New Beer Weekend #271

A cool piece of History. That base is retired now, nearby Spangdahlem & Baumholder still there I believe

 

Sgraffito - Convivium
5% ABV Italian Pilsner from a new brewery that has recently started contract brewing/canning and limited distribution to some local beer stores. Before founding Sgraffito in Philadelphia, Scott Graham was a head brewer and operations manager at Burial for four years. This is a really tasty and drinkable beer. It surely helps that it's super fresh - nice floral, herbal, and lemon zest notes on the nose. On the palate, the maltiness is a bit more expressive in a restrained way with the addition of some Vienna malt and a touch of oats. The finish is very clean and crisp, with a very pleasant bitterness that lingers.

Cross-posted in WBAYDN #4726 and What Mid-Atlantic beer are you drinking now? (2025)

 

Greetings, New Beer people! Here's one I opened last night, but didn't start a review or get a photo until tonight.



Block 15 Green Light
This is a strong, wild red ale aged in port barrels. 500 mL bottle purchased at Wildwood Taphouse. Brewed for Wildwood's 5th anniversary. Enjoyed in a Fort George Festival of Dark Arts tasting snifter.

Look:
Reddish-brown with orange highlights. Mostly clear. A sand-colored head appears briefly during the pour and then quickly subsides to an island and an uneven collar.

Smell:
Port wine and a clean red wine vinegar sourness. Mild sweetness. Muddled notes of strawberries, red grapes, and a dab of grape jelly. A hint of oak and vanilla, a whiff of lilacs.

Taste:
Opens with malt and sweet port backed with an impressive sourness which makes it hard to isolate any other flavors. Biting notes of grape skins come through in the middle, along with a dank, earthy character. As the beer warms I get lingering flavors of overripe grapes and tart strawberries. Finishes with persistent sourness and a tannic astringency. The aftertaste includes flavors of oak, dry red wine, and a hint of raisins. There's also an elusive floral component which seems more like violets than the lilacs in the nose.

Feel:
Medium-bodied with a rounded feel that tries to blunt the sourness but isn't up to the task. Carbonation is quite energetic. Finishes with a strong acid burn. Better keep some Tums nearby.

Overall:
On the plus side, this beer has some tasty fruit and Port flavors and a drop of sweetness. On the down side, these aren't nearly enough to offset the strong acidity. The sourness is clean, with no funky character, but it's much too strong for my taste. I've been working on this bottle for 2 nights, and I'm still not sure I'm going to finish it.

 

Welcome to an early morning / late night edition of New Beer Sunday #1075! Here with hoping a similar experience with this ESB from Art History.

Art History ESB

4.15/5 rDev +5.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25



9/28/25 - (Can - Home) (Chicago, IL) Can Notes: Purchased 9/12/25 Beer on the Wall at store temperature for $3.98 including tax. Refrigerated upon purchase at home until opening this morning. 16 oz canned on 7/30/25. 5.5% ABV, 35 IBU, Extra Special Bitter Ale. Pub Ale Series. Keep Refrigerated below 37 F. Brewers Notes: This deep mahogany, pub-style ale is brewed with Maris Otter malt as well as chocolate and crystal malts. Target and Savinjski Golding hops provide a balancing dryness. Finishes soft on the palate with notes of caramel, toffee and orange marmalade on the finish. Visit our taproom to experience this real ale poured on the handpump. Brewed and packaged by Art History Brewing, Geneva, Illinois.

Appearance: Poured about 2/3 of the can into a nonic glass, yielding generous egg white creamy head which lasts a few minutes before yielding soapy lacing and a creamy cover over the crystal clear caramel tan base with sustained mild carbonation. Looks good. 4.25

Aroma: Nice toffee and caramel malt, fresh pumpernickel bread. Medium plus strength, a bit higher in enjoyment. 4.25

Taste: Consistent with aroma, caramel, toffee, pumpernickel bread, sweet a bit sticky, nice. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Persistent slightly prickly carbonation, drinks light and easy, below the ABV (feels like a session beer). Sweet, sticky, consistent with expectations and style guidelines. Nice malt flavor ours without excess, toffee caramel pumpernickel from Go!. 4.25

Overall: This is a solid ESB, would like a cask version to note any differences from this packaged offering I’m glad to have picked up. Hope to get out to Geneva before the cold makes me a shut in. 4.25

Have a great beer day and stay classy watching sports all, including you Ryder Cup fans.

 

Most definitely my friend!

 

I have one of those coke bottles! A buddy from Bama brought a bunch back from home.

 

Good Sunday morning NBS/nbw, and thanks to @UWDAWG for kicking things off this week
In keeping with @jonphisher question about wet hopped offerings. We live just south of the largest hop producer in Massachusetts, Four Star Farms, and the brew really good beer.
Harvest wrapped up last week
This year they brewed 2 wet hopped offerings.Todays released this week.
Next week a Sam Adams collaboration will be packaged.That one I tasted and look forward to buying next week.
Its another near perfect fall day here in the 413.
Cheers everyone

Hop Box It

American IPA | 6.5% ABV
The Brewery at Four Star Farms in Northfield, Massachusetts

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4.06/5 rDev 0% | Average: 4.06
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 16 oz can , not dated. Canned this week according to the brewery staff.
A - Bright sunny yellow, a touch of haze, solid pour yields a 1" frothy cap. During the experience a steady parade of carbonation contributes to a thin ring. Lacing is excellent.
S - Fresh green hops, hints of mint, orchid, lime peel, grapefruit pith.
T - The aromatics are in play, with a solid wheat, and light grain thread. A bit of cracker and orange jam
M - Medium in body, soft on the palate, from the oat, and wheat i suspect. Nice hop bite, but without being to bitter. Finish is pretty dry, with a fresh hop linger.
O - A very good wet hopped offering, with the the texture, and flavors shining brightly. The hops are delightful

 

That is pretty nice @SABERG in terms of east coast fresh hops seems like you have it pretty made. Hope to see the Sam Adams collab in the coming weeks.

