New Beer Weekend #258

In Bologna now. This is a session rye IPA, 3.9%

 

It's been a good week. Cooler temperatures and a couple of much-needed thunderstorms. The first precipitation in around four months.
I picked up a 4 pack of La Cumbre's Project Dank, Saturn Division. Canned 6/4/25.
The beer is a clear gold color with a small white head and a bit of lace.
Mostly a fruity aroma, stone fruit and citrus. A little bit of tropical fruit, and a hint of pine.
Taste of peaches, grapefruit, grapefruit rind, and pineapple. A little pine late.
Mouthfeel moves seamlessly from sweet to dank.
Thoroughly enjoyed this beer!

 

Third new to me beer in Vegas, also the third straight from Russian River.

Russian River Happy Hops IPA

3.6/5 rDev -13%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5



6/28/25 - (Bottle - Brother DA’s Home) (Las Vegas, Nevada) Bottle Notes: Purchased 6/26/25 at Khoury’s refrigerated for $6.49 with tax. 17.25 oz bottled 5/29/25 at 12:08 PM. 6.5% ABV. Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa & Windsor, California.

Happy Hops was originally brewed in 1944 by the Grace Brother’s Brewery in Santa Rosa, CA! We are paying homage to the Grace family, whose brewery closed in the 1960’s, and have revived “Happy”, the charming hop character who graces the front of this label. Happy Hops is an IPA brewed with both new and old world hop varieties, giving this beer bold aromas and flavors with notes of tropical and stone fruits.

Appearance: Crystal clear golden blond base, bright white head laves generous soapy lacing and complete creamy cover over the base. Minimal carbonation after initial burst. Looking good. 4.25

Aroma: Citrus, tangerine and grapefruit. Light medium in strength, tropical. 3.5

Taste: Citrus retains pole position, grapefruit and tangerine back. Mouthfeel dominates the proceedings. 3.5

Mouthfeel: Mildly dry, very bitter. Adds depth to the faintly carbonated and watery light body. Drinks stronger than the 6.50% ABV. Bitter citrus and grapefruit Start to Finish. 4.0

Overall: This is the first departure from the classic IPA hop varieties from Russian River. While I’m enjoying and feel this is a good beer, it is one I wouldn’t pick up often between my taste preferences and the great variety of alternatives they brew. Would recommend for someone looking for a slight,y modern twist on Russian River’s popular offerings. 3.5

 

Maestri del Sannio - Spaccarella

750ml bottle served in a pair of champagne glasses. 2023 vintage. Lotto VIIIE21SP. Bought it a few days ago at Johnny's Off License in Rome, where they described it as Italy's Fou' Foune. Has had a rough few days, been packed into a suitcase and moved cities twice. Little bit of foamover on opening the cap.

Pours very hazy apricot-amber color, whitish-yellow around the edges, moderate head on the pour that disappears quickly and leaves a very champagne-style sparse ring with a lot of carbonation. Smell is lots of apricot, very stonefruity, tart, some twigs. Bit of barnyard funk.

Taste is tart, dry, lots of apricot again. Oaky tannin bitterness, apricot skin bitterness. General stone fruit vibe without much sweetness.

Mouthfeel is medium to light, dry and clean, light prickle. Overall, this is quite nice. I had a Fou' Foune last night, I wouldn't say it's a fair comparison head to head, but believably a high quality homage.

 

When I first read this question, my answer was going to be, "I will happily try a new beer any time of the year."

This is still largely true. But as I'm writing this answer, it occurs to me that my search for new beers shifts into the next higher gear during the hop harvest (roughly August through October). This is when breweries in the NW start making "fresh hop" beers, which use freshly harvested hops within a matter of hours after they're pulled off the bines.

It is a special time of year, and by far my favorite beer season.

 

New Beer Weekend for me from bonnie Scotland:

Tennent's Lager • European pale lager • 4% ABV
(January 31, 2026 best-by date printed on bottom of can)

I just got off the golf course and wanted something wet and cold. Check and Check. After that, this beer lacks in the main thing I think differentiates the good Euro pale lager from the average: barley. There's not much barley malt presence in this beer, and most of that is all in the nose. It's cheap, it's fizzy, and if I compare it to something like Bud Light or Miller Light, it wins in a landslide. But compared to Samuel Smith's Organic Pale Lager? Big loser.

Still, it's far from terrible. It just weirdly has a bang average "beer" flavor with no real sweetness and only a vague hop bitterness.

No official review yet, but I did score it 3.45 overall (+7.8% rDev).

This is shortly becoming a shower beer after I wash away the sea salt buildup from playing 18 holes along the East Coast of Scotland. Stonehaven Golf Club was a perfect introduction to true links style golf:

Cheers!

 

Dropping by with a quick review of my only new beer of the weekend. We're in a much-needed lull between heat; things will kick off again tomorrow.

For this week's question, I tend to drink far more new beers in the winter as there's usually something that needs doing outside when the weather warms and I tend to run low on time in the afternoons. I like to sit for a while with a new beer and get to know it, so tend to stick with old favorites over the summer.

Today’s beer is:
Mackeson XXX Stout (Carib Brewery USA version)
4.9% milk stout



Pours opaque black with a one-finger tan head.

