New Beer Weekend #261

Annapolis

My wife and I visited Annapolis to do some sightseeing: US Naval Academy, Maryland State House, etc. There are a number of old buildings in town surrounded by scaffolding and being renovated. One example of an old building being renovated is the Old Treasury building that is next to the Maryland State House which is presently totally enclosed by scaffolding. We need to get back once this renovation is complete.

One of the activities we performed during our self-guided walking tour of the historic district was to visit a number of Irish Pubs, the Middleton Inn and Federal House to see what sorts of beers they had available for Happy Hour festivities. The place we (I) selected to visit late in the day was the Federal House and according to the bartender that served us, this place has the best tap list in Annapolis (which was consistent with our findings earlier in the day). We also ate dinner at the Federal House and my crab cake platter was excellent!

https://federalhouse.com/

Today’s new beer has an ‘interesting’ brand name: Nepenthe Werewolf Deathgrip and the beer is a Kolsch.

I have never heard of this brewery before so a bit of web surfing is in order. The brewery is located in Baltimore according the Beer Advocate and:

“We are a 10-bbl brewery with a spacious yet cozy taproom that features an open kitchen serving creative bar cuisine, and an award-winning homebrew retail shop all under one roof.”

The Federal House had a very good beer menu book and I snapped a photo of the details for this beer:



A visit to the brewery’s website yields:

“WEREWOLF DEATHGRIP

AMERICAN KÖLSCH | 5.5% ABV

Draft & 6pks to go

MALT + HOPS: German Pils, Vienna, and a touch of corn, DDH with Amarillo and Hallertau Blanc

NOTES: A soft, slightly toasted malt character and subtle hints of ripe orange and lemongrass give way to a crisp, dry finish. Perilously refreshing.”

Served in a stemmed Pilsner glass:

Appearance

Golden yellow in color with a bit of haze and a white head.

Aroma:

There is a combination of bready malt aroma accompanied with a subtle, but noticeable, hop aroma of citrus (orange/tangerine) and fruitiness.

Taste:

Flavor follows the nose with a pleasing balance of bready malt flavor and subtle citrus/fruity flavors. There is a low/moderate bitterness

Mouthfeel

Medium bodied with a dry finish.

Overall

I very much enjoyed drinking this beer. I appreciated the deft hand of the brewer in subtly combining hops (e.g., small dry hop additions) to provide a pleasing balance of malt/grain flavors and hop flavors.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet

P.S. I wondered what the name Nepenthe meant and a web search yielded:

“What does the Greek word nepenthe mean?

not-sorrow

Analysis. Figuratively, nepenthe means "that which chases away sorrow". Literally it means 'not-sorrow' or 'anti-sorrow': νη-, nē-, i.e. "not" (privative prefix), and πενθές, from πένθος, pénthos, i.e. "grief, sorrow, or mourning".”

What a great name/meaning for a brewery: "that which chases away sorrow".

 

@Whyteboar thanks for your open and sorry for your reduced sense of smell.

Out on the Arts District in my last night in Vegas. Had a few already, including a few high ABV pours, so think I’ll stick with non new selections the rest of evening. This is my first stop at this taproom, but have hadtheur beers and visited their brewery on Tenaya previous.

Las Vegas Brewing Company Pilsner

3.61/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.



7/18/25 - (Las Vegas Downtown Taproom) (Las Vegas, Nevada) Brewery Notes: $9 plus tax 16 oz draft pour, gift from DA. 5% ABV German Pilsner.

Appearance: Light crystal clear straw pour, light carbonation, white carbonation fades quickly, leaving but a brief ring and partial cover over the base. 3.75

Aroma: Nice crisp cracker, pepper and salt. Saab hops hopping. 4.0

Taste: Taste fainter, but what comes through is consistent with the aroma. Light cracker, no backing. 3.5

Mouthfeel: Faint carbonation, leans sweet, Drinks light and east, sweet buttered bread on the finish. 3.25

Overall: Nice and easy Pilsner, probably should revisit after having two heavy ABVs previous, it is good and I’ll try it next visit. 3.5

 

