New Beer Weekend #252

Big weekend on the music front here, but I have a big boy beer set aside for Sunday night. Dress rehearsal last night, concert tonight and matinee tomorrow with the 100 member show chorus the missus and I sing with. Nineteen songs and I like two of them, but the audience will love it. I keep looking for the ZZ Top song in the old west medley...hmmm...but it's the people buying tickets that matter.

Great open @Beersnake with a thoughtful question. Not sure I can give a thoughtful answer... I'm kinda random but somewhat informed with my new beer selections, if that makes any sense. I have breweries I trust and will try their new offerings. There are beers I see here that I will seek out and many brewers/beers I know by reputation as a result of our weekly get together. But I will also take a flyer and grab anything that seems interesting. We enjoy brewery visits and all bets are off there - we will try to sample beers showing the range and capability of the brewer. I'll try to sample styles that may showcase the capabilities. I'll always try a pilsner or some other style that would readily reveal flaws, but I try to get a range of styles. Because of my beverage/ process engineering background I'll take whatever peek I can at the physical facility - it can tell me a lot.

I will say that I have enjoyed more hits than misses. Over all the years there's been maybe a scant handful of truly poor experiences. Some new brewers show at least some promise. I can think of only a few that mystify me because they are still open.

So - the data-driven me who researches things to death takes a more random approach to my beer adventures. Of course I have a very willing accomplice in this - the missus has no problem getting me off the fence.

I'm more likely to scan reviews after the fact or to confirm/deny what I think I'm tasting. I've been around here long enough to know reviewers who have similar tastes who give solid feedback. Beer is one aspect of my life where I actually like surprises.

 

Not being impertinent, but how did you find this one? I've spent more time in the Barreled Souls taproom than I should admit and have yet to score any of the Bomb series and their distribution is pretty limited.

 

Le Père l’amer (France) ‘Cuvée Lupin’ Barleywine

10.5% abv, packed in February, 2025. Organic.

33 cl bottle poured into a snifter, lightly chilled. A good persistent foam rises above cloudy bronze brew. Fabulously oily with splotches of lace throughout the experience.
Nose is honey, biscuits, floral, pine, booze.
Taste is a power attack of biscuit, barley sugar, apricot, honey and xlnt resinous notes brought by a good dose of hops. The alcohol is well hidden and the sweetness kept in check. Creamy mouthfeel with light carbonation. This is quite an expressive barleywine that, if the nine year old French brewery were in the BA DB would get a score of 4/5.



I met the brewer, Antoine Guiral, a dry but cool guy, at a tap takeover at a Bear’s House, a craft beer Mecca, in Toulouse. His brewery’s name translates in English to, ‘the father of bitter’, an ode to his love of hops. He brought cases of various brews for sale and magnums of fantastic barrel aged gems from his cellar to taste and share. I heard cool stories, drank world-class organic ales and staggered home while carrying a six pack of his wares to tell you guys about.,.

 

Just a couple new to me but older imperial stouts for me today:

Bourbon County Brand Reserve 150 Stout | Goose Island Beer Co. | BeerAdvocate



Dark Knight | Nickel Brook Brewing Co. - Burlington | BeerAdvocate



Both were pretty good. I liked the Bourbon County 150 more, but the Nickel Brook imperial stout was pretty tasty too. Think that's it's for my new brews today, still debating on if I'm going to have another new brew tomorrow or save them for the long weekend next week. Cheers everyone!

 

Thanks to @Beersnake for starting us off, and in answer to your question, I usually think of the style of beer I want first then go find a new one. Rarely do I do much homework, but I often will pull out the phone, fire up BA.com and check to see if I've had the beer before and what it's rated (thank you @Todd and the Alström brothers for the world's best drinks database!).

Case in point ... I was in the mood for a helles, saw this one at the store, checked BA.com and realized surprisingly I haven't tried it before, so I bought a 4-pack:

Weihenstephaner Helles • 4.8% ABV • 16.9 oz. can • 12.11.2025 best-by date

Holy cow is this sucker good! It's like my favorite German pils with the hops dialed down from 8-9 to about 2-3, maybe even 1-2. I could smell a hint of something green and hoppy in the aroma, but only for a moment, and I can taste a slight balancing bitterness in the flavor that is more black pepper than anything else, but I can only taste it in the growing finish — in other words, the deeper I get into the beer, the more that little hop bite builds up. But even calling it a "bite" is misleading ... this beer is all about the amazing barley notes, slightly fruity leaning toward a lemon sugar cookie or peach kolache.

