New Beer Weekend #257

Cloven Hoof - BA Slow Jamz - Get this, a BA imperial blackberry porter with chocolate and molasses. Looks weird, tastes weird.



Paradise Lost - saisons are so good that it's hard to figure what a bad one tastes like. That funky, spicy, barnyard hits the right area. How troubling.

Would rather have another one of those porters than deal with someone who manages to lose their keys and wallet every time they pull them out of their pocket...

 

Back in the hotel room in Warroad, MN. I got this in some beer mail today from @CanConPhilly .

Sluggin' Buds - Other Half Brewing- Brooklyn, NY - 8% NEIPA

This beer is so damn delicious and layered. I am enjoying it.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33510/606757/
4.4/5 rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
From a 16oz can, canned on 05/26/2025

In a crappy hotel plastic cup. The beer has a beautiful murky looking golden color. There's a frothy looking white colored head that has good retention. I am liking the sticky lacing on the glass.
The aroma is dominated by the hops. I am getting a ton of grass in the nose. I am getting a good cantaloupe hit on the nose. Slightly earthy smelling.
The flavor is full on melon. I am getting a huge hit of cantaloupe and honeydew. There's a nice grassy and earthy hint to the flavor. The bitterness is there, but low.
The body is so damn smooth. I am getting a very soft feeling in my throat.
Damn. This beer is so delicious.

Off to bed. See you all from the most northern point in the lower 48 tomorrow. Cheers.

 

Stigbergets Bryggeri (Sweden) ‘Top Pick’ BA Imperial Stout

This is a collab with Sweden’s Omnipollo Brewery, can art by renowned Swedish artist Neale Payling. 15% abv.

44 cl can poured into a Teku glass.

A short single finger of foam gets coaxed up by an aggressive pour. Deep deep black brew.

Nose is whiskey soaked lava cake, port wine, prunes, vanilla.

Taste charges in with the beautiful base Stout that thoroughly absorbed 2 years of Texas single malt whisky barrel (from Balcones Distillery, Waco, TX) and a slam of warmth. Finished gently with adjuncts of coconut, hazelnut and vanilla add only complimentary flavors - present, but not overwhelming. It’s a nice marraige. Each sip is a superpowered explosion, intense, sweet, mighty, and full On.

Mouth is dense and thick. Low carbonation.

Overall, a slow sipper sensory overload of brewing craftmanship, expert barreling, and instant buzz.

Ingredients: Golden Promise, Carafa Special 1, roasted barley, chocolate malt, pale chocolate malt, brown malt, coconut, hazelnut, vanilla, oats, hops, yeast, water. Unfiltered, unpasteurized.

Yeah - this is a solid 4.61/5 in the BA DB that I will be sipping on for most of the morning.,.

 

Sorry for letting you down @HoppingMadMonk I accidentally froze my can I was gonna have last night

Defrosted it thinking it would be fine, flat and still as heck, speck the whole night in freezer Friday, looked fine but seal most have broke.

I rectified it and drove the 5 minutes to grab a replacement for today though as we began our decent into the temperatures of hell.

 

Happy Sunday morning BAs! I drank this beer yesterday evening at the brewery and took my notes - BA “Russian Imperial Stout” by Geaghan Brothers Brewing, Bangor, ME:



Aged over one year in Jim Beam barrels. Poured black with ruby edges; beige head; poor cap retention; some spots of lace on agitation; heavy legs. Nose is bourbon, oak, chocolate. Taste follows nose, plus caramel, cherry, black licorice; semi sweet; no bitterness. Medium light body; light carbonation; barely silky feel; no warmth from abv. Overall, beer runs thin for abv verging on watery, which makes this tasty stout dangerous; more sweet than a typical RIS, but easy drinking and poundable.

4.25 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5
Score: 4.44 rDev 0 I added beer to database

We liked this limited release and drank two glasses last night…we may go back to the pub this rainy afternoon and drink more! Cheers y’all from Bangor, ME!

 

I checked out a new place...called Drop of the Creator. Its a distillery, that makes a lot of cocktails, but also brewers a few beers.

First up is ØI, Norwegian Pale Ale at 5.3% ABV.

Brought out in a frozen glass with a big orange wedge on the side of the glass (which I removed) ha. Oh well.


