New Beer Weekend #272

Cheers to @Beersnake for getting us started. I reckon I'll contribute some much later tomorrow

 

Recent release? Not one I've seen...

 

The ubiquitous Texas Pete Hot Sauce. My youngest son really was unimpressed & annoyed to see it everywhere in NC. My fault I turned him into a Crystal HS Snob

 

I've heard green applied to too fresh cask ale over in the UK. The meaning was more to do with the yeast having not quite fermented through yet. The two times I thought it applied, was just different flavor profiles than I was used to with ales I drank a lot of. Completely diffferent context, I know.

 

To be fair crystal is the best Louisiana and/or american hot sauce. Valentina is the best Mexican hot sauce. I like the thicker picante texture. Also tabasco is garbage, but the green one with Chipotle burritos hits

 

I'll always have a soft spot for Tabasco, saved a many a MRE in the field. I did get to the point I was taking a lot of condiments with me to include Crystal

 

Yup, part of their annual BA sixer, just hit here this week. Has two each of a Vanilla BA Stout, this Chocolate Milk BA Stout, and wine BA Sour.

 

Thanks for the kick off and opening discussion, and best wishes for your Oktoberfest trip next year.

I pretty much sat out Oktoberfest beyond a few disappointing new to me selections, and Broo Doo is the only solid Wet Hop beer I’ve tried this season. Seems like weed THC non beer beverages is the primary focus of many local breweries to profit / survive, with a lack of customer interest in wet/fresh hop selections here.

Was pleased to finally get some drink fresh beer styles after clearing a bunch of stale beers, including two fresh old money Black IPAs (Allagash Haunted House and Firestone Walker Wookey Jack - Hell yeah!) plus one of my GOATs Beachwood Amalgamator and a few other returning favorite yellow beers.

Speaking of which, I’m going @champ103 ‘s Pilsner selection, featuring two from the opposite coasts, after confirming my Sierra Nevada has a C1 code, which means Chico, California IIRC. My selection for today is from Forest & Main outside of Philadelphia, which beyond the lack of can dating (I assume their drops here are fresh) I’ve had good or better experiences.

Forest & Main Pilsner

2.14/5 rDev -40.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 1.75



10/4/25 - (Can - Home) (Chicago, IL) Can Notes: Purchased at Beer on the Wall at Park Ridge at store temperature for $4.55 including tax on September 12, 2025. Refrigerated upon returning home until opening this morning. 16 oz, no can date, distributed week ended 8/9/25. 5.1% Alcohol By Volume - Keep Cold - Drink Fresh. Pilsner Of The Highest Quality brewed with Bavarian Pilsner Malt and Czech Saaz Hops. Brewed and packaged by Forest & Main Brewing Company, 241 N. Main Street, Ambler, Pennsylvania.

Appearance: Poured about 8 oz into a tall slender Pilsner flute glass, yielding a slightly unfiltered golden yellow base, steady sustained carbonation, a creamy bubbly head which results in limited lacing but a creamy sustained 1/4 inch cover over the base. 3.75

Aroma: Heavy sulfur, light biscuit. What, what, in the nose?! 2.25

Taste: Sulfur and bitterness over any flavor aspect. Salty cracker after a few concentrated efforts to gleam that much. 2.0

Mouthfeel: Sustained prickly carbonation, watery light, drinks lighter than ABV, slightly dry, very bitter, sulfur start to disappointing finish. 2.25

Overall: Hard Pass, first very disappointing selection from this brewery after several enjoyable selections. Just sulfur and gas intake. 1.75

Need Sierra Nevada to salvage the weekend, or may jeopardize my Fantasy Hockey draft Sunday evening karma. I just flipped the bird at this beer like it is the Vegas F1 race.

 

Good day BAs! Thanks @Beersnake for starting this weekend's thread!

Today's New Breakfast Beer:



No Stout Left Behind from Transient Artisan. 16 fl oz can picked up at Horrocks, Grand Rapids, MI, 23/08/25 - $ 5.18 (including tax and deposit)/$ 0.324/fl oz. Reviewed 04/10/25, review 3603. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. On room temperature shelf at store, stored at home at 40 degrees F. Served at 55.2 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 58.2 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Brown (SRM 20), opaque.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, same with light penetration only at the edges, brown.
Head – Average (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour). Tan Brown lightening to Biscuit as it oxygenates, high density, short retention, leaving a 0.4 – 0.5 cm crown and a thin partial cap.
Lacing – Poor. Just a couple of lonely tiny islands.
Aroma – 3.75 – Weak malt, no hops, no alcohol.
Flavor – 4 – Starts slightly sweet with chocolate and bourbon(?), no hops, no alcohol (12 % ABV, according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Marked gastric burning. Ends slightly sweet with no hints of bourbon.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium: Watery: Soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Basically, follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 3.75 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated container) Uncredited art work. The transitory bourbon taste was unexpected and welcome, providing a fortuitous lift to what is an otherwise average stout. Hopefully the sweetness of this “Blended Imperial Cream Stout” doesn’t indicate lactose. The palate was closer to a porter than any imperial stout.
Rating 3.8422, rDev 0 % (First review)

 

Will BOLO

 

Hat Trick from Fixed Gear Brewing Co

Poured a 473ml can into a pint glass. A one finger bubbly white head on a clear pale straw. The head dissipates almost immediately. No lacing.

