to have a couple beers and a burger with @jonphisher today, which was fantastic. Super cool dude, very kind of him to carve out some time from his tight PNW visit schedule and put up with me. We visited Stoup and Obec. He did some shopping at Fair Isle, and I did some shopping at Bale Breaker. Once I got home, talked with the granite installers (we have a backsplash again!), which unfortunately included the news that their attempt to repair the incorrectly cut island slab was still unacceptable (installers did a great job, fab just cut it badly and it wasn't salvageable). This is a big downer, because it means we have to argue with the granite company and try to get them to cut a new slab entirely for us...bleagh.

Anyway, now that I'm sitting again, I'm drinking a new beer: Cone & Cone Fresh Hop IPA from Holy Mountain, and it's quite tasty.

16oz can served in a stemless wineglass. Stamped "TASTE THE DAZE" (so negative points for not actually putting a damn date on it).

Pours a hazy pale amber / brassy color with a medium sized head that shrinks into a clumpy layer along the surface and the sides. Smell is dank, resinous, green hoppy goodness.

Taste is along the same lines. Dank, resinous, green hoppy goodness, with a little bit of grainy/honeysuckle sweetness.

Mouthfeel is dry and clean. Overall, this is really nice.

Now that I've written some words, I'll go and catch up with all the BA happenings.

Happy Saturday! More fresh hops and some oktoberfests lined up for this weekend!

 

Hey what's going on?!

I am actually just back from Canada, having some travel under my belt after a LONG absence.

Long story short, minor ducks to get in a row to travel not hard, airlines.... boy they still suck... BADLY...

Luckily today I had no issues but had to get out early. They rebooked my itinerary 5 times before my actual flight dates, leaving me with a ridiculous early departure. True, the early flights at least have less problems.

That being said, I did have many new beers while up there, but didn't have time to really repost them, and reviewed only a couple. So I am back and taking care of what is in my current beer fridge, like this little guy.

What's new for our hero today?

Westbrook Brewing - It's Tiki Time!



Poured from the can into a tulip glass.

Opaque body, with a lemon yellow color and some linear visible carbonation. Top is a creamy off white color, three fingers with fine bubbles and staying power. Does look like a piece of lemon meringue pie in a glass, with a dollop of cream on top indeed.

Big fruity nose. Hints of coconut and lots of pineapple notes, with a pina colada cocktail like quality. Nice touches of lime sourness but there's also a vanilla and creamy sweetness in the mix also. Quite nice and impressive somewhat.

Very fun palate. Cocktail pineapple and cherry notes in the mid palate, with a great amount of zesty bitterness of lime. More tropical fruit seems to come from everywhere, like drinking straight out of the punch bowl. Zesty astringent lime in the finish, and touches of light sourness that makes the tropical fruit just explode and pop.

Great tasting tropical sour beer, with a fun angle that works well.

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

Cheers!

 

I just started drinking Firestone Walker Oaktoberfest, thinking it was new to me, only to discover I reviewed it about seven years ago. So I compared my experience today with my review from then. Is there room for that kind of nonsense on NBW?

 

Neff Brewing Astronaut Cookies Oatmeal Stout, ( Gluten Free ) 5.0% ABV, got better with age; 3.19 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut with 2 fingers of fast falling tan head. No head retention or lacing

S: Roastyness, some darkfruit

T: Follows the nose with a little cinnamon, & hints of cocoa & coffee up front, plus dryness. Dryness, roastyness, a little cinnamon as this warms. Finishes dry with roastyness & cinnamon

MF: Light medium body with low carbonation, becomes a little watery.

Better with some age. Like most gluten free/low options not for me

 

Disclaimer: I am using Oktoberfest to refer to any of the many styles brewed for Oktoberfest. I understand that Oktoberfest is not a style in and of itself.

Let me start this by start this by saying that, despite enjoying many Bavarian beers (and if I’m not a glutton for Bavarian food, I don’t know who is), I’m not sure that Oktoberfest-style beers have ever been my thing. I can drink dunkels for hours. -But give me 3 Oktoberfests instead? And I’ll probably drink no more than 2, and likely one 1. It’s not that I dislike them (as a group), just sometimes the Marzen’s are too pale, and in general they don’t seem to tickle me the way that something like a Dunkel would. That said, combine them with certain food styles, and they dramatically improve the drinking experience (for me, anyway).

Tonight is a new beer to me. (Will be cross posted with New Beer Sunday and the Oktoberfest Tasting)

Great Lakes - Oktoberfest
6.5 %ABV, 20 IBUs

The beer is listed as a “Marzen style lager” on the can and on BA.

