New Beer Weekend #289 (for @cavedave!)

Asbury Park dry irish stout
...dark almost solid brownish appearance with a lasting thick tan head
...medium light carbonation with an above average body which added up to a nice feel
....aroma is a strong hit of licorice, charred wood, roasted malt and roasted grain
. Taste is roasted grain, toasted bread, char, smokey charred wood.
...overall a really well done, interesting flavorful beer.

 

Needed a new stout for tonight so brought this one out of the cellar. Bought it for my SAN group but never got it there. Shame, a couple of them would have really enjoyed it.

The pour is used oil black with a thin dark brown head. No lacing.
The taste matches the listed adjuncts quite well; strawberry forward, chocolate (not a stretch for a good stout) and vanilla rides along. All of these are very present, but I don’t get coconut.
The feel is viscous, melted ice cream came to mind. No spoon was required though.
OA, actually quite good, for a pastry stout. But it’s restrained in the sweetness, which makes me happy but might disappoint someone looking for a really sweet stout.

 

How’d your friend across the table like it?

 

Chuckanut Baltic Porter

12oz can served in a snulip. Canned Nov 18 2025. My can says it's 8.4%.

Pours dark brown to black with a medium sized dark tan head, looks like a healthy amount of carbonation. Smell is lots of yeast, some burnt crust, something in the vicinity of chocolate but not getting there, and something in the vicinity of anise and also not getting there. Whatever the third point on that triangle would be, I guess.

Taste adds in some roasty bitter and nutty...openness? Still not hitting chocolate or anise, still can't quite describe what I'm tasting. Something on the really bitter side of horehound and root beer barrel? Roastiness almost to the point of smoke or charcoal.

Mouthfeel is thick but not heavy, approaches gritty but doesn't quite hit it. This is a really interesting, really tasty beer.

 

I've never really been a regular here but I do remember enjoying @cavedave 's loquacious openings. You did him justice today @Beersnake

I opened a double barrel barleywine that I have high hopes for from Kuhnhenn.



There is an abundance of fruit here, raisins and dates along with some tart cherries that really cleave to the roof of the mouth. I get some butterscotch candies and and some charred brown sugar. The barrels shine through a boozy molasses note but I'm not sure if the second barrel here does much to separate this from the regular barrel aged version I enjoyed so much recently. There might be more tobacco char at the finish. Loving this one, cheers Dave. Here is a haiku for you.

Barleywine does deeds
with blurry magnificence
Happy sigh, eyes close

 

I remember horehound cough drops, been a minute

 

I'll jump into my first New Beer thread in honor of a fellow BA. What a community we've built here. RIP @cavedave

I'm drinking Half Acre's Vanilla Benthic.

Canned 10/9/23. Drank 1/31/26.
Jet black pour with a dense, slightly fizzy cap of cinnamon colored foam. Decent retention
Nose is bourbon, fudge, cake batter, vanilla, coconut, chocolate
Taste follows. Bourbon, fudge, vanilla, coconut, marshmallow, dark chocolate, bourbon-driven vanilla.
Huge, creamy, full body. isn't overly sweet or cloying. Finishes reasonably dry and invites another sip. Low carbonation.

This is an excellent beer. A great expression of the modern big, thick, chewy imperial stout. It is all of those things without being sickly sweet and cloying.

 

Black Howler Beer Co. ( Gentry/Centerton, AR ) Crowler of Mt. Nebo ( IPA ) from the website, 6.8% ABV; 3.7 overalll

This hazy IPA is bursting with big tropical fruit notes from aromatic El Dorado, Azacca, and Mosaic hops and a heavy hitting Kviek yeast strain, making it a wonderful treat as the temperatures start climbing this spring! Overlooking the Arkansas River Valley and boasting some of the best views in the state, this landmark features trails, cabins, campsites, and many other amenities for the nature lover!

My notes

Pours an effervescent gold with one finger of eggshell colored head. Average-ish head retention & pretty good lacing

S: A little bready, cakey, green melons

T: Follows the nose, pretty dry, white grape notes up front, grassy notes as well. Green melon, a touch of grainyness, pears, white grapes, dryness & pomelo as this beer warms up. Finishes cakey with powdery dryness, white grape pears, green melon & orange peel

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, good balance

Not a typical take on the style, it's the Kviek Yeast, not a fanboy of the strain, but this is drinkable enough. Thought it was a little hazier on tap, but I like this crowler better ( in theory the same beer ). This is a 12-ounce taste vice 5 ounces at the tap

 

Delirium nocturnum
....very dark ruby appearance with a lasting thick head
...close to medium carbonation with a medium body
...aroma is dried fruit, fruit cake,molasses and q bit candy like
...taste definitely has sweetness, dark dried fruit, fruit cake, molasses and brown sugar
...overall my description isn't doing this justice

 

Great story!

