New Beer Weekend #233

Welcome to the first 2025 weekend. This is our thread to share new beer experiences, be it a new(ish) release to the world, or a long time beer you are enjoying for the first time. Perhaps a beer you’ve enjoyed before, but this is your first opportunity to rate on Beer Advocate.

Please share a photo of you could, and your observations, long or short, and what you are seeing, smelling, tasting and feeling, and your overall thoughts.

(@Victory_Sabre1973 beat be to the post, but leaving my opening)

This is my first outing in 2025 to bring some beer home, and taking advantage of a new beer released yesterday for the first time. This is also my first go at this style (Czech Amber Lager). This is the first BA rating.

Revolution Haas Hops Collaboration Raddy

3.97/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4




1/3/25 - (Revolution Taproom) (Chicago, IL) Draft Notes: $7 plus tax 16 oz draft, 5.5% ABV draft Czech Amber Lager collaboration with Hass Hops. Released for the first time 1/2/25.

Appearance: Creamy generous egg white head covers the dark bronze clear amber base. 4.0

Aroma: Caramel malt leads, getting barley backing. Mild strength, a bit more enjoyment. 3.75

Taste: Stronger flavor, caramel malts shine, hops brings a balancing bitterness to the sweetness, fresh pumpernickel bread, pine hops, nice blend. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Lightly fizzy carbonation, drinks easier than ABV. Dry, balanced between sweet malt flavors and nice hops presence, caramel pumpernickel finish. 4.25

Overall: This is my first go at a Czech Amber Lager, and it’s as expected based on the style notes. Similar to other Amber lagers I enjoyed. Perhaps a stronger hops presence than those from the Czech Republic, but that is to my liking. Glad I ordered this one during my first 2025 years beer outing. 4.0

Will join you back tomorrow starting with one at home. Happy New Year 2025!

 

Back in Little Rock...which means a stop at Lost Forty. Easily the best brewery in the area.

Munich Dunkel, 5.4% ABV.



Pours a dark brown with reddish highlights. A one finger beige head forms with a bit of retention and lace left behind.
A simple but spot on aroma. Toasted and baked bread, light grains. A nice malty aroma.
Taste wise, follows the nose with toasted and baked bread. There is more of a chocolate malt flavor here as well. A light earthy hop character lingers. Very nice.
A medium body with crisp carbonation. That smooths out and finishes very clean. An easy one to come back to.

A well done American example of the style. The malt character is really nice. Overall, fairly simple but just enjoyable. Which makes me want to come back for more. Again, very nice.

Overall score is 4's all around, easy B+
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/38015/728811/?ba=champ103#lists

Went really good with their excellent smoke turkey Reuben on Pumpernickel bread.

 

Thanks @Victory_Sabre1973 for the opening. I'll join with Destihl as well.

Destihl Deadhead Imperial IPA

Appearance: Clear gold, big head.

Smell: Mild citrus aroma.

Taste: Moderate sweetness to start, then a mix of semi-sweet citrus flavors. Medium body, lighter than expected for a DIPA. Not too bitter, has a little metallic twinge at the end.

Overall: A west coat styled stovepipe, it's on the sweeter side but less sweet than the hazies. Pretty good, only detraction was the weird metal note in the finish.

 

Then, checked out a new brewery to me, in the Little Rock area. This spot was added to the BA database a few years ago, but traveling back and froth from here, it was never open when I was in town. Anyway...at Moody Brews.

Earl Gray ESB...you guessed it, brewed with Earl Gray Tea. 5.5% ABV


Pours a murky reddish/brown color. A small white head forms with a bit or retention and lace left behind.
Aroma of Earl Gray Tea is really strong up front. Mixed with some orange peal and some spiciness. I can't say this has anything to do with an ESB, but oddly enjoyable.
Taste wise. yep, again just odd. With the Earl Gray Tea flavor being potent. Spicy fruitiness with almost no discernible base ESB to speak of...for me at least.
A medium body with moderate carbonation. A bit slick and oily. For all the peculiarities here, not hard to drink. Just not something I'm looking to come back to all that often.

