New Beer Weekend #269

Haven’t seen you in a while in here @Amendm, hope all is going well.

 

I'm good, thanks for asking. I've been on a revisit old favorites kick for most of the summer. Prost.

 

If I remember you enjoy brown ales, I got a New England classic one that I somehow haven’t tried yet. May crack this weekend, stay tuned, it may be an old favorite of yours…?

 

My guess is Old Brown Dog. Cheers.

 

The past two years this has been the only marzen I purchase, funny enough it's because of one of the comments/observations you made:

The breadiness and depth of the malt for how light it is make a very drinkable beer to me, and I love, to me at least, the distinct almost woody spice hop kick. Still have about 5 left form a 12 pack to get me through fall.

 

Time will tell...

 

Good morning all.

After missing out on this share last weekend due to the big local Barleywine share I attended, I’m back with an overflowing fridge of new local/ish beers that I’m working through slowly. I neglected to thank @2beerdogs for the wonderfully aged 2014 Mother of All Storms I brought to that share last weekend. I couldn’t remember at the time which generous NBW participant had sent it my way. Talk about a great beer. If anyone finds themselves in the Toronto area around this time next year, please let me know and I’ll make sure you can attend. Lots of new and old Barleywines and other big beers to be sipped and enjoyed. I was introduced to a new-to-me old beer nerd at the share with a ridiculous cellar of stuff going back almost 20 years (he shared a Nøgne Ø #100 at the share that was still drinking great). He hinted at some of what might find its way to the share next year… I’ll be marking the calendar!

This thread, at this time of year, makes me envious for the way beer is sold south of the border versus up here in Ontario. I love the festbiers, but sourcing good local ones up here means an endless drive around the province, going from brewery to brewery. The government stores might carry one or two imports. Private bottle shops might have a couple at C$7+ a can. Otherwise, you have to go to the brewery to get the one or two on offer. While I do plan to visit a few in the next week or so, there are so many I’ll have to miss…. Ah well.

Late last night I cracked open a can I’d grabbed as part of a mix of beers from Bowmanville, Ontario’s Tilted Glass Brewing Company. Tilted Glass used to be called Manantler brewing.

This is Hip Hop Anonymous, a hazy IPA.



The beer pours an opaque, light gold with a fairly substantial head that sticks around a while leaving a moderate lacing on the glass as the beer is consumed.

The aroma is muted compared to the average offering in this style. I get a little citrus pith, followed by a mix of tropical fruit notes. No date on the can, so I’ve no idea if the muted aromas are an age related thing or not.

Taste follows closely. Mild pithy bitterness up front, broad spectrum of tropical fruit follows. The flavours that you’d want are there, but provide a gentle tap on the cheek rather than a punch to the tastebuds.

Medium body. Fairly quick finish.

This is a middle-of-the-road hazy IPA that I’d likely not grab again. It’s fine, but it’s just so easy to get better nowadays when I’m in the mood for the style.

Cheers! And, see you all again later.

 

Greetings BAs! Today's New Breakfast Beer comes from that generous BA @2beerdogs in a fairly recent LIF - I could be accused of saving the best for last, but in reality that's only because the label was nearly impossible to read, until I realised that a second, oblique light source would solve the problem.

No photo - postimages isn't working for me today - @LarryV says it's working for him so probably a "local problem".

Viking’s X from Fieldwork Brewing. 500 mL bottle received from @2beerdogs in a recent LIF. Reviewed 13/09/25, review 3586. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated bottle. Stored at home at 40 degrees F. Served at 51.6 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 57.9 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Ruby Brown (SRM 24), nearly opaque.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, light barely penetrates at the edges, ruby.
Head – Average (Maximum 1.5 cm, aggressive center pour). Chamoisee, high density, fizzy with short retention, leaving a 0.4 cm crown and a thin partial cap. As it oxygenates, it turns caramel.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.25 – Begins with sweet bourbon, but the bourbon is mild and complimentary, not in your face. Toasted malt. No hops, no alcohol.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins slightly sweet with weak cocoa; bourbon is deliciously present. No alcohol (13.5 % ABV, according to the label) taste. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. At the final review temperature, the ethanol is becoming noticeable in the flavor and a mild gastric warming is building.
Palate – 4 – Medium: Moderately creamy: Soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the RIS style guidelines as condensed by BA, but it also fits within the Imperial Porter guidelines – take your pick.
Final impression and summation: 4 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated container) Uncredited label artist – black lettering on a charcoal gray background – barely readable. Otherwise, the body seems a bit light for an imperial stout but is right in line with an imperial porter. This is a delicious example of either style – here the bourbon barrel accentuates the sweetness and cocoa hints; the bourbon doesn’t hijack the flavor. Overall, really good imperial porter/stout – thanks Derek!

