New Beer Weekend #270

Round 2 tonight is a new one..
A single hopped ipa (Cascade).
Pine and grapefruit but it doesn't hit you over the head with it..
Nice one..

 

Lawsons festbier
...a pretty clear, nice light amber appearance. ( other than a few muddy looking beers I've never met a beer i didn't think looked attractive)
....below average carbonation with about a medium body
...aroma isn't overpowering but theres dark bread,white toast, malt and chestnut
...taste has very mild sweetness with an equally mild hop bite. Otherwise it doesn't stray very far from the aroma
....overall it is very good, maybe not memorable other than the unusual but pleasant addition of chestnut

 

Good evening BA
I've had this bottle languishing away in the fridge for a year waiting for a perfect time that never came.

Jackie O's Iron Furnace

12.7oz bottle dated 2024 poured into a snifter at fridge temp 13.6% ABV per label. The beer pours pitch black with some brown highlights when back-lit. The head is meager at best and forms a pencil thin ring with no lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring dark chocolate, vanilla, bourbon and toasted oak barrel. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt with a delicious blend of maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, bourbon and oaky barrel. Medium bitterness. The feel is medium plus bodied with just less that average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Perfectly balanced with the alcohol and oak countering the sweet adjuncts. Overall, excellent.

I've stopped buying these expensive singles, but these Jackie O's barleywines and stouts are special. Cheers all!

 

So. Just wrote up a 488 word review on this beer and it just disappeared. Ticked me off.
So I’ll review it here and hopefully it won’t just go poof.
It’s one I didn’t expect to be able to try until tomorrow during the actual 40 year anniversary celebration at Bell’s.
Stopped in to Total Wine of all places and they had a freaking pallet of these. Had to move six four packs to grab the box.

The pour is used oil black with a dark brown head that reaches the lofty heights of a centimeter and leaves no lacing. About par for a BBA stout.
The taste certainly features coffee and chocolate and warm bread and a little leather (really? Leather? More like it’s brought to mind)
No hops to speak of, but that is expected once it’s aged in a barrel.
The feel is nicely viscous, this is an excellent sipping beer.
The sole disappointment is that I had hoped for the double barrel version and this isn’t it.
Still a very good beer.
That will do it for me today.
Cheers!

 

Jacks abby amber harvest
...incredibly clear amber appearance
....medium carbonation with about a medium body which added up to a nice feel
...aroma is very malty with a bit of bread and mild cereal
...taste is malty without being a cloying sugar bomb. Theres dark bread,grain with the malt and mild grain bitterness lingering for a long time in the aftertaste
...Definitely a very flavorful version of the style

 

Good evening, New Beer fanatics. Tonight I'm raising a glass to @Beersnake for starting this thread, and that glass, appropriately enough, contains a New Beer.



Living Häus Cassidy Fresh Hop WCIPA (collaboration with Grand Fir Brewing)

16-ounce can purchased at John's Marketplace in Beaverton, OR. No date stamp, but this was likely canned 4 days ago. Enjoyed in a Becher glass.

Look:
The beer is bright yellow gold with daisy yellow highlights and a touch of haze. A cap of white foam shrinks quickly to a thin skin and an uneven collar, and leaves minimal lacing.

Smell:
The nose is a banquet of grapefruit: pulp, pith, and peel. A gust of pine follows, along with a spicy woody note. There's also a whiff of underripe stone fruit and a subtle undertone of some fresh dark green leafy vegetable.

Taste:
The flavor starts with fresh grapefruit and candied grapefruit peel, followed by pine on the breath. There's a burst of lemon zest and floral/herbal licorice in the middle. A splash of mango nectar. A spoonful of grapefruit marmalade. (Is that a thing? I would buy that and eat it straight from the jar.) The finish opens with pine sap and--joy!--a formidable raw lupulin powder bitterness. It ends with pine needles, grapefruit juice, and the spicy woody note from the nose. The dark green vegetal note in the nose is nowhere to be found in the flavor.

