New Beer Weekend #232

Thank you @Beersnake for kicking us off this weekend, let the party continue again!
Tonight I pulled out one I’ve taken to multiple stout appreciation nights but it never got chosen

Purchased a couple years ago, finally got around to drinking it.
The pour was used oil black with almost no head until I lifted the can a good 10” and poured right down the middle. Then a nice dark chocolate brown head rose from the depths.
The taste is actually quite good, at this point there is abundant chocolate, pomegranate, maybe some strawberry. But subtle, not overwhelming at all.
The feel is very appropriate for the style, lightly viscous, nice.
OA, I think I need to go buy a recent one to give it a better review, but this is what I got today. Cheers all!

 

Have a great and safe NBW. Been a bit down after the holiday week, but will be relaxing this weekend. Seeing my wife's family on Sunday at cap city diner. We came to caston & main brew yard in Franklin Ohio.

Fried green tomatoes are amazing. Also brew cheese chorizo nachos.



Victory merry monkey. Very good Belgian strong golden. Aromas of cranberry, orange peel, raisin, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon. Muted with a touch of booze. Taste of big cranberry, orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisin, cherry, clove, peppercorn, white sugar, wood, herbal, grass, yeast earth. Lt med herbal bitter and spicy yeast finish. Slight tart/tang. Medium carb and medium plus body. Balanced bready malt and sticky hop/spice mouthfeel. Lingering spice drying with minimal astringency. No cloying. Very well balanced flavors of spice and yeast in the taste, not too sweet. Light lingering booze of 10%. Very smooth sipper. 3.88/5


Cheers

 

Mahlo to @Beersnake for getting us started

Here's a gem I received today from the awesome @muchloveforhops3

Mountains Walking Brewery ( can they do any wrong ? ) Chopping Wood Doppelbock, 8.4% ABV; 4.31 overall

Pours an effervescent Chestnut with a thumb of tan head. Above average head retention & better lacing

S: Figs, dark cherry, brown bread, some grassy notes

T: Follows the nose, some toastyness & brown sugar, plus dryness & faint woody hops up front. Toastyness, leafy hops, hints of pears & figs once this beer is warmer. Finishes with some figgyness, a little dryness, toasty with a kiss of brown sugar & woody hops, so close to a 4.75

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, carbonation does pick up a little once warmed up, warming

Super solid take on the style, pretty darn drinkable. If available, this would be in the rotation

 

Happy you liked that one, man- Cheers!

 

A stop off at one of my favorite, mostly, German style brewery in the US. Riggs Beer Company in Urbana, IL.

1874 Pils, 5.4% ABV

Description from the brewery:

Brewed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of our family farm, 1874 Pils was brewed with 100% Riggs grown grain and 100% Illinois grown hops. It’s a bold American Pilsner. A robust grain body carries this pilsner’s formidable hop charge. Our use of locally grown Mackinac and Crystal hops does something special in this beer. The hop character is almost noble and Germanic, with a pleasant hint of melon.





Pours a brilliantly clear golden/yellow color. A dense white head forms with good retention and lace left behind.
Aroma is light grains, toasted malts, grassy hops and a light fruity hops mingle. Which is all enjoyable.
Taste wise, follows the nose with a nice toasted bread, malty, and light grainy character. That leads to a grassy, lemon hop, fruity hop character. With a substantial lingering bitterness.
A light to medium body. Super crisp and clean, that finishes dry. Really easy to drink. This is very nice.

Riggs is flexing their local muscles here. They either grow or source everything locally. Which makes for an overall really well done American lager. That I hope to see more often.

Overall score is 4.04 which is an A-
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46277/727894/?ba=champ103#lists

Then their brand new Winterfest Lager at 6.1% ABV.

The brewer described this as a darker Festbier, brewed for the winter season. I have heard of several German breweries doing similar offerings, but I haven't been able to try them. Looking forward to this...



