New Beer Weekend #234

I was glad to find two cans of Trail Pass that one of out holiday guests brought and left in our fridge. I was surprised how much citrus and pine comes through. I agree with you; When I have to resort to NA, I'll look for Trail Pass. Cheers to the end of your dry week!

 

Hey what's going on?!


Tasty new brew that's what. Dryanuary? Don't think so...

Fun to try one of these makers brews, I have heard much about them and this is the first one I have ever tried.

Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass.

Pale bronze, and apple cider like colored. Exceptional bright and gem like clarity with lots of carbonation all over the place. Frothy and real rocky forming head. Bleach white top and standing tall, leggy, and with big cling.

Excellent funky notes on the aroma. Real nice touches of funk lending to crisp apples and melon. Light touches of white wine grape but with minimal oaky or barrel character. Still very impressive.

Palate is a real wild animal. Sharp fruity notes of more lemon, but a real big gaseous hit mixing with woody oak but also hitting with sharp bitterness and steely presence. Real nice mineral and zesty oily action that is tart more so than sour. Flirts with hop like bitterness which really accentuates some of the citrus character very uniquely.

Interesting take, and very different from the classic Euro wild makers, but very distinct and memorable.

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Cheers!

 

My second new-to-me beer this weekend: Lagunitas Willettized. Unlike some other beers, this one lives up to the hype. Excellent stuff. Preliminary review below. Cheers!

4.49/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
12oz bottle (2024) into a tulip. Pours a deep dark brownish black with a 1-finger mocha head that subsides to a thin collar around the inside of the glass.

Aroma is bursting with roasty chocolate and coffee. Smoky oak char as it warms. Rich and complex, tantalizing.

Taste is likewise incredibly well balanced and satisfying. Bitter espresso, dark chocolate, roasted malt, silky smooth bourbon. Subtle hints of vanilla and caramel. Dangerously drinkable.

Mouthfeel is exquisitely balanced, completing the complex flavor—coats the palate without ever being heavy or sticky. Good carbonation keeps it relatively light and crisp for a 12%+ imperial stout.

Overall just an outstanding beer—I’m having a hard time finding any flaws here.

 

Closing out with a Sunday night sipper from a brewery that hasn't failed me yet. This brewery is in Wildwood and one day, during the offseason to which this beer is dedicated I will visit...one day, for now just finding their beers in the wild will have to do though. I don't enjoy them often but every now and then I enjoy sipping on a big beer like this, usually on a Sunday night, my weekend closer...

From brewery:

Mudhen - Yellow Flashing Lights (American Imperial Stout 8%)



Pours deep dark brown, zero light penetrates other than outer edges; light brown head with above average retention; in the form of a nice thick cap, good lacing.

Nose is roast, light perceived smoke; hops present but nondescript to me, if forced to I’d say some light earthy quality; bakers chocolate, some licorice.

Taste leans into the roast and char; licorice again, some woodiness, dark chocolate, ends with a nice espresso like bite.

Mouthfeel is medium; but on the lighter side; low smooth carbonation; prominent bitterness, touch of warmth as it goes down.

I enjoyed beer, it is a good example of a nice big american stout; if I had to change one thing it’d be the body, for its abv I think it could be a touch fuller but overall a really nice beer with great flavor if you enjoy the style.

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Hope to be back at it again next weekend, see you all then! Have a great week everyone

 

Speedway German Chocolate Cake
12% stout by Alesmith




Poured from a pint can, the body is dark black with a good mocha head. Light lacing.

Aroma is very chocolate and coffee with light coconut. Taste follows nose but the chocolate is less pronounced than in the aroma. As with the Speedway base stout, a good coffee flavor, but much less than the base. The coconut is present but restrained. Upon finish a light bitterness appears and nicely key contrasts with the chocolate flavor.

Mouthfeel and carbonation are good.

Surprisingly good variant of Speedway stout that is nor as sweet as the name might suggest.

 

Good evening all!
Tonight I have a rarity- the bottle broke as I pried off the cap. Not much, just around the lip, but I still don’t know where all the shards went.

The beer itself was much darker than expected, darker than many stouts I have had. No carbonation at all; whether due to the bottle defect or it’s intrinsic to the beer I wasn’t sure.
The taste is a lot of dark fruit, earthy leather, plum, figs, and I’m not sure what Brett is but it was likely in there.
The feel was still, viscous and, while not unpleasant, I drank it very cautiously as I didn’t know where the glass shards were. (None were in my glass)
OA, tasty enough, but the broken bottle rather threw me.

Not sure, but I think this was sent to me during the inaugural Stouts and Barleywines BIF. @Rug - did you send me this?
No worries either way, no clue about any defect was visible, and if it was there originally then it likely wouldn’t have survived shipping. Just weird.
Cheers all!

 

Yup, Amazon has them too for the same price, but when I tried to copy the link, well, not sure what it was in the buffer but it wasn’t what I wanted.
Thanks Dave!