Good evening New Beer Weekenders! Thanks Craig for opening the festivities! We're in Decorah, IA, staying at my fav hotel, Winneshiek, for a couple of days while we explore the local area. Just had a delicious dinner at the Rubaiyat - Ahi tuna on a waffle for me and some dead sheep for Mrs Lizard, with some TG beers.
Tonight's New (Late) Breakfast Beer is:



Whenever I can find any stouts/barleywines from Revolution, I buy them - the pack toads never haul them in NW PA where I live -

Vanilla Deth from Revolution. Four pack of 12 fl oz cans. Picked up at Chalet Party Shop in Goshen, IN, 15/07/25. $ 38.51 (Including tax)/$ 0.80 per fl oz. Reviewed 18/07/25 (Review 3551). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “FILLED NOV/03/2021.” Served at 58.8 degrees F in a hand washed and dried glass coffee cup I use when traveling. The final temperature is 60.6 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.2 cm, aggressive center pour). Tan, high density, average retention, dropping to a 2 – 3 cm crown and a thin, complete cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.25 – Milk chocolate and caramel with actual vanilla.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins slightly sweet with some chocolate and caramel. No yeast, no hops. No alcohol (13.6 % ABV, according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Mild gastric warming. Sorry – the vanilla is gone. Still quite nice.
Palate – 4 – Medium: Creamy: Soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Uncredited label artist. Excellent brew, despite being nearly four years old – stored on room temperature shelf. Vanilla flavor is long gone but some of the nose remains.
Rating 4.31, rDev -0.5%

 

Likely last call for tonight. A collaboration between Pizza Port, The Silver Stamp, and a few other local Las Vegas establishments.

Pizza Port Slot Surfer

4.18/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25



7/18/25 - (The Silver Stamp) (Las Vegas, Nevada) Bar Notes: $9 16 oz draft pour, gift from DA. 7.3% ABV West Coast IPA.

Appearance: Light clear straw yellow pour, light sustained carbonation, white carbonation, covers the base and leaves significant creamy lacing. Really nice. 4.5

Aroma: Nice citrus aroma, backed by pine and lemon. 4.0

Taste: Taste slightly different, pine with the lead, citrus, tangerine. Blends well. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Dry and pretty bitter the first takeaways. Drinks a bit lighter than the ABV. Piney bitter finish. 4.0

Overall: This is a solid traditional old school WCIPA. Perhaps a bit more bitter than expected, but everything falls well into place. Not sure I’ll see it again, but glad my brother treated me to this selection to close out a Vegas Friday night. 4.25

 

Supporters, a European Pale Lager from Rorschach Brewing Co.

From a 355ml can dated 04/01/25 pored into a pint glass. A big one finger fluffy white head on a very slightly hazy dark gold. The head diminishes to a layer. Good head retention. lots of patchy lacing.

Malts and herbal hops in the nose. The taste follows the nose. A good malt body. Moderately sweet. Low to moderately bitter. Noble hop finish.

A medium/light body with good carbonation. Overall a pretty good European Pale Lager.

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

 

I had two new beers at Equal Parts Brewing this week.

Spin Jammer, a so called West Coast Pils. 5% ABV



Pours a crystal clear yellow color. A dense white head forms with good retention and lace left behind.
In the nose...pine, citrus floral aromas. Yeah, this could be an IPA.
Taste wise, Follows the nose, with that pine and citrus flavors. There is a resin like character and a bit floral. Sweeter in the finish and a bitterness lingering.
A medium body with crisp carbonation. This could have a drier finish for me, but also really clean. Very easy to drink and come back to, even if its not my preferred type of "Pilsner."

I'm not the biggest fan of the lagers/Pilsners that are just substitutes for IPA's. This certainly has some of those characteristics, but it is also well made and clean. These 'West Coast Pils" or whatever are never going to be my favorite, but this is still well worth having on occasion.

Overall score is 3.73, easy B, bordering on B+
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/44383/751470/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Equal Parts Pub Ale, English Dark Mild, at 3.5% ABV

I was really looking forward to trying this when I saw it on tap.