Pours a clear and darker Amber/red color. A two finger white head forms with excellent retention and lacing.
Aroma of toasted malts, baked bread light grains in the nose. A simple, but very nice malty aroma.
Taste wise, again, big but nuanced malty flavors are the show. Ranging from baked bread, toasted malts, nutty, and even a little bit of a woody flavor. A touch sweet, but the spicy earthy bitterness lingers on a bit. This is great.
A medium body with crisp carbonation. This is super clean and finishes dry. Really enjoyable to drink, I can come back to this and have several in a sitting.

There is certainly room for a slightly darker "festbier" as I'm not sure this really has a proper style. Though I know German breweries make festbier for the winter times on occasion. I can't say how authentic this particular version is, but it is a really well done and clean lager. That has a lot of great malt backbone that fits for the winter months. A unique interpretation and highly recommend.

Overall score is 4.19, boarding on an A score for me.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46277/727892/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Another Champaign/Urbana brewery, The Blind Pig. A present from my sister. Reserve Light Lager, 4.3% ABV.



Pours a mostly clear straw yellow color. With the faintest amount of cloudiness. A two finger white head forms with good retention and light lace left behind.
Aroma of yeast, grains, very light hops, lightly fruity. Very basic but not bad.
Taste wise, again, dusty yeast and grainy character. Light grassy hops. There is an almost apple skin like flavor as well.
A light body with moderate carbonation. Clean and not overly sweet. Not hard to drink and come back to if in the mood.

Not something I'm looking to get all that often. Though for a light lager, certainly not bad at all. I don't have a lot to say about it though.

Good while having some Chicken Cacciatore though

Overall score is 3.34, B-
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/20982/511185/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Brew cheese pretzel and southwest chicken eggrolls.



Schlafly St Louis Chrismas ale. Awesome Chrismas ale. Aromas of orange peel, nutmeg, ginger, clove, cardamom, peppercorn, juniper berry, caramel, brown sugar/bread, herbal, grass, yeast earth. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, orange peel, nutmeg, ginger, clove, cardamom, peppercorn, juniper berry, raisin, dark fruit, wood, herbal, floral, grass, yeast earthiness. Lt med pine herbal bitter and spicy yeast finish. Med carb and medium plus body. Balanced creamy bready malts and sticky hop/spice mouthfeel. Lingering sticky spice drying. No cloying/astringent flavors. Mild increasing warmth of 8%. A cross between a Belgian and traditional winter ale. Very big fan. 4.1


Cheers

 

Welltown Brewery Ugly Sweater Stout ( Imperial Stout with Almond Milk and Coracle Coffee Espresso ,Tulsa OK ) , 10.6% ABV; 3.6 overall

Pours a ruddy chestnut/mahogany with one thumb+ of fast falling tan head. Zero head retention & lacing, a little viscosity

S: Plenty of coffee, some cocoa notes, fades a bit as this warms up

T: Follows the nose, a little vanilla cream & dryness up front, along with a little dryness up front. Cocoa & vanilla cream mix in with moderate coffee flavor once this beer warms up, just a little leafy hop. Finishes with slightly astringent coffee, some vanilla & a little dryness

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, body thins a bit as this beer warms up, not a strength, some warming notes

I am not all about the coffee, better than most I have drank from these guys. An Okay Imp Stout, that was a sipper for me to be sure. Coffee fiends might have a kinder take; I really need a little more body



We stopped at their taphouse in down town Tulsa a few months ago, their approach is quite frankly a little too Hippy Dippy for me, bring the quality beer & then I'll be happy

 

Philly cheese steak Sammy.


