New Beer Weekend #211

A beautiful day. Did the grocery shopping, walked the dogs, and now it's time for beer and Olympics. My new beer for today is Easy Cactus, a dark lager from Bow and Arrow Brewing in Albuquerque.
The beer is a medium red/brown color with a small tan head and no lace.
Aroma of sweet roasted malt and chocolate.
Taste of chocolate, sweet roasted malt, and light hops.
Light in the mouth, sweet.

 

New Flanders Red Weekend

11.2 oz. • 6.2% ABV • 8/30/2025 best-by date

Flanders Red may be my favorite style in the "sours" family, and this classic is a perfect example why: loads and loads of sweet-tart toasted cranberry flavor. There's hints of other things in there, even a wee twinge of oak wood, but overall it tastes like a cranberry pie or cranberry kolache. Flanders Reds can often have a lot of vinegar aroma and flavor, but this one has only teeny hints of that ... a vinous beer for sure but not necessarily a vinegary beer.

Full review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/641/1745/?ba=Premo88#lists
4.45 (+7% rDev)

I bought a second bottle and will enjoy that later this month, and I likely will grab another couple bottles next time I swing by the getting place. Because of it's tarter notes and drier finish, it's what I'd call a perfect hot-weather beer, so it's in season for me right now and will be for another couple months.

Hope your weekends are going well and enjoy the upcoming week!

Cheers!

 

And the beer name is????

 

Welcome one and all to New Beer Sunday #1015! Enjoyed catching up with the great beers and vacation reports. I also love Deschutes beers @jonphisher & @shkin , though we don't get as much variety as we did when they had a dedicated sales rep here. Try to get my fix of their offerings and fresh Sierra Nevada out West.

Also, it's a shame you didn't have access to a fresher batch of Delirium Tremens @Ozzylizard (I believe the L23-22125 indicates the 125th day of 2022 (23 the number of the tank involved) or May 5, 2022. I enjoy the beer "fresh", but beyond a year I find it dulls and is a shell of its fresh glory.

As promised the third of three IPAs to close out the weekend, from a brewery which is typically great across all styles, including their Scream IPA I enjoyed in 2019 (Ap 4.0 / Ar 3.75 / T 4.25 / M 4.0 / O 4.0 - full review in my phone notes). I believe 2023 was the first time this was released, and I'm glad Woodman's had a fresh six pack for an amazing $8.29 w/ tax price. Time to dive in.

New Glarus IPA

4.19/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5



Full review linked above. Bottom line, this is an excellent IPA which gets even better when it warms. All the components I love, minimal malt presence, drinks light and easy though starting to get to me now that I progress through the bottle. How do they do this for $8.29 six pack? Bottom line, I'll buy what I can carry back to Illinois when I'm in Wisconsin and this is available.

Hope you have an equally great New Beer Sunday to close the weekend. Will return next week with booty from BAs during the Sheboygan trip.

 

I was pleasantly surprized to see this Schilling beer in a local store. I know they do not distribute to Connecticut, but there was this lone 4-pack which I grabbed without hesitation. And the barcode worked on checkout.
This is the first beer for me from this brewery that I see many of you on this site praising.

4.13/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a 16oz can dated 6/11/2024 to a Pils glass at fridge temp.
Even with a mild pour, I had to wait to get all of it into the glass, the head is significant and took almost ⅔ the session to fade to a ring. Although it tried to lace the glass, the foam sank pretty quickly. The body is a nice clear light gold (despite crazy glass condensation in this humidity) and there are nucleation bubbles galore.
The aroma is peppery and biscuit.
The taste is similar, pepper, but also hops and a noticeable malt finish.
The mouthfeel is appropriate with the correct volume of carbonatation. There is a very subtle oil sense.
A great example of the style.

 

A couple of Anderson Valley beers were new to me, but I will probably never revisit...

Coastal Ale

The photo is not very accurate, but it looks like grapefruit juice, with a tiny disappearing head.

The nose is all citrus.

The taste is mildly bitter, grapefruit, similar to a radler.

The aftertaste is pleasant.

