New Beer Weekend #266

Another very frooty WCIPA for the end of the evening:



Wayfinder Metalheadz West Coast IPA

This one is on a slightly different wavelength than the Grains of Wrath/Ruse beer I enjoyed earlier. It's every bit as tangy, but drier up front, with a more diverse collection of hop flavors: notes of wild cherry Life Savers (nice!) and creamy coconut/banana pudding (not a fan*) are nestled among the citrus and rich stonefruit. There's also a light floral/woody note which provides intriguing contrast. The not-too-sweet finish is tangy mixed tropical fruit, lightly toasty malt, and gummi bears. Mild bitterness. Energetic carbonation in a medium-light body with a bit of padding to it.

*I like coconut and banana pudding, but not necessarily in clean, citrusy IPAs. A stout, on the other hand? Let's talk.

 

Always with the amazing plates of food

 

The Wolf aged in 18 year Elijah Craig barrels
14.1% stout by 3 Sheep's Brewing


I shared this stout with a friend while chatting and watching college football. No written notes, but this stout is unforgettable.

Poured from a 12 ounce can, the body is a dark brown with small head. No lacing.

Aroma is a delightful sweet bourbon with notes of vanilla. Taste follows nose as the bourbon is up front. Despite the bourbon being a main flavor and the ABV is a high 14.1%, the stout is not hot at all. The alcohol is masterfully masked. Deep flavors arrive and pair perfectly with the base beer: notes of vanilla, chocolate, burnt sugar, malty char and dark fruit. The combination is sensational.

Mouthfeel is good and heavy. Carbonation is enough to keep things moving.

Outstanding stout. Thanks to @Danmullens1 for this treat.

 

Also, overrated.

 

Congrats Tim. I just took my daughter back. She is starting her second year. Boy, the time flies.

As to your question. Both of my daughters enjoyed teasing me about my beer tasting and reviewing. The family got a kick out of their imitations of me smelling beer and commenting on it. Their favorite was, "The smell is divine." But as much as I admit using a LOT of descriptors, "divine" was never (I'm pretty sure) one of them.

As to other family members, my wife used to quietly support while sometimes revealing a look that I read as, "Isn't that sweet, he's doing his beer thing." Now she looks forward to anything that I'm trying that is Pils, Kolsch, or IPA territory. My dad just holds his glass out for a pour and when I share a few of my observations he just looks directly at me in a slightly exaggerated serious way and says, "Yep, it's pretty good."

 

This reminds me of me trying to get my uncle to by into tasting notes. His favorite beer, a blonde ale, I said there’s a serious apricot note going on, his response, “it’s cold and it taste like beer, that’s why I like it.”

 

Tried this semi-local. Quite good, but didn't hit the style guidelines they claimed (and named).
I find this phenomenon interesting, particularly when I enjoy the beer.

Ranco Haze
On tap at Hamilton.
Really did not appear "hazy." But otherwise a gorgeous beer. Light, fluffy head caps a golden elixir. Low retention.
Smell is bright and pithy with orange zest and grapefruit rind followed by some mango and peach.
Flavor is more of a blend between the aforementioned fruits with the citrus slightly in the fore.
Mouthfeel is fine for a DIPA but again, this doesn't have the "hazy" feel to it.
Overall, as a straight up DIPA, great beer. I'm just not getting anything "hazy." I'll see when it's on draft again to see if it was just this batch that didn't match the description.
3.71/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

 

Chuggy - Meyer Lemon from Fairweather Brewing

Poured a 355ml can into a pint glass. A scant one finger fine white head on a slightly cloudy pale lemon. The head soon diminishes to a thin layer. Rings of fine lacing.

A strong lemon smell. The lemon is much milder in the taste. I am not picking up much else. The taste is overall very mild.

A very light body and moderate carbonation. Overall this is borderline being a beer at all as it lacks any malt or hop flavours. As a Low Alcohol beer the ABV is a bit high at 2% but it's probably the best tasting LA beer I have ever had. The bar is pretty low though.

