New Beer Weekend #246

Good day BAs! Cross-post with some other threads. Thanks @GreenBayBA for opening this bar!



Utopia 2023 from Boston Brewing. Received from @Bishop in a LIF associated with BS BIF #2. 2.2 fl oz bottle. Reviewed 06/04/25 (Review 3494). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stored in at room temperature in the turtle room, at home: served at 76.2 degrees F in a hand washed and dried crystal Glenfiddich whisky glass. The final temperature is 77.0 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same.
Head – None.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.75 – Boozy. Distinctly smokey (tending toward peat) and oaky with raisins. No yeast, no hops.
Flavor – 4.75 – Begins hot and sweet. No yeast, no hops. Complex alcohols, much more than just ethanol (28 % ABV, according to the website). The tannins from the barrels don’t impact the flavor as much as the vanillin. Peatiness is very mellow, compared to the nose. Golden raisins. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Marked palate and gastric warming.
Palate – 4.5 – Full: slightly syrupy: virtually no carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.

Final impression and summation: 4.5 Distinct boundary pusher territory! Thanks @Bishop for sharing this with your beer brethren! If I ever run across one, I’ll do the same!

Rating 4.63, rDev +3.6%

 

I appreciate that as well, of course , when you sing the review the extra syllables , They introduce a sense of rhythmic complexity and can make music feel more unpredictable or "off-kilter, which I like.
I also appreciated @GreenBayBA use of Cumulonimbus Clouds in his kickoff post. I thought he was messing with cumulus clouds, which are common in Wisconsin.

 

Good morning NBS/nbw and thanks to our host this week the esteemable @GreenBayBA.
Cool and grey weekend here in the 413. So lets have a local porter
This offering runs right on the edge of hoppy brown ale and pub porter. Easy to drink and quite enjoyable
Enjoy the rest of your day

Brickyard Porter

English Porter | 5% ABV
Abandoned Building Brewery in Easthampton, Massachusetts

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

3.92/5 rDev -1.3% | Average: 3.97
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured from a can dated 12/17/24 purchased at the brewery.
A - Dark ruby/brown color, opaque with enough clarity too see the gentle carbonation at work. A thin offwhite cap resides during the experience.
S - Roast malts,a bit of char and cocoa. Earthy hop thread in there as well
T - A bit of coffee, char again, dark toast.
M - A bit thin in body, nice dry texture throught the experience, a quick dry finish
O - A very drinkable porter, billed as (English) in style I can support that. A solid offering that is a pleasure to drink

 

Alesmith Brewing Co's BA Speedway Stout (2024)

4.17/5 rDev -7.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2024 can dated 11/21/24, labeled with an ABV listed of 14.78%, courtesy of @JayORear

Pours jet black with half a finger of bubbly light brown head. Head dissipates into a nice ring of tiny bubbles and leaves pockets of lacing. Smells of dark chocolate, barrel, coffee, vanilla. Taste is very barrel-forward, both in presence of whiskey spirit and oak, followed by coffee and hints of vanilla and dark chocolate (last two required some digging given the other dominating flavors). Drinks hotter than I would have expected but anything that has coffee, I generally prefer to tackle before it mutes out; I think this would benefit with 12-24 months of age on it. Some light gastric warming but probably more to do with an empty stomach. Mouthfeel is thin with prickly carbonation. Finish is charred wood, oak tannins, whiskey, and bitter coffee.

 

Waldmann Rauchbier

Appearance: Clear dark amber, almost brown, good head.

Smell: Mild smoky aroma, mild sweetness.

Taste: Mild sweetness, then a mix of breadiness, some floral notes, and mild smokiness. Light bodied. Finishes with a light kiss of smoke.

Overall: Finally getting to try Waldmann's rauchbier, as a German style-focused brewery I wanted to try their take on the style. It is an extremely drinkable version, often marzen rauchbiers are very boldly malty, this one is more delicate in flavor and closer to a “session” beer. Glad I got to try it!

 

Drinking in Wisconsin was my major in college!

 

Wasn't planning on having a new beer today, but decided on one after all. Haven't had many tropical inspired wheatwines but I liked this:

Pourly Written | The Bruery | BeerAdvocate

https://i.imgur.com/MSpWaBA.jpeg



https://i.imgur.com/X0FwMRS.jpeg



Cheers and have a great week everyone! Sorry for the edit, my Imgur is still acting up today.

