New Beer Weekend #292

Finally got around to trying today's new beer. I continue passing it in the cooler for other things that catch my eye (or cost less), but the time has come. I'm still not really sure how I feel about it: some sips are fantastic, others are mediocre; definitely needs more research.

Lawson's Nitro Stout
5.4% Irish dry stout



Pours pitch black with a partial nitro cascade and three-finger khaki head.

Aromas of mill and semi-dark chocolate, cocoa, and coffee.

On the palate, it is subtle to start, with some chocolate, cocoa, and black bread. Honestly not a lot going on until near the finish, where I get pumpernickel, some roasted coffee, and a hint of dark fruit. The finish is burnt bread, slight ash, and then a big and surprising hit of campfire smoke that lingers through the aftertaste. As it warms, dark fruit and milk chocolate become more prominent on the finish, blending nicely with the smoke.

It's all about that nitro feel, especially at the front of the sip. I suspect the nitro blend is lower than in the big name Irish stouts as I still get a little carb prickle the tongue. It's a nice balance with some nitro feel while still allowing more flavor through, especially on the finish. Medium-bodied with a dry-ish finish.

Overall, nice take on a dry Irish stout. Could be a bit dryer on the finish and in some ways the nitro blend they chose is a true compromise and disappoints in both directions: not enough nitro to get that classic feel, but enough that it mutes some of the flavors of what would otherwise be a terrific lower abv stout.

 

My daughter sitting next to me saw this picture and pointed angrily at the two numbers on the can.

 

HammerHeart Brewing Skoll Och Hati. Courtesy of @Mdog. A beechwood and mesquite malt-smoked chocolate stout, roasted barley, chocolate malt, and cocoa nibs, named after the wolves who chase the sun and moon, finally catching up to them at Ragnarok. The look is black, with a 3-inch light brown thick foam cloud cover. The smell is milk chocolate and coffee, with a bit of burnt toast aroma. It is very nice. The taste is coffee, dark chocolate, and black licorice, with a smokey aftertaste. It is heavy, yet mellow. The mouthfeel is creamy, soft, and full, with medium carbonation. Overall, this is a perfect beer for a foggy and damp winter day, a preview of the many first spring days before re-double-winter that are ahead. Austin Lunn's artistic ability in brewing, music, and visual art is unparalleled, in my personal experience.

 

Why hello there fellow beer friends, its been a week and we’re finally back together again doing what we do best; sharing our new beer experiences with one another.

We got off to quite a Friday start, which to me means good morning reading with coffee. It was nice to see our friend @snaotheus back, with a TIPA nonetheless, but the abv battle was one by @UWDAWG with that beast of a barleywine.

I’ll be contributing a beer style I really enjoy, particularly in spring; which today sort of feels like, given how it has felt most of our winter the past month or so. I even pretended like it was spring and got in some yard work. Played a lot of backyard soccer with the boys too which was very nice. I'm even firing up the grill to make burgers for dinner, soaking up all this outdoor time while its still bearable.

Anyway, this beer comes courtesy of @FRANKHAZE via his travels to Atlanta. A new to me brewery and beer…I will join @mactrail on for team kölsch or as @LeRose said last weekend, almost team pils.

Halfway Crooks Beer - Farina (Kölsch Style 4.8%)



Pours light straw with shades of yellow; vigorous forming white head; sculpted and puffy; good retention and really nice lacing on initial head.

Nice nose; fresh cracked grain, grass and straw, little bit of white wine and some bready character.

Taste leans into hop character while being accompanied by a snappy malt presence; all things bitter and green; fruit skins, stem like; saltines and bread crust.

Body is light-medium; little hop coat, lingering bitterness, noticeably clean on the finish; prickly carbonation.

Overall this is one fantastic kolsch; leans heavily into hop land but it’s all old world and it doesn’t obliterate the very pleasant malt character this beer has; a beer I’d gladly have again. This has to be a pleasure on tap in the Georgia heat, thanks for the share Frank.