3.44/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

 

Looking forward to catching up with the Saturday Evening Post portion of this thread after completing this review for New Beer Sunday #1070. Selecting an annual Oktoberfest collaboration, one of the few new ones I seek out every year at this point, one that @cjgiant enjoyed Friday night, and several others of our group have taken on in prior weeks.

Sierra Nevada & Stortebeker Oktoberfest (2025)

3.46/5 rDev -12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3



8/24/25 - (Home) (Chicago, Illinois) Can Notes: Purchased a single 12 oz can at Beer on the Wall at store temperature on 8/23/25 for $2.84 including tax. Collaboration with Stortebeker, canned 7/10/25 @ 8:07 AM. 6.0% ABV Oktoberfest Festbier. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company., Chico, California & Mills River, North Carolina.

Appearance: Poured full can into a tall large mug, yielding a clear golden tan base, generous egg white bubbly head that lingers a few minutes before leaving just a creamy ring around most of the rim and razor thin base cover. Initial carbonation burst from pour slows to a trickle, if that. 4.0

Aroma: Caramel malt, fresh bread, honey. Medium to full strength and enjoyment. 4.25

Taste: Diesel alcohol and bread compete for pole position, the former losing out through attrition or familiarity. Less nuance than the aroma, and not quite the balance or blend I was hoping for after the aroma. 3.25

Mouthfeel: Light and easy drinking, body light, carbonation faint. Sweetness and bitterness, not much flavor distinction beyond butter rolls out of the oven and persistent alcohol flavor somewhat like rubbing alcohol, which thankfully does not increase perceived potency after the first few swigs. 3.25

Overall: This is a disappointment, muddled and limited for taste and mouthfeel. Not really taste or enjoy the hope I usually get in a good Festbier. Perhaps I’ll try a draft if I come across one for science, but done with the cans after this experience. 3.0

Either Chicago breweries on hand or visits planned the next few weeks, looking forward to exploring our local Summer releases.

Cheers!

 

Here's a couple Elysian Dust variants:

Elysian Juice Dust

Appearance: Cloudy orange, ok head.

Smell: Citrus, oranges, not too strong.

Taste: Mild sweetness, then goes into orange juice, happily it is not too acidic. Moderate bitterness. Medium bodied, lighter than expected for 8.2%. Finishes with OJ bitterness.

Overall: From a mixed Elysian “Dust” 12 pack. It is probably a little old, but no dating on the outside of the 12 pack. This was definitely a “juice” IPA, quite orange juice like. Nothing really popped out, not particularly sweet, bitter, or bright. It was fine.

Elysian Phaze Dust

Appearance: Clear yellow-gold, ok head.

Smell: A little stinky socks, then citrus.

Taste: Moderate sweetness, then some tingling carbonation, then a mix of cakey sweetness and mild to moderate citrus bitterness. Medium bodied. Finishes with mild citrus bitterness.

Overall: Another from the mixed Elysian “Dust” pack, Phaze Dust is called an Imperial Hazy IPA, but must be kind of old since the haze has cleared up. Still tastes pretty good, maybe getting some of the haze out got rid of the characteristics that I don't like about hazy IPAs. Decently solid DIPA.

 

Comiski Park, a 7% WCIPA, from Marz Brewing, Chicago.

3.99/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured half can, clear, 2nd half was murky as hell. White head, no lacing. Bright gold color. Piney aroma, citrus, in aroma and flavor, nice bitter finish. I'd have another.

 

I’ve never thought to note 2nd pour like you just did; I may start too. Usually it’s same as yours, first half is perfect clarity then the closer you bottom the cloudier it gets from the sediment.

 

Whaaaaaaat? No way. I was tricked! The lights made it look darker!

 

Singha from Boon Rawd Brewery Co., Ltd

Poured a 500ml Thai brewed can dated 05 03 25. A big four finger fine white head on a clear straw.Excellent head retention. lots of foam lacing.

Herbal notes in the nose. Tastes of malts up front. Fairly simple but flavour is there. Low hop bitterness.

A light body with good carbonation. Overall a clean, refreshing simple lager.

3.77/5 rDev +23.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

Yikes! Please tell us it's not as painful as it looks!

 

Feels like there’s a plastic knee cap in there, I really baby my 50k knee