New Beer Weekend #254

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Sippers and commentators. After a plentiful beer Saturday, I debated whether to pull the trigger on a 17% Russian Imperial Stout this afternoon. But with the name Musings of a Madman it seemed like serendipity. This Stout comes from Invertase Brewing Company in Phillipsburg, New Jersey (located across the Delaware River from Easton, PA). It is aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels and conditioned on coconut and cacao nibs. The brewery points out that was 4 years from brew day to bottling. This Stout should be sipped very slowly - not only because of the high ABV but the flavors develop nicely as it breathes.

Bottled in December 2024. Poured at 59°. It is nearly ink black. The attractive, dark mocha-colored head fizzled away very quickly leaving just a small ring around the glass. The smell is as expected: cocoa, fresh coffee, caramel, char, and a strong aroma of bourbon. Initially, the taste of bitter char and bourbon dominate. But between sips I can taste the cocoa nibs and a hint of coconut on my tongue. These tastes are rich and while not overly sweet, they temper the initial bitterness. As the Stout breathes in the glass, I also note an intriguing touch of dark fruit. The mouth feel is a tad thin for the gravity - speaking of which there is no avoiding the 17% ABV. I think I would prefer this Stout at 12-13%. Overall, Musings of a Madman grew on me with each sip.

4.09/5 rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

I'm going to cork the bottle and try it again in a week or so.

I hope you all have enjoyed your new beers this afternoon. We're headed to Missouri this week and hopefully I'll find some good new beers for next NBW. Have a great week, everyone. Cheers!

 

Very cool. Round Top and Giddings are in my universe, so I was curious. I've been going to HEBs since I was about 4-5 years old and still shop there now that I live in Houston. I think there's about 100 of them in the Greater Houston area.

Thanks for the story ... and I'm glad you were able to find some good beer!

 

Back again and this time at Hayes Public House in Buffalo, MN.

Rauchbier - Smoked Beer - 6.7%

Wow! I am in awe of this beer. It has everything I want today in a beer.

Review :
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33504/748292/
4.48/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
On tap at the brewery. It is a hand pull pour.

This beer is a dark amber color with light amber hues at the edge of the glass. The head is silky looking and 1 finger in size. Very tiny creamy looking tan bubbles. Great retention and sticky looking lacing on the glass as it dissipates.
The nose is beautiful. There's such a pleasing caramel malt smell backed up by a pleasing smoke.
Taste - wow! Caramel malts up front are the main flavor backed up by a pleasing smooth smoke flavor. The flavor doesn't end with the smoke: the flavor turns to smooth chocolate malts with a hint of toffee.
Smooth body. Creamy feeling. The effect from the smoke lingers.
Wow! I am so glad I made a stop here. This beer is so damn delicious.

I will have one more beer when I get home. Cheers!

 

Wife picked up this Fat Orange Cat Brewing beer for herself, but I definitely wanted to try what the can label calls a New Zealand Style Pilsner.
This is Cat's Meow, with an ABV of 5%. It is entered in the BA database as a German Pils as there is no category for New Zealand.

3.69/5 rDev -4.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Purchased and kept cold until served. Poured from a 16-oz can dated 4/17/25 to a Pils glass.
The beer pours out medium-yellow and slightly hazy. The ½-inch/13-mm head lasts maybe a minute and fades to a thin single layer. Lacing is quite good.
It Smells a little medicinal and oniony.
The taste is quite dry. Much more pleasant than the aroma. Quite hoppy but I cannot even come close to guessing which hop(s). No sense of biscuit or malt to speak of.
The mouthfeel is very Pilsner as is the carbonation.
If you like your Pilsners dry this is for you.

 

FUCK! Almost 23% FUCK! AWESOME!

Cheers!

 

Happy NBS!

Pretty tasty/juicy IPA from Outer Range (CO).

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/47922/732586/?ba=Wasatch#lists

Cheers!

 

I was going to wait till I get home, but it was so easy to get to Spilled Grain Brewing in Annandale, MN from Buffalo, MN. I also want to support them more since the main road getting there is under construction, and I know how that hurts a business.