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Looking forward to seeing what everybody else is enjoying later tonight and tomorrow. Cheers everyone, if I don't have a new one tomorrow I will honor the anniversary with a post as mentioned by @ChicagoJ. There is no thread like this and I hope we keep this going till I'm so old that I forget to post in it.

 

Strapolskie Chimieline Beer, listed as a Dortmunder in the database, 5.5% ABV; 3.12 overall

BBD of August 2026, some carbonation evident by the way the flip top bottle popped open.

S: Grassy with pear notes, some perfumy hops, fades some once warmer. Average head retention & lacing

T: Follows the nose, some dryness, a little woody hop bitterness as well up front. Apple flavor, dryness, sweet bready notes & some grassy & herbal bitterness once this beer is warmed up. Finishes with dryness & apple juice mostly, some herbal hops, but not enough

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, skews sweet for the style

Drinkable, but nothing special. Sweetness & apple juice flavors drag this beer down

 

I had their honey beer once, only one I’ve had from them. It caught me off guard, straight up honey beer, like somewhere stirred honey into a euro pale lager.

 

Well I guess we are buckling up for a blizzard here. Spent the morning moving the snow piles so I have room to pile up another 1 - 2 feet. Everybody stocking up on essentials - I'm way ahead on that. I got about twenty barleywines in the beer cabinet. There was a guy on the local news - he was buying milk and eggs but had no idea why - he doesn't drink milk or eat eggs but everybody else was stocking up, so...monkey see, monkey do?

Anyway, tonight's volunteer we've had for a good minute or two:



Boulevard White Chocolate - blonde ale, 8%. Since this was for Valentines Day 2025, I'd guess it was bottled in Dec 2024 or thereabouts.

Pours a fairly clear brass color with a huge mountain of white foam. The foam falls to a very respectable cap that's lasting fairly well.

The smell is coffee, buttery white chocolate, and a little vanilla. It's not doing much for me - seems artificial.

Not really diggin' the flavor, either. It's slightly sweet, coffee forward, fatty white chocolate and the faintest hint of vanilla. This just isn't a good flavor combination. It doesn't taste old or oxidized at all, it's just not appealing.

Feel is medium bodied, smoothly carbonated.

Well, kids, sometimes ya take on for the team. The flavors here just don't work - past its prime or not. Usually I can find the intent in an old beer (and recognize/allow for my own stupidity in stockpiling), but this one is in the WTF category. I'm not going to review it formally. I'm glad there's only one...

 

3.84/5 rDev 0%

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 16 ounce undated can into a snifter at 54.1 degrees F.

Appearance- Black, opaque, light brown frothy head, slightly above average head retention and lacing.

Aroma- Bourbon, cacao, medium strength of scent.

Flavor- Dominant roasted malt, chocolate, bourbon, medium strength of flavor.

Feel- Medium body, average carbonation, silky, moderately creamy, mildly mouth warming, mildly sweet, mildly mouth coating.

Overall- Black and opaque with slightly above average head retention and lacing. The bouquet was a simple, but pleasant mix of bourbon and cacao with medium strength. The flavor was dominated by roasted malt with slight notes of chocolate and even less bourbon character. The feel was a silky medium body with mild mouth coating and warming properties. Overall, this beer was too malt dominant with very little chocolate character shining through and even less barrel character. Definitely needed more time in the barrel to help boost complexity.

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Well, I am back home from my post work brewery stop and it is time for a new to me beer, but one that has been sitting around for a long time. Is that a good thing?

Tangerine Quad - Avery Brewing - Boulder, CO - Quad - 10.1%

There's no date on the bottle I can see, but I'm guessing that this beer is around 10 years old, or more. This picture doesn't do justice to the situation, but, there's a lot of chunks in it, and I still haven't poured from the bottom of the bottle.


