New Beer Weekend #262

Ah, sorta like a succubus but different.

Cheers!

 

Larry, the Allagash folks needed some help from a brewing with fruit expert!

What are your consulting rates?

Cheers!

 

Saw the Nelson/Rye combo and had to grab one of these, my first beer from everywhere (former Bruery employees) - cheers!

4.01/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4

Packaged in May, enjoyed on July 25th, 2025 - poured from a pint can into my Moonlight willibecher.

Pale, unclear flax liquid - spritzy head rapidly recedes to a faint surface slick. Vague lacing; poor retention.

Bright, heady aroma suffused with tropical notes (passion fruit, mango, lime), hints of scallion and malt.

Herbaceous palate entry with low citrus and gooseberry notes leading into a wave of earthy/spicy rye flavors that synergize perfectly with the moderate bitterness. Fairly dry finish with hints of white wine. Cleanly lagered.

Medium-light bodied, with just adequate carbonation. Refreshing with restrained alcohol.

Wonderful marriage of flavors.

 

Wooly Pig Hefeweizen
4.7%



Poured from their familiar snub nosed bottle, the body pours a lightly hazy yellow with white fluffy head. Medium lacing.

Aroma is the expected by style light clove and banana. Taste follows nose with the flavors stepped up a bit. I had this one on tap a couple of weeks ago and the bottled version has a bit more yeasty goodness: more banana/bubble gum and hazier.

Mouthfeel is medium with good carbonation.

Great summer beer.

 

Nice active Friday night with Micah leading the charge. Waited until the White Sox finished off the Cubs before my attempt at a Friday night rating. Micah may be more of a Sox fan than I, at least through Sunday.

This is the first of three planned by Off Color, though I may also make an adventure after the Sunday game weather and mood dependent.

Off Color Raspberry Beer For Golf

4.03/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25



7/25/25 - (Home) (Chicago. Illinois) Can Notes: Purchased a single 16 oz can at store temperature on 5/22/25 at Beer on the Wall Park Ridge for $3.98 with tax. Refrigerated at home until opening this evening. 4.8% ABV Wit style beer with lemon juice, raspberry juice, and black tea added canned 4/8/25. Malts: Pils, Flaked Wheat, Wheat, Oats, Honey Malt. Hops: Nugget. Secret Ingredients: Raspberry Juice, Lemon Juice, and a Blend of Fancy Black Teas. Brewed and canned by Off Color Brewing, Chicago, Illinois.

Appearance: Poured about half the 16 oz can into a tulip glass, yielding a violet purple unfiltered base, a few inch white purple head straw which leaves no trace beyond a white ring around the rim and light cover over half the base. 4.25

Aroma: Strong clove banana flavors uber alles. Greeting faint raspberry but that’s it in terms of complementary flavors. Clove strong and generally pleasant. 3.75

Taste: Much more in line with ingredient expectations, with raspberry with the leas, clove and lemon battling for silver. Enjoying, nice fruit flavors. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Gentle sustained carbonation, drinks light and easy even below the 4.8% ABV. Nice fruit blend, though no excess sweetness. Can’t get tea flavor, but perhaps adding to a slightly dry take, tartness more pronounced. Raspberry clove with a twist of lemon the nice finish. 4.25

Overall: This is a nice fruit witbier. Retains the style backbone, which I prefer, but like my fruit beer by North 5th last week, the fruit adds more enjoyment and compliments well the base which still comes through. Another solid effort by Off Color, which I try with confidence. 4.25

 

Glad you enjoyed it! Chuckanut makes some of the best lagers in the NW (including a helles which is just sublime). I was surprised and pleased to learn that they distribute to Colorado.

 

It is hard for me to remember the nuance of this beer but I remember thinking it was a pretty well done "WC" IPA by a smaller regional brewery. I'm an overrater of the highest order and I only gave this a 3.9...this part of my review harkens to similar experiences between our drinking experiences:

I bet you'd have a similar reaction to the new Troegs beer but I had my second one of the six pack earlier this week and I still enjoyed it. Great aroma and taste as well as hop presence on the tongue but it does lack some bitterness, I still love it though because I think the aroma, taste and cleanliness of the beer make up somewhat for it.

 

Golden Mild from Bickford Brewing Co.

From a 473ml dated 22-04-25. poured into a pint glass. A one finger bubbly white head on a cloudy amber brown. The head diminishes to a ring.

Fruity malts in the nose. The taste is malt forward. Some toffee and caramel. Virtually no hop.

Smooth body. Medium/light body and carbonation. Overall a fine, sessionable Pale Mild.

3.93/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train (Official Animated Video)

 

It seems like "cleanliness" is a quality that the brewers are seeking via modernizing the WCIPA beer style. Sorta like taking the beers up to the edge of the IPL/Cold IPA beer substyles.

Give me an old fashioned 'regular' American IPA! Robust bitterness and substantial body please!!

Cheers!

P.S. My homebrewed batch of Motueka IPA is just a few days away from being ready to be consumed. I 'cheated' and tried a bottle a few days ago and even though it was still on the young side "she's a beauty"!

 

Pile it on man. The Eagles had a hell of a season and you've got the right to celebrate. G-men will come around again at some point, though it may not be in my lifetime.

 

Would it be indelicate for me to mention that Saquon Barkley is now wearing Eagles green!?!

Cheers!



P.S. My wife has family in New York and they had extra free tickets for the Eagles - Giants game at the Meadowlands last year. I felt bad for my cousin-in-law Richie while he watched that game. Some Eagles fans actually sang 'the song' at the Giants stadium after the many touchdowns that day. I sang it once.

 

I've been enjoying this 12 pack of Bell's beers; a real bargain at $17 for the pack. The last variety is Hazy Hearted IPA, so that's what I'll be having today.
Gold color, slight haze, floaters. Persistent white head, some lace.
Tropical fruit aroma.
Taste of orange, pineapple. Slight taste of floral hops.
Nicely balanced.

 

Today, my two new beers were a fine pale ale from Vaughan, Ontario (3.75/5, or 75%) and an excellent Helles lager from Etobicoke, Ontario. First, the 5% Grand River Pale Ale...



...and second, the 5% Wanderlüst Wallonian Rustic Lager...



Tomorrow: New beer experiences from Greene King (England) and The Grove (Kingsville, Ontario)...

Have a great weekend, and cheers, from McGregor, Ontario! =)

 

Yes, it would be indelicate.

 

Odd Side Hipster Brunch Stout

Appearance: Black, with a viscous pour, barely a ring of head.

Smell: Sweetness, chocolate, blackened malt.

Taste: Moderate sweetness, then some chocolate, booze, and maple syrup. No bacon that I can tell. Barrel seems to have contributed mostly booze. Thick mouthfeel. Finishes boozy and sweet.

Overall: Another beer from the Green Bay BA Blast, this is probably a little old but still pretty solid. The coffee and bacon don't seem to be present, but the maple syrup is still there. Sweet but not too sweet.

 

Another one from Bickford Brewing Co. - Grace Street Stout

Poured a 473ml can into a pint glass. A big three finger bubbly brown head on black. The head diminishes to a layer that sticks around to the end. Some patchy lacing.

A mild coffee smell. The taste follows the nose. Toasted malts dominate. Coffee, cocoa. A dry finish.

A smooth and creamy texture. Medium body and carbonation. It hits the style of a classic Oatmeal Stout. Well worth a try.

4/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Starting off today's brews with The Bruery's Long Distance Relationship whiskey barrel aged stout:

Long Distance Relationship | The Bruery | BeerAdvocate





I thought it was pretty good, should have another new beer on here in a bit. Cheers!