New Beer Weekend #266

Yikes.

May your recovery be quick and complete.

 

Can't say that I've had a lot of Amburana beers but this one was pretty good!

 

Probably the last of my new beers this weekend, I liked Southern Tier's Maple Warlock Imperial Pumpkin Stout:

Maple Warlock | Southern Tier Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate





I will say that this is a sweeter tasting brew as a lot of the Southern Tier ones seem to be nowadays over the past couple years. But if that's what you're expecting then I think you'll like it as much as I did. I remember liking their base Warlock a lot, and I noticed that I hadn't reviewed it so I'll have to buy more soon and see if it's still as good as I remembered it being. Cheers again!

 

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Pivovar SiBEERiA (Prague, CZ) collab with Brasserie La Debauche (Angouleme, FR) ‘Grave Pact’ Rye Dark Lager

Sometimes a brewer’s description says everything a review should.
So here’s what they say.,.
Extra point for can art.,. got this one from La Debauche brewery’s cooler.,.

“With the guys from La Débauche we wanted to brew “something dark, but drinkable” – now we’re not quite sure what to call it. Grave Pact is too roasted to be traditional Czech tmavé výčepní, it is bottom-fermented, so it can’t be a stout and we thus thought about making up a style called Session Baltic Porter. Either way, styles don’t matter. It is simply a very dark 11-plato lager with a hefty dose of rye for more fullness and some Sabro for aroma. It’s not even 4% ABV, but offers more sensory inputs than many beers from higher weight categories. Dark chocolate, a touch of coffee, slight spiciness, woodiness, coconut, hefty bitterness – and you can drink it from a big mug!”

Solid 4.29/5 in the BA DB

 

Getting into a Sünner Kölsch for the first beer of the day. Onto the review.

4.17/5 rDev +10.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Picked up a 500 ml bottle from the Appalachian Vintner in Asheville 6-20-25 for $4.99. Cryptic bottle notching of 148; best before 1-2026; consumed for review 8-23-26. Cold stored since purchase.

Beer poured gold with a very nice white head.

Nose has notes of honey malts, fruity esters, and grassy hops.

Taste is honey on white bread, apple esters, grassy hops that leave a touch of lemon. Finishes with a trace of balancing bitterness.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and refreshing.

I have not had a ton of experience with the style from the old country, but it seems this is not as estery as some of the other leading German brands. Still a nice brew.
Cheers!
Tom

 

3 years later: Erie Canal knobby knees champion!
Heal up, time, pt, a few beers, you’ll be as good as new

 

Nice review. We enjoy distribution in Western NC and I really enjoy EOBC's ability to brew across many styles and nearly always produce a good beer. Had a small batch Barleywine brewed with honey via a trade and it was good, not great. Rated it a 4.02.
Cheers!

 

16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Dated 07/03/25. Bought it a couple weeks ago in California, I think.

Pours murky dark straw yellow with a dense, even head about half centimeter thick. Looks pretty carbonated. Smell is pretty much "good hazy" -- juice, fruit, some pith, hint of resin, maybe some bubblegum or melon to get a bit more specific.

Taste is a bit on the juicy side. I see why they put lychee in the description, but I wouldn't have named it (possibly because that's not a flavor that leaps to mind for me). Not cloyingly sweet, but dry fruit juice might be a decent description. I do get a little bit of green vegetation, there might be some resin.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth, clean, a little airy. Overall, solid beer but not special, IMHO.


Ism - Immutable Dawn

16oz can in a big snifter. Can is dated 07/28/2025. Bought it a couple weeks ago in California, probably at Windsor Home Brew.

Pours clear light yellow, slightly darker amberish tint to it, small but cohesive head, some very fine carbonation. Smell is bubblegum and honey, some cut grass but not a lot.

Taste is way more toward the bitter side of the spectrum than the aroma suggested. Almost barky earthy bitterness, some pine resin. A little musty wet wood.

Mouthfeel is smooth, clean, could be a bit more lively. Pretty good beer.

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

To try to answer our starter @Beersnake

I am a single man, so I don't (sadly) have to worry about my reviews around family. My friends all know I do beer reviews, but I usually am not as in depth with them when out and about.

Time to enjoy a few today, and here's my first one.

Self Sabotage - Blackstack Brewing - St. Paul, MN - Imperial IPA 10%

I am enjoying this beer. Nice flavor and a great feeling to it.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48592/589090/
4.07/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
From a 16oz can. No date on the can.

This beer is quite murky and hazy looking in the glass. The color is a pale golden color with a 2 finger white head. The head retention is about what I'd expect, and there's just a bit of lacing on the glass.
The nose has a good deal of tropical smelling hops in it. Some pineapple notes hit my nose. There's a hint of a mango sweetness. There's a hint of earthiness in the nose.
Well the flavor is also dominated by the hops. It is tropical flavored. I am getting a ton of mango in the flavor with a hint of guava. The flavor does get a hint of pineapple on the backside with a hint of earthiness.
The body is very smooth. There's a creamy feeling to the beer. The body is very full feeling. The hops linger. This beer doesn't feel as "hot" as a 10% beer. No alcohol burn.
Very tasty beer overall. Quite delicious.


I'll try for one more today later on. Cheers.

 

Posting from home again I see, hope you had a nj e getaway in the wilds of the west.

 

I did have a great time out west. I hope to make it back again next year.

 

Quiet day. Went looking at trucks - still up in the air on whether I really want to trade my VW in but probably a good time to consider it before retirement and all.

The week's question is a good one! My wife is a partner in crime as far as beer goes but she's not as analytical. She's pretty much like, don't like. That said, I have noticed some descriptors creeping in to her vocabulary. I do see the eyes glaze over sometimes. Most of my friends are in the AAL group and don't care about "fancy beers". Couple are craft curious. I'm fine with that - you do you, don't worry about me.