 

Big Time + Ladd & Lass + Halcyon - Hot Dogs with Friends grodziskie

16oz can served in a nonic pint. Don't see a date. Bought it about a month ago at Beer Junction.

Pours clear pale yellow, almost greenish, big creamy head that settles fairly quickly into a thick, uneven layer with sparse clotty lacing, lots of active carbonation. Smell is smokey but not ashy, maybe some burnt honey. Some wood.

Taste is pretty effing nice at 3.6%. Slightly watery, sure, but tons of grain and tons of smoke, some honeysuckle and other unrecognizable flowers. Grassy / earthy bitterness, borderline mushroom.

Mouthfeel is extremely light, smooth, again the word "watery" comes to mind, but please don't take it negatively. This is a really nice beer.

 

Well I decided to open this one before I saw the news about @cavedave, but it now seems appropriate that I’ve chosen my oldest beer for tonight, and I drink this in his honor. I can’t add anything that hasn’t already been said, and I never met him in person, but I know he was a good guy with enormous integrity and humor. Cheers to a great beer advocate and a wonderful human being. Preliminary review below (I’m sure I’ll have some edits as I sip this one slowly this evening). Poterie from the Bruery. Cheers!

4.45/5 rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

750mL into a tulip. Pours a rich mahogany caramel color with more of a head than I expected for a 10-year-old, 17% old ale—about half a finger, which disappears pretty quickly.

Aroma is boozy and sweet with lots of brown sugar, caramel, warm oak, vanilla, toffee, plums, black cherries, raisins.

Taste is likewise sweet and complex with tons of brown sugar, molasses, bourbon-soaked dates and figs with a warming boozy finish. Loads of oak barrel here.

Mouthfeel is medium-heavy, palate-coating, sticky. It lingers.

Overall like all these Bruery anniversary solera beers there’s a lot going on, but all the rich flavors work well together.

 

Love the pic...and your words, Tim.

 

I can't love this enough.

 

Good to see you here, Arthur.

 

So hopefully we'll have you back on Sunday, like the old days.

 

This was a lucky find in the wild. Was wanting to hit Greenhouse Aleworks ( their taproom still not open in Rogers, may never ). Stopped at one of the better store in the area & this was sitting on the shelf

Goose Island Bourbon County Cherries Jubilee Cask Finish Stout, 14.5% ABV; 4,22 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut/mahogany with minimal tan head that goes awol quickly. Viscous, zero head retention & lacing

S: Dark cherry, cola, brown sugar, plums, some Bourbon Barrel. Fades a bit once warmed up, figs are the only new thing surfacing as other facets stall out

T: Cherry pipe tobacco, salted plums, some sweet cherry notes, molasses & chocolate up front. Chocolate covered cherries soaked in Bourbon with figs, raisin, plums & leafy hops, some cola & coffee notes once warmed up. Finishes with brown sugar, leafy hops, barrel bite, figs, salted plums & chocolate covered cherries & some candied orange

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation. Body gets chewier as this beer warms up, pretty warming, carbonation builds as well

Solid iteration, booziness is well disguised. Still a sipper. Thrilled to try it, would probably pass if seen again in the wild unless a great deal



This one is for @cavedave

 

Great Notion - Candyman Candyman Can....strawberry, tangerine, and vanilla tart ale

16oz can served in a nonic pint. Bottom of the can is stamped 2618 CANDYMAN. Bought it at Beer Junction about a month ago.

Pours murky orange-red. Murky doesn't seem to cover it. Turgid. More flocculation than liquid. Orange-ish mud. Smell is strawberry, vanilla, citrus...everything it says on the can, except slapped in the face like a steel gauntlet with improbable brass knucklage. Sweet, tart; booze might actually be noticeable (not surprising for the ABV, but surprising for the overall profile).

Taste is slightly more restrained, though the profile is similar. Less of an armored slap in the face, more of a suckerpunch. Tons of fruit, tart, not attaining juiciness but definitely hitting yogurt and fruit smoothie characteristics.

Mouthfeel is thick, chewy, a little on the chunky side, but not disruptively so. Overall...if you want a beer, or you want something subtle, look elsewhere. If you want a 9.6% tart fruit smoothie with strawberry jam smeared across the banner, you're golden.

 

This can be a blessing and a curse. I am so happy to have turned a few handfuls of these internet relationships into actual physical meet ups, some of which actually survived beyond the first contact and inevitable realization that I am as lame as I portray here.

Oh, the strain of those first “trades” - I hated it so much I stopped doing it. You expressed the feeling quite well in your post. I had a different BA to blame (who I see just recently posted after being quite dormant), but the community was a mostly adventurous and appreciative lot back in those days. Thanks for the story!