New Beer Weekend #288

Welcome one and all to New Beer Sunday #1092! The third and final from the Werk Force November 26 release. Will summarize my beer weekend after the review.

Werk Force Brewing Co Cuvee De Sleepy Bear (2025)

4.16/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25



1/25/26 - (Bottle - Home) (Chicago, IL) Bottle Notes: Purchased at store temperature December 10, 2025 at Beer on the Wall Park Ridge for $27.35 including tax. Refrigerated upon returning home before opening this morning. 12.7 oz., no bottle date but a release date of 11/26/25, no ABV on the bottle. 2025 Cuvee De Sleepy Bear 4, 3, 2, 1 Year. Bourbon and Rye Barrel Aged Sleepy Bear Imperial Stout brewed with pale, wheat, roasted barley, oats, rye, chocolate, honey and caramel malts, and milk sugar. Hopped with Magnum and Fuggle. Fermented with Chico Ale Yeast. Brewed and bottled by Werk Force Brewing Company, Plainfield, Illinois.

Appearance: Poured about three fourths of the bottle into a 12 oz snifter, near black base and negligible bubbly dark tan head that leaves no trace but a thin bubbly ring around the rim and a few points above the base. 4.0

Aroma: Boozy bourbon, plum, bakers chocolate. Bourbon strengthens and dominates as this warms. Mild in strength and enjoyment. One note. 3.5

Taste: Somewhat harsh bourbon front and center, sweet milk chocolate lurking first sips. As this warms more flavors thankfully arrive, with a nice caramel, rich chocolate fudge, and honey follows, plus hot chocolate mix. Definitely worth the wait if you let this warm 20 minutes plus (I sadly spent the first five just trying to open the wax bottle). 4.50

Mouthfeel: Rich, creamy, decadent. Drinks pretty heavy, not sure what the ABV is to compare. Faint gentle carbonation, sweet overall, but the bourbon tries to keep things a bit balanced. Slightly chalky and dry. Not sure the bourbon dominates the aroma, but glad the various flavors emerge throughout. Caramel, fudge bourbon finish. 4.25

Overall: This is a solid beer, and one I'm glad I opened this morning. Let this warm to enjoy the bountiful flavors consistent with the listed ingredients with the exception of Rye, which has been AWOL for the three offerings poured this weekend. This has been a good weekend of three Sleepy Bear offerings. Prefer the smaller sized bottle today vs. the 16 oz cans, and would prefer smaller draft pours at the taproom in the future. 4.25

Like to explore more local Black Friday releases after moving on from Bourbon County. Overall, I enjoyed all three, with the Death By Chocolate Cake and this Cuvee nearly equal, and the base beer mid range. These were a bit pricey, consistent with most things, but there is solid quality here. The one regret was didn't get any rye from any of the three, and rye was one of the primary selling points. Feel smaller draft pours better suited for me in the future. That said Werk Force does quality work, wish their brewery was reasonably accessible by public transportation, but hoping to come across future draft versions near me.

Looking forward to the rest of New Beer Sunday takes, and see you all next week.

 

Happy NBS everyone! Boss texted this morning and gave us permission to work from home tomorrow due to the weather conditions so it's beer time for me. Started off with this Speedway Stout variant:

Speedway Grand Prix MMXXV Banana Cream Pie Edition | AleSmith Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate





A decent enough brew overall, but not one of the better Speedway Stouts I've had. Banana was too artificial tasting for me. Have another variant lined up next so hoping that one will be a little better.

 

This was a pleasant surprise.

Four Sixes Grit & Glory Traditional American Pilsner

Clear gold color with white cap and decent lacing.

Aroma of mildly sweet malt and a bit more prominent floral, spicy hops.

Taste on entry is spicy hoppy at first quickly followed by sweet malt with malt increasingly presenting by mid palate and lingering in the long clean aftertaste.

Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

This one has everything it needs and nothing it doesn't. A clean, crisp, well balanced Pilsner style beer worthy of your attention.

 

What's good, NBW? I received this new one from distinguished BA, @Nugganooch I'm very glad I got to try it, it was an outstanding WCIPA



but of course!
Imperial IPA | 8.5% ABV
everywhere beer company in Orange, California

Reviewed by beerdedking from Pennsylvania

4.34/5 rDev +0.9% | Average: 4.3
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This drinks like a modern classic in my most revered beer category: WCDIPA

A vibrant tumbling pour leads to a plume of foam with scents of piney citrus and hints of weed and kiwi. A nice depth and hop stickiness can be found while drinking. Myriad flavors and hop oils of lemon/lime, berry, old style Citra notes (weed, onion, garlic), and Southern Hemisphere hops are intertwined nicely. A lip smacking duo of resin and bitterness trend in the finish, but moderately so. A very drinkable and excellent WCDIPA.

 

Old Gospatrick
Art History and Binny's dark old ale 7.8%
Thanks to @GrumpyGas for this beer. Cheers Kevin.




Poured from pint can, the body is a dark brown with modest white head. Scant lacing.

Aroma is a light toffee and a very light booze. Just enough to curb the sweetness of the toffee.