Official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/252/533827/?ba=Premo88#review
4.41 (+5.5% ABV)

Honestly, I could give this beer 5s across the board and stand by that. I tried to be a bit more discerning with my numbers, but man is this good. I'm normally a much bigger fan of pilsners, but I was in the mood for a lesser hop bite, and this beer delivers perfectly.

Cheers!

 

Yep - that's what they have told me. Mostly they sell out before they even "drop". I'm on their society wait list and I've moved up to No. 40...there is hope!

 

Drekker Raspberry Swirlee Creamsicle Sour, 6.7% ABV. Pours murky read, with a one-finger light-red head that left puree residue. Aroma is raspberry and vanilla ice cream. Taste follows, equally sweet and tart. Creamy mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.15/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

The mango variant was much better.

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

At Sunken Ship Brewing with @Alefflicted and having this.

Spray Of The Sea - Sunken Ship Brewing- Princeton, MN - Vienna Lager - 5.1%

This is very tasty today. Great body, and very malty.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63527/740621/
3.73/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery.

This is a clear pouring beer and golden in color. There's a bit of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. There's a bit of a white head to the beer.
The nose is pretty light. I do get a slight hint of malt here. Grain smelling.
The flavor starts out with a honey like sweetness. The sweetness is not overpowering. The sweetness goes toward a grain flavor on the back. Tastes like a grain cereal. Slight hint of bitterness, but faint.
Very smooth body. Very full feeling.
This is a tasty and well made beer.

Be back later for more. Cheers!

 

Drekker There Was A Time NEIPA, 6.9% ABV. Pours hazy pale-yellow with a three-finger white head that left some lacing. Aroma is tropical fruit. Taste follows, plus coconut, faintly sweet, slightly bitter. Decent mouthfeel, overall very good.

3.9/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Thanks for the question. I often reflect on what I drink, why I drink it, how my tastes and knowledge have changed etc.

In general, I will try anything once, and many things only get tried once, because a lot of craft beer is pretty mediocre. Being mediocre is OK because many brewers primarily serve a local audience, they don't have to be spectacular, and probably couldn't afford to.

When I am standing in front of a shelf I am mostly shopping by style. I am not currently an IPA guy so that eliminated at least half of what I see. Sometimes I will check BA on my phone to see if something is well rated, but mostly I just try the shiny new thing if it's one of my currently favoured styles.

 

I found another new one:

Urban Chestnut Brewing Co.'s Dorfbier • Munich dunkel • 5% ABV • 6/5/24 born-on date

I was gathering German imports when I grabbed this one thinking it too was from Germany. Alas, it's a native American beer born in St. Louis, and the good news is despite looking murkier than your average American IPA, it's checking all the right dunkel boxes. Toasty, roasty, a bit dry but also with some nice sweet notes of raisins and dates and some dark chocolate/cocoa powder. It's even got a hint of an oakwood note that's nice, and the best thing I can say for it is it doesn't have any of the "off" notes I run into when I delve into a lot of American-made German styles.

Official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24764/88130/?ba=Premo88#review
3.78 (-1.6% rDev)

If all it did was look like a lager, it would be pushing 3.9. And my guess is a fresher version would be pushing 4.0. As is, I'm happy I bought it and will look for more (and fresher ) of Urban Chestnut's stuff in the future.

Cheers!

 

I do pop open BA on a fairly regular basis when shopping, but mainly in a couple of cases, the foremost being a new brewery has dropped a handful or more beers into my local store. I am not going to buy a four pack of every one (and even if they offered to break up such packs, I generally don't buy singles any more). So I go to BA and sort by most ratings, and see which ones are sitting in front of me, and what the rating is.

The other time is if I see a new, interesting, and perhaps out-of-style-for-the-brewery beer, and I want to see what others may think of the anomaly.

 

Another superb wild ale from de Garde - cheers!

4.32/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Bottled January 2023, enjoyed May 17th, 2025 - poured from a capped-and-corked 750mL bottle into a port glass.

