New Beer Weekend #285

Belhaven Brewery - 90/~ Wee Heavy

Quite a nice beer, I will likely add it to my semi-regular rotation



4.28/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a New Belgium Globe Glass

The beer pours a deep mahogany with about two fingers worth of dense tan head that disappears quickly leaving behind a moderate amount of lacing.

The aroma is sweet and malty, comprised mostly of caramel,, toffee, and brown sugar, with hints of cherries, molasses, and dark bread.

The flavor follows the aroma closely; caramel, toffee, and brown sugar are dominant, with dark fruit, molasses, and toasted bread adding some complexity to the beer. A nice balance between sweet and toasty make the beer more interesting than many other examples of the style. Medium bodied and moderately carbonated with a velvety mouthfeel.

Overall this is a great example of the style

 

Damn man - you must have a lot of storage space - how many years ago did I send that?

 

Good day BAs! Thanks @ChicagoJ for starting the thread - I missed the first two days of it (now caught up) so will now contribute a couple of reviews:



Toasted Coconut Vietnamese Coffee (2025) from Alesmith Brewing. Four-pack of 16 fl oz cans from Alesmith on-line, ordered 20/12/25, received 30/12/25. $ 8.17/can (including shipping) ($ 0.511/fl oz). Reviewed 03/01/26, review 3665. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Stamped on can bottom “CANNED ON 08/11/25”. Stored at home at 40 degrees F. Served at 55.9 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 59.3 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Deep Brown (SRM 30), Light barely passes through.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, a deep chocolate brown, nearly black, opaque. When rear-lite, black and opaque, except at the edges; ruby at the bottom edge and deep amber at the top edge.
Head – Average (Maximum 2.0 cm, aggressive center pour) Tan, high density with average retention, ending with a 0.35 cm crown and a thin complete cap.
Lacing – Good. A band of near-microscopic to tiny bubbles remains attached to the crown. This band has multiple windows with tiny stalactites, stalagmites, and columns
Aroma – 3.75 – Chocolate and maybe a hint of coconut, no coffee, no alcohol (12 % ABV according to the label).
Flavor – 3.75 – Initially slightly sweet with mild chocolate and weak coffee. Not tasting any coconut. No hops. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Mild, pleasant gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Full: Creamy: Soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Sort of follows the BA style description – are coffee and coconut sufficient to condemn it to the “Pastry Stout” category?
Final impression and summation: 4 Uncredited label art. Decent stout but doesn’t live up to my expectations – both coffee and coconut seem weak and ghostly, hardly worth writing on the label. My few experiences with Speedway stouts have previously all been good, making it a desirable purchase. I will keep buying them whenever I can find them.

Rating 3.84, rDev -10.3%

 

Today's new beer is a style I've been wanting to check off for a while. One of my favorites from my pre-BA days, it seems like all the options have dried up in recent years. Thankfully, I found a serviceable one at my local that will hopefully stay in stock.

Tucher Dunkles Hefe Weizen
5.6% Dunkelweizen



Pours a cloudy and mostly opaque brown with a five-finger white head.

Big aromas of bubblegum and banana, with clove and brown bread coming through as it warms. Straight off the pour, this is some of the most distinct bubblegum aroma I've ever gotten from a hefeweizen.

On the palate, the clove is more prominent atop a brown bread and toast base, with bubblegum and banana in supporting roles. Through the middle of the sip, some toffee joins that lingers along with caramel and clove through the finish. There's a hint of earthy hops at the finish, again atop that brown bread foundation that anchors everything throughout.

Robust but fine carb give a frothy and prickly feel. However, the body is lighter than expected and feels rather thin for the style.

Overall, a good Dunkelweizen but the thin feel leaves me wanting. I'll take what I can get, though, for a style that is nearly impossible to find at my locals.

 

Started off this stouturday with this pretty good one from Wandering Monsters:

Viator Obscura BA Triple Chocolate | Wandering Monsters Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate





Really want to go to the brewery the next time I'm in Cincinnati, loved what I've tried from them so far! Plan on having another new stout or 2 to post in a little while, cheers!

