New Beer Weekend #269

Drekker Mango/Guava BRAAAAAAAAins Double Fruit Smoothie Sour, 6.4% ABV. Pours muddy--orange with no head. Aroma is mango, guava, vanilla, and faint school-paste. Taste follows, quite sweet, moderately tart, salt on the close. Decent enough mouthfeel, overall very good, or excellent if you like school-paste.

3.93/5 rDev -3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

I have a lot of catching up to do in this thread, and I'll do this while going with an Oktoberfest Marzen. O'zapft is!

Mad Goat - Goat Ridge Brewing - New London, MN - Marzen - 5.5%

I picked this up last Sunday at the brewery, and I am glad I did. I really like the malty character to this beer, and am just enjoying the malts, with a touch of hops.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40209/578539/
3.96/5 rDev -1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From a 16oz can purchased at the brewery. No date on the can.

This beer has a nice amber color to it. There's some murkiness to the appearance of the beer. There's a light stream of carbonation bubbles that are rising in the glass. The head is thicker at 3 fingers and a tan color to it. The retention is pretty damn good, and there's some lacing on the glass as the head dissipates.
The aroma is malty with notes of caramel in it. There's a nutty aroma also from the malts.
The flavor is malty as I would expect. The front flavor is the caramel. The middle has a bitterness to it from the hops used to make the beer. The bitterness fades and a roasted peanut flavor comes into play that mixes with the lingering bitterness.
The body is quite good. Very smooth feeling. Full body.
This is a very tasty and well made beer overall. I am happy I bought it.

Be back for more beer later on.

 

We got this into work yesterday. I had no idea it was going to be so fresh.

Farm Aid Fam - Broken Clock Brewing - Minneapolis, MN - Pilsner - 4.8%

This beer was canned on 09/09/2025

Talk about fresh. Being so fresh, the hops just are very dominant in the flavor profile, and they are quite pronounced. I am so glad I decided to bring it into work, because I am enjoying the hell out of this.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/49207/762303/
4.18/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From a 16oz can. Canned on 09/09/2025

This is a pretty clear looking golden colored beer in my glass. The head is 2 fingers in size and white colored. The head retention is decent, but no lacing on the glass.
The aroma is quite floral smelling from the hops used, and at only 4 days old, the beer is quite fresh. There's hints of grain that shine through the hops.
The taste starts out with a hint of grain/cereal, and is slightly sweet. This fades fast, and it goes full on into hops. I get some lemon and floral notes. These flavors give way to some pine on the finish with a good bitterness as well.
The feeling is interesting. I am getting a grain feeling, and I'm burping up cereal. Yes, there's a nice lingering bitterness from the hops.
I am quite happy with this beer, and they did a great job making it. It is delicious.

I think I might have one more today. See you all then.

 

Good evening NBW
Another from my Ohio haul

Taft's Stein Season

12oz can with an unreadable stamp poured into a mug at fridge temp 5.8% ABV 20 IBU per label. The beer pours bright medium gold in color with nearly white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and partial layer of bubbles. The aroma is mild with pale and pilsner malt with subtle honey and floral notes beneath. The taste is semisweet pale malt with more honey, slight apple, grass and floral notes mixed in. Mild bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Seems cleanly lagered, but a bit thick/sticky for a festbier. Overall, good festbier, but not sure I could down six in a row.

 

Great Lakes Nosferatu. Double Red IPA. 8% ABV.
Not sure if I ever had this before, so taking a mulligan re creeping dementia. One good thing with that, every beer is a new beer.
Poured with a respectable head which diminished pretty quickly.
Can't attest too much to aroma as my allergies have me clogged up.
But, an interesting dark color, very appropriate for this initial Fall season. Amber, like a dark Marzen. Weird inter- seasonal aspect. This works well on this Octo era; but I will also save a can for a colder November day.
Taste- wise: a blunt IPA or mild Barleywine. I kept thinking of the latter especially as it warmed.
This was an impulse buy today. Glad I did it. Glad to be alive.