Cloudy jasmine body with a dense creamy cosmic latte cap receding slowly to a lasting collar. Very fine lacing; good retention for the style.

Winter fruit (heirloom European pears), chevre, and floral notes in the nose. Complex yet gently funk.

Tart and fruity palate entry - wood sorrel, buttermilk, and lemon zest yielding to pear, hay, and green plum skins. Long finish: dry, leathery, with profound layers of earth and oak. Lingering minerality - wonderfully integrated/synergistic flavors.

Medium-light bodied, creamy yet crisp. Well carbonated, lightly tannic.

Mature, beautifully crafted domestic wild ale.

 

Back home and I decided to open this

Kilt Dropper - Trap Rock Brewing - St. Croix Falls, WI - Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale - 10.6%

I remember when I was there a while back and saw this on tap. I was so excited about it, and got it to go, because I didn't want to drink a 10+% beer and drive an hour and a half home. Tonight seemed like a good time to try it because it is a cold and dreary day here in central MN. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement.

This beer is sour. Now it doesn't seem to be sour in an infected way. It tastes sour and it seems to me they actually intended it to be that way. It doesn't seem right at all to me. I will not be finishing the crawler, it's already down the drain, and I doubt I'll finish the glass.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/54894/740608/
2.14/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 1.5
From a 32oz crawler filled on 04-06-2025

This beer pours a nice dark amber color in the glass. The beer is pretty clear looking. There's a nice steady stream of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass (I can see it when I hold it to the light). There's a 2 finger tan colored head. The head retention is quite good, and I like the lacing on the glass.
The aroma is actually quite light, and I wasn't expecting this. I do get some hints of caramel. There's leather notes in the aroma. All smells are very light and faint.
Taste - Ok, I am really not sure about this at all. This beer has a very sour flavor to it. I get a very faint caramel flavor to this beer. The sourness is just not fitting with the style at all. I don't think it is an infected sour flavor. I think they intended it to be this way.
That sourness does have an effect on the feeling of this beer, and I am not liking that. This beer does really not feel like a Scotch ale, and feels way light for a beer that is 10.6%
Well, this beer is a very disappointing beer. I really don't know what they were thinking with this one. I don't know if something went wrong, or what. Will I finish the 32oz crawler, probably not.


No way this will be the closer today. I'll find something else, after I also dump the glass, and be back soon. Yeah, I am dumping the glass.

 

Grate fourum, grate righters. Eye sirtainly wish I cood rite as gud as all of you, and my taste buds were better, but as that grate 'mercan fillosfer wonce sed, "shit happens".


GI Dapper Barleywine
4.34/5 rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a dark reddish brown , small head fades instantly. Not much aroma wise, some fruit, wood and booze. Flavors are similar. This will warm you up on a cool evening. Sticky mouthfeel, a bit too sweet.
*******************
Shared a 4x12 with a retired family member who taught English('mercan). I always like "hooked on phonics)", BS......it was fonikx.

Final thought, a terifik beer

 

A couple new beers so far today..

#1 Cascade Lakes - Salted Caramel Porter



Notes:
O not a bad porter by any means; toasty, grassy, and nutty notes, dotted w/ caramel; was hoping for a little more caramel sweetness, but a decent offering nonetheless

---

#2 Ronan Co-op - Bear Creek Belgian Wit



Notes:
O a nicely done wit with lots of crackery wheat and citrus character; tasty and super drinkable- hope they make this one a regular rotator!

Cheers

 

Eternal Shredder - The Veil
4.05/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
04/28/25. Poured into a Samuel Adams, perfect pint.

A: Hazy gold with two finger, frothy white head with good retention and solid bands of lacing.

S: Dominant hop notes include apricot, mango, and red grapefruit with some pineapple . Esters are moderate and fruity.

T: Flavor is a little rough with some polyphenols that amp up the potency of the bitterness. Fruity hop notes include mango, pineapple, and grapefruit citrus. The same dank herbal note hangs in the finish. Bitterness is moderate plus. Esther’s are low to moderate and fruity.

M: Mouthfeel is a bit on the rough side with a lot of polyphenol gritty character in a medium bodied beer.

O: I am going to let my other cans of Eternal Shredder sit and mellow a bit as this one is rough around the edges at this point