Feel:
Body is light-medium with brisk carbonation and a gentle hop burn. Majestic fresh hop burps.

Overall:
I learned last year that I really like Chinook hops in my fresh hop beers. This is a terrific display of fresh Chinook goodness. Sweetness is moderate at best, and enhances the sharp citrus and bold pine flavors. And that spicy woody character is just delectable. There are also fresh Mosaic hops in this beer, but they kind of take a backseat to the Chinooks, and honestly I'm good with that.

 

Sounds like a brew worth seeking out!

 

So jelly of all the fresh hop beers. Something to consider once I retire, a little meet it at the source vaca

 

You're all too young, but that bear sorta looks like the one from Captain Kangaroo...

 

Toppling Goliath Dino Break West Coast Style DIPA w/Simcoe, Amarillo & Centennial Hops, 8.5% ABV;4.24 overall

Pours a chill hazed gold with 2 fingers of cream colored head. Average-ish head retention & lacing

S: Catty & grassy notes in abundance

T: Follows the nose, pretty dry, some cakey notes up front. Catty, dry, with a touch of pomelo & traces of pine as this beer warms up. Finishes dry, catty with a little pine & lime & a touch of nectarine & bready sweetness

MF: Medium body, smooth carbonation, nice balance

Fairly easy to drink, wanted a little more citrus or pine profile. If you like them catty/weedy this is your huckleberry

 

Dragon's Milk Coconut Rum Barrel Reserve

12-ounce bottle purchased at John's Marketplace in Beaverton, OR. Looks like there's a date stamp on the shoulder of the bottle, but it is smeared and unreadable. Sampled in a nonic half-pint glass.

Look:
The body is a dark and slightly murky reddish-brown with attractive ruby highlights. The loose head of tan foam rapidly dissolves into a fizzy island and a heavy collar. The last pour leaves an oil slick and globs of greasy off-white goo on the surface. UGH.

Smell:
The standard buttery/sweet/cola nose of Dragon's Milk provides a foundation for mild coconut and rum raisin character. Notes of Grape Nuts cereal, butterscotch, and King's Hawaiian Rolls complete the picture.

Taste:
Very sweet from the get-go, a combination of milk chocolate, brown sugar, and sweetened coconut flakes. Fortunately there's none of the buttery character from the nose. Notes of cinnamon and roasted almonds make a brief appearance. A flash of spicy heat precedes a quick rush of rum flavor that is quickly overwhelmed by resurgent sugar sweetness. The short finish is mostly a slightly bitter diet soft drink sweetness, along with remnants of coconut, toasted wheat bread, rum balls, and plasticky alcohol.

Feel:
Medium-bodied at best. Kind of thin with an abrasive soda carbonation and a lingering alcohol burn.

Overall:
Too sweet, too thin, and too hot. It has a decent amount of sweetened coconut flavor, all wrapped up in a cloud of rum. But the diet soft drink sweetness and flecks of fatty white goo on the surface are a massive turnoff. Would not drink again, and I will do my best to remember this beer the next time a Dragon's Milk variant sounds good on paper. To repeat: UGH.

 

Welcome to a early morning / late night edition of New Beer Sunday #1074! Have my final Sox game, then my NBW/NBS will be easier for me to accommodate. This is the partial wet hop (non wet hops are included) and hoping this is just right two weeks after canning.

Hop Butcher For The World Almost Magical In Symmetry

3.56/5 rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5



9/21/25 - (Home) (Chicago, Illinois) Can Notes: Purchased a single 16 oz can at Beer on the Wall at store temperature on 9/12/25 for $4.55 including tax. Canned 9/9/25 @ 9:13:23; Can Stamp: Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog. 6.75% ABV, Mosaic, Idaho 7, Sabro, Strata, Mosaic Hyperboost & Wet Chinook-Hopped India Pale Ale. Tasting Notes: Fresh Berry, Diced Pineapple, Watermelon Lemonade. Artwork by Dan Grzeca. Brewed and canned by Hop Butcher For The World in Chicago, Illinois and Bedford Park, Illinois.

