New Beer Weekend #281

I think the bird would like a sip...

 

Good evening NBW
My first attempt at a new beer was a Fresh Hopped Head Hunter I bought locally yesterday. Unfortunately, it was from last year and didn't do great after 15 months at room temperature...

This one is from a dependable semi-local

The Brew Bridge
The Great Communicator Double Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

16oz can purchased cold at the brewery yesterday poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at fridge temp 6.5% ABV. The beer pours pitch black with light brown head. The head recedes to a rocky cap and leaves a web of lacing behind. The aroma is mild with dark chocolate and cocoa. The taste is bittersweet roasted malt smoothed out with big cocoa and subtle sweetness. Mild finishing bitterness. The feel is medium plus bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, enjoyable oatmeal stout with big cocoa flavor.

I brought two more beers home with me from Brew Bridge. One is a bourbon barrel stout that I hope is as good as their other beers I've sampled. Cheers all!

 

Pours a thinish reddish brown, no head, or lacing. Plenty of aroma most of which I'd rather not have in my beer. Flavor's just a hodge podge. Thin texture, flavors don't
linger.

I finally hit the local Binny's hoping to get BCBS, all they had left were added junk variants, and some of last years added junk variants. The proprietor's '25 was $25 the '24 was $10, still not worth it.
DON'T ADJUNK TO BEER!

 

What is this creature you have here?

 

For my last new brew of the day I had this pretty tasty imperial stout:

Blended With Lumber #6 | Timber Ales | BeerAdvocate





Only complaint with this was that only a small portion of it was barrel aged (I think 1/3) and more of it was a fresher imperial stout. It was still pretty good but maybe if more of it was barrel aged it really could have been excellent. Oh well, this was still better than a lot of other brews! Should have some more new brews to try tomorrow, cheers again!

 

Did my Good Friday shopping today, didn’t miss much, cheers!

 

More from my Kansas haul.

Pipeworks Rudolph vs Unicorn Peppermint Imperial Milk Stout, 10.5% ABV; 3.87 overall

Pours a very effervescent chestnut/mahogany with a thumb+ of tight mocha colored head. Minimal head retention & lacing, fairly viscous

S: Faint peppermint notes. Once this beer is warmed up, plenty of peppermint & some chocolate notes, fades a bit down the stretch

T: Plenty of peppermint, cocoa, a little dryness, some iron, creamy notes as well up front. Peppermint, chocolate & vanilla cream as this beer warms up. Finishes with dark chocolate, peppermint cream, a little iron & faint leafy hops

MF: Medium body, fairly creamy carbonation, body & carbonation drops off a little once warm

If you don't like peppermint, steer clear, this worked for me as a one off, easy to drink. No regrets on this two-pack purchase

 

Good Saturday evening. The day had potential but it ended up drizzly and pretty uncomfortable outside. Amazing how much difference in feel a little precipitation makes. I was cold and tolerable early, but it got cold and raw and miserable when the moisture moved in. If it's gonna be like that just snow - at least something to look at and I can play with the tractor if there's enough. Not like we have to go anywhere anymore!

Tonight I guess is a classic:



Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier from Schlenkerla in Germany. Oh - the photobombing structure is a gingerbread house my grandson decorated. Friends of ours have older grandkids no longer interested in such things so they've semi-adopted Noah the past three years.

So...the beer...

Pours a clear chestnut color with a hefty off white/light tan head that lasts nicely and droops elegantly down the glass.

The aroma is smokey from the jump but not overwhelmingly so. It's a bit...ummm...almost meaty...but with that there is a nice toasty brown bread malty smell, some coffee, a little chocolate. Brown sugar and some earthiness.

The smoke is much more contained,or maybe wrapped up around like a blanket, the overall flavor. Much more balanced than the nose led me to think. There's a nice sweetness to the beer and just a hint of tartness. I don't feel that the smoke taste is meaty at all - its just smokey liked smoked wood should be. A bit of caramel, and I'll stick with the warm brown bread maltiness. There's a faint herbal earthy hop taste. I do pick up a little chocolate and a wee bit of coffee.

The feel is light heading to medium. Carbonation is mild and the beer drinks smoothly and richly which I did not expect. It finishes a little dry with some sweet carryover and smokiness. Mild bitterness.

This is a very nice brew. I could drink this any time. A lot of flavor in a light feeling, easy drinking beer. I don't find the smoke overwhelming. It's quite complimentary to the other flavors. Diggin' it a whole lot. In the 4.0 - 4.2 territory. Well made.

 

Back again
I guess I didn't know this was a rotating seasonal as the can doesn't mention berries and I bought a single so no package information.

GL Cookie Exchange 2025

12oz can stamped MAR 23 26 poured into a Spiegelau stout glass at fridge temp 5.5% ABV. The beer pours a red tinted medium brown with light brown head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and island. No lacing. The aroma is mild with sugar cookie and berry notes. The taste is heavily cookie inspired with notes of berry, vanilla and whatever makes a snickerdoodle a snickerdoodle. The feel is medium bodied with just less that average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, weird and not my favorite thing.