No canned on Date, but the can lists 10/25/2021, which I assume is a BBD, which I assume is a 90-day from Canned date, not a 45-day date, making this canned on 7/25/2021, putting this just shy of 2 months from canning. Picked up at a Kroger as part of a mix-6 pack of just Oktoberfests for this tasting. (Unfortunately I drank 4 before the tasting ever started, so…)

The beer was removed from a 45ish degree temp fridge after having been refrigerated for approximately 2 weeks. Beer poured into a classic Haufbrauhaus dimpled mug.

First Impression: Beer pours light in color – much closer to the straw-like yellows of a Pilsner than the golden-amber I normally expect from other Oktoberfests. No immediate aromatics.

Appearance: Pretty enough, but nothing special, although a little surprised at its’ light color. An appropriate amount of head for the style when first poured, which dissipated to nothing (with no lacing) almost immediately. Not swearing I am rating appearance correctly here, as appearance always feels quite subjective. 3.5

Smell: This beer is not extremely aromatic. My first test for any Oktoberfest beer is does it give me that quintisential “beer smell” and “beer taste”. What do I mean? It tastes like bier, bruh. I know this isn’t descriptive, but in my mind this is always what I think beer tastes and smells like. I’m tried to smell and describe this for 5-7 minutes now, and nothing is coming to me. It’s just non-descript except as “bier”. Think I say this every year. 4.0

Taste: A distinctively ‘bier’ taste that is not a pale as I might have expected for being called a marzen. Interestingly, this doesn’t strike me as being true to style, although I am no expert. I get some hints of banana and clove that I typically only find in dubbels, tripels, and quads. Maybe even a little bit of bubbelgum. It’s not on the front end, but the back, but also not much really left in the aftertaste. It’s right at the moment you swallow. (That’s what she said.) 3.75

Mouthfeel: Nothing unique or special. It feels (get it) true to style. If anything, it’s almost slightly too viscous for a marzen, as it is encroaching on dubbel territory. 4.25

Overall: This is fine. I’m not sure I like it that much, but I do appreciate that it’s a good beer. I also understand, truly, why so many people like it, and why there are so many fans here on BA. That said, again, I don’t think it’s really right for me. I won’t be buying a 6-pack or multiples each year, but I very well may buy a single most years. 4.25

BA Review Score: 3.95

In retrospect, I think a score of 3.95 is pretty fair. I think it’s close to or right around a solid B. I’d be hard pressed to give it any higher than a B unless I am comparing it to other beers. Of the 5 total Oktoberfests I have had this year so far, this isn’t the worst, but it’s also not my favorite. I’d probably say it’s right in the middle. This beer did make me go fry up a Knockwurst and a Bier bratwurst, though. Spicy bratwurst mustard ready.


Review posted here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/73/13896/?ba=Beer_Economicus#review

 

Pumpkin Spice Latte Rotunda - Masthead Brewing/Heinens

This Heinen's collaboration was brewed with real pumpkin, cinnamon sticks, whole nutmegs, cloves, coffee beans from Six Shooter, lactose, and real Tahitian vanilla beans.



Greetings New Beer Aficionados. I've given up on waiting for autumn weather to sample new seasonal offerings and picked this up at the collaboration local site. Was surprised nobody added this to the brewery website (are collabs treated differently?). Anyway this like a different version of Pumking with the same concept but different spices. If you like Pumking, which I do, you'll like this. If you don't like it, this might be different enough to satisfy you. It's a refreshing pumpkin ale.

 

Well in that case, here's a seven year revisit on Firestone Walker's Oaktoberfest Marzen!

For the record: I remember liking "marzen" for a *long* time, long before I was interested in lagers. Gordon Biersch used to make one (probably still does), and I'd have it whenever it was available at LAX. I've only become genuinely interested in lagers in the last year to year-and-a-half.

So, as I mentioned above, I set out to review a "new beer" today, and discovered I had an unremembered review of it before. That beer is Firestone Walker's Oaktoberfest.

Original review:
2014-09-30
12oz bottle poured into a 12oz pilsner glass. Bottled on 07/21/2014.

Pours clear golden with a smallish white head and lots of active carbonation. Smell is yeasty, bready, a definite lagery sourness. Slight vague fruity aroma.

Taste is lagery, but quite rich. Lots of sweetness, but a nice little bitter kick. More of the fruitiness, but it's less vague and more citrus. Crisp bitterness comes out more and more with each sip -- bitterness builds, sweetness is fleeting.

Mouthfeel is a little sticky. Overall, I like this. Best marzen I've had in a long time (but it's the only marzen I've had in a long time).


Today's notes:
Pours a clear orange-amber with a small head. Smell is definitely yeasty and bready and what I described then as "lagery sourness" I would now describe as "lager yeast". I get a definite bready characteristic.