Pours a darker orange color. A white head forms that sticks around for a minute with light lace left behind.
Certainly a citrus aroma up front. Kind of a potpourri and perfume like aroma going on that is a bit odd, but not bad.
Taste wise, citrus peal up front, but becomes sickly sweet. Caramelized and residual sugars. This becomes like an orange creamsickle cake after a minute.
A medium body and carbonation. Not particularly clean, and just kind of there body wise. It becomes a bit of a chore to finish after a while, and I'm looking for something else pretty quickly.

I'm assuming this also uses that Norwegian Kveik yeast, but I'm not 100% sure. As is, not something I care to try again, and I don't have much more to say...

Overall score is 3.1
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/70408/751262/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Next from Drop of the Creator...

Brays Bock, 5.5% ABV



Pours a dark, nearly opaque black color. A small beige head forms, and recedes in an instant.
Aroma is malty, sweet, kind of nondescript after that. Not a lot of nuance, but not bad.
Taste wise, again, that malty character up front. A lot of sweetness, caramel malts, granulated sugar. Not very refined.
A medium body that is a bit chewy, with moderate carbonation. Not particularly clean. Though OK to drink.

This is very unrefined, and not a lot of malty nuance. Its caramel malts and sugar that becomes cloying. I guess I liked it a bit better than their Pale Ale, but not saying a lot.

Overall score is 3.33
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/70408/751266/?ba=champ103#lists

A look at the distilling and brewing area. They did have a whiskey, but it was sourced from another distillery. Which isn't unusual for a new distillery as they can't really open out of the gate with any. The do make some clear spirits...gin, vodka, etc. Its in a neighborhood that doesn't have much of anything as far as beer or cocktails...so I think it will do really well here. It was packed when my friends and I visited on a Saturday. Will see how they progress...

 

Athletic layback lime and salt
...very clear as well as very pale light amber appearance with zero head.
....close to medium carbonation with a bit of a watery body. The salt impacts the feel as it coats the mouth and lingers
...aroma is lime fruit and peel, some wort,grain
...taste is is definitely lime upfront and just as some other flavors start to appear the salt shows up and smacks them out of your mouth
...not athletics best although still good. Would be refreshing post lawn mowing as it almost comes off like an electrolyte drink with all of the salt

 

High Light from Rorschach Brewing Co.

From a 473ml can dated 04/29/25. Poured into a pint glass. A two finger fine white head on a slightly hazy pale yellow. The head diminishes to a layer which sticks around. Lots of patchy lacing.

Malt smells with some corn in the nose. The taste is subdued but malt forward. Grains and bread. An almost imperceptible hop finish.

Very refreshing. A light body and good carbonation. Overall a top notch Light Lager. It manages to be light but still delivers a good malt flavour. Well worth a try.

3.94/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Peroni Non Filtrata

500ml bottle served in a mug in an AirBnB in Rome. Date seems to say 02/26 ROMA. Bought it about an hour ago at a Carrefour Express.

Pours slightly hazy light golden with no head, despite a non-negligible about of visible, active carbonation. Smell is skunky lager yeast, some break and lemon zest.

Taste is bready, lemony, lots of grass and earthiness, moderate grain sweetness (maybe a bit more than moderate), grassy bitterness seems to build on further sipping.

Mouthfeel is light, thin, borderline watery, though there's a bit of a detectable fizz to it. Overall...thoroughly unimpressive, not bad.

 

Enjoy your trip Ryan, hopefully you do some cool stuff and drink some cool beer.

 

Happy new beer Sunday, unexpected and welcome cloud cover today keeping temps tampered, but hell on earth arrives tomorrow for the week…so let’s give summer some love eh…even though this week I’m gonna wanna say f**k summer

I used to love this beer but when I read they changed the recipe I stopped buying it, without trying it; I know…trying to rectify that here. Hopefully others can make an informed decision based on my attempt below to review a widely available beer.

With that being said I present an old favorite, we’ll see if it’s a new favorite with the recipe change.

Victory - Summer Love (Blonde Ale 5.2%)



Pours a lightly chill haze gold, white head, cohesive; good thick cap persists with some lacing as it's drank down.

Nose is lightly fruity; I wanna say its stone fruit like, apricot comes to mind; light whiffs of orange, some pale malt sweetness rounds it out.