To say this isn't to an ESB style, is a bit redundant. Its not entirely bad as just an alcoholic Earl Gray, but outside of that not something I can recommend or come back to.

Overall score is 3.18, C-ish I guess? Hard to really give a score for this...but there you have it.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36836/728816/?ba=champ103#lists

Next from Moody Brews...

Aria's Bier. 3.8% ABV (from the brewery, listed here as 4.25). Described as A Petite Saison with Hibiscus Flowers, Orange Peel, Cranberry and Cinnamon.



Pours a murky blood red color. A small white head forms and recedes in a minute. To leave just the viscous reddish color behind.
A neutral aroma that eventually gives way to some spicy and fruity notes...or I'm just putting that in there because all the additives make me want to think that is there.
Taste wise , OK, there it is. All the additives are very much the show. Fruity juicy, big cinnamon, and more juice. Seems like a store bought juice from the grocery store.
A light body with crisp carbonation. It is refreshing to drink just because of the juicy character. Though not much of a Saison, and not something I'm looking to come back to.

As I have indicated above, more of a store bought juice concoction than a beer. Let alone any kind of a Saison. I guess it is drinkable if you think of it as juice, but nothing more.

Overall score is 2.88, yeah I don't care to give this a letter score.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36836/356882/?ba=champ103#lists

All "beers" at Moody Brews where just some weird concoction. If that is what you want, I guess there you have it...for me, not something I care to come back to.

 

My few encounters with their beers perhaps contract brewed then were head scratchers for the most part.

 

Friday night is here and I got a beer courtesy of @KP7. He sent me a few Jacks Abby beers and this is one of them.

I will be joining you by style at @ChicagoJ and open up a Czech dark lager, this one also amber; I’ve only had a few others but never this one.

Jack’s Abby - Bohemian Dusk (Czech Dark Lager 4.5%



Pours a mostly clear brown leaning amber; off white head with nice cap retention.

Nose is bready and toast with some residual sweet character; hops lend a touch of pepper.

Taste is very nicely balanced; there’s light bread character, some nice toastiness, spicy hop character; what really is nice is the light little bit of sweetness as a counterpoint.

Light body, clean as can be; goes down so easy, carbonation is very smooth in nature, good little touch of bitter on the finish.

I really liked this beer; great balance and highly drinkable. Thanks for sharing this one @KP7

 

Props to @Victory_Sabre1973 and @ChicagoJ for starting us off.

Equilibrium Brewing's Tasman Dry Hopped Pilsner, 4.7% ABV; 4.15 overall, rated it as an American Lager

Pours a slightly chilled honey color with a thumb of pearl colored head. Great head retention & nice lacing

S: Grassy, faint citrus, bready once war, plus some melon notes

T: Dryness, lime. a little green melon, herbal & woody hops as well up front. Some tangerine once warmed up, grassyness, a little pine & dryness. Finishes dry with herbal woody hops, just little breadyness & citrus too

MF: Medium body, crisp carbonation at first becomes fairly creamy once warmed up

Easy to drink, nice flavor

 

Good Friday evening, New Beer Samplers and commentators. I usually wait til Sunday to review new beers but I want to shed a few pounds before my physical later this month so I'm beginning a mini-dry January. But I didn't want to wait too long to try Cafe Recipe Contest from Carton. One of Carton's best known beers is Regular Coffee, an Imperial Cream Ale. It is released on January 1. In addition, Carton releases several "Irregular Coffee" variants. This year, the new one is Cafe Recipe Contest, which is intended to simulate a pineapple upside down cake. Given the adjuncts used, including pineapple, maraschino cherry, vanilla, and brown sugar, I didn't want to wait too long. While it is far from my favorite "Irregular" (Cafe Y Churro is), it is imaginative and fun to drink.