Rating 4.31, rDev 0% (First Review)

 

I discussed it in the Lager thread:

“I enjoyed drinking this beer, it is very good - excellent! This beer had a pleasing & balanced flavor profile with an aspect of great drinkability.”

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...rs-some-love-2025.679494/page-23#post-8237482

Cheers!

 

I'll throw my two cents in on Sierra Nevada Octoberfest 2025:


Appearance: Clear gold, big head.

Smell: Some fruit at first, then settles to a honeyed bread aroma.

Taste: Mild sweetness, then honeyed bread followed with a light grassy hop presence. Medium bodied. Really easy drinking. Finishes with a blend of bread and grassiness.

Overall: Really liked this festbier collaboration! Nice balanced flavor, not too heavy or too light, just a joy to drink. Tasty stuff!

 

I was at Baileson Brewing yesterday afternoon. I hadn't had their Tripel Anniversary Ale yet. They make this every year for their anniversary of course, which is I think on their 8th year now. I have seen this on tap over the years, but for whatever reason never tried it till now.

Tripel Anniversary, 9% ABV.



Pours with a slight haze, a golden/yellow color. A one finger white head forms with good retention, and light lace.
Up front is a citrus, orange rind, hoppy aroma. That gives way to bubblegum, yeast, and light esters.
Taste wise, like the nose, with more of a citrus/orange rind hop character, that is almost out of place for the style. Though certainly not unwelcome. It becomes a little too sweet for my tastes though, with Belgian candied sugars. Just a touch of esters, but more of a plastic phenolic yeast flavor lingering.
A medium to full body. Moderate carbonation, and fairly smooth. Enjoyable to drink while at the brewery, though missing a bit for style points.

I don't mind that this is a bit more hoppy than a traditional Belgian Tripel. Though American examples tend to have too much of a plastic phenol flavor, and this follows that trend, at least IMO. Along with just a bit too much sweetness as well. Saying all that, I did enjoy this more than my review seems to indicate. Its just not among my favorite examples of the style.

My score is 3.62, which really I think I enjoyed it more than that indicates. Maybe I'll try it again one of these days and update. For now, a solid B.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50448/516664/?ba=champ103#lists

I might go to Equal Parts later this weekend, maybe tomorrow...will see if they have anything new. Though I'm manly going for their slow pour lagers, which are all excellent, but I think I have currently had everything available right now...again, will see

 

Finally! A non-alcohol beer that doesn't suck.

Mark It Zero - Non Alcoholic Pale Ale from Royal City Brewing Co.

From a 473ml can packaged on 11/04/25, poured into a pint glass. A white head on a cloudy pale lemon. The head soon diminishes to a layer. Good head retention, it sticks around to the end. Lots of patchy lacing.

Some citrus in the nose. Clean floral spice. the taste follows the nose. light. clean. None of the weird vegetal flavours that are common in Non Alcohol beers. Malt forward with minimal hop bitterness.

A light body with moderate carbonation. Overall a pretty good NA beer. Drinkable in it's own right without the off flavours that often accompanies NA beers.

3.86/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

 

I'll have to try this again if I see it - what you describe is not at all what I experienced with this beer. I don't understand what they are up to either from the "how" perspective, but have generally enjoyed their creations and the ladies tell an interesting story.

 

Glad you loved it. It was a leap of faith purchase during travels so now I really look forward to drinking the bottle I kept for myself.

 

I love hearing that you got to share that one with other fans.

 

A cool, cloudy Saturday, with a high temperature of around 80. Fall in the Southwest.
My local store finally got some SN Oktoberfest, so let the beer drinking begin.
Clear gold color. One inch white head.
Sweet aroma, bready.
Taste of honey, white bread' Late floral hops.
Medium-bodied, very easy to drink.
Very enjoyable.

 

Ah, I see! I thought I remembered seeing something about it being possible now, but didn't see the normal "Add beer" button so assumed I hallucinated. Thanks for the clarification!

 

I'm not sure if you know of Switchback Ale from Vermont, but it is one of my favorite beers. Their "newer-ish" NA version is about as good as an NA beer can get in my opinion and it is super close to the original. I also mention because it comes form Canada...all the can says is "product of Canada imported by Swtichback Brewing." I didn't do any searches but I'm curious who/where it may be brewed.

 

That’s interesting. I’ll see if I can figure out who makes it up here.

 

Looks like Switchback NA is brewed by SBT in Golden, CO using what they call a nested fermentation process. Apparently patented as BrewVo. SBT = Sustainable Beverage Technologies and their website says distributor. If you search BrewVo or SBT you get there. Or just go to brewvo.com - duh.