New Beer Weekend #257

Brewing Projekt Carrot Cake X-tra Special Delivery Imperial Herb and Spice Beer, 9.3% ABV. Pours orange with a two-finger sturdy orange head that left carrot puree residue. Aroma is carrot, spices, and vanilla. Taste is strong carrot, plus spice and vanilla, quite sweet, moderately bitter. Aftertaste is better than the taste. Thick and creamy with light carbonation. Overall very goodish.

3.91/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

I suspect they'll eventually have pumpkin and banana variants.

 

Your photo and comment of “caramel” got me wondering whether they used any specialty malts (e.g., Caramel Malt?) in the production of this Czech Pale Lager.

From the Godspeed website:

“Our pale lager features exquisite Saaz hops and Czech floor-malted barley. A double decoction mash offers distinct malt depth to the finished beer…”

https://www.godspeedbrewery.com/shop/svetly-lezak-12

No mention of any specialty malt above so it would seem they are achieving darkening and maltiness from their decoction (boiling) process.

Would you happen to know of they have direct fire in the brewery (vs. steam heating)?

Na Zdravi

 

Good question. I don't know. I noticed that earlier reviews describe it as more pale. If I am not mistaken it has been out of production for a while so maybe the process is a bit different now. Their Sklepnik beer comes in two versions so we know that they switch thinks up a bit.

 

It's been a few weeks, NBW. I've enjoyed reading about all your new beers, but obviously it's far more fun to participate.

Today's new beer is another good one from JA. Maybe back with another later today, we'll see what I pull from the fridge.

Jack's Abby Bohemian Twilight
5.5% Czech Amber Lager



Pours medium amber with a two-finger white head that dissipates somewhat quickly.

Aromas of caramel, toasted brown bread, grain, and some herbal and earthy hops.

The taste is similar, with the sweet caramel hitting first and lingering throughout the sip. Toasted bread blends well with the caramel and there's some honey and biscuit going on too. All this joins with hints of berry through the middle of the sip. The big difference on the palate is the hop presence. It builds throughout the sip and comes to the fore on the finish with bold herbal and spice notes and moderate bitterness.

Moderate and fine carb and medium body with a dry finish.

No one aspect sticks out here; everything works together to make a complete package. The combination of sweet malt, herbal and spice bitterness, and a dry finish make this an all-around pleaser. The dry and hoppy finish keep you coming back for more. Really quite enjoyable.

 

FWIW from my readings it appears that Godspeed is very much 'inspired' by the brewing at the Pilsner Urquell (Plzeňský Prazdroj) brewery.

When I took a tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery the tour guide made a point to emphasize they use direct fire to boil their kettles and they achieve a very high temperature (600 degrees C) which caramelizes the wort. Maybe Godspeed also does this to brew like they do at the Pilsner Urquell brewery?

I have toured a number of US craft breweries and it seems that most (all?) of them are built to be steam heated which is a gentler, lower temperature boil. I suppose this permit them more flexibility to brew pale colored beers and if they desire batches with more color just add a bit of specialty malts to achieve a dark(er) color.

Cheers!

Edit: @KP7 above discussed a Jack's Abby beer. That brewery uses steam for heating.

 

The next time I am there I will try to find out.

 

First foray into the weekend is a collaboration between Burial in Asheville and Brujos Brewing in Portland for a Quad IPA weighing in at 11.5 abv packaged four days ago. One of several colabs coinciding with Burial's 12th Anniversary including Allagash and the regionally relished Halfway Crooks.

Onto the review:

4.26/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Picked up a single 16 oz can from the Asheville South Slope location on 6-20-25 for $8.00. Canned on 17 JUN 2025; consumed 6-21-25.

Beer poured hazy light orange with a nice white head that dissipated pretty quickly.

Nose is very nice as the tropical and citrus hops are nicely burst and available to the imbiber to enjoy.

Taste is a large but surprisingly light malt base. Hopping is massive as i am getting orange, passion fruit, some grapefruit, and some piney notes. Finishes with some hop burn, -.25 points. Bitterness is 7/10 on my scale.

Mouthfeel is light bodied and both soft and very smooth.

Overall, an interesting brew, figured once the abv goes north of 10.5 it would be burny. One was enough to satisfy my curiosity.
Happy Saturday!
Tom

 

Another day, and another new beer. I am sitting in the garage, and it is 91° F right now.

