New Beer Weekend #294

Thanks for kicking us off @Beersnake - I started to and was out gunned again. Yours are always better anyway.
Tonight I have a Baltic Porter from Founders and it is quite good.
The pour is coffee (strong coffee) brown with a light brown 1 centimeter head that left sparse lacing.
The taste is coffee and toffee, warm bread and dark fruits. It doesn’t have the style guideline bitter notes but I’m fine with that.
The feel is full, not quite viscous and seems appropriate for the style.
OA, this is one I will drink again and again.
Cheers all!

 

Czech it out – a new brand from Dogfish Head!

I have my annual homebrewed batch of Czech Dark Lager in my lagering chamber. I won’t be able to enjoy that beer for a number of weeks from now so I was very happy to see some cans of Dogfish Head Czech-Spresso in the singles refrigerator at my local Wegmans supermarket. These beers are part of a Dogfish Head variety pack and I feel fortunate that I could just buy some single cans vs. having to purchase the pack.

This Czech Dark Lager is also special since it also includes some coffee as an ingredient:

“Introducing ... Czech-Spresso, the first beer of our 2026 Season-Ales! This Czech-style dark lager gets a jolt of personality thanks to some delectable coffee from our friends at Rise Up and a healthy dose of coffee malt, creating a smooth, roasty sip with just the right buzz.

The result is a comforting, cold-weather beer that’s rich, aromatic and perfect for hunkering down in winter… then easing your way into early spring.”

https://www.dogfish.com/drink/beer/czech-spresso

If you click on the above link, there is also a video where Sam Caligione provides a very enthusiastic discussion on the beer. I think he might have had a few expressos prior to filming this video.

So, what does a ‘jolted’ up Czech Dark Lager taste like? Let’s see……

Served in my Polish Pilsner glass:

Appearance:

Dark brown in color, a ruby red hue with a BIG khaki colored head.

Aroma:

An intriguing combination of aromas: some cocoa, some dark bread crust, a hint of coffee, a bit of nuttiness and even some dried dark fruits. There is also an impression of creaminess.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with flavors akin to what is mentioned above. As the beer warms/opens up the coffee aspect becomes more prominent. There is a low-moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with an off-dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is very good. The amount of coffee flavor is just right (i.e., Goldilocks zone) for my palate and it is well integrated with the other dark malt flavors. This beer has a high drinkability factor which is a definite plus.

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet

 

Was coffee actually used to brew this beer? Or is the coffee just from the dark malts?

Cheers!

 

Happy NBW! This was a nice treat from a buddy. Angry Inch White Rabbit Imp Porter 8% 30IBU
Not too complex and the level of Mexican vanilla is nice and low. My review is done on paper. Excellent.

 

Pretty sure it’s just the malts and my particular taste buds. I’ll check though, just to be sure.

 

This was awesome. Velvet smooth with complex malts and a hint of melon rind. Really tasty. Review done. Excellent to outstanding.
Hammerheart Hokan's Brown Ale 6.4%

 

Thanks, @Beersnake for opening this week's thread. It's good to be back after a few weeks. I usually don't post on Friday nights but I picked up 3 new beers at Rushing Duck so I'll review them over the course of the weekend. Each February, Rushing Duck hosts a Big Beer Saturday. Most of the beers are themed on classic, kitschy horror films. My first review this weekend is a TIPA, The Beast of Hollow Mountain, which is based on a 1956 film about a T-Rex in Mexico. It is hopped with Nectaron, Superdelic, and Motueka. 10.9% ABV.

Reviewed 2 weeks after can release. It pours a cloudy tangerine color with a half finger of creamy, milk-white head and modest lacing. The smell includes lemon, lime, peach, pineapple, and sweet tropical fruit. Its taste opens with big sweet peach and passion fruit and a hints of cherry and white wine balanced by clean hoppy bitterness. For the ABV it is surprisingly crisp and lite. This ale is pleasantly carbonated and you can feel the 10.9% ABV, Overall, The Beast is just that: a big, fruity, potent TIPA. Very enjoyable.

4.24/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I have 2 more Rushing Duck beers to review this weekend. I love this brewery. Cheers!

 

Good evening denizens of NBW!
Back tonight with one that I bought a mixed eight pack to get because it isn’t available in singles. At least not around here.

The pour is strong coffee brown and looks stout black in the glass. The medium brown head didn’t get to even 1 centimeter in height and left sparse lacing.
The taste is delightful, though I’d never have guessed it was meant to be a Russian Imperial Stout. No bitterness whatsoever. The chocolate leads, maybe mocha, maybe breakfast blend coffee. Oodles of dark fruits and what I’m guessing is Belgian yeast or water or hops but it’s a floral bubble gum taste. Mild, but definitely there. No roasted malts or hops edge to keep it from being sweet, so it’s sweet.
The feel is lighter than most RISs, but matched the flavors pretty well.
OA, it’s delicious, but if you’re looking for an RIS, move along.
That is enough for me tonight, will be back tomorrow.
Cheers!