Aromas of cocoa, milk chocolate, semi-dark chocolate, pumpernickel bread.

Not surprisingly, this is all about the sweet chocolate. Straight off the pour, milk chocolate dominates with some cocoa, slight black bread, and roast coffee with plenty of cream and sugar on the finish. As it warms, some bitterness finally comes through as dark chocolate, helping to round things out. Even after warming, the aftertaste remains sweet and builds to cloying as you work through the pour.

The carb is moderate but just a little harsh. Medium body makes this one go down easy

Overall, a serviceable milk stout. As it warms, the one-dimensional nature drops away and this becomes quite nice, but the slight cloying sweetness detracts a bit.

 

Wow!! Enjoy your trip, looks and sounds like you're having a great time.

And @snaotheus hope you continue to enjoy your time in Italy.

 

Drekker Strawberry Swirlee Creamsicle Sour, 13% ABV. Pours dark red with a persistent one-finger light-red pink head that left puree residue. Aroma is strawberry smacking you in the face, and ice cream. Flavor is strong strawberry up front, with ice cream smoothing things out later, quite tart, moderately sweet. Smooth mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.21/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

I'm probably trying new to me brews 70-80% of the time and it really does not matter what time of the year it is as i will sip on imperial stouts when it is upper 80's/55% humidity or enjoy a pilsner when it is a cool day in the 30's. I go with the mood of the palate!

Yesterday Da Boss and i went on a back roads drive to Innovation Brewing in Sylva, NC for some lunch and pints. Spied a "new to me" WCIPA "West Piney Mountain" on the menu that thought was worth checking out on name alone. Enjoyed a couple of pours and decided to fill a half growler for today.

Reviewing the 32 oz growler 6-28-25 and draft pours 6-27-25:

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

Beer poured without a lot of head whereas at the brewery it was a nice head and extremely clear lighter gold.

Nose is wonderful as the citrus and floral hops shine through and are very fresh.

Taste is spot for the style as the pale malt base gives a touch of bread in the background. The hops are the star of course as i get a nice combination of grapefruit and tangerine up front. The finish is piney with a nice resin on the back end to assure the imbiber they are drinking a Westy; 8/10 on my bitterness scale.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and very refreshing.

Overall, this is an excellent representation of the style. I hope it makes it into distribution as my local grocer carries the Innovation line!
Cheers!
Tom

 

At least in Aberdeen there were Tennent's pouring competitions. Pubs would get awards for the best poured Tennent's with its own technique and steps. While I'm not familiar with what those steps are, its taken as seriously as Guinness Draught pouring in Ireland in some places ha. I agree, its pretty average, if far from bad. Though I think I only ordered it once in Aberdeen, no reason to waist good liver space when every place had cask and Scotch, ha.

Anyway, nothing new for me today...just popping in to see everyone's reviews...I'll be over at the WBAYDN thread for beers and tunes though

 

East Side - Fumolento, a smoked baltic porter from Italy

330ml can served in a champagne glass. Label says LOTTO No 84-2024 Best Before 01-2027. Bought it yesterday at Archea, I think.

Pours dark brown-black with a dark head, not very big, settles into a thin cap and a moderate amount of active carbonation. Smell is moderate wood smoke and stronger chocolate, maybe just-barely-burnt toffee and just-barely-burnt coffee. Seems like the smoke comes out a bit stronger each time I smell it.

Taste is actually a pretty nice addition of light to moderate smoke to a baltic porter rich sweetness, brings to mind a smoked maple syrup on dark chocolate (not that I ever had such a thing, but I would). Bitterness does come across in the flavor, almost bark flavor.

Mouthfeel is rich, smooth, soft. Overall, I'm pretty impressed.

 

Good Saturday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. I usually wait til Sunday for reviews but this new DIPA from nearby Double Tap Brewing Company was canned yesterday so I wanted to pop one. Identity Crisis, 9.5% ABV, is hopped with Lotus, Citra, and Mosaic, and it's a very tasty ale! I'm fortunate to have two very good, up and coming, breweries just minutes away (the other being Autodidact).

It is a murky, bright orange with a modest, milky-white head and lots of thick, clinging lacing. A big, fruity nose featuring orange/tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple, and mixed berries. Its flavor pops with lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, and pineapple, over vanilla cream. It has a Creamsicle quality. At mid-sip there are notes of ripe red berry and pine sap. It is bitter throughout but not biting. One thing I really like is that despite being uber fresh there is very little hop burn. It is very easy to drink. This ale has a thick, plush mouth feel with a pleasant level of carbonation, and while not exactly crushable it doesn't feel like 9.5% ABV. Overall, Identity Crisis is well-crafted and surprisingly delicate for its alcohol level. I'm looking forward to its evolution over the next week or two. An excellent hazy by Double Tap.

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

I wouldn't be surprised if I buy another pack of this ale for 4th of July weekend.

I look forward to joining you all tomorrow with a special BA Stout. Cheers, NBW!

 

I remember the alive form stinging the crap out of me a few times in England.

 

That style is still is as rare Hen's Teeth here

 

Enjoy!