Grassy malts in the nose. The taste follows the nose but it's very watery. An indistinct hop finish.

A light body and low carbonation. Overall not very impressive.

3.13/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

 

Well, if I stretch the term “fresh hop” to include that this beer is called Tropical Fresh and it has hops, and actually they are quite nicely represented and I’d call this “hoppy.”

(Note: we do have some “IPA glasses” at the cabin, but this glass fits the day)

I generally don’t copy and paste my review and NBS text, but I went a tad more conversational in the review for this one, so…

At two months old, this one surprised me. The tropical hop notes that are promised show up in the nose and taste. But it might be what it is missing that makes this beer work for me - unnecessary sweetness and even its counterpart - bitterness.

So the beer is a pale gold and ever so slightly hazy. The head builds easily and lasts the whole glass. The nose and taste scream pineapple to me, and I had to check a couple times to see if pineapple juice/purée was added. Finding nothing, I’m still not sure I believe it (though I do know pineapple would bring tart and sweet).

The can also says mango… and I get that on the nose, but I might argue for guava on the taste, as actual hop bitterness invades the secondary tropical flavor. So to repeat, this actually has some bitterness. There’s a little period in the middle where it plays like a NE IPA but it takes the road less traveled and goes bitter in the finish. The bitterness is citrus rind mostly, though maybe a hint of pine sneaks in late.

Each sip, my nose says, sweet to tangy tropical fruit, and my palate says, a decent ol’ IPA - if somewhat more balanced than the WC IPAs of yesteryear. I like it.

 

Millstream Oktoberfest Märzen, 6.2% ABV. Pours amber with a 2+ finger off-white head that left no lacing. Aroma is sweet malt, caramel, and bread/toast. Taste follows, slightly sweet, faintly bitter. Excellent mouthfeel, feels chewy though it's not thick. Overall world-class, best Oktoberfest I've had, could drink these all day.

4.69/5 rDev +18.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

 

Well, I woke up this morning and decided on taking a road trip. I am at a brewery that I've been wanting to go to for awhile now.


Coffee Kolsch - Take 16 Brewing- Luverne, MN - 4.4%

Sitting outside on this mid 80° October day is just hitting the spot with me. I am enjoying the flavor of this beer a lot.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/37664/341282/#navigation
3.92/5 rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
On tap at the brewery.

This is a pretty murky looking beer. The color is dirty golden color. There's a white head to the beer.
The aroma is pleasing, yet one dimensional. I am getting a roasted coffee nose. It is smooth smelling, if that makes sense.
The flavor is a light malty biscuit up front. This fades when the coffee kicks into play. The coffee is roasted and smooth tasting. Slight hints of bitterness does come into play on the back.
The beer is smooth as heck. It has almost a creamy feeling to it.
Refreshing beer on a hot October day outside.

There will be another here, then I decide where to go next. Cheers!

 

Using my hop passport, time for a free beer while I'm waiting for lunch

Pheasant Phestbier - Take 16 Brewing- Luverne, MN - 6.0%

Tasty beer, though, the aroma is lacking.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/37664/458933/
3.65/5 rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On tap at the brewery.

This beer is pretty clear looking in the glass. The beer has a nice golden color to it. There's a white head to the beer.
Hints of malts come on the nose.
The nose is pretty light, and not much there.
Taste - there's a light malty biscuit flavor up front. This flavor does build and really hits my taste buds hard toward the finish. Grain, biscuit come into play. There's a bit of hops in the flavor, and a hint of bitterness on the back.
The body is crisp feeling. Nice feeling to the beer. There's a slight clingy feeling.
Tasty take on the style, though, the aroma is underwhelming.

See you after I head a bit west on I 90.

 

Love when a brewery states "Drink Fresh" and has no date on it, this happened with a recent purchase and I got lucky, even if it was old said beer still tasted fresh, crisp, and clean. So maybe I did drink it fresh

Stinks you had the opposite experience with your beer.

 

Masthead Brewing Co.
Midwest Red IPA
7.1%
4.44/5 rDev +8.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
08/27/25 LEFT ON RED. Poured into a Samuel Adams Perfect Pint.

A: Clear medium amber with 2-finger frothy off-white head with excellent retention and copious thick bands of lacing.

S: Caramel malt with dank pine and pineapple-tangerine citrus - old school red ale aroma.

T: Flavor is a throwback to 2015 with great balance of light and medium caramel malts and dank pine resin and fruity tangerine, pineapple, and orange citrus. Bitterness is medium-high, tongue-coating.

M: Light-medium body despite 7.1% ABV with even carbonation and dry finish. Delicious.

O: Masthead Midwest Red IPA is an exceptional treat that harkens back to the 2010’s when caramel malt wasn’t a sin. I will be buying a lot of this beer for its balance and drinkability.

 

Have you had Harpoon Flannel Friday, their fall seasonal? You’d love it, a treat every year, brings me back in time every sip.