New Beer Weekend #278

Great Heights Brewing in Houston had their Eighth Anniversary this weekend. As these things go, I never make a visit on the actual anniversary date. Everything is always available next day, and that usually means lazy Sunday day drinking time, and that is perfect for me

Anyway, two new IPA's for their anniversary.

First up is...

West Coast Fruity Pellets, 6.2% ABV. Regular Fruity Pellets was one of their first beers made, and is a NEIPA, as such, I have basically avoided it since the beginning ha. But I'll give this a go...

A duplicate of the Fruity Pellets hops bill in a classic West Coast-style grist with Chico yeast



Pours a clear burnt orange color. A two finger white head forms that gently recedes to a ring, and light lace left behind.
Aroma is pine resin, citrus fruits. Other fruity aromas like melon and berries. Simple and very enjoyable.
Taste wise, like the nose, a bit of pine and resin. With citrus pith. Though becomes more melon/berry fruit salad like. There is a "hoppy woody" flavor here, and lingering bitterness.
A medium body with crisp carbonation. This finishes clean and dry. Enjoyable to drink for sure. I can come back to this easily.

The Fruity Pellets they usually make is of the hazy NEIPA variety, anybody in the Houston area knows that. Its interesting to me how much more enjoyable this is. Making a more West Coast IPA with Chico yeast. Not even close, if this is the normal Fruity Pellets, yeah this would be a regular IPA purchase for me.

Overall score is 3.9, easy B+
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50326/769905/?ba=champ103#lists

Next is their Eighth Anniversary.

From the brewery: "For our 8th Anniversary celebration. Decided to brew a triple IPA for the first time ever. 10% abv, Nelson Sauvin , Nectaron, Citra."

10% ABV, "Triple IPA"



Silly me, why did I think this wasn't going to be "hazy" which should not be the term...it should be pond scummy.

Pours with a ridiculous murkiness that has floaties and looks like pond scum. A dull pale yellow, with a two finger white head that forms and recedes after a minute. This will never be appealing to me.
This nose is very neutral for me. Some generic fruity aroma that I can't really identify well. A solvent like alcohol heat as well.
Taste wise, very generic unidentifiable fruity flavors. I guess melon/berry fruit salad, but this is kind of my default with these. Plenty of sweetness. Nothing lingers outside of an ethanol solvent character.
A full body that is chewy and chalky. Very low carbonation. Not something I'm looking to come back to again.

This is one of those beer releases that I'm just not in the loop with. I'm sure others will enjoy this much more than me. Though I don't get much of anything with this...Just very muddled and blah IMO.

Overall score is 2.75, the definition of "BLAH" for me. I'm just never going to get these kinds of "IPAs."
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50326/769907/?ba=champ103#lists

 

NBS #2 is Venona, a Milk Stout brewed in my hometown by Autodidact Beer. We seldom see this style brewed locally. So kudos to Auto for not just making it but canning it. Generally, I'm more of an Imperial Stout guy but this is really good stuff - and only 6% ABV.

Reviewed one week after can release. I let it sit at room temperature for 1.5 hours before opening. It is nearly ink black in color. The big, rocky, medium-mocha-colored head dissipated quickly leaving a ring. Great smell: roasted malt, chocolate, freshly-brewed coffee, vanilla, and a whiff of tobacco smoke. Nice balance between the chocolate malt and the Tahiti vanilla. And the smoky smell carries forward in the flavor. The coffee notes are fresh and not overly acidic and there is a good earthy char base. For a Milk Stout there is very good depth of flavor. The mouth feel is extraordinary for the style and the 6% ABV. It is a lot more viscous and creamy than I expected. Overall, a very tasty beer. I hope Auto makes it again.

4.25/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Have a great week, everyone. Cheers, NBW!

 

Okay last new beer of the weekend. This one hid on me last of my Oklahoma haul. Not dipping into the strategic reserves just yet...

Echigo Stout ( Japan ), 7.0% ABV; 4.28 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut with 2 fingers of mocha colored head. Very good head retention, better lacing

S: Roasty, cocoa & molasses notes

T: Cocoa, roasty, dry & some iron notes up front. More roastyness, dryness, Baker's Chocolate, cocoa , iron & leafy hops as this beer warms up. Finishes roasty & dry with some dark chocolate notes

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, rich & silky

Easy to drink, fantastic straight-forward take on the style

 

Jumping back into the BA Big Beer Box to celebrate New Beer Sunday #1082. The first of two IPAs, saving the one canned later in September for next week.

Weldworks & Other Half Extra Extra Broccoli

4.41/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5



11/16/25 - (Can, Home) (Chicago, IL) Can Notes: Purchased via the Beer Advocate Fall 2025 Big Beer Box. 16 oz canned 9/5/25, can stamp EEB-010. 8.3% ABV Hazy Double India Pale Ale. Keep cold, drink now, dialed-in beer. Brewed & Canned by Weldwerks Brewing Company, 508 8th Avenue, Greeley, Colorado.

Appearance: Poured about 2/3 of the can into a shaker pint glass, yielding a generous creamy bubbly egg white head that lingers for several minutes over the a bit darker than a pineapple orange juice base. Looks good for the style. 4.25

Aroma: Strong and pleasant tangerine and citrus front and center, peach and pine emerge a few minutes later. Excellent. 4.5

Taste: More controlled than the aroma, a nice balance of citrus, tangerine and pineapple offset by a pine. A little lemon and mango as a dive in a bit further. Nice fruit basket. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Nice balance between the wonderful sweet flavors and a pine bitterness that keeps everything in proper balance. Drinks easier than the 8.3% ABV, but gets stronger as I continue. Bursts of sweetness at times, light watery body buoyed by sweetness and gentle sustained carbonation. Pineapple, citrus, pine finish. 4.75

Overall: Would pick up more in this style if they turned out like this well brewed collaboration. Many flavors come together well, two breweries which take pride in their work. Thank you Beer Advocate for including this offering! 4.5

This exceeded the high expectations for beers included in the Box. Looking forward to exploring two or three more next weekend.