Reviewed two days after canning. Poured into a pub glass. It pours a cloudy, burnished orange with a half finger cap of creamy, ecru-colored foam and sheen of lacing. The pleasant smell includes big, fresh pineapple, along with sweet vanilla and bready grains. The taste balances sweet fruit, including pineapple and candied cherry, against freshly-brewed, acidic coffee. There is also abundant vanilla and sugar sweetness (in New Jersey, "regular coffee" or "coffee regular" means coffee with milk and a hefty dose of sugar). But the star of the taste is the pineapple and cherry. LIke all other Carton Irregular Coffee variants it has a full mouth feel with appropriate carbonation, and the 12% ABV is warming.

4.18/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I'm already looking forward to rejoining NBW in a couple of weeks. Until then, Cheers!

 

Last week we had three people kick us off, this week only two - what’s the world coming to?
Tonight I had one I intended to share with Garth on NYE but we already had a couple too many. So here we are.

Poured stout black with a 1/2” brown head that stuck around a while.
The taste leads with a mix of barrel and leather. The coffee and dark fruit followed, cocoa, unsweetened, shows up. Not sure if it’s hops harsh or charred malts, but there’s a definite edge to this. I was hoping for a bit more whiskey but if it was there I missed it.
The feel is lightly viscous, quite appropriate for the style. Good sipping beer.
OA, good beer, quite enjoyed it.
Cheers all, see you tomorrow!

 

Ozark Beer Co. Flannel Optional DIPA, 7.7% ABV; 4.1 overall

Decanted from 32 oz Crowler, 6 days after pick up

Pours an effervescent & bright gold with a thumb+ of pearl colored head. Stellar head retention & lacing

S: Pine, light citrus, grassyness, some lemon grass late

T: Grapefruit, a little lime & grassyness, bready sweetness & some white grape up front, plus dryness. Some bready sweetness, a hint of pears, more dryness & lime then pine & grapefruit as this beer warms up. Finishes piney with plenty of grapefruit, a touch of caramel fighting through & dryness & some dryness & lime

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation, good balance

Straight forward old school DIPA, superb drinkability

 

Brauer Theobald
...very clear gold appearance with a thin but lasting head
...around medium carbonation with a just below average body
...aroma is malty,molasses, earthy, dark sweet bread.
...taste is mildly sweet, dark sweet bread, bitter almost dry finish
..overall its a decent flavorful lager

 

Jackie O’s Cellar Cuvée 1. A blend of Dark Apparition, a RIS, and Wood Ya Honey, a wheat wine.



Pour from bottle is a dark brown without head and lacing. Aroma is a nice mix of honey, bourbon, and vanilla. Taste follows nose and adds dark fruits and oak. The dominant flavor is honey. The 11.5% barrel is mostly masked. Mouthfeel is okay though more carbonation would be appreciated. A lovely beer that I happily sipped over the course of several hours.

 

Standing Room, a new Saison from Halo Brewery in Toronto

Poured a 355ml can into a pint glass. A two finger fine white head on a very hazy dirty yellow. The head diminishes to a thin layer that sticks around. Scant patchy lacing.

Spicy pepper in the nose. The taste is spicy up front. Some saison yeast. Tangerine is there. A light citrus finish.

A light body with moderate carbonation. Overall an interesting and well melded Saison. Well worth a try.

look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

 

That's more like it!

 

Had this one last night and forgot I could post, so here it is a day late and a dollar short!

Harpoon American Flyer - a 5% American lager in a mix pack received as a gift.

Pours crystal clear pale golden color with a thick, fluffy white head that falls to a decent cap. Minimal lacing.

Smell is pretty subdued - light cracker malt with a touch of sulfur, some faint Noble hop-like aromas.

Taste - cracker and bread malts, a little bit of sweetness and a little corn-like flavor. Some herbal/grassy/floral hop notes at the end of the swallow, but not a big hop presence. Slight spice note in the aftertaste - peppery.

Feel - light and lively, refreshing beer.

Overall, while 'tis mid-winter, this is a perfectly adequate summer beer for the picnic or BBQ gathering with a mixed crowd. Good one to reach for when ya just want a beer.