New Beer Weekend #279

Thanks for kicking us off @ChicagoJ and sorry about the beer but it does have some pretty label artwork at least.

 

Sorry about the beer, but thanks for the warning!
Back in a few with my new (to me) beer.
Cheers!

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Thank you @ChicagoJ for kicking open the doors of this week's NBW bar. I might as well get right into it with this beer.

Ice Cap - Insight Brewing - Minneapolis, MN - American IPA - 7.2%

This came into work this week, and I'm glad I ordered it. I really like the flavor. It goes from earthy, to citrus, and finishes up pine bitterness. The aroma is lacking, but the flavor is good.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36843/770519/
3.69/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From a 16oz can. Canned on 11/13/2025

This is a fairly clear looking beer in the glass and a nice golden color. There's a nice stream of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass to produce a 2 finger white and fluffy looking head. The head retention is decent and there's nice bit of lacing on the glass.
The nose is way lighter than I was expecting. I am getting a very faint hop aroma hitting my nose. The hops have a slightly earthy character to them with a touch of citrus.
The flavor is better than the nose was letting on, and has a nice complexity to it. There's a bit of earthiness up front. The middle of the flavor profile goes toward a citrus hop flavor. This flavor is slightly sweet. The finish is a nice and powerful, yet pleasing, bitterness. This bitterness does last a decent amount of time.
The body is slightly light up front, but it does seem to build in the thickness. I mentioned the bitterness in the flavor: the bitterness is a clingy feeling that just lingers in my throat.
Very tasty beer overall. The aroma is lacking, but the flavor makes up for it for sure.

I may pull out one more tonight. Cheers all.

 

…and the pursuit of happiness

The above is an extract from The Declaration of Independence which was principally written by Thomas Jefferson. Earlier this week my wife and I visited the home of Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, and took a wonderful tour entitled “The Behind the Scenes” tour. I would highly recommend a visit to Monticello and specifically to sign up for this tour. A great way to celebrated the upcoming 250th anniversary of America.

Our tour guide was great and there was a passing comment about brewing beer at Monticello. No specific discussion about they type of beer (e.g., recipe) but she did mention that brewing duties were assigned to one of the enslaved people: Peter Hemings.

Here is a photo of a placard at Monticello:



After the tour I asked the tour guide if they had the recipe(s) for the beer as it was brewed at Monticello and she replied no. She thinks the original recipe(s) might be located at the University of Virgina.

I visited the Monticello website and there is an indication that a written recipe for the beer(s) brewed there does not exist; a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to James Barbour (a former governor):

“Former governor James Barbour wrote requesting Jefferson's recipe: "Some years past I recollect to have drunk some ale at Monticello which I understood was of your own brewing. The manner of doing which you had obtained by a recipe from some intelligent Briton— ... you will oblige me much by furnishing me with a copy of the recipe as soon as your convenience will permit."[20]

"I have no reciept for brewing," Jefferson replied, "& I much doubt if the operations of malting & brewing could be succesfully performed from a reciept. if it could, Combrune’s book on the subject would teach the best processes: and perhaps might guide to ultimate success with the sacrifice of 2. or 3. trials .... we are now finishing our spring brewing. if you have a capable servt and he were to attend our fall brewing, so as to get an idea of the manual operation, Combrune's book with a little of your own attention in the beginning might qualify him."[15]

https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/beer/

Back to the beer in hand. Below is how this beer is detailed by the brewery, Blue Mountain Barrel House Brewery:

“Brewed in collaboration with Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello to celebrate the history of brewing in Virginia, this special new ale features flavorful hints of honey from Monticello’s own beehives. Lightly hopped with a brilliant copper hue, Monticello Mountain Ale might be the smoothest beer we’ve ever brewed.

5.5% ABV, 12 IBU”

https://bluemountainbarrel.com/product/monticello-mountain-ale-12oz-can-6-pack/

Served in my Tulip glass:

Appearance:

Amber with a khaki-colored head.

Aroma:

The aroma is mostly brown bread.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with brown bread with just a tiny bit of caramel. There is a low bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

A light - medium body with a dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is well brewed; it is a nice beer to drink. This beer reminds me of an ‘old school’ Amber Ale.

I suspect that the beer(s) that Thomas Jefferson consumed did not taste like this beer. It seems to me the ‘tie-in’ was the use of honey produced at Monticello.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH

 

cheers to @ChicagoJ for kicking us off & sorry about the first one being not good...

 

Round # 2, and I am quite surprised I am having this. I did not expect this to come to the market at all.

Northern Hemisphere - Sierra Nevada Brewing - American IPA - 6.7%

I was fully expecting this market not getting it. I kept asking about it coming in, but nothing, that is until yesterday when a case of 6 packs showed up at work. @Alefflicted and I were shocked. He has has this beer before, but I am pretty sure I haven't. I did see the date on the package and saw it was quite old, over 2 months. I was excited, but concerned that the hops would have fallen off. Sadly, that is correct. This beer is a well made beer, but has gotten weak with time. The aroma seems to be the biggest loser with the battle with time. The flavor has complexity, but is muted. I am happy to have tried it, but hope if it ever is made again, our local distributor can get it fresher. It does not age well.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/6549/
3.65/5 rDev -12.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
From a 12oz can. Canned on 09/08/2025