Appearance: Poured about 2/3 of the can into a teku glass, yielding a murky yellow orange base, creamy egg white head leaving generous soapy lacing and a creamy cover over the base. Looks sort of like rusty water, but I guess it's supposed to look that way. 3.5

Aroma: Watermelon, orange and tangerine. Mild strength, like what I'm getting. 3.75

Taste: Flavors consistent with same order, watermelon, orange and pineapple, Sort of like a sangria or a fruit punch. It's OK 3.5

Mouthfeel: Drinks sweet and easy, faint gentle carbonation. Sweet, but not too, body light, Watermelon, orange, pineapple start to finish. 3.5

Overall: Nothing really pops with this, seems perfunctory vs. the excitement I anticipated from a fresh hop. Perhaps a week earlier would have made a difference, but I've been throat burned a few times with fresh cans. Glad I tried, but not one I'd seek in the future. 3.5

Last from home for the weekend, but perhaps I'll stop for one or two more on the way home later today.

Cheers!

 

Today's New Breakfast Beer:



Festbier from Hofbrauhaus Freising. Six-pack of 11.2 fl oz bottles picked up at Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, 20/09/25 - $ 11.50 (including tax)/$ 0.171/fl oz. Reviewed 21/09/25, review 3593. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on rear label “24162.” Stored at home at 40 degrees F. Served at 46.2 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 51.6 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Straw (SRM 3), clear.
Body – Pale Gold (SRM 4), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, straw with slight chill haze.
Head – Average (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour). White, high density, average retention, leaving a 0.4 cm crown and a thin complete cap.
Lacing – Good. Bands of high density near microscopic bubbles with a few narrow columns connecting to the remaining crown.
Aroma – 4 – Malty, no hops, no alcohol.
Flavor – 4.25 – Follows the nose, slightly sweet, light hoppy bitterness. No alcohol (6.1 % ABV, according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. No gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Thin: Watery: Soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Uncredited art work. Crisp, highly drinkable golden lager/Festbier. Over a year old but still highly drinkable.
Rating 4.15, rDev +7.2%

 

That is the stuff I love..
The ones that don't fit In a category.

 

All I gotta say, as I comb through this AM's catch up is, we're a small but devout group in here these days, thanks to all of you for keeping the thread alive still

 

Sometimes I wish I could buy tea pouches of chinook hops and just put them in water and sip as tea

 

Right now is a good time for a new beer.

Experimental IPA Wai-Iti hops - Bad Habit Brewing - St. Joseph, MN - American IPA - 7%

The flavor is delicious. The only knock is the lack of aroma to this beer.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42984/763142/
3.81/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
From a 16oz can. Canned in September of 2025

This beer looks pretty clear in the glass with only a bit of murkiness. The color is a pale golden hue. There's a 2 finger white head that looks quite fluffy and has decent head retention. There's some lacing on the glass.
The aroma isn't bad, but it is so faint. I just get a minimal hint of citrus smelling hops on my nose.
Taste - There's a nice bitterness to this beer from the hops. That's the first thing that hits my taste buds. There's a hint of a lime flavor that touches my tongue. There's a nice dose of pine hitting my throat. The lasting bitterness is pretty damn good.
The beer has a clingy feeling from the hops with the bitterness just sticking in my throat. The body is full.
The aroma is the only let down to this beer. The flavor is damn good.

Not sure yet if there's going to be another new beer today. If not, see you all next weekend.

 

North Star from Burdock

From a 473ml can dated 29 Apr 2025. A vigorous pour into a pint glass produced a three finger fluffy white head on a light gold. Excellent head retention. It sticks around to the end. Sheets of bubbly lacing.

Fresh grassy smells. Some citrus. Tastes of sweet clean malts up front. The sweetness and bitterness are well balanced. A moderately bitter, clean hop finish.

A clean, crisp mouthfeel. Medium body and carbonation. Overall a fine Pilsner style lager. Much better than most domestic efforts. Well worth a try.

4.02/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4