Tonight's volunteer I don't really remember buying:



Jeju from Magpie Brewing in South Korea. This is a 5% rice lager brewed with a couple of different local oranges.

Pours a really pale yellow with a generous soapy white head that actually retains for a bit and falls to a nice cap.

The smell is odd initially It's got a bit of a papery or kindergarten starchy paste note that I think is from the rice? The citrus is very pleasant - a mixture of sweet orange and tangerine. A little floral scent but it's pretty mild. And the paper/paste does get hidden.

The flavor is actually pretty nice. Slightly sweet orange and tangerine that carries through well after the swallow. There's a bit of pithy bitterness. Light floral happiness at the end - that plus the citrus provide pleasant aromatics. There's very little malt - what there is I'd call crackery.

Very light and quite dry. The citrus flavors carry long after the swallow.

Hmmm...I actually kinda like this beer. It's light and refreshing, reasonably flavorful, and I think it's pretty spot on for the style. For a completely random grab, I'm pleasantly surprised. Thinking around 3.6 or so. It was $4.75 for the 12 ounce so not a great value for a canned beer.

 

Enjoyed catching up before sitting down with my final new beer in the refrigerator, which necessitated a run this morning for six more new to me singles.Will try to stick with the four - eight new beer purchases to keep everything fresh.

For @Beersnake ’s opening beer question, my brothers may care about beer opinions and suggestions, it my friends pretty much stick with Miller Lite, Hard Seltzers or booze, so I engage and appreciate beer conversations in this thread, WBAYDN and the occasional BA meetings.

The selection today is an ongoing collaboration between two of my favorite breweries (Off Color and Allagash), inspired by Allagash White.

Off Color & Allagash Ghost Lemons

4.03/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4



8/23/25 - (Home) (Chicago, Illinois) Bottle Notes: Purchased a single 8.5 oz bottle at Beer on the Wall store temperature on 6/17/25 for $2.84 including tax & $1 rewards discount. Collaboration with Allagash Brewing Company. No bottle date, bottled approximately 5/2/25 based on social media. 5.1% ABV, Wild fermented wit beer brewed with field lemons, pineapple oranges, and green coriander, Gravity 10.4 P, IBUs 12. Malts: Pils, Wheat Malt, Wheat, Flaked Wheat, Oats. Hops: Nugget. Secret Ingredients: Fermented with a blend of our wild cultures and Allagash’s House Brettanomyces with Field Lemons and Pineapple Oranges. Brewed and bottled by Off Color Brewing, Chicago, Illinois.

Appearance: Poured full bottle into a large tulip glass, yielding a clear golden base, brief bright white head that disapates quickly leaving just a creamy ring around the rim and swirling base cover, and sustained carbonation throughout. 3.75

Aroma: Coriander strong, backed by clove, banana and orange. Blends well., medium strength. 3.75

Taste: Consistent flavors with the aroma plus lemon, though the photo finish yields Orange Win, Lemon Place and Clove Show, and order I prefer over the aroma order. This is very nice. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Light and easy drinking, body light, carbonation gentle. Faintly dry, sweet but in proper measure, fruit flavors come up well, orange and clove on the finish. 4.0

Overall: This is a light and easy selection, a beautiful beer for a Summer day. Full and well blended flavirs, can see why Off Color continues to brew this one. Only regret is wish the bottle was 16.9 oz. Guess I’ll buy two next time. 4.0

I will join @cjgiant in reviewing Sierra Nevada’s 2025 Oktoberfest Fest beer. Unlike Craig, I prefer Festbier to Marzan style offerings.

 

The tension to start the NBW could have been more fraught. @GreenBayBA , The mythological God of Thunder is looking down, and I know I have to serve someone, and that is @Beersnake , Zeus’ sun-son Apollo. To Dionysus with the aid of female Muses from Mount Ida, I am but a servant both night and day.
Question of the week is null here. I usually will ask my immediately sitting nuclear family member to check out the aroma. Usually it’s the rote beer smell. That’s ok. @Beersnake you really are youthful and I can’t believe you have college age kids, I guess Just For Men really does work. On vacation two weeks ago my middle kid, who just turned 21 this summer, was eroding my New England beer purchases so I had to keep going to Market Basket for Coronas/ Stella’s to divert her attention from my booty. lol I have a bunch of daughter beers that I may review after this one, who knows!
Tree House Alter Ego


Snagged this beast in Charleton two weeks ago, and the pour alone deserves an Oscar. Golden amber-orange, glugging into the glass like Thor just cracked open a keg on Mount Olympus. The frothy head? Whipped cream on a sundae, only this sundae slaps sticky lace all down the glass like it’s marking territory.

Stick your nose in and BAM — a fruit salad explosion. Grapefruit juggling oranges, passionfruit doing the cha-cha, and a tangerine just straight-up dropkicking your sinuses. First sip? Citrus comes flying in like it’s got beef with your taste buds. Lemon, stone fruit, and a dank, oily finish that feels like someone rubbed hops on your tongue and yelled, ‘Deal with it!’ As it warms, bubblegum and berry pop up like surprise party guests who actually brought good snacks.

At this ABV, it’s my summer Goldilocks — not too weak, not too strong, juuuuust right for questionable decisions at the cookout. Creamy, chewy, with carbonation that tickles like a soda that knows it’s cooler than soda.

Overall, this is Julius’s rowdy cousin who crashes the party shirtless, carrying fireworks, and somehow still makes everyone love him.

 

Guess 21 mile runs are helpful for your youthfulness,… and placenta milkshakes (internet rumor)