New Beer Weekend #253

Very true!

 

Long tiring weekend and I’m finally taking a breath out back and joining you all with this beer; in my favorite reviewing setting, me and quiet; except for the birds chirping and the light breeze, all is good. Onto the beer…

My dad just got back from Charleston, visiting my uncle, and he surprised me with a beer yesterday. My uncle’s favorite beer, so of course I’m happy to give it a try. This is a new to me beer and brewery…

The name of this beer, combined with label, makes me think this one will be a nice refreshing and easy drinker, especially given the heat and humidity Charleston endures I’d guess this brewery may have made this quite a refreshing beer.

Edmund’s Oast - Something Cold (Blonde Ale)



Pours pale, some shades of gold, cloudy; white head, bubbly, collapses and condenses nicely while leaving some lacing.

First thing I get from the nose is distinct apricot, light cereal, brew day malt, and light lemon character; refreshing and bright.

Taste I get that same nice apricot note; snappy malt profile, it’s not complex but it’s there and does its job adding some depth; light peppery bite on the finish.

Love the feel on this beer; it has great carbonation, distinctly creamy smooth yet vibrant and biting; light-medium body, great combination of residual malt feel that really dries out nicely; low bitterness, clean to the point of being in lager like by the end.

Well this beer lived up to its name/image that it conjured up in my mind. It is also a really well made beer; it lives in that hybrid area of lager and ale; like kölsch, this thing is supremely drinkable and clean, love the apricot vibe from the hops, I’d highly recommend this one.

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That’s a new beer wrap for me this long weekend, I’ll lurk and imbide new vicariously through you all. Have a great weekend everyone and see you next time…

I have a question for everyone:

What question/s should we ponder and discuss next weekend??

 

Alesmith + Binny's - Barrel Aged Speedway Stout (2024)

16oz can served in a stemless BA rastal. @Luscious_Malfoy sent it in Stout/Barleywine BIF #2.

Pours black with a biggish head that settles into a thick fluffy layer, moderate to high active carbonation. Smell is huge chocolate and coffee, booze and rye spice come through a little bit, definite vanilla and caramel.

Taste is boozy, molasses and vanilla, some oak, chocolate and coffee takes more of a backseat. No, coffee's not taking a backseat, it's just moving to the aftertaste and dominating.

Mouthfeel is kind of thin, really, surprisingly so for 16%. Overall, very nice, heavy hitter.

 

Final beer of the night, because I am getting tired here.

Easy Street Wheat - Odell Brewing - Fort Collins, CO - American Pale Wheat Beer - 4.6%

The beer is not offensive, but the aroma and flavor are both quite lacking here.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/267/736/

3.41/5 rDev -11.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
From a 12oz can. Best by 07/30/2025

This beer has a light pale golden color with a touch of murkiness to it. There's a frothy 2 finger white head to the beer that has decent head retention. I am liking the lacing on the glass.
The aroma is super faint. I am getting the faintest hint of a clove scent to it. Not much there at all.
Taste - The flavor is a lot like the nose - very little there at all. There's a touch of banana and clove, but very little else, and it is so faint.
The body does seem decent. There's a smooth and clean feeling to it.
Well, the beer would rate higher if it had much of an aroma and flavor. At least it isn't offensive.


I shall see you all tomorrow for this extended edition of NBW.

 

Good evening all!
Big day so I had a big beer-

The pour is stout black with a very short lived manilla colored head that left almost no lacing.
The taste is full of sweet coconut, and it carries over into a sweet beer. The Imperial Porter aspect is mild chocolate with vanilla and some coffee. A little bourbon is noticeable but any oak is lost in the sugar and coconut.
The feel is nicely viscous, by no means heavy, just has some body. For the 18.2% ABV it would not hurt to have a bit more body to it.
OA, most of the series is in 12 oz cans, interesting that this monster is in a pint container.
Cheers all! Happy this continues tomorrow, I will be back then.