Taste leans into those hops; mostly get citrus peel vibes coupled with some leafiness; malt is present and lends a little sweetness with a light bit of toasted character on the finish.

Body is light-medium; has a little bit of a heaviness to it, syrupy to me; has a nice little hoppy bite, unfortunately inhibited by that sweetness mentioned; other wise clean beer, drinkability is lacking.

Well unfortunately this beer is nowhere near what it used to be like, at least in my memory; this beer is too heavy to be drinkable to me, it reminds me of most blondes but that lingering residual malt really detracts for me. I will finish this beer and I wouldn't turn one down if offered but not a future purchase, and glad I went with a single.

Sadly like most of Victory's old beers another one gone, they're down to one original that I still think holds up...Hop Devil, and to a lesser extent Prima Pils, which has also been tampered with, oh well. It's OK the positive side is all the great local places we have nearby now

Cheers to new beers and all of you, I hope everyone is able to survive the heat this week and hopefully were back to average temperatures for next weekend's edition.

See you all next weekend, have a great week!

 

Central Waters Twenty Seven (XXVII) - Eastern Kille 25mo BBA Imperial Stout, 15.1% ABV. Pours thick and black with a ring of beige bubbles that left no lacing. Aroma is chocolate and bourbon. Taste is incredible, just the right balance of chocolate (not sure if due to chocolate malt and/or heavy char) and sweet bourbon. Excellent mouthfeel, overall outstanding. I'm rating this much higher than the 12yr Elijah Craig variant.

4.6/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

I fully expected to rate this lower than the 12yr EC variant, but this is far better IMHO.

 

We survived a bad monsoon/thunderstorm and after a break at Flag Island resort, we made it back to the resort we are staying at. Time for a new beer before we go back out fishing.

Ritual Herbs - Human Robot Brewing - Philadelphia, PA - German Pilsner- 4.8%

Tasty beer. Easy to drink, and a treat to enjoy while we wait to go back out fishing.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/58686/677338/
3.81/5 rDev -9.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From a 16oz can, canned on 02/12/2025

The pour is slightly murky looking and golden in color. There was a 1 finger white head on the beer. There's a bit of lacing on the glass.
The aroma is pleasing with floral and grain notes.
Taste - nice floral flavor up front. The hint of grain comes later on. Slight honts of sweetness come into play.There's a hint of bitterness that also hits on the back.
The body seems damn good for the style. There's a smoothness to the feeling.
Tasty and fun to drink.

I am sure I will be back later.

 

My new beer today is from Alvarium in New Britain CT. It's pretty obvious that the the can art is a reference to a certain simian adhesive company.

3.84/5 rDev -8.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Purchased at the source yesterday cold. Unfortunately, the purchaser (not me) left it in a warm car for 3-hours. Refrigerated immediately until served. Poured to a pretentious tulip-like glass from a 16oz can dated 4/30/25.
The beer body is extremely opaque and the color of apricot/peach flesh. An aggressive white head forms, but falls to a single layer within a minute or so. Lacing is clingy, some foam falling within 10-seconds, some staying for..well until another sip.
The aroma is of strawberries and a background of citrus.
There is berry in the taste, but resin dominates. The alcohol is not hidden.
The mouthfeel is average for the style. I think it could use a little more carbonation. Ironicly the beer is not "sticky".
Not too bad, but a little on the brutal side for resin and alcohol. Not that that’s a bad thing for everyone. Maybe its a sign of heat damage.

Read the SAFTEY TIP (and the brewer's description).

 

Brewfist - Spaceman

500ml can served in a wineglass. Bought it a little while ago at Johnny's Off License Campo de' Fiori in Rome. NR LOTTO:L250526, TMC/BB: 30/06/2026.

Pours crystal clear, light amber, medium sized head that turns quickly into a thick dusting clinging all the way up to the rim of the glass. Smell is grapefruit rind and pine, some earthy pine needles, resin bitterness.

Taste is all that and a little honeysuckle, tones down the bitterness slightly but that might be a mind trick caused by the increased sweetness introduced by the honeysuckle. Bitterness is still strong and dominant.

Mouthfeel is airy and smooth. Overall, a little off-center, but a good and interesting WC IPA.