New Beer Weekend #250

English import Best By dates are usually a year after packaging, so that means its pretty old ha. I don't know specifically about Old Speckled Hen, but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

Lots of catching up to do in NBW

Tried 6 new brews yesterday (4 at the Garden City Brewfest and 2 back at home); here are the first two:

MT Ascension - Happy.Trails.IPA



Notes:
A solidly-built IPA chocked full of zesty notes (maybe rye or simcoe); really nice first impression of the brewery!

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Draught Works - Academic Weapon CDA



Notes:
Lots of toasty porter-like notes, paired with grassy hops; nicely-balanced with good drinkability

 

Happy Sunday All!


Big Thanks to Zach for this one. WOW.
Choros (2023)
Thanks to @Luscious_Malfoy for sending this beauty in our second iteration of the Barleywine Stout BIF.
Dang this is a big, beautiful barleywine. She pours a deep charred oak color and initially shows no hear whatsoever. Like a smooth mirror on top. Then slowly a head forms. I don't recall ever seeing this in a barleywine. The thin head that does form is mocha colored and almost milky. One of the darkest barleywines I have ever seen.
Nose is deep and varied presenting a wash of dates, toffee, molasses, and warm Bourbon barrel notes. But the Bourbon hints at dark Belgian candied sugars, some subtle char notes, and vanilla.
Flavor follows the foreshadowing beautifully. The interplay between the traditional barleywine malt profile and the barrel aging is gentle handed and really develops nicely. This is a sipper. She is on the sweeter side but a lot of nuance is at play. The Bourbon is always present but makes room for the more subtle notes to have their moments as well.
Mouthfeel is thick and a tad sticky.
4.19/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

 

NBW installment #2

Kettlehouse - Skyhunter Hazy [D]IPA



Notes:
Nice mellow fruitiness and excellent drinkability for 8.5%

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Carter's Brewing - Iron Bender IPA



Notes:
Great flavor for the relatively low abv (5.5%); a solid first impression of this brewery as well!

 

Another newbie for me, Lawson’s Chinooker’d. Good Sunday afternoon and Cheers!
It’s a hop bitterness bomb with subtle flavors.

 

Appreciate it! That was a wild one ... went from nerve-wracking to hopeless to pure joy in about 20 minutes.

Cheers!

 

I think you'll enjoy it, but fair warning: Pilsner is my favorite style, and I'm native Texan, so my review is biased as all get out. Still, I think anybody would enjoy it.

Cheers!

 

Happy New Beer Weekend, Advocates! I decided to open this one today based mainly on its relatively low ABV, as I’m not looking to drink anything especially strong today. Coalescence from Fremont, a late-2024 addition to their seemingly successful cuvée lineup. Preliminary review below. Cheers!
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4.17/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
16oz can (packaged 9/17/2014) into a tulip. Pours a rich dark brown with a thick 2-finger mocha head.

Aroma is roasty and bitter—cocoa nibs, espresso, vanilla, caramel.

Taste is likewise a nicely balanced blend of bitter and sweet. The caramel and vanilla serve as a counterweight to the chocolate and coffee, with the bourbon holding everything together.

Mouthfeel is, as has been true with other Fremont cuvée offerings, a bit lighter than a 100% barrel-aged beer. Light but not thin. It’s squarely in the medium body range. A bittersweet aftertaste lingers on the palate.

Overall a solid offering at a reasonable price point. If one is seeking a quasi-barrel aged beer at about $0.28/oz, they could likely do far worse

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. I just poured my only new beer of the weekend: Brix City Brewing Company's 2025 Silk City Imperial Stout aged in rum barrels. It is the last of this year's variants (released in early March) for me to review. I rarely drink rum and therefore only bought one bottle of this variant.

It pours a dark walnut with a modest cap of medium mocha-colored foam. Some of head was congealed and darker in color which was a little weird. I can smell the rum barrel, along with chocolate, coffee, tobacco smoke, leather, and some nutty char. The taste is more chocolate-forward than I expected; it is rich and fairly sweet. Beneath is a bitter malt base with notes of acidic coffee and earthy char. The influence of the rum barrel aging is obvious but it isn't distracting. It finishes with pronounced bitterness. In my opinion, this Stout's best characteristic is its mouth feel - it is more viscous than many of the other Silk City variants. It also is quite boozy for 10.5% ABV.

4.24/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Although I like to try the variants each year, I prefer the O.G. Stout and the vanilla bean version that are released every year.

I hope you all have enjoyed your new beers this weekend. Have a great week. Cheers, NBW!

 

NBW installment #3..

Great Notion - Afterglow WCIPA



Notes:
Well-executed West Coast IPA; great combo of light caramel malt, tropical, and citrus notes; glides across the tongue

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Counterweight - At The Helm (BA barleywine)
Courtesy of @sulldaddy



Notes:
One really enjoyable barleywine; loaded with hearty dark malts, dark sugars, bourbon, and grape-like notes; excellently balanced, with great drinkability for the style; thanks again, Sully!

Cheers, BAs!

 

Had a tough physical day today, I'm really ready for a beer.
This is A Myriad of Pyramids from Hop Butcher for the World.
The brewery's words-
A hazy DIPA mainliner here, friends. Peacharine and Simcoe this time. Big, juicy orange vibes with a stone fruit twist.
I'm diggin' in.