This beer is a nice shade of amber in my glass and is nice and clear looking. There's a thick 3 finger head that is slightly off white colored. The head retention is good and there's nice lacing on the glass as the head dissipates.
The aroma is a let down. It may be because it is already over two months old. It has a slight bit of hops, but super faint. There's a hint of a grassy aroma to the hops.
The flavor is much better than the nose, and it is quite complex. There's a nice almost smoked flavor that hits me first. There's a nice malty, bread flavor that comes into play next. There's a grassy element that hits after. The next flavor is a sweetness that seems a bit strange to me, yet it seems to work. The finish as a hint of earthy hops that have that pleasing wet hop flavor. That flavor does seem mellow and probably has faded a bit.
The body is quite pleasing. Full and quite clingy. Sticky feeling and a touch of bitterness.
This is one hell of a beer and I wish it would have come in to work fresher. I think my review would have been much higher fresh, because I do see the quality.

This will finish tonight for NBW. I should behave because I have to go to work tomorrow to let in the Bud order. Thankfully, it will be small, and I'll be back at the virtual bar fairly early tomorrow. Cheers all.

 

This story sounded familiar, and Starr Hill produced a Monticello Reserve beer I had a few times (and really enjoyed despite not reviewing here). So I found a DC Beer link talking about the Starr Hill beer (AI indicated it was a collaboration with the same group that helped with your beer). The funny thing is the link in the 2011 article about the Starr Hill beer now links to the Monticello site that features the beer you posted here.

The Untappd description seems familiar:

I do not think the two beers are the same recipe, with limited information. What do you think?

Also, where did you get the beer? Did you visit the Afton tasting room/restaurant? Beautiful location.

I had one earlier today, and I quite enjoyed it. It did have a nice mix of English and American pale ale, but I also felt from the first can of the six pack about a month ago that the malt in this would sit better with people who enjoyed British pale ales.

 

Saw these at Binny’s in Chicago a couple weeks ago, hadn’t seen them in the wild for years so I grabbed a six pack.
The pour is dark amber with a beige head that left rings of lacing.
The taste is cloves and toffee, some nutmeg and a little touch of pepper.
The feel is lighter than expected, but that just makes it easier to quaff.
OA, the other 5 will be no problem to drink before Christmas.

 

I am pretty sure the Monticello Mountain Ale was brewed with barley malt and consequently a different beer from the Starr Hill product.

The beer was available for sale at Monticello.

I did not visit Blue Mountain Brewery. Are you a fan of their product line?

Cheers!

 

They are one of Virginia's older breweries - I would think they might even pre-date Starr Hill. I think they were on the edge of the initial wave of craft breweries, but failed to keep up with the trends (good or bad, and I feel some old is becoming new again in craft beer, no?).

They obviously have survived, and we still see some of their stuff up here. I should revisit them, in a nostalgia wave that was once championed in a thread. That said, I gave their Dark Hollow to @jonphisher and I believe our OP, @ChicagoJ when we all met up at Tonewood, if that means anything.

Back o your original post...
It has been a long while since I had it, and memories are iffy, but I am not sure the iteration I linked is the same beer I had. I recall the Starr Hill version I had as tasting more like strong ale with a sweet lean and some interesting accent flavors, definitely higher than 5.5% in my mind (maybe around 7%). I don't see another beer by Starr Hill that fits the higher proof bill, so I am willing to admit I may be off.

 

Good evening BA
I was hoping I'd cross paths with this one.

Modelo Noche Especial

12oz bottle coded 195BO79 poured into a plastic hotel cup at fridge temp 5.7% ABV. The beer pours bright copper tinted amber with khaki colored head. The head recedes to an irregular ring and leaves some lacing. The aroma is mild with sweet toasted malt. The taste is semisweet toasted malt with nutty and herbal notes finishing with mild bitterness. The feel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry, if slightly watery finish. Overall, good beer.

 

New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Blaze Lightning IPA, 7.3% ABV; 3.84 overall

Pours a hazed gold with 3 fingers of pearl colored head. Great head retention & lacing

S: Citrus, melons & a little peach once warm

T: Some bready notes, tangerine & a little pineapple up front. Pomelo, dryness white grapes & a touch of pineapple as this beer warms up. Finishes dry with white grape, green melon, a little mango & orange

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation, pretty good balance

Fairly serviceable for the style, easy to drink, wouldn't pull the trigger on it again though

 

I may have to keep my eyes peeled for that one

 

I’m back with my nightcap, one from 3 Sheeps

The Wolf with JBC Coffee.
The pour is stout black with a vertically challenged light brown head which made rings of lacing.
The taste perplexes me; most of the coffee stouts I have tried feature all the base and add in the coffee. This seems to replace some of what makes The Wolf such a great Imperial Stout with a very mild coffee flavor. It’s not at all bad by any means, just not as good as I expected it to be. Coffee and stout, BFF.
OA, I enjoyed trying this alternative version of The Wolf, but still prefer the base version.

 

Ghost Tracks
8% IPA by Cape May



Poured from a pint can, the body color is a faded gold with a large white fluffy head. Excellent lacing.

Aroma is like a lovely, fresh peach.

Taste follows nose as the peach is up front. Added is a light hoppy wave of bitterness that quickly fades but performed its job of balancing the beer. No sign of the ABV.

Mouthfeel is good with strong carbonation. Finish has a light lingering bitterness that works well with the carbonation.

Solid drinking IPA that doesn’t overdo the fruit flavor.