Taste is strong on the lager yeast (which I appreciate more now), with a bright fruity flash that I couldn't quite recognize and a soft bitter finish. Lots of toffee and nut flavors. I think the fruity flash is something in the vicinity of candied orange peel. I think I get a little bit of a wood flavor in it too.

I like it more this time around.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass canned on 8/26/21. Pours a hazy orange yellow with a 2 plus finger sticky white head that leaves thick streaks of lace with excellent retention. 4.5

Aroma is mango, passionfruit, white grapes, peach, ripe melon, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows mango, white grapes, passionfruit, peach, honeydew, and apricot really balanced and tasty. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, not sticky or dry, soft creamy carbonation, and at 8.2% loaded with flavor but easy going down. 4.75

Overall this brewery seems to stepping up and producing some excellent NEDIPAs and with fresh dates. Worth a shot in my opinion. 4.25 This was my first beer of the day, I didn’t have it in me to kick the thread off again this week. Excellent stuff. Thanks @JackHorzempa for doing the deed this week.

 

Disclaimer: I am using Oktoberfest to refer to any of the many styles brewed for Oktoberfest. I understand that Oktoberfest is not a style in and of itself.


Tonight is a new beer to me. (Will be cross posted with WBAYDN and the Oktoberfest Tasting)

Hacker-Pschorr Brau GmbH – Oktoberfest Marzen


5.8 %ABV


The beer is listed as “Original – Festbier – Filtered” on the label, and a “Lager – Marzen” on BA.

No dates.

The beer was removed from a 45ish degree temp fridge after having been refrigerated for approximately 2 weeks. Beer poured into a classic Haufbrauhaus dimpled mug.

First Impression: Beer pours about right, but perhaps a little light (more opaque than expected). No immediate aromatics.

Appearance: Nothing special, but strikes me as accurate to style. This is subjective; I’m never quite sure how to rate appearance if it is ‘right’. Is that a 5? Feels wrong if I don’t think it is “pretty” within the category. 4.0

Smell: This beer is not extremely aromatic. Nor are any Oktoberfest beers, not really – at least not like a stout or an IPA. This beer has quite the heady smell – very yeasty/bready by comparison to, say, the Great Lakes Oktoberfest I drank earlier. And, as I alluded to earlier, it has that great “bier” smell character. Given that I am giving this a 4.25, this begs the question of what a 5 would look like for an Oktoberfest. Would I want an Ipa-style aromatic level of Oktoberfest smell? I don’t think so. It’s not intoxicating enough (for me). 4.25

Taste: A distinctively ‘bier’ taste that is not as pale as other Marzens that I have had, but more pale than others. I’d argue this is very middle of the road. It has more of that heady characteristic that I associate with many Oktoberfest beers. I wouldn’t say that it’s bread in a glass or anything (which my BIL used to describe Guinness as), but it is awfully bready. I like that characteristic. No “over malt” shall we say. 4.15

Mouthfeel: Nothing unique or special. It feels (get it) true to style. Really, the mouth feel is quite spot on for what it is. 4.5

Overall: This is a fine Oktoberfest. It’s probably one of my favorites among the 6 I have tried this year, although I didn’t expect it to be. I expected it to be quite pale, and just not quite my style. I was wrong. That said, I don’t know if it is the “best” of the style that I have tried so far, and no doubt I don’t think it is probably the “best” out there. 4.50

BA Review Score: 4.27

Beer Review can be found here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/76/234/?ba=Beer_Economicus#review

This is pairing quite well with my bier bratwurst and knockwurst I had to fry up over the first beer…

 

This right here is that PA pride. That ying yang.

cross threaded with a lnba. One of my best friends birthday. Partied up. All vaccinated don’t shoot me. Plenty beers. Plenty of herb. Plenty of mosquitos in SE Penn.

Anyways this color is awesome. Smell and taste is of cake rusk and pecan and caramels with some toast. You get a moderate amount of alcohol on the nose. When you pour it it lessens but is still moderate. Feel is a bit rough. As in astringent on the finish and dry. Some from the carbonation. Most from the alcohol. It’s a 5.4% ABV right here. Seems like some oomph like an addition to what seems like it is the traditional lagers beefy cousin who plays in a polka band in Hazelton. He came down to delco and brought some backstrap and a case of this beer. A bit abrasive to some but definately a good time. Not to be compared to traditional lager. This is a different individual with their own personality. Their own thoughts. Their own path in life.

also poured in a glass this is a different beer than our the bottle. The bottle has more alcohol going on and it hides the beers character so do yourself a favor and pour this one.

@JackHorzempa id like to ask your thoughts on this one