3.99/5 rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Shipped to me warm from Halftime but refrigerated immediately until served. Poured from a 16-oz can dated 03/18/25 (51 days in the can) to a bulbous, tulip-like glass.
Pours out opaque, hazy apricot-color. A pure white head is only about ⅜”/10mm. That fades within a minute, but laces with every sip, and about 20% of the lacing stays.
The aroma is stone fruit and berries.
The taste follows the aroma with peach and strawberries.
The mouthfeel is appropriate for the style and carbonation seems slightly aggressive despite the short head. Alcohol is noticeable on the finish.
A nice beer, not amazing, but nothing to complain about.

 

From the awesome @muchloveforhops3 Kettlehouse Coffee Cold Smoke Scotch Ale with Coffee, 6.5% ABV; 3.71 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut with a thumb+ of tan head. Average-ish head retention & lacing

S: Tons of coffee, vanilla & not much else

T: Plenty of coffee, dryness, vanilla notes, some smokeyness in the background. Sweet coffee & dryness as this beer warms up, more vanilla. Finishes a little sweet with plenty of coffee, think mocha & dryness, just a little Scotch Ale fighting through

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation

Plenty of good coffee flavor just a little too far off style for me to completely embrace, easy enough to drink though. Coffee fiends will love this

 

Glad you enjoyed it Dave. Great review!

 

Social Project Brewing Blue Monday Double Hazy IPA, 8.3% ABV with Sabro, Belma, Motueka & El Dorado Cryo Hops; 4.37 overall

Pours a very hazy & effervescent gold with 2+ fingers of Ivory colored head. Above average head retention & very good lacing

S: Tropical fruits, some citrus & a little grassyness, nose fades a bit once warm

T: Tangerine, dryness, passion fruit & mango up front. some pineapple/orange juice as well. Pineapple/OJ. dryness, Passion Fruit & Guava as this beer warms up, a little Pink Grapefruit too. Finishes dry with much pineapple, some lime & passion fruit.

MF: Medium body, moderate carbonation, stellar balance

Great drinkability, ABV is stealth. Nose & appearance are minor detractors. This Brewery brings it with all their Big Hazy IPAs, no exception

 

Have a good Sunday. Thanks to @LarryV for the great zoom BA meeting last night. I remember all of it, despite having 2 14-15% stouts, and a 10% old ale Great to see some new faces to match the names A great conversation.

We did end up going to Cookout last night, but the rain kept us from going to 2AM, and they shut down one of the drive thru lanes, so a bit slow line, but all the deliciousness of Big Double burgers and Chicken/Bacon wraps. I tried the Mexi Dogs for the first time. They have chili, cheese, texas pete, and chopped lettuce/tomatoes. Amazing fast food dogs.



Another new beer from @Ozzylizard Rusty Rail Pooka golden stout. Great head retention and dense soapy lacing. Aromas of vanilla, lactose, cocoa, coffee, cracker, bread, herbal, floral, grass, peppercorn, and yeast earthy/fruitiness. Weak and a little too fruity in the nose. Taste follows with vanilla, lactose, cocoa, coffee, nuttiness, cracker, bread, herbal, floral, grass, peppercorn, pine, and yeast earthy/fruitiness. Light pine, herbal, spicy bitter finish. Medium-plus carbonation and body; balanced creamy/grainy malt and lactose with sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Very clean finish with no cloying/astringency. A bit crisp from carbonation. Overall a very good beer for the style, but I've had others that have a larger coffee presence. Good oat/lactose body, but maybe a tad thin. Minimal warmth of 8%, very drinkable for the ABV due to the low sweetness. 3.87/5


Cheers

 

Other half rice lager
...very pale, semi clear gold appearance with what swear is a slight green tinge
...medium bodied with just below average carbonation
... aroma produces only a tiny amount of lime juice and zest. Theres cereal along with grain which has the rice show up along with other grains.
..taste is where the lime shows up in a stronger fashion and leaves a citrus oil coating in the mouth.
...overall a very enjoyable beer thats on the lower end of the abv spectrum

 

Good Sunday evening everyone. We had some fun yesterday. Went to an authentic Portuguese market - like going to the old country without needing a passport. The tinned sardine section was as confusing as the craft beet aisle - must have been 25 brands then endless variants within the brands like IPAS gone wild. We brought home five different kinds of sausage for tonight. On the way home discovered an incredible Pakistani restaurant in the middle of the almost 100% Portuguese neighborhood - WTF? I'd forgotten to pick a new beer so had to make a sacrifice and drink my second Pliny the Elder.

And now... for something totally different that I did have a sip of:



Barreled Souls Speakeasy Pukiki Suitcase rum barrel aged hose with lemon, pineapple, and non- alcoholic blue curacao. I assume like the other Speakeasy series this reflects a cocktail of some sort- don't really know.

Well...to my eye it's greenish blue, good clarity with blue green foam that actually lasts a while and leaves a hefty cap. There's even some decent lacing.

Smell is sweet rum, alcohol, orange, pineapple and lemon. Not much of the original gose - that does seem to vary in the series.

The tastes sweet, boozy rum. A slight nip from the alcohol. Then lots and lots of orange and pineapple. The latter takes over with the pineapple pushing hard on the sweetness. Then thankfully there's lemon flavor and tartness along with a bitterness (Curacao?) that stops the madness. The aftertaste is highly aromatic with all of the flavors present but more orange dominant and rum-like.

The feel is almost syrupy but somehow it finishes dry. The aromatics in the aftertaste are highly enjoyable.

Overall it's well-made. I don't know if this is an homage to a cocktail or not so no comment on accuracy. It's too sweet for me, but the flavors are good and it dies start to dink like a cocktail the more i get into it.. And it's darn near freakin' lime jello green...c'mon! Enjoyable but I think the 16 ounce can is too much. Not my favorite in the series, but fun and interesting. Thinking 3.75 or so.