 

Mahalo to @Beersnake for starting us off

Part of my Superbowl Squares 2026 BIF haul from @mlench10 Cheers Mike

Tired Hands Death tripper IPA with Galaxy, 6.7% ABV; 4.06 overall

Pours a very hazed gold with a thumb+ eggshell colored head. Above average head retention & great lacing

S: Loads of citrus, a little melon, nose fades a bit down the stretch

T: Pomelo, dryness, green melon & some white grape up front. Some cattyness as this beer warms up, more pomelo & lime plus dryness, melon & a little kiwi fruit too. Finishes dry with pink grapefruit, passion fruit, lime & a whisper of pine

MF: Medium body, fairly lively carbonation, good balance

Drinkable enough, the hops didn't quite pop enough for me

 

New-to-me style and brewery, Fuller's London Pride English Bitter.

This is Sooooo English!




3.94/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A moderate through-the-head pour released a finger of off-white soapy foam with short retention and blotches of lacing. Clear amber-brown body with amber-red highlights.

Mild smell of toasted bread and grain greets the nose with some fresh baked bread and dough, mild herbal/floral hops with a hint of resin and grass.

Bold taste of balanced bready and sweet malt. Semi-sweet with above average bitterness and average hop flavor. Straight forward taste, it's all malt and hops, just a hint of toasted nuts and baked apple and pear. The finish is semi-dry with high bitterness, hop flavor rises and lingers with fading sweetness.

Medium bodied with lasting carbonation, great balance and somewhat smooth despite the bitterness. Very English, matches style guidelines and easy going down. Alcohol is very well hidden.

 

I'd love to think that would make it down here, we get a few from them

 

That beer used to be so epic on cask

 

A nice one from @muchloveforhops3

Hop Works Beestly Honey Porter w/Organic Honey, 6.0% ABV; 4.02 overall

Pours an effervescent & ruddy chestnut with one finger of tan head. Above average lacing & head retention

S: Some honey & clover notes, a little cola & roastyness

T: Some molasses, brown sugar & honey, a little dryness, just a bit of coffee up front. Coffee asserts itself, some peppery & woody hop notes as this beer warms up, also dryness & sweetness from the honey. Finishes worth honey, roastyness, a little coffee & woody hops

MF: Medium body, fairly assertive carbonation, body thins out a bit once warmer & carbonation smooths out

Easy to drink, honey can be tricky in any beer as an addition; I think they threaded the needle fairly well here. Integrated not forced or fake tasting

 

Gigantic - Scotch Barrel Aged Massive

500ml bottle served in a snulip. 2024 vintage. Bought it a few days ago at Chuck's Hop Shop Seward Park.

Pours murky amber-brown with a small, dense head, fine slow carbonation is abundant. Looks thick, borderline syrupy.
Smell is rich with an oaky sharpness, toffee and molasses and vanilla and nuts. Something almost orange-chocolatey about it. Bark is present but not dominant.

Taste is interesting. First reaction was devoid of sweetness, but that's inaccurate. Boozy and woody for sure, maybe a hint of char. Toffee with toned down sweetness, maybe peanut brittle. Something cola like...but again, low in sweetness. Dark barky bite. Cannot escape the word earthy.

Mouthfeel is big but not heavy -- heavily carbonated, almost abrasively so. Overall...interesting, and pretty good. Has many of the characteristics of a classic barrel aged barleywine, but a very very different balance than most.

 

Big ups to @masamuel2 for sending me this part of my Superbowl Squares 2026 BIF dumb luck win

Green Cheeks Dankest Dads TDH Hazy DIPA w/Terps ( a collab with Other Half & Omnipollo ). 8.2% ABV; 4.29 overall

Pours an uber-hazy gold with one pinky of cream-colored head. Okay head retention & lacing

S: Plenty of dankness initially, Pineapple & citrus. Fades some once warmer, a little passion fruit & peach late

T: Follows the nose, pretty dry, some grapefruit, passion fruit, guava & melon up front. Pineapple, tangerine, lime, strawberry once warmer, a bit of white grape too. Finishes with pineapple, grapefruit, gooseberry & a bit of dryness

MF: Medium body & creamy carbonation, prominent acidity, nice balance

Good drinkability, very juice forward

 

Good day BAs! Thanks @Beersnake for opening the thread!

Today's New Breakfast Beer:



Trip in the Woods (2026) Barrel-Aged Narfoot from Sierra Nevada. 16.9 fl oz cork and cage bottle, purchased 21/02/26 from Sierra Nevada on line. $ 20.00/$ 1.18/fl oz. Stored at 40 degrees F at home. Reviewed 07/03/26, review 3700. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Only date on the bottle is “2026”. Served at 57.0 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 60.9 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lit, same, with light only penetrating the edges, amber.
Head – Average (Maximum three cm, aggressive center pour). Sandy Tan, high density, short duration; the head drops to a 0.1 - 0.15 cm crown fed by spotty carbonation, and a large thin center island.
Lacing – None – moderately surprising at only 12.8% ABV.
Aroma – 4.5 – Sweet bourbon, no hops, no alcohol.
Flavor – 4.75 – Sweet bourbon and some light roasted malt. The advertised “dark fruit” is comfortably present. No hops, no alcohol (12.8 % according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Moderate gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Full: Syrupy: Soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the BA style description.
Final impression and summation: 4.5 Uncredited label art. Excellent! I’ve had both Narwhal and Bigfoot 2026 in the past week, and this is definitely Narwhalish – very mellow and smooth compared with this year’s Bigfoot. Definitely picking up the bourbon barrels, but the caramel is approaching imaginary and the chocolate is just plain absent. Fortunately, I’ve got two more bottles maturing for a later date.
Rating 4.52, rDev +2.3%