 

Not in college, but drinking in Wisconsin now at Brickfield Brewing in Grantsburg, WI

Old Creamery Milk Stout - 4.8%

This beer gives what the name implies. It is a tasty milk stout, and a good beer to start my day trip.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/53868/501461/
3.83/5 rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery.

This beer pours a very dark brown color. There's a bit of an off-white head to this beer.
The nose is a pleasing roasted chocolate aroma. I am getting light hints of lactose backing up the chocolate.
The flavor is opposite of the nose: I get a huge lactose hint up front. The lactose is string, but not over the top. The chocolate does come into play on the back. The beer is generally sweet, but not overpowering.
The body is so smooth and creamy. Decent depth.
Tasty and delivers on what it promises.

Be back later for another beer on this side of the river.

 

@Whyteboar - It's a shame you didn't gather much coffee from your Sump tasting. Was it an older version? Here is my review of a fresh draft version (apologize for the plastic glass - was taken during COVID rules and procedures that have since returned to normal).

Now it's time to celebrate New Beer Sunday #1050! Back with the second stovepipe as promised, this one a cherry flavored barleywine.

Revolution Cherry V. S. O. J. (2024)

3.35/5 rDev -23.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25



4/5/25 - (Can - Home) (Chicago, IL) Can Notes: Received from Revolution Brewery as part of the Deep Woods Season ticket package on July 18, 2024, refrigerated where it remained until opening this morning. 19.2 oz, canned 7/9/24 @ 1:32:49 PM, 14.4% ABV. Twenty Ten Collection Variant, Cherry V. S. O. J.. Barleywine Ale aged in bourbon barrels with cherries. Revolution Beer LLC, 3340 N. Kedzie Avenue, Chicago, IL.

Appearance: Poured about 60% of the can into a Deep Woods handheld snifter, yielding a dark plumb base and white tan bubbly lacing covering for less than a minute before retreating to form a creamy ring around the rim and no cover over the rest of the base. 4.25

Aroma: Let this sit for 20 minutes to warm to proper temperature, but it matches the initial pour light to mild strength aroma of raisins, figs and plums, with the exception of a light bourbon emerging later. No cherry, somewhat surprising, though perhaps it faded over nearly 9 months, or better yet, hopefully it's well incorporated but not overpowering taste wise . 3.5

Taste: Very strong cherry leads and dominates, not sure why it was not in the aroma. Too much cherry, IMO, and really can't get the usually excellent straight jacket base or even the bourbon which should be stronger based on the longer aging period. Bourbon emerges around 30 minutes in to make this more palatable and enjoyable, but cherry still the lead. 3.25

Mouthfeel: Sticky sweet, medium body, no carbonation. Drinks at the high ABV level, sweet cherry from start to finish. 3.0

Overall: This lacks the nuance of most Deep Woods offerings, including Straight Jacket and V. S. O. J.. Fruit editions are the only ones which can be hit or miss for me, and this one is a miss. This was more like Warrant than Neil Diamond. Not dinging this for cherry, because that is the offering and I actually like cherries and cherry flavor, but it should be a complement and not a curb stomping like this offering. 3.25

 

Stopping at Casanova?

 

Lawson's Sip of Sunshine IPA

4.25/5 rDev -6.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Can dated 2/19/25 from @JayORear

Pours a deep cloudy amber orange with a two finger creamy head. Retention is good, lacing is abundant. Smell is juicy hops, citrus fruit (grapefruit, orange, trace amounts of lime), hints of grass. Taste is somewhat piney, grapefruit, rind, some WC dank, with good malty backbone. Mouthfeel is moderately carbonated, creamy, silky. Finish is a lingering bitterness. ABV is well hidden.

 

Coffee & Beer. A 9% barleywine made by Alesmith in collaboration with Masthead Brewing & Six Shooter Coffee



Poured from a pint can. The body pours a hazy, light brown color. The haze clears a bit with warming. White head that diminished quickly though lacing was good.

Aroma is a nutty coffee with light berry tones.

Up front, the taste is light coffee without coffee bitterness. The light roasted flavor is about the same as in nose and the strawberry flavor works well with the hoppy bitterness that rises mid-swallow and then slowly fades. The bite is medium, not overly bitter.

Mouthfeel is medium with good carbonation.

An interesting collaboration that has yielded a very intriguing barleywine.