Well...unknown to me when I ordered this, this is only on Nitro. I typically avoid Nitro at all costs, cause my opinion will almost always be negative. But its also the breweries own fault for not labeling this correctly on the menu...Its also served in the wrong glass, which makes it near impossible to pour correctly as well.



Poured in a version of an hour shaped pint glass for some reason. The dense head takes forever to settle, and when it does it fills a good quarter of the regular hour glass, and feel I'm being cheated out of some ounces.. If you have proper glassware, like a Nonic, this would be fine. As is, no. A dark brown color.
A very neutral aroma, with some toasted grains. That is about it.
Taste wise, toasted grains, maybe a little sourness. Almost no real character here. This is why I can't stand Nitro, everything is masked to the point of being mostly unidentifiable IMO.
A super light body. With that artificial Nitro body. Disappointed, and not something I'm coming back to.

Yeah, not good IMO. Another little rant of mine...Equal Parts has taken great care in how they pour their lagers. In the correct glassware, with slow pours and the correct faucets. The correct Hladinka pours, etc. So its a bit disappointing they don't take the same amount of care for something like this. Even just a regular Nonic glass would suffice, but its also just a poor example of a Mild, and on Nitro. Equal Parts is one of my favorite breweries in Houston, so this is probably why I'm being a bit more harsh here. I kind of expect more, and this is a big miss for one of my favorite styles and breweries.

Overall score is 2.86, blah.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/44383/754802/?ba=champ103#lists

 

One more new beer for me to catch up on...I have actually had this on tap twice, in two different places now. Over the last few weeks. I wanted to put my thoughts down, as I don't think I have seen this packaged in bottles or cans anywhere. It has been something I wanted to try since I read about it.

Sierra Nevada Pils, at 4.7% ABV

I first had it at a Vietnamese beer bar I love, Hughies.


Then again yesterday for happy hour at a new bar, that is opened by the same owners as The Flying Saucer. The new bar is called The Kid, and I like to call it the darkest pub in town ha.



Pours a brilliantly clear golden/yellow color. A dense white head forms with good retention and lace left down the glass. This is a looker, as I like to say.
Aroma is a lemon zest and peppery spice up front. The spicy character is great, with a bit of doughy malts mingling in as well.
Taste wise, like the nose, the lemon zesty, spicy character is very distinct. A touch grassy, which is just enough hop character to be noticeable. Doughy, baked sourdough bread and light honey in the mix. It does finish a touch sweet for my tastes. Just a bit more bitterness would put this over the top.
A light body that is crisp at first. As this breaths, it becomes ultra smooth. An incredibly clean finish as well. This is so easy to drink, downed in big gulps, again, as I like to say.

Less is more here, as it is subtle, but at the same time I really enjoy that spicy hop character up front. Again, if you amped up the bitterness just a tad, this would be on another level. Small gripes, and as is, just a really well made Pilsner. I have only seen this on tap around me, but hoping this can be a regular purchase going forward.

Overall score is 4.09, easy A- for me.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/741174/?ba=champ103#lists

 

I really hope this one eventually makes it into bottle or cans so I can try it. I think that’s the plan given the labels we saw in that initial thread on this beer but still no word yet, to my knowledge.

 

Irori, a peat Smoked Beer from Godspeed Brewery

From a 355ml can dated Dec. 03 2025, poured into a pint glass. A scant two finger bubbly tan head on a very dark reddish brown. the head soon diminishes to a layer that sticks around.

Moderate smoke in the nose. Much more smoke in the first sip. Toffee. Some sweetness and caramelized malt. A long dry finish.

A medium body and carbonation. Overall a fine Smoked Lager. The peat smoked malt is an interesting variation. Well worth a try.