Cheers all

 

Mortalis Gaia


Reviewed by TCgenny from New York

4/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Prolly a week old, pours light yellow milk with froth head that reduced quickly, aroma is strong white grape, Taste is grapefruit, grape , lemon zest, piney. It settles into lime, predominant grapefruit, and the ying yang of of sweet and bitter taste , medium smaky and I don’t sense the alcohol yet my esophagus feels warm. Feel is tingly soft carbonation. Medium body. It’s really nice dipa from a great brewery !

My wife’s brain light up brighter than any Christmas Tree when Mortalis was spotted at the Avon Holiday Spectacular!!!

 

Flying fish hopfish ipa
...cloudy burnt orange appearance with a thin but lasting head
...medium carbonation with about the same for the body
...aroma is bitter citrus fruit,peel,and seed along with pine. As it warms lime seems to stand out a bit more.
..taste is mild,almost watered down and uneventful like its ipa-light. Leaves a weak but lasting bitter taste in the mouth and it isn't pleasant,more like the bitter taste leftover from talking to my brother in law.
...overall perhaps one of the more forgettable beers I've had in a while

 

That’s a blue jay feasting on nuts and seeds at my feeder

 

Fuck, eye exam time thought it was a Finch,,,

 

Phase Three Neon Striations Hazy IPA, 3.94 overall


Pours a super-hazed & effervescent gold with 2 fingers of tight pearl colored head. Very good head retention & better lacing

S: Some citrus, peach. Pineapple & coconut late

T: Tangerine, some oats, white grape, green melon & grassy notes up front. Some lime & guava, more white grape, a touch of cream of wheat & pomelo as this beer warms up & a little pineapple, a little coconut. Finishes plenty tropical with coconut, pineapple, pomelo, some dryness & green melon

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, a touch of grittyness. Acidity once warmer, good balance

Super drinkability, not a great take on this style, but plenty solid. Couldn't discern the date on the can, so no grace on my ratings

 

Fun fact, Blue Jays look grey when back lit.

 

Toms river whats a bro American pale ale
...a dark amber appearance with a very thick,long lasting off white head
...below average carbonation with a close to average body but still an overall nice feel
...aroma is grain and cereal upfront followed by earthy hops
...taste doesn't stray too far from the aroma with a very mild sweetness through the whole taste
..overall not world class but was expecting it to be but still very enjoyable

 

Brooklyn Barrel Aged Black OPS
4.28/5 rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
No date on this can. Assuming 2025 vintage. Poured into a small snifter.

A: Black with short cap of beige head with surprising amount of lacing.

S: High oak, dark chocolate, black coffee, medium caramel, and light roast

T: Flavor is very strong with strong dark chocolate, roast, medium caramel, and cappuccino with moderate bitterness to keep the beer balanced and highly drinkable.

M: Excellent full body without being syrupy with vigorous carbonation and full finish.

O: BA Black OPS is an excellent BA imperial stout with great balance and stellar feel - highly drinkable for the 12.4% ABV. Really enjoyed it.

 

Hmmm, might have found an image hosting site that could work for me.
Imgur stopped, Post Images kept getting either hacked or just invasive practices, so maybe this one will work out.
But that’s not the point of this thread. We’re here to talk about beer.
And this one is a banger.
The pour is stout black, maybe darker, with a dark brown dense head that was far taller than most BA stouts I’ve had. (Not much lacing though)
I actually got the odor of roasted malts from this, pretty impressive as I seldom detect any smells at all.
The taste is first, not sweet like most Bourbon Barrel Aged Stouts. This is almost hoppy. The whisky edge permeates but the base stout holds its own. Deep coffee and very dark cacao, no sweetness at all.
The feel is lightly viscous, and for a full pint of stout, that is a good thing.
OA, really good, a definite change from the traditional BBA stouts.
We get Hopping Frog here in West Michigan, but I found this one in mid Indiana.
Happy Stouterday!

 

St m dunkel bock
...ruby mohagany appearance
..medium carbonation with a close to medium body
...aroma is malt, toffee, buckwheat honey and almost fruitcake like,in a good way
...taste malty, buckwheat honey, dark grainy bread and cereal
Overall its very good,almost dry and just a bit unusual to me

 

Weldwerks brewing Co. Roller Ghoster Hazy IPA, 6.5% ABV; 3.55 overall


canned 10/10/25

Pours a very hazy gold with 2 fingers+ of pearl colored head. Very good head retention, alright lacing

S: Tart orange, think Tang. Lime & a little peach once warm, wanted more from the nose

T: Follows the nose, a little dry, some oaty notes, dryness & a little mango up front. Pineapple sneaks in along with pomelo, green melon & dryness once warmed up. Finishes with pineapple/orange juice & powdery dryness ( detractor to me )

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, good balance

Drinks easy enough, not bad, but had higher hopes