Hibiskissed Blonde - Castle Danger Brewing - Two Harbors, MN - American Blonde Ale - 5.2%

This beer does have flaws. It is very light and watery feeling. The flavor is weak compared to the nose. It is tasting good out here at the moment in spite of the flaws.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25567/751108/
3.61/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
From a 12oz can, canned on 04/15/2025

The beer has a bit of a pink hue to it, but is generally golden in color. There's a 2 finger white head to it that didn't last too long, and no lacing on the glass.
I get a huge floral hit off this beer. Roses and hibiscus are strong here, and are pleasing on this hot day. There's a faint malt hint in the aroma as well.
Taste - the flavor is a bit bland up front. There's a faint malt hint there with a touch of sweetness to it. The back is where the rose and hibiscus hit, but not as much as the nose let on. There's a slight bitterness on the back.
The body does seem light, and a bit watery.
The beer is nothing special, and it has flaws, but, sitting outside in 90°+ weather, it tastes good.

I may be back much later when we get to Warroad. Maybe we will be there early enough to make it to Lake of the Woods Brewing.

 

King Fern by Tree House Brewing


4.48/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Brewers notes: King Fern is a Double IPA utilizing Citra, Motueka, Peacharine, and Paradisi which swirl with notes of orange zest, peach, passionfruit, lime, and creamy vanilla!

Night falls, colors fade and a secretive work begins. Imagine the jungle of New Zealand as a cross section starting with the tail of the Milky Way—bright and frozen in its celestial spin. As we descend through this living roof, hands of all shapes and sizes traverse the smattering of vine and limb. Underneath the roil of life, in dirt as black as night, a crown unfurls fit for a king.King Fern is a Double IPA as robust as its namesake. Poured vigorously, a cloud of white rises above the glass carrying the amplified hop notes explored in our Fern series. Citra swirls with Peacharine, bringing forth character of orange zest and floral summer peach. Following behind, Motueka brings notes of ripe passionfruit and lime to this special blend.

Canned 6.3.25,opened 6.20.25

“Live well”

16 ounce chilled it poured into a Taku by the pool, hazy yellow orange liquid capped by a one finger off white foam cap and cloaking lacings

Aroma is citrus , tangerine,

Taste is orange and vanilla, creamsicle, peach

Smooth mouthfeel , hop flavor but not biting

Good beer

 

New Beer So New Weekend that I had to add it to the BA.com database:

Japas Cervejaria • Golden Ale with guava and jasmine • 5% ABV

16 oz. crowler filled at Premium Draught in Houston

Short version: It's OK at best, and I wouldn't have bought it if I'd known it had guava and jasmine in it. Premium Draught didn't indicate on their board that it did, so let it be a lesson to the kids out there to always ask before you try something completely unknown.

It's not terrible. The base beer is average, fairly yeasty and earthy, but the aroma is lightly sweet with a bit of bready malty character, and little hints of something sweet keep trying to poke through on the flavor.

Official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/53187/751120/?ba=Premo88#review
3.31 (0.0% rDev — my review is the first)

This is my first 16 oz. crowler from Premium Draught, and I'll likely try more of these. I probably won't pour them because this one has lost about 60-70% of its carbonation between the original fill and my pouring it into a glass, but I love drinking out of the can anyway.

Cheers!

 

Just back from my son’s spring season soccer tourney. They started off with a tough loss to Mexico, then a draw with Germany and finished up with a dominating victory over Canada. He plays for Brazil. He plays in the North Toronto Nitros club house league. After the games, some hot dogs and pizza were enjoyed, a couple faces got painted and a few Freezies were consumed.

Now back at home, I decided to crack open a cellar stout from one of Canada’s greatest breweries, Barncat Artisan Ales. Sadly, the brewery shut down about a year ago. Luckily, my beer hoarding has me with about 10 or so assorted barrel aged stouts and porters tucked away.

This is BBA Rat Queen Imperial Stout.



Pours a deep black brown with limited head.

The aroma is a melange of barrel notes, dry wood, licorice, coffee and cocoa.

Taste follows closely. Well integrated flavours. The barrel really shines on the finish.

The body is medium and the beer is very drinkable.

Every time I crack into one of my remaining Barncat beers, I lament the loss of the brewery. Thankfully, I’m told, one of the brewers is doing some beers at another nearby brewery now. I haven’t been yet, but plan to check it out soon.

Cheers.

 

Howdy, NBWers!

(ignore my snack - Xpost from WBAYDN)

Just about done with this first ever Societe beer for me, The Apprentice IPA. 7.2%
Canned 5.20.25

4.02/5 rDev -3.6%

look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L - classic west coast appearance - good clarity, head stayed for minutes, good carbonation, the best thing about the beer (alas).
S - a mixed bag of indistinct grass, pine, forest floor, some citric zest-pith stuff...and it carries over to the
T - more of the same, nice and dry (which I like) but not much body to it, you almost expect a wave of good bitter at the end, and then... nah, just over the dry cliff. Intriguing, but solid, just expected something different out of a big San Diego beer place.
F - mouthfeel is good, because of the lack of bitterness, almost too smooth to drink these B2B on a hot afternoon. Great carbonation, which helps with the liveliness.
O - another WCIPA, solid, but nothing mind-blowing!