Ellicottville X platter's orange chocolate blonde ale. Aromas of big orange juice, vanilla, and milk chocolate. Great dessert nose. Taste of big orange juice/peels, vanilla, milk chocolate, white bread, pepper, pine, herbal, floral, grass. Medium pine/herbal/spicy bitter and light fruit tang/tart finish. Medium plus carb and lt med body. Fairly crisp clean refreshing finish. Balanced grainy malt and sticky hop mouthfeel. Lingering hop drying, no astringent flavors. Very vibrant orange flavors. Minimal warming 7.1%. Spot on American style blonde. Authentic fruit flavors. 4/5



Cheers

 

Georg rittmayer weizen
...semi clearyellow gold appearance
... Almost medium carbonation with about the same for the body
...aroma is yeasty malty bread, mild citrus, with a little cereal. Overall a really pleasant aroma
...taste has a very mild sweetness, cereal, yeasty malty bread.
...overall it was a very pleasant surprise, very enjoyable and wish I had more

 

Sher Ghut!

 

Jacks abby s'more
...solid murky black appearance
.. medium light carbonation with an above average body with a slight thick,or, creamy feel
....aroma is cocoa, cinnamon, malt,mild mocha and something that reminds me of Italian Christmas cookies. I think its anise that I smell which I dont think I'm supposed to be picking that up
...taste is some spice,cocoa and mildly sweetened chocolate cookies. Alcohol is really well hidden till ot finally shows up at the very tail end of the finish
...overall its a really nicely well done dessert beer that doesn't get too gooey and cloying. I think the mild spice creates a dry element that balances it out perfectly

 

Good to see some early activity despite the recent close of the last New Beer Weekend thread. I'll be on fridge clean-out duty for quite a while from everything I stocked up on to share and odds and ends that others left. This is the first in that endeavor, which I forgot to post yesterday.

Lawson's Little Sip
6.2% American IPA



Pours a polished gold with a two-finger white head that leaves nice lacing.

Grapefruit aroma is prominent along with pineapple and non-distinct citrus notes. There's a hint of dank in the background and a slight malt base.

All the aromas are amped up on the palate. Big grapefruit and orange with a bit of pineapple at the front. Hop bitterness joins mid-way through the sip and builds through the finish. Citrus and malt sweetness blend wonderfully with citrus and dank bitterness through the latter half of the sip. As it warms, a significant amount of malt character comes through, providing better balance and structure.

Medium body with moderate carb gives this a nice, full feel.

Overall, well made with a good balance between citrus, malt, and slightly dank hop bitterness.

 

Good day BAs! Thanks @Beersnake for getting us started - my herps say "Hello" to your herps!

Today is a continuation of the selection of Deutscher Biere through which I'm working my way:



Hallertauer Hopfen-Cuvee from Schlossbrauerei Herrngiersdorf. 500 mL (16.9 fl oz) can. Part of “12 German Beer Specialities” box. $ 4.25 (Including tax)/can, $ 0.251/fl oz. from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, picked up 02/11/24. Reviewed 28/12/24 (Review 3432). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “EXP 2025/03” Stored at 39 degrees F at home. Served at 46.2 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 51.6 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pale Straw (SRM 2), clear.
Body – Straw (SRM 3), clear. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same with a slight greenish tint.
Head: Large (Maximum 4.2 cm, aggressive center pour), white. Medium density. Rapidly drops to a 1.6 – 1.9 cm lacey crown fed by carbonation and a large rocky island.
Lacing – Excellent! Continual band of lace, torn at the top, follows the beer all the way down.
Aroma – 3 – Basically, none. No malt, no hops, no ethanol (5.3% ABV, as marked on label). No disulfide or diacetyl.
Flavor – 4 – Begins slightly bitter with hops, no ethanol. No disulfides, no diacetyl. Finishes slightly sweet. No gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Thin; watery; lively carbonation.
Style: Basically, follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 Very easy drinking – wish I had a case of these, despite the bland nose.
Rating 3.71, rDev -0.3%

 

Allagash White

Appearance: Slightly hazy very pale yellow, good head.

Smell: Yeasty, coriander.

Taste: A little lemony tang, then bready/yeasty with coriander and spiciness, then finishes with more lemon and yeastiness. Light bodied.

Overall: I think Allagash is at least partially in MN? Found this and the tripel and finally get to try them out. Allagash White is super easy drinking and hits the usual classic witbier notes. If they are here for good I'll have to grab some for summer drinking.