 

The Mrs. makes it all the time & my two hacks ( I have ate enough ground beef in this lifetime & tots aren't my thing ) extra, extra cheese & a load of Green Chille salsa or just a can of diced Hatch )

 

That sounds fantastic

 

I've only tried a few Wheated Whiskeys, but they have all impressed

 

This Behemoth is from the awesome @bbtkd via a LIF from the NBW Imperial Stout/Barleywine BIF#2

Goose Island Cask Finish BCBS 2024 Bardstown aged in Rye Barrels & finished in Cherry/Oak Barrels, 16.0% ABV; 4.28 overall

Pours a very effervescent Mahogany with one finger of mocha colored head. Viscous, zero head retention & lacing

S: Rich whiskey notes dark fruit, some chocolate notes as this warms up

Follows the nose, plenty of barrel, cherry pipe tobacco, dates, cola & charred brown sugar up front. Intensely sweet dark chocolate, vanilla, dark cherries & peppery Rye notes & oakyness once this beer warms up, plus leafy hops. Treacle/Cola sweetness in the finish, & Bourbon and vanilla with some barrel fighting through the sweet

MF: Pretty chewy, subtle carbonation, very warming

Drinks great for the ABV, skewed a touch too sweet for me believe it or not; didn't quite pull together for greatness, but I am so thrilled I got to try it!

 

von Trapp Brewing - West Coast Pils

Really tasty and incredibly crushable!

Cross-posted in WBAYDN #4601 and What New England beer are you drinking now? (2025).

 

1. I've loved the discussion over the weekly question.
2. Spitballing some ideas for future questions:

• Have you ever done a 180º on a beer/brewery?
• Is there a style you hated at first blush but now love?
• When it's time to buy a new beer, what do you start with: style, distillery, region or something else?
• How often do you tinker with old beer reviews here on BA.com?
• What's your top rated and lowest rated rDev beers?
• Malt or hops?
• Do you buy more new beers or more old favorites?
• Do you have any styles you love-hate?
• American pale ale family or English pale ale family?
• Have you reviewed an eisbock?

 

Using the extra day to post my third and final new to me Pipeworks selection.

Pipeworks Lizard Blood

3.81/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4



5/26/25 - (Can - Home) (Chicago, IL) Can Notes: Purchased May 22, 2025 at Beer on the Wall at store temperature for $3.41 including tax, refrigerated at home until opening this morning. 16 oz canned March 31, 2025 . 6.3% ABV, Hoppy Red Ale. Label Art By: Beejay Olsen. Pipeworks Brewing Company. Brewed & canned in Chicago, Illinois.

Appearance: Poured about 12 ounces into a Pipeworks shaker pint glass, yielding a crystal clear amber pour with minimal lacing after initial bursts. Generous egg white bubbly head, leaving significant soapy lacing and creamy full cover over the past. This very good! 4.0

Aroma: Light malt aroma, caramel, faint cinnamon toast. Tried a few times and couldn't gather much. 3.5

Taste: Much stronger flavor presence, caramel predominant plus rye malt flavor. Lighter citrus and pine hop notes backing well. Enjoying the wider ranger of flavors vs. the aroma. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Faint carbonation, dry and bitter. Malt sweetness balanced well by a nice hop offset. Drinks a bit over the 6.3% ABV, malty from Go! caramel with pine and citrus the supporting flavors. 4.25

Overall: Came through as expected in many aspects, drinks stronger than expected, flavors come through well. Perhaps more hoppy than one would expect with the style, but for Pipeworks this is as expected. Not a go to style for me, but this is nice on a cool morning like this one, glad I picked this up and would do so again in the future. Nice offering Pipeworks! 4.0

That's it for me this weekend. Any questions beyond the review notes @jonphisher I'll answer as best as I can. Have a great beer day everyone!

 

Thanks for the mention @ChicagoJ sounds like it's a little heavy of a beer unfortunately...never like when a beer drinks above its abv. If I come across a single I'll still give it a go but a four pack, with what their beers go for here may be a bit much of a risk.

 

Could be just the hops level or my body clock, but do feel you may be turned off based on your preference of 3-5%.

I usually like lighter beers more than heavier versions, but the Sunday Imperial Red IPA was great in every aspect, one of my favorites of the year to date.

 

Probably slightly, though I do enjoy my IPAs in that range, just don't like when the alcohol shows at all in a beer; whether it be nasal presence or heat...something about it that I just don't enjoy that much.

 

Go brewing salty after chelada with sea salt and lime
...a sort of pale cloudy light gold appearance with a very thin but lasting head
...medium carbonation with the body being a little thin but not watery
..aroma is as advertised,salty lime but with some cereal and grain in the background
...taste is salty lime again but still a nice amount of cereal,grain with a bit of toasted grain in the finish.
...overall this was surprisingly way better than I was expecting