Overall it is OK, but not remarkable.



West Coast IPA

Looks like a classic WIPA — darkish orange, with a nice head.

The nose is malt, hops, and stale... no date on the can.

The taste follows with decent piney bitter hops, but also unpleasant dirty rug due to age.

Overall it could've been a nice beer if only it wasn't old.

 

This winner from @snaotheus

Russian River Pliny for President Triple Dry-Hopped IPA, 7.0% ABV; 4.56 overall

Pours a bright & effervescent gold with 2 fingers of eggshell colored head. Good lacing & above average head retention, stays effervescent throughout the pour

S: Grapefruit, grassyness, cattyness as the beer warms up

T: Follows the nose, cakey notes, & pineyness & lemons up front. Cattyness comes through once warm, a grapefruit & pronounced dryness. Finishes dry, weedy with some grapefruit keeping things in balance, just a little bready sweetness as well

MF: Medium body, smooth carbonation, great balance

This what West Coast IPAs are supposed to be, so drinkable

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. We're getting a lot of much-needed rain today so I'm parked in the Elbow Room to try some new beers. The first is Rational Gaze, an Imperial Breakfast Stout collaboration by Two Villains Brewing and Autodidact Beer. It was released in March 2024 - prior to when Two Villains and Muckraker Beer Maker opened their joint venture brewery in Vernon, NJ. Autodidact is located right here in my hometown. What makes this offering interesting is that I learned of it on Tavour. Being unwilling to pay such a premium for a local brew, I looked for cans without success but finally found some yesterday in a local bottle shop. The Stout is conditioned on coffee, maple syrup, and vanilla.

Poured at 60° It's a very dark walnut - nearly black, with a large cap of fizzy, dark mocha foam that dissipated rapidly. It has a fragrant smell of chocolate, fresh coffee, and maple syrup. The taste follows. The coffee is strong and acidic and it is well-balanced by the maple syrup which is sweet but not overly so. There are also notes of vanilla/caramel, burnt nuts, and earthy char. While the can doesn't indicate the use of cocoa nibs I believe I taste them. There is great depth of flavor but the tastes are mellow. My guess is that when this Stout was released 5 months ago it was sweeter and popped more. The mouth feel is luxuriously thick and creamy with low carbonation, and the 10.5% ABV is well-hidden. Overall, Rational Gaze is a very fine Imperial Breakfast Stout.

4.26/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Not every collaboration is successful but this is worth another batch!

 

Ended up having a couple new to me brews today. I thought I had tried Wexford Irish Style Cream Ale in the past, but I've never reviewed it so maybe it was just a beer I've seen over the years a lot. Finally got around to buying a can yesterday:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/203/2635/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



And next up was Beerlao Dark Lager which I know I have never tried before until today:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2970/27607/?ba=bluejacket74#lists



Both were enjoyable brews, I liked them both. Cheers and have a great week everyone!

 

Founders KBS Chocolate Espresso, 12.0% ABV; 4.45 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut/mahogany with a pinky of mocha colored head. Nice head retention & lacing

S: Plenty of coffee, some cocoa, really opens up at room temperature

T: Follows the nose, dry, oaky barrel notes, a little vanilla slips& just a little Bourbon up front. Coffee still dominates as this beer warms up, some barrel, dark chocolate, leafy hops & a little vanilla, some booze heat & a little caramel

MF: Medium/chunky body, restrained carbonation, warming

Good effort, a little too much coffee for me, gave me more barrel. Almost loved this. I will buy a 4 pack, bury it & hope the coffee fades before the barrel does. I realize my score is above deviation, but is fairly average for this series to me. Buying any iteration they sell that makes it down here

Edit, pretty much have to say this upper crust for the series. I suspect I would never score the OG that high anymore, at least not these days

 

My second new beer review is Stacks on Stacks, a DIPA from Other Half. Lately, I've been really enjoying IPAs with El Dorado. Stacks has a basic recipe of Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado. And OH killed it. This is an ideal summertime DIPA.