 

Happy birthday @beergoot, one of the greatest beer advocates around

 

Good Saturday afternoon, New Beer Weekenders. One of my go-to bottle shops received its first drop from Resident Culture Brewing Co. in Charlotte. I've had several of its offerings in North Carolina so I was happy to see cans of several beers here in New Jersey. This afternoon, I'm reviewing Vicky Virago, a DIPA hopped with Citra, Galaxy, and El Dorado. It was canned in early November but has held up well. Also, the price point was good.

It pours a dense, opaque, tangerine with almost a finger of fluffy, bright white head and thick film of lacing. A big, fruity nose featuring lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, tangerine, and pine sap. It's very dank with notes of overripe tangerine, pineapple, and apricot, along with tart citrus, pine resin, and some herbal spiciness. There is sharp bitterness throughout. Well-balanced. The mouth feel is thick and creamy with pleasant carbonation, and the 8.5% ABV gives it a nice kick. Overall, Vicky Virago is a very nice DIPA. Resident Culture coaxes a lot of flavor from the fairly straight forward hop bill of Citra, Galaxy, and El Dorado. If this can were a little fresher, then my rating would probably be higher.

4.28/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Have a great day, everyone. See you tomorrow for NBS. Cheers!

 

Thanks to @ChicagoJ for launching the first New Beer Weekend of 2026! And thanks to @jonphisher for my first New Beer of the year!



Tonewood Deep End (Mexican) Lager

Look:
A very appealing chestnut brown with orange-amber highlights. The thick head of ivory white foam shrinks quickly to a patchy skin and collar, and then disappears altogether. No lacing.

Smell:
Nutty, toasty, and slightly sweet with some melanoidin malt coming through. Somewhat earthy in the finish.

Taste:
Not quite what I was expecting from the nose. Less sweet, for one thing. And the Munich malts are more prominent than the melanoidin. Still nutty and toasty, though, with mild sweetness through the middle and gentle roasted malt character on the back end. There's also a bit of noble hop spice (earthy, slightly floral) in the finish.

Feel:
Light-medium body with refreshing carbonation. Clean finish, high drinkability.

Overall:
The nose makes you think it's going to be like Negra Modelo, but the taste, as you'd expect from Tonewood, is much more interesting. It has a rewarding depth of flavor for a mid-strength beer, with nuances that make each sip a pleasure. Deep End is a very enjoyable beer, in a style I don't usually reach for.

Tonewood does it again. Thanks Jon!

 

Doh! I forgot I even sent that one, glad you enjoyed it.

I got my beer teed up for later, I’ll be toasting you back this evening. Cheers.

 

Almost forgot to post my 2nd beer of the day before starting to drink my next one:

Where Our Secrets Go | Voodoo Brewing Co. | BeerAdvocate





Thought this one was decent enough, kinda hard to be as tasty as my first beer of the day was though. I'll have one more new brew coming up!

 

This is likely my last new beer of the weekend and the last hurrah from my holiday imbibing. Back to my usual low alcohol diet going forward, but with some good new ones in the fridge to share in coming weeks.

Common Roots Rising from the Ashes (2025)
5% Kolsch



Pours a brilliant gold with great clarity (not that it shows in my crappy photo) and a fluffy two-finger white head that leaves nice lacing.

Aromas of pear, grape, peach, slight berry, honey, and cracker.

The sip starts with honey, peach, and pear. Through the middle, white bread, cracker, white grape, and pear (again) come to the fore. At the finish the hops rise to the occasion with herbal, grassy, and slightly peppery bitterness that balances all of the prior fruit and honey notes. White grape, pear (once again), and herbal hops linger through the finish.

Moderately high and active carb provides a medium body and causes this beer to dance on the palate. Dry finish.