Taste follows nose as the malt carries the load. A bit of nuttiness is tasted just as a wee bitterness appears and the bitterness slowly lingers upon finish. The mix is easy to drink and light on the palate.

Mouthfeel is medium with light carbonation.

An easy drinking, dry enjoyable old ale.

 

Getting into Fonta Flora's (Morganton, NC) Pine Zips IPA. @jonphisher

4.01/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Picked up a 16oz can from the Appalachian Vintner in Asheville on 12-11-25 for $4.95. Canned on 11-10-25; consumed 1-25-26. Cold stored since purchase.

This is an IPA steeped on heaps of eastern white pine needles, foraged on a snowy afternoon on the land of our Appalachian farmhouse brewery.

Beer poured a semi cloudy light orange with a pretty good white head.

Nose has notes of citrus and herbal hops.

Taste is a nice bready pale malt base that is nicely hopped that brings a grapefruit theme. I am getting some notes of pine which lends a mild bitterness. Finishes with a moderate piney bitterness; 6/10 on my scale.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, a very nice smooth sipper.

Overall, this is very likeable as it harkens back to the old school IPA days. The pine needles are very subtle and blend in with the Chinook hopping.

 

Just heard in WBAYDN that @cavedave has gone to that big BA in the sky where there are no doctors to chastise you about your consumption and no hangovers the next day. I joined BA too late to know him other than through his legacy of this thread, which is what keeps me coming back to the site every week. This one's for you, Dave!

With the snow coming down at least through tomorrow morning, this beer seemed appropriate. Far exceeded my expectations, definitely one I'm adding to my annual winter lineup.

Wormtown Blizzard of 78
6.0% English Brown



Pours the darkest of browns, essentially black, with a ruby tinge at the edges when back-lit. An aggressive pour produces only two fingers of tan head that dissipates to a ring.

Aromas of mill and semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa, roast coffee, black bread, molasses, brown sugar, and some nuttiness.

The taste lives up to expectations after the wonderful aroma. The sip starts sweet with brown sugar, semi-sweet chocolate, and cocoa. It quickly comes down from that sweet peak to molasses and black bread, and now the coffee starts to shine through as slight roast along with a big hit of dark fruit and floral coffee notes. They clearly used some top-notch beans in this beer. At the finish, earthy and herbal hops mix with roast coffee and black bread. Molasses, dark fruit, and coffee all come back on a long and lingering aftertaste.

Medium body with moderately low carb gives this a smooth feel, avoiding the thinness that plagues some browns.

Overall, this is a fantastic brown. The coffee adds a lot to the beer in a complementary way: bold enough to get some great notes without overpowering the underlying English Brown.

 

Next up today for NBS is another Speedway Stout variant:

Speedway Grand Prix MMXXV Blackberry Pie Edition | AleSmith Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate





I liked this one and it's not bad but just seemed on the lower end for a Speedway Stout variant. Maybe it's just something with this series of brews I guess. Plan on having one more new one today, cheers!

 

Sorry to hear about his passing. I'll raise a beer in his honor.

 

Sad news, bit thank you for informing us. Dave and I swapped porch-wrecking boxes quite a few years ago that started with me having one beer he wanted to try...lets just say a ridiculous amount of beer was swapped to our mutual enjoyment. Always relished his posts and his admirable alliteration when he hosted NBW.

 

Thanks for remembering to tag me. Always love reading about spruce and pine beers.

 

Very sad news. I never knew him but always enjoyed his posts here on BA over the years. He was a great BeerAdvocate.

 

RIP @cavedave I will miss our many interactions regarding music and other things. I hope you’re hanging with Bobby, Jerry and Phil…



I’ll never forget your beer lesson of a dry Irish stout with breakfast for dinner…I think of you every time I do it.

 

When I was a noob, he provided great guidance and we also shared interests in music. Definitely a fine BA and a friend I never met.

 

12 inches of snow on the ground already and the tractor battery decided to die. I just used it last weekend! Hope the trickle charger works.
Anyways, NBW- I finally got my hands on the Sierra Nevada Pils.

3.94/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Purchased cold from a local store and kept cold until served. Poured to a stang-like glass from the much talked about 250ml can. This one is dated 10.16.25.
The body is clear, and a very light gold color (SRM 1 or 2). The rising of nucleation bubbles is visible throughout the session. The significant white head sits above on the pour, but fades to a single layer within 2-3 minutes. Lacing is medium to low, but some foam does cling forever.
The aroma is green grass and bread.
The taste is crisp with a dry front that ever so slightly sweetens on the finish.
The mouthfeel is light. The carbonation is mild despite the large head on the pour.
A nice clean Pilsner. It really goes down fast when you’re used to drinking 16oz cans.

 

I too got a chance to swap boxes of beer with Dave, and I'll always appreciate that time.

@cavedave was among a small handful of BAs back in the New Beer Sunday days of 2012-14 who had as much to do with getting me into the world of beer as any of them. His posts back then were legendary, as you point out. You could feel his enthusiasm for good beer jumping off the laptop screen into the room with you, and they always made me want to try something new and different.

Thanks to everybody for sharing the sad news. Here's hoping Dave's across that bridge now and banging away at the drums with a good beer in his glass.