Canned on 7/11/2024. It pours a dirty tangerine color with a big, fluffy head and very thick lacing with excellent retention. A fragrant nose with lemon, grapefruit, lime, watermelon, and stone fruit. The taste is spot on: the Citra leads with lemon, peach, and melon. The Mosaic adds lime, pineapple, and some grassy, herbal notes. And the El Dorado provides sharp, clean bitterness. There is the slightest hint of vanilla in the background. As usual, OH nails the mouth feel. It is super drinkable for 8.5% ABV. Stacks on Stacks may be a fairly straight-forward recipe but it's brewed superbly.

4.33/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

As always, I've enjoyed reading your reviews this weekend. Have a great week, everyone. Cheers, NBW!

 

Happy NBS!

Having a very tasty West Coast Style IPA from La Cumbre.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24659/710142/?ba=Wasatch#lists

Cheers!

 

The Bruery - Grey Monday (2018)

750ml capped/waxed bottle served in a small Hoppin' Frog snulip. 2018 Edition, handed to me by @2beerdogs.

Pours dark brown, not as dark as I expected, nearly still, basically no head. Smell is mild alcohol up front, tons of chocolate, some coffee and vanilla.

Taste is not as boozy as I was afraid, though definitely boozy. I get vanilla and spice before chocolate and plums. Label says hazelnut, but I think that specific flavor is either lost to time or drowned out by the booze, vanilla, and char.

Mouthfeel is lighter than expected, only medium bodied, and has a bit of a dry texture which really surprises me. Overall, this is interesting and good, and will be very interesting as it warms up over the next couple hours while I sip on it.

I hope I survive this.

 

From the awesome @snaotheus

Russian River Citra Flash Mob IPA, 7.0% ABV; 4.26 overall

Pours a bright & effervescent straw/gold color with 2 fingers of pearl colored head. Stellar lacing & nice head retention

S: Lemons, breadyness, white grape skins once warmed up, some pine very late. Probably the only flaw in this beer, only pretty good

T: Follows the nose; dryness, some green melon & white grape, some catty hops up front. Lemony notes, breadyness with sweetness/dryness & green melon once this beer is warm. Finishes a little dry with green melon, lemons, tangerine & a little pine

MF: Medium body, lively but under control carbonation, lovely balance. Carbonation is creamy once warm

Another winner from a brewery that has always pleased me. Great drinkability

 

Xpost with WBAYDN. Due to a very unrefined palate, I have difficulty nailing down distinct tastes & flavors. I gave a sip to my wife - who has a highly calibrated, discerning, and bourgeois palate - and she passed along that it's "good". No further notes.

 

Had a taste of this yesterday at my local "dive bar's" re-inauguration of his inaugural beer fest that started in 2019 and will hopefully continue. Wow! Never a big fan of Belgian styles this is an "Americanized" version of a Begian Pale Ale.
Holzlagers "Let Go My Belgo"!
3.65/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Nice tarnished golden color, very short lived white head. Snot machine says orange and honey and just a faint whiff of pine. Taste buds agree. I'm not a big fan of Belgian Pale Ales, this has been "Americanized", and I like the result.

.....can says 28 IBU's, kick that up a bit, a bit more carbontion, they have a winner.

 

Deschutes Brewery — Black Butte

Thanks to @jonphisher, I went ahead and found this porter at a nearby store.

The beer is pitch black, with a thin creamy head, and no lacing.

The nose is chocolate toffee and roasted malts.

The taste is muted, light, thin, and dry.

Well-rounded mouthfeel, with a nice malty aftertaste.

Overall it is an OK beer, somewhat similar to Guinness Extra Stout. But I'd take Founders, or Great Lakes Porter other than this one.

 

Benediktiner — Festbier

Finishing a marathon of posting in this thread with a beer that is technically not new to me, but last year's version I had was at the very end of the season and was quite stale and not worth a mention.

This is a copper brown beer with a white head and typical German beer sticky lacing.

The nose is sweet bread and malt.

The taste is bread, soft malt, with a touch of hops.

The mouthfeel is classic rich old-world beer.

Overall, it is yet another great fresh German import.