Overall, fantastic kolsch. Big fruit notes with balancing hops and a dry, somewhat bitter finish. You could go through a lot of these quickly and I suspect be just as happy with the last pint as the first.

 

Well, I think this is my last new beer of the weekend:

FSBC10 | Fair State Brewing Cooperative | BeerAdvocate





Thought this one was a good maple/vanilla imperial stout.

If I have any more new brews today or tomorrow I'll post them on here, but if not then there won't be any more until next weekend. But I'll check back and see everyone else's new beers, cheers again!

 

Tree House - Cozy, thanks to @Braunmeister_1943

16oz can served in a nonic pint glass. Dated Autumn 2025. Got it from @Braunmeister_1943.

Pours black with a thin, dense, creamy tan head. Smell is creamy and rich, something big and bready, chocolate malt, coffee.

Taste is moderate latte sweetness, maybe a bit of a twist toward mocha with the chocolate vibes. Nice roasty bitterness, noticeable yeasty funk, maybe something like stewed figs.

Mouthfeel is big, thick, chewy. Very, very nice beer.

 

Hoping to share two today, the first is one I picked up because it was a Baltic porter and I blame @FBarber for getting me hooked on a beer I seldom see available. (He sent me my first one years ago in a NBS BIF. Could have been NBW, but it was a while ago.) So a recent trip to Horrock's I see some new brewery beers available. Hop Butcher is present, Bottle Logic is there (No stouts though) and GoldFinger. Which I believe Frank also introduced me to years ago. So when I saw Goldfinger had a Baltic porter, well, it couldn't get into my hands quickly enough.

The pour is coffee brown and looks very dark brown and transparent (not easily noticed, I had to have quite the back light to see through) my point is it's not unfiltered or cloudy at all. The short beige head left sparse lacing after the initial ring.
The taste is wonderful, coffee leads, raisins and figs join in, chocolate falls into place and the whole thing starts up again at the next sip.
The feel is soft and smooth, not what I was expecting but if fit the flavors well.
OA, one of those beers 'm glad comes in 4 packs of pints, as one may not be enough.
Cheers all!
I’ll be back later with an anniversary beer from Arbor Brewing.

 

Troubles End - Conductor, a "historic porter"

16oz can served in a stemless rastal. Don't see a date on it. Got it from @Braunmeister_1943.

Pours dark brown, small head that settles in a few minutes to a thin blanket covering about two thirds of the surface. Ring is thick, lots of active carbonation. Smell is very porter -- a little black licorice, some light coffee and chocolate syrup, some rising dough yeastiness.

Taste is more on the roasty side, little wisps of smoke wafting up through my sinuses. Dark fruit, earthy bitterness, slightly charred biscuits.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth, tiny prickliness that is quite satisfying. Nice beer.

 

Happy Birthday!

 

Beautiful guitar!

 

4.18/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Was trying to wait for a sunset backdrop to pair this with, but the rain isn't letting up, so here we go with the latest rotating Swami's variant, this one with some new-to-me hops - cheers!

Packaged on December 1st, 2025 - enjoyed on January 3rd, 2026. Poured from a pint can into my Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

Nearly clear gold liquid with a large rocky magnolia mesa on top. Stiff peak lacing; excellent retention.

Resinous, slightly dank aroma with plenty of berry, stone fruit, and citrus notes. Simcoe, Citra, Superdelic, Simco Cryo, and HBC 1019 Cryo hops. Complex yet well integrated - fresh with no garlic/catty notes. Faint honey graham cracker around the edges.

Floral, fruity, herbaceous, with aggressive yet transitory bitterness. Crushed orange, pomegranate, cherry pits, chives flowing into some candied ginger/caramel flavors. Medium-dry finish with wild sage and red vines. Neutral yeast. Flavors are potent and pleasant, but don't synergize as well as the nose.

Not quite medium bodied, creamy yet crisp with good carbonation and some residual hop oils and a hint of alcohol warmth.

Overall another satisfying seasonal variant similar to Swami's but with more complexity.