 

Central Waters Anniversary Twenty-Five


"Jesus has risen"
This event, symbolizes the defeat of death and the promise of eternal life for believers.
No, it’s not Easter.
But, like a phoenix, this bottle was compromised on an arduous usps journey from our own @GreenBayBA ’s Green Bay compound. Left for dead by my wife in our sink all day (to identify, and notify next of kin) this sucker was yet alive, with a minor leak from the cap.
So far, I have not sensed any ground glass in the mouthfeel.
Here goes:
Wow, this stuff looks crazy thick, almost like motor oil. It’s pitch black, no light is coming through at all.
When I poured it, I could already smell the malts. Sticking my nose in—bam—tons of raisin and plum. Then I get licorice, chocolate, caramel, vanilla, toffee… it just keeps going. Smells boozy for sure, but not in a harsh way.
Took my first sip after letting it warm up and—whoa. Super flavorful. First I get the dark fruit, then it shifts into chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and toffee, and then the plum sneaks back in at the end. There’s this tiny touch of bitterness way in the back, but it’s super faint.
And honestly… how the heck is this 13%+ with no burn? It’s ridiculously smooth, thick, and just awesome to drink.

Micah, thank you for your due diligence in reviewing my reviews to broaden my horizons with stellar stouts. Reminds me of another classic , Mr @beergoot who did a similar exercise. Dave said ‘boy, you are entering another Dante’s circle of doom, er Big Beers!”
Thanks,
From a life long learner

ps. I think i tasted all those notes, I read @Beersnake every week

 

Don’t change

 

I hate Munich malt, everyone here knows it, but Barrique is so good I love it in this year's Märzen. I managed to snag a 4pk of that as well as the festbier a week before they drop their Oktoberfest lineup on draft next Saturday. Review below. Spoiler alert, it's great.

Canned 09/08/25, into a Barrique tall pils glass.

Pours a deep, rich amber with white foam, great head retention. Aroma is nutty deep malts and honey, not incredibly strong but very rich. Flavor follows nose, really heavy amber flavors supported by a subtly sweet honey idea and completed with a crisp hoppy finish. It's pretty much my ideal amber beer, very deep and not quite dark or roasty but balanced out in all facets. Feel is great, decently heavy for a lager which helps out the malt flavors, but not too syrupy. Carbonation helps out the bitter but not overly hoppy finish. Supremely drinkable.

I feel like this beer is the platonic ideal of the American amber Oktoberfest. This year's iteration tones down the nuttiness and amps up the brown bread flavors, finishing on a slightly sweet, slightly bitter note with plenty of balance overall. Great beer and it really shows how Barrique has honed their craft; it's different from how I remember it last year and in cans, it matches up favorably to last year's drafts. I really enjoyed this one.

 

Your wife and you created art from what was not to be! I knew it would be so!

 

4.12/5 rDev +4.3%

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16 ounce can dated 6-23-25 into an IPA glass at 55 degrees.

Look- Pale gold, very hazy, white frothy head, above average head retention, slightly above average lacing.

Smell- Tangerine, pineapple, papaya, medium strength of scent.

Taste- Tangerine, pineapple, pith, between medium and high strength of flavor.

Feel- Between medium and full body, average carbonation, mildly bitter, soft, mildly mouth warming, mildly dry finish.

Overall- Appearance was pale gold and very hazy. Bouquet was a pleasant mix of tropical scents. Flavor was less diverse than the nose, but had good intensity. Mouthfeel was close to full body and soft with no astringency. Overall this was slightly above average for the style and provided a decent drinking experience.

 

Good evening NBW - beautiful early autumn day here at the keep. My pepper crop is starting to ripen - got a couple of new varieties to taste. One is a Sweet Bonnet - supposedly a "not hot" Scotch Bonnet so very curious about the taste. Peppers and some eggplant are about all I have left and some taters. Not a good year for tomatoes at all. Planted some fall peas and baby bok choy, see what happens.

Anyway, tonight we have:



Jakobus German Pilsner from Schilling up in New Hampshire. A place I want to visit and now I have plenty of time!

It pours crystal clear light golden yellow with about 3/4 inch of pure white foam. It doesn't last very long but leaves a decent cap. Clings to the glass nicely without leaving any residue.

The smell starts off a bit crackery and yeasty. There's a mild whiff of sulphur that goes away. Lemon is fairly strong. There is a floral and grassy smell. Pretty much a Noble hop combo but pretty forward with the lemon.

It's very bright and lemony on the initial sip. A little grassiness and a nice floral flavor. Crisp Pilsner malts underscore the lemon. As the lemon dies down a bit, the hops become a bit more earthy and herbal. Just a touch of pepper on the finish.

Feel is medium bodied and fairly soft. Fairly well carbonated. Balanced and smooth bitterness. The lemon ramps down but lingers in the aftertaste.

Overall this is a nice beer that is easy to drink and refreshes. Maybe a bit lemon forward initially, but overall it balances out. Thinking in the 3.8 to 4.0 landing zone.