4.15/5 rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

 

Have a good Saturday. We are with @GreenBayBA at Lambeau field with the crew for the weekend. We got a flat tire yesterday at 4am so we were stranded in Warsaw Indiana until 1130am. Ended up getting 4 new tires since they were all 2/16 in tread lol


I am starting with a badger state grassy place. Aromas and flavors of big red grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, passionfruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, berries, citrus peel, pepper, pine, wheat, bread, herbal, floral, grass. Lt-med pine herbal spicy bitter finish. Medium carb and medium plus body. Balanced creamy grainy malt and sticky hop mouthfeel. Light resins and lingering drying. No hop astringency. Very smooth soft and juicy. Tastes like mosaic, El dorado, citra. Awesome hazy. 4.1/5


Cheers

 

Happy NBW everyone! Only plan on having a couple new to me brews today. Started off with this collab from Wooden Cask Brewing and Boone County Distillery:

Ghost Barrel Stout | Wooden Cask Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate



Thought it was a good overall barrel aged stout, didn't blow me away but worth a try for sure. Should have one more brew posted in a little bit.

 

Thanks to @Whyteboar for starting us out!

Drekker Goose Suit NEIPA, 6.6% ABV. Pours hazy golden with a three-finger off-white head that left lots of lacing. Aroma is pineapple and strawberry. Taste is strawberry, pineapple, and melon, equally sweet and bitter. Somehow juicy with a dry finish, overall excellent.

4.08/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

At first glance I thought it was called Goose Shit.

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

I decided to take a road trip today. The original plan was to be in Green Bay today at the meet up. Things didn't work out for that. I am in southern Minnesota at the moment. I did go visit my dad at the cemetery, but didn't stay too long because the gnats were awful.

I am now in Blue Earth, MN and at a new brewery to me: Lost Saint Brewing, and having this

Wendel's Wit - Lost Saint Brewing- Blue Earth, MN 5.6%

This is quite refreshing after the drive here. Tasty.

Review :
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/67058/683337/
3.79/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery.

Clear golden looking beer in the glass. The beer is fairly clear looking. A steady stream of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. There's a white head.
The aroma is quite pleasant. I get a good coriander hit and a nice orange touch to the nose.
Taste - the orange seems to be the dominant flavor here. There's a nice hint of coriander and cloves on the back of the beer. Some hints of grain also show up in the mix.
Very nice body to the beer. Very clean feeling. Smooth. Crisp. Nice feeling from the citrus.
Very tasty and refreshing after a nice drive.

I will have a 2nd beer here in a bit.

 

Got some apps. The cheese curds and ranch were top tier with ranch. Great blue moon beer cheese pretzels.




Same beer as @GreenBayBA

Southern shore northern lights cream ale. Aromas and flavors of big lemon, rice, corn, cracker, white bread dough, wood, pepper, pine, herbal, floral, grass, yeast earthiness. Lt-med pine, woody, herbal bitter finish. Medium-plus carb and light med body. Crisp clean refreshing finish. Balanced bready grainy malt and sticky hop mouthfeel. Light resins and lingering drying. No hop astringency. Spot on style example. Not overly yeasty. 4.1/5


Cheers

 

Finishing a fifth ward strawberry daiquiri with my wife. Aromas and flavors of big strawberry, lime juice, vanilla, marshmallow, wheat, white bread dough, toast, herbal, floral, grass. Light-med herbal grassy bitterness and fruit tang tartness on the finish. Medium carb and body. creamy grainy malt and light sticky hop/acidic mouthfeel. Very smooth soft and minimal abv warming. 4/5


Cheers

 

Figured I'd finish my new beers today with a local one, Wolf's Ridge Double Double Dire Wolf:

Double Double Dire Wolf | Wolf's Ridge Brewing | BeerAdvocate

And of course I had to use my Dire Wolf chalice for this one!





Wolf's Ridge does a great job with their Dire Wolf series and this one is pretty tasty as expected. Not sure if I'll have any more new brews this weekend but I'll try and keep up with what everyone else is drinking. Cheers!

 

Our son from Albuquerque is visiting this weekend, and he brought me some beer. He knows I really like Flock of Moons Company, and he didn't disappoint when he brought a crowler of Selune's Kiss. For those of you who don't know (like me), Selune is a Goddess of the Moon. She is also known as Moonmaiden and Our Lady of Silver.
The beer is a clear gold color with a small white head.
Aroma is grainy, floral hops.
Taste moves seamlessly from sweet malt to a bit of spice, to a slightly bitter finish.
Well-balanced. Very easy to drink.