 

One more new beer for the weekend.

Chicory Stout - Dogfish Head Brewing - Milton, DE - American Stout - 5.2%

This is a tasty and easy drinking stout with a good flavor profile.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/1153/
3.75/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From a 12oz can. Best by January of 2026.

This beer looks like a stout, as it should - pitch black in color with no light shining through the glass. There's a 1 finger tan colored head to this beer that has decent head retention, and there's some lacing on the glass.
The aroma isn't extremely strong, but, what I do get is pleasing. I get a good note of coffee on the nose with hints of dark chocolate.
Dark roasted chocolate hits my taste buds right away. This chocolate also has notes of licorice. This flavor mellows out and then the coffee hits. Smooth, roasted, and nutty. The finish has more of a milk chocolate vibe.
The body is decent. It has a smooth and creamy feeling to it.
Overall a very tasty and easy to drink beer.

See you all in this virtual bar next weekend.

 

Sierra Nevada/Störtebeker collab Oktoberfest Festbier 2025, 6% ABV. Pours golden with a three-finger off-white head that left light lacing. Aroma is sweet malt and honey. Taste is sweet malt and slightly bitter spicy hops. Decent dry mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.15/5 rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very similar to the Covert Artisan Oktoberfest I had yesterday. I've had a previous version of this beer, but prefer this collab.

 

Alluvial Gilbert Gold, had a few yesterday at the tailgate, proper review today:


Appearance: Clear yellow-gold, good head. Extra credit for old school “generic beer” can.

Smell: Mild corn, slight fruity note.

Taste: Mild corny sweetness, with a hint of grassiness in the finish. Light bodied and clean finish. Easy drinking lager.

Overall: Picked up a 4 pack for tailgating prior to the ISU game. It hit the spot, an easy drinking lager that you can have several of and maintain your facilities. Nice light corn flavor.

 

I'll need to catch up on the thread later today, just stopping by quickly to drop this Oktoberfest in the thread. I finally got my hands on this local interpretation of the style and it was well worth it.

Lawson's Fest Bier
5.3% Festbier



Pours light amber with a one-finger white head that quickly dissipates to a coating.

Straight off the pour I get aromas of lemon zest and white bread. This moderates to floral hops over a malt base.

At the start of the sip there is a blend of malt sweetness: honey, caramel, and toffee. This sits atop slightly toasted white bread and soft pretzel. The middle is where this beer comes alive, though. First, biscuit and bread dough come to the fore along with floral hops and moderating hop bitterness, and then all the flavors blend together through the finish with floral hops taking the lead through the aftertaste.

Medium-light bodied with moderate carb that tickles the palate throughout, just avoiding the first prickling of a carb bite. Finishes nice and dry.

Overall, this is a hit for me. Some big malt notes moderated by floral hops with superb drinkability. Blends some of the best of the Marzen and Fest Bier styles.

 

Good afternoon NBW
Another beer from my Jungle Jim's haul

Branch and Bone Märzen

16oz canned 07/22/25 poured into a mug at fridge temp 5.4% ABV per label. The beer pours bright copper tinted amber with khaki colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of bubbles. Minimal lacing. The aroma is mild with toasted malt. The taste follows with nutty, deeply toasted malt and an earthy, herbal hop flavor and moderate bitterness. The feel is thin to medium bodied with average plus carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Cleanly lagered. Overall, good beer with a bit too much bitterness and carbonation to score well to style.

Cheers all!

 

Ikasu - Oktopus festbier

 

Went over to help Garth put his pool cover on for the winter and we debated whether jumping in before we put the cover on because it was over 80 degrees. We didn’t, got the cover on and had a beer or two for our efforts.
The first one is one I drank many years ago and seldom went back to it because I was looking for new stuff. Well, never reviewed it and as it’s been quite a while it seems new.

The pour is almost stout black and sported a 1 finger light beige head. Looks good.
The taste is a pretty well balanced porter with vanilla; definitely present but not dominant. The coffee seems to blend into the porter to amplify the flavor. For a 5% beer, this drinks above its weight.
The feel is between thin and viscous, light body maybe?
OA, this is still Atwater’s flagship beer and that makes sense.
Will be back, cheers!

 

Estrella Damm from Damm S. A.

From a Spanish brewed can dated 03/09/25. poured into a pint glass. A big bubbly white head on a clear gold. moderate head retention. Lots of patchy lacing.

Malts in the nose. Some spice. Malt sweetness. An interesting flavour. Might be the rice. A dry, mild hop finish.

Very smooth. A medium/light body with good carbonation. It drinks well.Unremarkable but pleasant and refreshing.

3.58/5 rDev +23.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5