Cheers!

 

OK, this beer is definitely not new—and technically not even new to me. But the last time I had it might have been in the 1990s and possibly even before this website existed. In any case I’d never reviewed it before today. Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale. Preliminary review below. Cheers!

4/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
550mL bottle (packaged 1/31/2025 I believe—date printing is a bit smudged) into an English pint glass. Pours a rich caramel color with a 1-finger white head.

Aroma is sweet, bready, caramelly, toasty with a hint of spice.

Taste is likewise bready and toasty with a subtle spiciness—a graham cracker in a glass. Nice mineral quality to the water, Old World hops evident.

Mouthfeel is crisp and balanced with a dry, gently bitter finish.

Overall a solid, well made, exquisitely balanced winter warmer. It’s reassuring to know that some breweries just keep cranking out the same classic beers year after year.

 

My first one of the day is another one gifted to me by @GreenBayBA last weekend, this one is something I wouldn’t have thought I enjoyed but really did. Helped that it was a really warm November day.

The pour is iced tea brown with an off white head that left copious amounts of lacing.
The taste is, no surprise, raspberry forward. Not as tart, just full of raspberry flavor balanced with a light malt note. I was rather disappointed when it was gone.
The feel is more viscous than expected but it didn’t detract from my experience.
OA, I may need to revisit this after I’ve had a few others to familiarize myself with the style.
Back later with my nightcap.
Cheers!

 

I like a good Mexican Chocolate Stout, but I admit I'm pretty finicky about them. It needs to have balanced spicing and the right amount of heat. I'm happy to say the version offered by pFriem is hitting me just right this chilly and rainy afternoon.



pFriem Mexican Chocolate Stout
10-ounce pour enjoyed at Tall Trees Taphouse in Hillsboro, OR.

This beer is opaque and inky black. The light from my phone couldn't get through, although it revealed some brown-black color and burnt orange highlights at the thinnest edges. The tan head receded quickly to an enduring collar that left spotty lacing. The nose is bitter chocolate, cinnamon, a trace of vanilla, and a promising amount of earthy chile pepper. The flavor is largely the same. Dark chocolate, a welcome bit of caramel, a diminished and just about ideal amount of cinnamon, and a kiss of vanilla. Earthy bitterness and dark roasted malts rise up in the middle with a subliminal note of licorice. Pepper heat gathers and lingers in the finish. It's not extreme, but it has some authority to it and leaves an exquisite glow. Medium-heavy body with a satiny texture. Overall, this is one of the best Mexican chocolate-inspired stouts I've had in a long time. The base beer is excellent, the balance is superb, the spicing is masterful, and the heat level is damn near perfect. Highly recommended.

(It's so good, in fact, that I ordered another glass right after I finished the first.)

 

Good evening all!
And happy NBS. Been quite the weekend, not as interesting as last weekend but very full.
This is one I picked up at the Binney’s in Gurney Mills, Garth and I tend to stop at that one as it’s close to the highway. We generally stock up on stouts that used to be distributed to west Michigan but are no longer. (Ten Fidy, Speedway) and the guy who offered to help us suggested this (among several others) and I’m glad I listened in this case-

2025 version - “Our kitchen is open 10/17/25”
The pour is dark, very dark. Not quite true black but closer than most. The light beige head that dissipated much slower than expected but left no lacing.
The taste is layered, caramel and chocolate vie for the front, the proverbial dark fruit shoved those aside and danced with coffee. The swallow brings the heat, not spice but the alcohol is not hidden. It’s very hard not to slam.
The feel is nicely viscous, matches the taste ideally.
OA, I am glad to have listened to the beer guy at Binney’s - this is wonderful.
All for today, have a great evening - cheers!

 

Dormancy by Grow Brewing

new brewery for me, new beer

4.24/5 rDev -3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Brewers notes: Our barleywine was boiled for 12 hours to create a viscous, dark base of molasses and burnt sugar flavors. We then fermented hot for some extra citrus zest and aged for 24 months in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels, resulting in heavy oak char and bourbon character in the ultimate test of patience.

Chilled, waxed 500ml bottle poured into a pretentious beer glass

Dark cola brown liquid capped with a three finger long lasting taupe foam

Aroma is bourbon, caramel, toffee, leather, tobacco

Taste is bourbon, raisins, molasses, dark fruits , caramel, toffee, figgy

Mouthfeel is fizzy and boozy

Good beer

 

4.18 overall and couldn't agree with you more!

 

Was that glass originally designed for flowers?

 

The last beer of the weekend is also the last New Beer of the weekend.



Freebridge Czarface Russian Imperial Stout

Deep brown-black with burnt umber highlights. Topped with thick brown foam that dwindles to a rugged collar and leaves plenty of sticky lacing. The nose is full of dark chocolate, unsweetened cocoa powder, prunes, coffee, earth, and something mildly salty. Flavor follows, right down to the hint of salt in the mid-palate. Strong bitter chocolate flavor leads the way, supported by notes of caramel, prunes, dark roasted malt, molasses, roasted pumpkin seeds, umami, and oreos dunked in coffee that's been on the warmer too long. Sweetness is ably balanced by a formidable earthy bitterness. Light alcohol flavor at the very end. Medium-full body with fuzzy carbonation and no alcohol warmth. A rather simple, direct, and nicely balanced RIS with no distracting adjuncts or barrel treatments. Well done.