Barnwood Bitter - ESB - 5.2%

The flavor has nice malty notes to it, and a pleasing bitterness on the back. Tasty.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/41674/183686/
3.68/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery.

This beer has a nice amber color to it, and is fairly clear looking. There's a touch of a white head on tap.
There's not much to the aroma. I am getting a fai t malt hint.
Taste: it is malty for sure. Getting a hint of bread in here. Some caramel notes. The star of the show is the bitterness. It is pleasing and long lasting.
That feeling from the bitterness just clings in my throat, and doesn't let go.
This is a good beer. I wish the aroma were more, but happy with the flavor.

Ok, now I won't be back till I get home. Cheers!

 

Interesting to hear that. I didn't know that aging syrup in wood was a thing, but after consulting with Mr Google I realize that it is. I am in a maple syrup producing area. We make it, we eat it and we sell what's left over. Usually it's stored or shipped in aluminum kegs not unlike beer kegs.

 

Fredericksburg is pretty cool. I've not spent much time there, but it's widely loved among the natives for the wineries and easy access to outdoor activities. I didn't know about the museum ... I'd like to go to that.

Speaking of Texas beers, I've got a new-to-me Texas brewed Irish dry stout:

Lone Pint's Clover Chaser • Irish dry stout • 4.5% ABV • 45 IBUs
(date on bottom of can is smudged to the point of being unreadable)

This one's interesting for a couple reasons, but the bottomline is it's a very well made stout at a drinking strength that is good enough that I'll look for a 6-pack come wintertime. It's got a weird funky note in the aroma that I can't place ... it's very subtle but I'd say it's mildly cheesy and tart, and I keep thinking balsamic vinegar. Other notes of coffee and even dark chocolate keep it in check. It's also extremely woody in the flavor, almost bitter, but that bitterness never becomes overpowering because the malt is doing enough to balance it out. It's not a sweet beer, but I think it's fair to say it's well balanced.

Official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30380/731895/?ba=Premo88#review
3.66 (-11.6% rDev)

My rating is by far the worst so far out of just 7 here on BA,com, which makes me think I've got a fairly old can and it isn't meant to age. If my version here showed just a tick of sweetness in the flavor, I'd rate it 4+ across the board. Even as it is, I like it. It's a style I would enjoy even more during colder weather.

Cheers!

 

Yeah mostly the crap that leaves Texas

 

Firestone Walker/Odell Wandering Don IPA, 7.0% ABV; 4.15 overall

Pours an effervescent gold with a thumb of ivory colored head. Average-ish head retention & better lacing

S: Citrus, orchard fruit, & slight breadyness, plus mango in abundance

T: Dry with mineral hops, green melons, apricot & faint tangerine up front, a little mango as well. Peaches, dryness & faint mango once this beer is warmed up, some pomelo as well. Finishes dry with green melon, pear & mango

MF: Medium body, fairly lively carbonation, nice balance

Easy to drink, nice flavors & nose

 

That beer sounds fantastic!

 

Every time a new one from there enters the market, I get my hopes up & more meh to alright beers, which there are plenty of those here already. I don't even think the transplants are buying them & know the college kids ain't

 

Technically a new beer for me.



Drinks an awful lot like a big lagunitas ipa. Not a huge amount of malt character. Very clean and approachable. Not too much hop character shouting out. By the numbers. Not a single thing is wrong but similarly not too much to scream from the rooftops.

 

Mac Ronain, an Imperial Irish Lager (8.0%) from Soundgrowler, Tinley Park if memory serves. I liked it, but it started off too sweet, boozy also.
That being said, this was not in the BA DB of beers, Imperial Irish Lager is not a style so I put it under Dark European Lagers, xxit happens.

3.52/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a murky reddish brown, small khaki head. Nose gets grain, some warm bread. Caramel taste, a bit too sweet. A one and done.

 

To me, this is almost exactly like Saint Arnold's Irish Hello...which is saying that is very good. If this is this years only batch, then yeah, its almost certainly past its prime for a low abv stout. And for whatever reason, Lone Pint's date codes are always smudged beyond readable ha.