 

Happy New Beer Weekend, its been a fun one to follow so far and now I can finally add one. As promised @Amendm this one is for you, this one hasn't been around nearly as long as Old Brown Dog, I don't think. But it has been around awhile, @woodchipper referred to it as a classic and man does it have those vibes and feels of old. I love a good american brown and this one, spoiler alert, is just that.

Black Hog - Granola Brown Ale



Pours chestnut brown, on the lighter side; first pour yields a clear beer, light brown head, thick clumpy cap; shows some lacing.

Nose toasty malt, coffee breath, nut skin; damp leafy hops, gives that wet forest floor vibe.

Taste is big on earthy hops; lightly burnt toast, tampered coffee, little bit of pine and resin on the finish; pleasant lingering aftertaste that verges on having some char and ash.

The body is medium but this is a highly drinkable and smooth beer, creamy and soft at first; good dry hoppy bite on the finish, moderately bitter but it’s sticky and lingering.

This is one delicious american brown ale; it’s lighter in malt than some but I like it, the hops on the finish are great. If I need beer next time I see my CT family I’ll probably grab some again. The streak continues, chinook hopped beers never disappoint.

—————————

Tomorrow may be a bit busy but we'll see if I make it back to post a beer, still got two from @vurt left, may try and fit in the hoppy one tomorrow, also has chinook in it ; was just craving this brown after making s’mores with the boys on a cool night. If I don't get to it tomorrow I'm gonna have to open it during the week

Cheers Everyone

 

Do it!! Make that your first retirement beer escape

Also, hope those peppers serve you well in your fermented peppers this year, if you end up doing them like you've mentioned in years past.

 

Not just a New Beer, but the brewery is new to me as well. Great days indeed!



Flock of Moons Amalthea Dawn Maibock
Enjoyed on draft at the Flock of Moons taproom near the University of New Mexico. The beer is a crystal clear, deep amber-gold with a thin head of off-white foam that deposits ample lacing. The nose is rich with bready malt, and adorned with notes of caramel, dry grass, and a pinch of herbs (including a subtle fennel note which plays nicely with the toasty malt). The flavor leads with toasty malt that starts sweet but dries quickly, morphing into a nutty character. The middle is quite a bit more floral than the nose let on. The finish is a little peppery with a touch more bitterness than it needs. Flavors of dry malt and slightly burnt caramel linger in the long aftertaste. Medium-bodied and nicely rounded with spirited carbonation. Overall, it could use more malt depth, less bitterness, and the flavors could harmonize better. Still a nice beer, though.

 

Weltenburger Kloster Anno 1050 Marzen is a new one for my this evening. And, as always with this brewery, its a mouthful just to say ha. 5.5% ABV.



Pours a perfectly clear amber color. A dense white head forms with excellent retention and spiderweb looking lace left behind. This is a looker.
Wonderful baked bread aromas, Like walking into a bakery. Toasted malts, nutty. Overall simple, but a really spot on malty aroma that I love.
Taste wise. like the nose, all the baked bread flavors you could ask for. Toasted malts, lightly grainy, just a very quick touch of earthy hops, before the honey like malty sweetness takes over again.
A medium body with moderate carbonation. Perfectly clean, and becomes ultra soft and very smooth in the finish. Really enjoyable to drink. Downed in big gulps, as I like to say.

While not particularly complicated, the malt character is great here. Less is certainly more as well. Just all around really enjoyable to drink, and spot on for the style.

Overall score is 4.25 across the board, easy A- bordering on an A score for me.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1315/5537/?ba=champ103#lists

 

With autumn on the mind, I'm enjoying a finely crafted BBA Imperial Hazelnut Porter from pFriem this evening, my first offering from this excellent Hood River (Oregon) based brewer. Cheers!

4.37/5 rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Vintage 2024. Poured from a 375mL bottle into a snifter.

Van **** body with a finger of wheat foam, receding to a lasting collar and delicate surface slick. Soapy lacing; decent retention.

Malt and barrel in equal measure in the nose - toffee, cocoa, brown bread, bourbon, vanilla, coffee, and torta di nocciole. Rich yet subdued.

Nutty, malty, and earthy presentation, largely following the nose - potent and tenebrous. Mild not-quite-grassy bitterness. Long dry finish with bourbon and baker's chocolate.

Creamy, medium-bodied, gently warming.

A wonderful contemplative experience, though it's perfect for sharing - not too sweet, nor too boozy, the base beer is elevated rather than obscured.