 

Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot English Barleywine, 11.1% ABV. Pours dark-brown with a light-brown head that left no lacing. Aroma is toffee, dark fruit, and brown sugar. Taste follows, slightly sweet, moderately bitter. Excellent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.04/5 rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

I got to try this excellent barleywine thanks to @Ozzylizard sharing it with me in a LIF box associated with the Stout/Barleywine BIF. Crockpot creole for supper.

 

New Glarus, Thumbprint Imperial Pilsner. Can 8.7%

Look: Transparent straw/light gold body. Nice tall white head that hangs on for awhile leaving some nice sometimes thick lacing.
Smell: sweet malt, earthy/herbal, then floral.
Taste: Not as sweet as it smells. It has some sweetness but is more bitter overall. The taste follows the nose otherwise. I'm getting plenty of mineral. Starts out sweet but finish's bitter with a lingering after taste. ABV is well hidden but you can tell its there. It tastes like an Imperial Pilsner to me.
Fell is good not thick or thin. About right for the beer. Any more thickness would be ok. but would cut down on fast drinking, good or bad?

This is a good beer. I have had other Impy Pilsners that were thicker body wise and sweeter. This one would be a good hot weather thirst quencher at the cabin/lake. 4.22/5 today.

 

Oh no doubt. I've spent enough time in Wisconsin to consider it my second home between install/start up of three major production facilities (Tomah twice and Wisconsin Rapids thrice plus training and technical visits) and grad school at UW Madison - fun town. At more than one bar until closing time back in those days - particularly remember being at The Crow Bar in Tomah until they finally rolled up the sidewalks...we kept paying and they kept serving. In MA we probably woulda spent the night in lockup.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. Yesterday, after walking the Columbia Trail in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, we stopped in at Esker Hart Artisan Ales in High Bridge. It was my second visit since Esker Hart took over the brewery and taproom originally owned by Highrail Brewing. Esker Hart paid its dues as a gypsy brewer for several years before opening its own venue and its beer is impressive to say the least. I had an Imperial IPA called Hook Echo that was outstanding. I also tried a draught pour of an Imperial Stout called Hyperphagia, which was also superb. I bought bottles of Hyperphagia and today's subject, Mandorla, a 12.5% Imperial Stout (non-barrel-aged) conditioned on cocoa nibs, coconut, and Marcona almonds. While it doesn't quite have the WOW factor of Hyperphagia, it is still a tasty treat - like a liquid Almond Joy bar.

Poured at 60°. Nearly ink black in color with a modest, creamy, medium-mocha head and thin film of lacing. Its smell is cocoa-forward with notes of freshly-brewed coffee, caramel, and roasted nuts, with subtle whiffs of char and tobacco smoke. The taste is sweeter, and more chocolatey, than I anticipated. The cocoa nibs are rich like fine candy. Although I didn't smell any coconut, it is present in the taste albeit subtle. The same is true for the Marcona almonds. They add to the flavor without seeming too much like an adjunct. This Stout has a thick, creamy mouth feel with low carbonation, and it doesn't drink like 12.5% ABV.

4.36/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Mandorla has been brewed - and canned - before and there is a fairly wide disparity in the ratings but I like it a lot. Hopefully, it is an annual release. If you are in the High Bridge area, then I recommend a visit to Esker Hart. High Bridge is a quaint little town and the tasting room has a fun vibe. The beers are excellent and there are good hiking opportunities minutes away. Cheers!

 

Same same.

 

Wasn’t planning on contributing today but went over to brother’s so our kids could play and he had this one in the fridge so I took it as a sign and asked him if I could take one home.

There are very few Tonewood beers that I haven’t tried, this is one of those few. They bill it as a “classic double IPA” and it is brewed with 2-row, mosaic, centennial, and chinook. My brother told me it was nice and bitter so that has me intrigued. Let’s dive in…

Tonewood - Sun Dog (Classic Double IPA)



Pours honey laden gold, opaque and cloudy; white head that is thick and sticky, good retention but no lace trailing behind it.

Wow, the nose on this is so vibrant, one of those that jumps out of the can and glass; I could smell this all day…it is full of zesty citrus, pine needle brightness, and this super pleasant fruit medley; its like reminiscent of Hawaiian Punch but its fresh and real smelling, its also blended so well in the foreground of the aforementioned citrus and pine, the aroma is truly remarkable.