 

One more new one for me:

Lone Pint Brewery's Little Rose • American IPA • 4.4% ABV • 41 IBUs

SMaSH beer with pilsner malt and mosaic hops (same SMaSH combination as their Yellow Rose)

I can't say why I've taken so long to get to this beer, but suffice it to say the 6-pack of it I bought will not be the last time this beer graces the innards of my fridge. Fantastic American pale ale (minor rant: I hate that they call it an IPA b/c IPAs should start at 5.5% or 6%, but whatevs ... we all gotta pay the rent I guess) that almost completely mirrors Yellow Rose just with a lot less barley malt. As a result, this beer is way less sweet than Yellow Rose, so it's more grapefruit peel than grapefruit juice if you dig, but otherwise it's got that flavor plus all the "green" hop notes I tend to get from this hop profile — green onions, cilantro, lemongrass. And there's just enough sweetness from the malt to keep it from being a bitter mess, though it's still on the very dry side IMO.

Brewers that can deliver this much flavor and engagement sub 4.5% ABV get all the bonus points from me. I love that I can drink 2-3 of these, maybe even 4-5, and still be upright and chipper.

Official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30380/700428/?ba=Premo88#review
4.64 (7.9% rDev)

I'd love to have equally fresh examples of this beer and Founder's All-Day IPA. Little Rose reminds me so much of that beer.

Cheers!

 

Just saw the first of Fidens in AZ. Huge mark up in price— $10/can, but I had to try given the hype around this brewery. Tried out the butcher, the vegan, and Jasper. Jasper is my favorite of the three, as it’s full bodied and citrusy with a pleasant backend bitterness. I’m not a huge dank, herbal/grassy, or funky melon fan and the butcher/the vegan had some profiles around that. Still solid but not in my preference wheelhouse. Fun to try, but no IPA is worth that price per can. Cheers!

 

Good evening all you weekend new beer lovers. Been a minute since I checked in. Getting ready for the heat here next week. Getting caught up on all the gardening. Planting things this late, hope we have a warm Fall season. Still got tj8ngs to do. I've never had much luck starting my own seeds. Took a chance on a variety of eggplant we like...darn near all of em sprouted. I've given away a bunch and still have more than I need...oh well.

So a refreshing brew for tonight:



Huh...all it says is IMG so hopefully the picture shows up, or maybe Imjur is on the fritz. Barreled Souls Just Ring the Eff'n Bell. The expletive is beeped with characters and is too much work to type out. Blueberry sour with vanilla.

Pours a slightly cloudy reddish color with a huge but fleeting head. Head lands as an even, thin cap.

The nose has a little crisp maltiness, lots of blueberry, just a hint of vanilla.

The taste is much richer. Tons of blueberry and a hefty smack of vanilla. The sweetness of the vanilla balances the tartness of the fruit and fermentation. Once you get past the onslaught, the base spur checks in with a little biscuits malt- not much but its there. In the aftertaste there's a lingering sourness and I get some tea-like aromatics. It's a pretty good flavor combination.

The feel is a little beyond light. No bitterness at all. Noticeably sour but not a paint peeler. The aftertaste lingers and keeps it from being super refreshing.

So..overall this beer packs a bigger than expected flavor punch. Very flavorful and nicely done. Thinking in the 3.8 range.

 

Icarus 9 degree bros czech pale lager
....pale fairly clear gold appearance
...medium carbonation with a close to average body
...aroma is a hit of yeast foremost followed by crusty yeasty bread. Grain as well as some toasted grain shows up as well.
....taste is the yeasty crusty bread and toasted grain upfront. A slight dry grain taste lingers in the aftertaste
...overall its flavorful and at 3.7 abv it goes down very easy

 

Chouffe light
.... ultra clear light amber appearance
...just below average carbonation with a medium body which all added up to a nice feel
.. aroma is odd but it smells like banana with walnut. Some mild apple and slightly floral and candy like
...taste has some mild sweetness, slightly syrupy, mixed fruit and something similar to fruitcake but in a good way
....overall its actually very good. I was expecting a watered down version of the original but it stands on its own fairly well

 

Hello...is there anyone out there??. Im posting three in a row?

...Founders midsummer melon, tequila and watermelon gose
...very clear pinkish amber appearance
...medium light carbonation with a thick syrupy body
...aroma is a major hit of watermelon and tequila. As I take in more its just different variations of the same. Watermelon candy and boozy sweet tequila
....taste is definitely sweet, watermelon candy upfront with the tequila building and dominating the aftertaste for the most part
...one at a time is enough but it definitely delivers on flavor