New Beer Weekend #295

Hi
Great descriptive review, sounds interesting.
Just curious about your B+ cutoff....do you not drink (or revisit) beers below B+?

 

Left Hand Chocolate Orange Nitro Milk Stout, 6.0% ABV; 3.64 overall

Pours a bubbly/standard nitro pour chestnut/mahogany with a thumb of tight, tan head. Piddly head retention & lacing

S: A little orange, a little cocoa, builds a little once warm

T: Candy orange, cocoa, a little dryness up front. More orange & cocoa, a little vanilla & dryness, just a little woody hop once this beer is warmed up. Finishes with a little sweet orange, chocolate, sarsaparilla & dryness

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation, was expecting smoother

Fun one to try, wanted more across the board, easy enough to drink. Wouldn't say no to another. Most nitro beers are a disaster, this isn't

 

Greetings, all you New Beer people. And a big round of applause for this weekend's host, @Beersnake .

My first New Beer of this New Beer Weekend is an export stout from a Portland brewery that's better known for their hoppy beers.



Living Häus Bumble Export Stout

16-ounce can purchased at Belmont Station in Portland, OR. No date stamp. Enjoyed in an English-style tulip half-pint glass.

Note: The Living Häus website indicates that Bumble is 6.6%, but the can says 6.9%.

Look:
My phone light reveals a gorgeous clear dark reddish-brown body with burnt orange highlights. It is topped with a thick and fluffy head of manila-colored foam. The head gradually collapses to an uneven ring which leaves waves of lacing.

Smell:
Roasted malt and dark chocolate from the get-go. I can't pull out much more than that until it warms a bit, at which point it offers notes of milk chocolate, caramel, coffee, a little vanilla and...cinnamon? Interesting.

Taste:
Yep. Cinnamon. Which is listed in the tasting notes but isn't mentioned as an added flavor. So I look up the beer on the Living Häus website and find out that what I thought was a basic export stout includes coffee, vanilla, cacao nibs, cinnamon, and oak chips. After the first half of the can I can taste all of those but the oak chips. The cinnamon and dark chocolate up front give way to coffee and vanilla through the middle. The finish is milk chocolate, earthy coffee, roasted malt, and a whisper of cinnamon. Nice touch of bitterness at the very end.

Feel:
Medium-bodied with a nice creamy texture and gentle carbonation. Loses a bit of smoothness at the finish due to a slight chalky note.

Overall:
Living Häus Bumble Export Stout is a fine balancing act of a beer. It has a pretty wide selection of adjuncts but is never too sweet or too heavily flavored for its size. Even the cinnamon hangs back and makes room for other flavors to shine through. Not the export stout I was expecting when I opened the can, but I'm still happy with the beer it turned out to be.

(And it turns out my first New Beer of the weekend is what I call a "hat trick": I added the beer to the database, added the photo, and contributed the first review.)

 

Thanks for the “early” open @Beersnake (BA midnight time now 7 PM CDT, 5 PM PDT post clock change). