New Beer Weekend #265

Thank you Mr @Beersnake for the cordial invitation. I am but a humble servant to the beers I encounter and there is no grand strategy for new beers. They say I shot a man named Gray and took his wife to Italy She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me
I can’t help it
If I’m lucky
Tree House Circle of Life


4.38/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Canned 7/25 cracked 8/15 pours glug glug into my vacation bar shaker: rich froth merengue head over golden yellow dense milk body. Aroma is crazy tropical pineapple mango white grape. Taste follows with sweet, bittery smacky tart, dankness. There is a balance between real bright fruit, and very bitter dankness with a cooling threat of alcohol. As the head circles the side of my glass like the rings of a mighty maple tree, I realize that
I couldn’t see what you could show me
Your scarf had kept your mouth well hid
I couldn’t see how you could know me
But you said you knew me and I believed you did
When you whispered in my ear
And asked me if I was leavin’ with you or her
I didn’t realize just what I did hear
I didn’t realize how young you were
-Circle of Life

 

A New Hope

No, for you Star Wars fans this not a reference to the first (original) Star Wars movie. But instead to a new taproom for Human Robot Brewing in New Hope, PA.

I have had Human Robot beers in the past at beer festivals, etc. but I have yet to visit a Human Robot location and I have never tasted their Tmavy 13° – Czech Dark Lager before. My wife and I spent the afternoon strolling about New Hope and we built up a powerful thirst (from the force?) and decided to pop into this newly opened (a couple/few weeks ago) taproom. This new location for Human Robot is kinda unique since they also feature sports trading cards they and since this place is a twofer they named it Doubles:

“Doubles offers a selection of beers from its parent company, including its signature brew Milktube, along with vintage and modern packs of sports trading cards.”

https://bucksco.today/2025/08/human-robot-doubles/

But since we are thirsty the only thing on our minds was the beers. I decided to drink the aforementioned Tmavy 13° while my wife chose to drink the Hallertau Pils (pictured below). Here is how Human Robot details the Tmavy 13° on their menu:

“TMAVY 13° | CZECH-STYLE DARK LAGER | 5.3% | $7

A double decocted dark lager brewed with Czech Saaz hops and floor malted Bohemian barley. Jet black with a cap of tan foam, medium bodied with a mild, drying roast character. Notes of aniseed and dark bread crust. Poured from Czech Lukr side pull faucet.”

Here is a photo of the bartender pouring my beer via the Lukr side pull faucet:



She had very good technique conducting a bottoms up pour.

Served in a Tübinger dimpled mug:

Appearance:

Very dark brown approaching black with a tan head.

Aroma:

Subtle aromas of dark bread crust, a hint of baker’s chocolate (and a hint of caramel).

Taste:

Flavor follows the nose with dark bread crust, a hint of baker’s chocolate (and a hint of caramel?). There is a low-medium bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Light – medium body, a luscious mouthfeel and an odd-dry finish.

Overall:

I enjoyed drinking this beer, it ‘hit the spot’. This beer would be improved for my palate with a bit more body and some more intensity to the aroma/flavor. Having stated that, I would order it again if I ever make it back.

My wife, which is sometimes my harshest critic, stated: It’s good but not as good as your Czech Dark Lager.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH

P.S. For the interested student who would like to learn more about Czech Dark Lager:

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Czech_Dark_Lager

 

Interesting you note the feel. I had to look it up, as I seemed to recall my favorite Ocelot 10 year collaboration beer was a Czech lager with Human Robot. It happened to be an amber Czech, and Schilling was also involved. So, I can't tell how much each brewer added their influence, but I did like the body of the "half dark" Czech lager at 3.8% ABV.

---

@Beersnake - I am not trying nearly as many new beers as I once did. A quick check indicates under 100 this year, under 1/3 my average over the years. Granted, I am trying some beers that I don't rate or review on occasion, but not a lot. This mostly explains my reduced number of posts in this thread over time.

 

Closing night of vacation - sad to see it end, but until next year when I retire it'll have to do.

The great fishing extravaganza has ended @jonphisher - the grandson called 14, the missus 20 so he'd be sure to win...she of little faith! So...19 bass and 5 pickerel later...were gonna tell him 16. I know this pond like the back of my hand, although the water level is down about two feet so it had changed a bit with great submerged structures now visible. But ultimate quiet and peaceful relaxation especially during a 15 hour pour outage...hmmm...well water... Things we take for granted like turning on the faucet and water always appears. Not when your well pump don't run!

Tonight's beer, and the picture shows a peek at where Fish-a-palooza took place:



New to us brewery - Sidereal Farm Brewery. It's more like a magical fermentation playground. I think we met the entire staff from owner on down. Everyone was highly enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and way into intelligent experimentation. Good to see science at work in a place I'd never expect it. (Dan from Lake St. George was picking up yeast - thanked him for finally making Asylum again). HIGHLY recommended if you are in the Augusta area to visit this place. Great people and just a blast to talk with and hear stories - it was "you gotta try" and mystery liquids kept appearing - cucumber mint saison...a dry cider and a dryer cider. Live fire cooked burgers and the head brewer gave everybody there chicken wings with his own Alabama white sauce. Just a great find!

Anyway...this is Patchwork 25. The can says this is a blend of barrel aged blood peach mixed fermentation and threads from barrel agedlocal concord grape mixed fermentation saison. The owner was pretty jazzed over it so let's see. It's 5.3% alcohol - all of their beers were 6.5 or lower.

It pours a wild honey color with reddish hues. Short cap of dense white foam that fell to a few wispy islands. A little bit of lacing but not much. Very pretty - a bit of sediment from the last bit of the pour but not much.

The smell opens very wine-like with grape and peach which almost makes it cider-like. The Concord grape reminds my of my grampy's home made wine. The peach is certainly there and its actually a pleasant blend. There's the lightest bit of funk and a hint of oakiness.

The taste is lively. It's certainly wine-like and the grape comes through along with fresh peach and peach skin. There's just enough funk to notice and it give the beer earthiness. Then holy oak barrel, Batman..does the oak come on strong at the end. It's a rush, hits hard, goes away. Eventually there's a little peppery bit in the lingering aftertaste.

This is dry - really dry. By what we heard, they love dry in their ciders and beers. It's not what I'd call crisp, though. It's got a bit of sweetness from the grape - just a little. It's very bright and very clean for a mixed fermentation.

Overall this was a delightful beer to sit outside with watching the sunset and eating a light meal. Easy 4.3-ish.

 

Well, the aspect of the category of "mouthfeel" can at times be a tricky subject.

For the case of this Czech Dark Lager from Human Robot the body was a bit too much on the thin side for my personal preference but yet it still had a luscious mouthfeel. Somebody (you?) might ask: how can his be? Well, the body is more an aspect of the attenuation of the beer but with a Lukr side pull faucet serving this pour will result in what is termed a wet foam which will add to the luscious aspect.

It would be interesting to someday drink a canned version of this beer since that beer would lack the Lukr side pull faucet pour and thereby further decrease the overall body/mouthfeel aspect?

Cheers!

 

Larry,

It sounds like you and the family had a great Maine vacation!

My grandmother lived in Winthrop which is just south of Augusta and every summer my family would visit her in the beginning of August for our summer vacation. Had many a great day at Lake Maranacook. Mostly swimming and boating but some fishing as well.

Since you have been busy having fun, you might not have been following the New England thread about Best Rural/Farm setting taprooms in New England?

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...-farm-setting-taprooms-in-new-england.681209/

I enjoyed reading the post by @tavernakhione about a barn like place called Absolem in Winthrop. I visited their website and it seems like they have a great selection of beers and ciders. Have you ever visited this place?

Cheers!

Jack

 

We do love it up here and making new discoveries is a big part of that. I'll keep Absolem on the radar.

You'd love talking to the crew at Sidereal - the whole attitude was simply amazing. They do beer, mead, cider, a couple of wines and they've done sake. The beer that got my attention on Facebook of all places was Solstice d'Hiver- filtered through hay and the description just said yeah I gotta try that since it hit a lot of my happy places. Sadly a winter beer. The smoked Norwegian beer I tried- excellent and the story made it better. They mashed in over a live wood fire outside in a snowstorm and sent it to their koelschip - well after they realized "oh s*** we need 250 feet of hose". They also had a Kolsch Style beer using spelt that I would gave loved to try but they had sold out of it. I mean using fenugreek seeds in a stout to give it a maple flavor without being cloyingly sweet - cucumber in a couple of their brews. And they are trying to be sustainable and as locally sourced as possible. Just an enlightening experience.

 

Hello New Weekend !!!

I am here in paradise, and, gosh, new beers are acquired.

Oktoberfest- Bayern Brewing - Missoula, MT - Marzen - 6%

Ok, this is strange as hell. I am getting black pepper notes in this beer. I am getting malty caramel notes as well. I am confused.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/605/12999/
3.37/5 rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From a 12oz bottle. Best by October 2025.

Clear brown pour with a white head to the beer. The head retention retention is good, and some lacing on the glass.
The aroma is light. Some caramel notes to it.
Ok, this is strange. I am getting black pepper notes here. There's malty caramel hints here.
Smooth body. Soft feeling.
This is strange as hell. Good, but crazy hints in the flavor.

Be back either tonight or tomorrow .

 

Thanks @Beersnake for the start. A quick check of the stats says I've reviewed 84 beers so far this year, 97 in 2024. So about the same the past few years, and in line with my average of 89 new beers per year for the past 21 years!

New beer #85 of this year, Big Timber Porter from West Virginia:

Appearance: Dark brown, huge head.

Smell: Very nice mix of roasted malts and coffee.

Taste: Starts roasty and stays that way, a little nutty note as well. Medium bodied. Brings a little coffee note in the finish along with some nut flavor.

Overall: A West Virginia beer obtained at the Green Bay BA Blast, this is a solid porter, nice roasted flavor and not too heavy. Kind of on the borderline between brown ale and porter.

 

Did the Siderteal folks pick your brain about brewing with unusual fruits? Maybe brewing with cranberries!?!

Cheers!

 

They have done a mead on cranberry and have played around with it in saisons. Their lead chemist/microbiology guy is from Rochester. MA in my area at home and his dad's shop did some welding and fab work for my company.

 

A cranberry saison sounds tasty!

I have my annual batch of Saison in the primary right now. Maybe next year I should try adding some cranberries (cranberry juice) to the mix? Or maybe just add a ‘splash’ of cranberry juice to the glass for this year’s batch?

Cheers!

 

Tonight I had the opportunity to volunteer at an event originally hosted by my local brewery, Gravel Bottom Brewery, and was able to serve their porter for three straight hours.

I needed to sample it on a regular basis to make sure it was still good, but not nearly as often as I would have liked to. They have, in my opinion, the best porter in west Michigan.
More chocolate than coffee, smooth as silk and the depth of flavor is far above the 5.5% ABV normally allows. Soft mouthfeel lends itself to the chocolate forward aspect, I was amazed at the fact that at least half the people ordering this were not only female, but young women.
Must have been the chocolate.
Cheers!

 

Thanks to @Beersnake for the intro and good question that I'll answer after diving into this new brew:

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest 2025, collaboration with Stortebeker • 6% ABV • 7/15/25 born-on date

I went to a minor bit of trouble to pick up a 6-pack of this one today b/c I just had to ... I haven't had one of SN's Oktoberfest offerings since 2019 and felt that was too long a drought. This one smells about how I'd expect, lots of toasted bread or crusty bread with hints of sweet things around that base aroma, but the flavor is both extremely sweet (caramel) and extremely bitter (earth, dirt, black pepper) at the same time. In fact, at times it almost comes off as what I'd guess was an American double IPA with that almost sickly sweet caramel/mango thing offset by a crazy amount of bitterness.

I say "almost" because it's never quite that sweet. I like it and am glad I bought the sixer, but it's not as good as some of the older SN Oktoberfests that I bought multiple 6-packs of. I don't foresee buying anything more than the one 6-pack of this release unless it improves over the next few cans.

Call it good, not great.

Official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/756416/?ba=Premo88#review
3.86 (-5.4% rDev)

This review and the extra trip I took today to find this beer is proof that I'm reviewing more beer today than I was 5 years ago. About 5 years ago, I was up to my neck in becoming a full-fledged whisk[e]y geek, which I proudly remain today. Over the past year or so, I've learned how to merge my love of beer and whisk[e]y more seamlessly and spend a bit more time away from my beloved single malts.

Ten years ago? I was reviewing 100+ new beers per year, much more than I review now. In fact, in that way back during the New Beer Sunday days, I regularly made a point to have at least one new beer ready to go each Sunday, and some Sundays I probably squeezed in 2-3 newbies.

Cheers!

 

I am pretty lit up like a Christmas tree at the moment due to the altitude and the beers consumed today.
Here is another new beer to me.

Montana 1 IPA - Philipsburg Brewing- Philipsburg, MT - American IPA

Maybe I am pretty drunk, but this is confusing me. I have 3 more in the car, and while starlink is active, I might plow down one more .

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29822/382443/
3.37/5 rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From a 16oz can/bottle. Canned on on 07/08/2025.

Slightly murky golden pouring beer in the glass. There's a 2 finger white head to the beer. The head retention isn't the best, but there's great lacing on the glass.
The aroma is actually lighter than I was expecting. I am getting some citrus notes with a touch of pineapple. Very light aroma.
The flavor starts off very bland. There's a bit of a grain flavor up front. The back is where the hops come into play. There's citrus notes that hit my throat. Faint pine notes.
The body is bubbly. Crisp feeling. Slight bitterness feeling.
It is an interesting beer, but I just don't know what to think about it.

I am here in a place that I call paradise. No cell service, but they have the Starlink. I feel more home here in northwestern Montana than I do in central Minnesota. Cheers all here in the virtual bar.

 

Greetings, New Beer People. It's been an odd couple of days here at stately Vurt Manor, on multiple levels. But the air was cool this morning, and we got some rain today. (Yeah, this is the PNW. But it's also August.) Made me happy.

Mrs. vurt and I went out for pizza and beer tonight, and then we had a pint at another spot, and after that we came home and had another on our patio. This is my first New Beer of the weekend:



Living Häus Function (Northwest Collab Series, 4 of 8)

The label artwork is terrific. It has 8 illustration slices which represent the 8 collabs and their 8 years. The 4th slice on this can is highlighted to represent this beer in the series.

The beer is medium gold with yellow highlights. The white foam dissipates quickly and leaves disparate fragments of lacing. There is a disconnect between the nose and the taste, which makes for a somewhat puzzling beer. The nose is sharply piny with a backdrop of citrus (grapefruit and orange peel). The flavor is quite different: pineapple, toasty malt, and some citrus as an afterthought. It tastes more like a pale ale than an IPA. The middle is a confusion of fruits and a slice of pound cake. The pine in the nose comes through in the finish, next to the lingering malt and echoes of orange peel and apricot-pineapple preserves. Underneath is a low-level earthy bitterness. It is medium-bodied with a rather soft texture that could use more bite. A wealth of small bubbles provides lively carbonation.

I didn't have any problem finishing it, but I didn't love it. The nose was easily the best part of this beer.