Taste is big and in your face; really nice malt presence, with some honey quality, leads right into really well balanced mix of light tropical character with some berry notes; finishing classic with orange citrus character and bright pine.

Body has some heft, expected at its abv, but it goes down so dangerously smooth; its got heft but then, silky smooth carbonation, no lingering malt or sweetness with a lively bitterness that lingers nicely; the abv is there but I’ve had beer well below this one show more, the 9 % is super well hidden given; relatively speaking that is.

What a beer; I haven’t had a big huge hoppy beer in quite some time and this thing is a masterpiece. It is big, in your face, yet somehow drinkable and balanced; it takes skill to pull off a 9 % beer like this, and wow that nose. This reminds me of old school in your face, abrasive, holy cow hoppiness that was all new, maybe even original Other Half All Green Everything, if you had that one back in the day, you know what I'm talking about.

If you’re in the mood for it, this one more than hits the spot, really glad to have tried this one thanks to my brother.

@ovaltine this beer would make you drool

——————

Have a great week everyone, hope to see you all again next weekend.

 

Sam Adams Utopia


Received a sample tasting from @Bishop in an extremely kindly and generous gifting associated with bif2 stouts and barleywines

Brewers notes : Truly the epitome of brewing's two thousand year evolution, Samuel Adams Utopias® offers a flavor not just unlike any other beer but unlike any other beverage in the world. Each release is a blend of batches, some having been aged up to 16 years in the barrel room of our Boston Brewery, in a variety of woods. We aged a portion of the beer in hand-selected, single-use bourbon casks from the award-winning Buffalo Trace Distillery. Some of the latest batches also spent time in Portuguese muscatel finishing casks, as well as sherry, brandy and Cognac casks. This flavorful, slightly fruity brew has a sweet, malty flavor that is reminiscent of a deep, rich vintage port, fine cognac or aged sherry.

2019 Vintage aged in Buffalo Trace barrels and finished in Aquavit, Caracavelos, Ruby Port, Cognac, and Medeira Barrels.

I believe this sample is from the 2023 vintage , sample bottle poured into a Reidel Sam Adams utopia glass at room temperature

Brown liquid with the color of medium roast American coffee. No head No lacings, Schleiren lines form indicating a very high abv

Aroma reminds me of a sherry or port , matured barrel aged bourbon raisins

First sip is smooth, rich. no carbonation, no sudsing , slightly sweet , fine sherry. Dark fruits, raisins. Bourbon ,toffee, caramel ,

Mouthfeel is warming. A sipper best served in a castle drawing room by a crackling fire by a butler named Jeeves

Still delicious

Previous review - 2013 Bottle poured into an authentic Sam Adams Riedel tasting glass

Deep brown liquid

Smells like a rich port or sherry

Syrupy , silky smooth , dark fruits, raisins

Cannot taste the alcohol, but, it is there

 

Autodidact Beer and Oakflower Brewing Co. are BBFFs. Each year, they pull April Fool's Day pranks. This year, Oakflower supposedly obtained a restraining order against Autodidact's use of the name "Full Circle" for its Citra + Mosaic DIPA. Actually, Oakflower had previously used the name for a Saison. So then Oakflower brewed a DIPA called "Tempest," which Autodidact previously used for a Witbier. Anyway, they are the best of friends so they brewed a collab at each venue. Even Fuller Very Circular is a TIPA version of Auto's Full Circle. And it is stellar!

Reviewed 4 days after canning. It pours an opaque, pastel lemon color with a large, fluffy, bright white had and lots of thick, soapy lacing. Classic Citra + Mosaic nose: lemon, lime, grapefruit, peach, and stone fruit. This is sublime: tart lemon and grapefruit balanced by sweet notes of peach, red berry, and a hint of pineapple. There is also some creamy, oaty sweetness in the background. The flavors are soft - almost delicate - but then comes a dose of hoppy bitterness. It seems more hoppy from the can than on draught. It finishes with strong resin and herbal overtones. The mouth feel is nicely thick and creamy with appropriate carbonation, and if the can didn't say 10% ABV I wouldn't believe it. It drinks so easily! Overall, Autodidact and Oak Flower have coaxed everything they could from the basic Citra + Mosaic recipe.

4.35/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

As always, I'm enjoying reading your reviews. I hope everyone has a good week. Cheers, NBW!