This doesn't look good at all. The beer smells ok, but doesn't have tangerine in it as the name would apply. The flavor is ok, it has some Quad notes, and tangerine notes, but age has gotten the better of this beer. I may have a couple more sips, but I just can't see myself finishing it. My opinion is dropping with each sip, to be honest, and I've updated my numbers to reflect that fact.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30/252296/#navigation

2.91/5 rDev -26.3%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 2.75
From a 22oz bottle. I can't see any date on the beer, but I know it is pretty old.

Nice hiss and a bit of smoke upon opening the bottle. There's a shit ton of chunks in this beer, like serious big chunks. Holy cow! Not sure what to think of that. Otherwise, this has the color of a Quad. It has that brown color with red hues to it. There's a 2 finger tan colored head to this beer that has pretty good head retention to it with great lacing on the beer. If it weren't for the crazy chunks, I'd give it a 4.5 for looks.
Lots of dark fruit notes in this beer. Not really getting any tangerine notes in the aroma.
All right, I am getting a nice dark fruit hit up front that I'd expect from the style. There's a slight hint of tangerine in the middle. The finish does have an old beer cardboard element to it. I also get a hint of a spice finish, even though it doesn't have spices in it. There's also a bit of bitterness on the finish that doesn't seem to quite fit with the style for me.
The body is pretty damn good feeling. It does have a slightly boozy feeling to it. The body does seem full.
I am sure this is one hell of a beer, but, it it has been aged way too long. I bought it last week in a store, because I've never had it before, and it was the last bottle. I'd guess it is 10+ years, and for this beer, it is way too long.


Boy, I am not sure I even want to review another tonight after this. We'll see. Cheers all, and I'll catch up on this thread.

 

Good evening NBW
I picked this one up in my travels a few weeks ago.

Cherries Jubilee Quad

12oz bottle enjoy by 09OCT2028 poured into a tulip glass at fridge temp 12.9% ABV. The beer pours slightly murky red brown with light brown head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and a few scattered tiny bubbles. No lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring apple pie, brandy, brown sugar and rich malt. The taste is semisweet malt with more apple pie, brandy, oak, cherry and booze. Minimal bitterness. The feel is medium bodied with less than medium carbonation and a mostly dry finish. The ABV is felt as persistent, omnipresent warmth rather than a flaw. Overall, delicious quad, if a bit hot and murky. I wish I had another to throw in the fridge until Cellaruary 2027. A little time and a gentle pour and this could be even better.

That's all for me tonight. Cheers all!

 

Good, bad, or weird?

 

Weird, just to much like carbonated honey.

 

Here an inch of predicted snow can cause panic. The last big storm we got in January yielded 7". My son spent the night with a co-worker so the drive in wasn't so bad. He said he saw 2 fights about break out in a Walmart here. People squawking about people being greedy. I am big believer in the Boyscout Motto & doom upon those that wait until the last minute.

Yeah, that beer was a letdown for me

 

This beauty came via my Superbowl Squares 2026 BIF haul. Cheers to @MutuelsMark for a lovely beer

Treehouse Brewing's Super Cachet DIPA, 8.5% ABV; 4.38 overall

Pours a very hazed gold with 2 fingers of eggshell colored head. Average-ish head retention & nice lacing

S: Tons of tropical fruit, a bit of citrus & peaches

T: Green melon, pomelo, dryness, a little coconut, pineapple& dryness up front. More pineapple, passionfruit, guava, a bit of peach & green melon as this beer warms trough, a bit of dankness as well. Finishes with powdery dryness, pomelo, green melon, pineapple & passion fruit

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation, some acidity

Super solid DIPA, wish the flavor mirrored the nose, if it did it would be world-class. Pretty drinkable just the same

 

We did our errands on Wednesday. Both of us grew up here and while this much snow is unusual, we both learned from our elders. We stay prepared, but it brings out the weird in people. And my Dad taught me to plow snow. More Dad words I swore I'd never say - "always leave room for the next one" as I spent three hours moving snowbanks this morning.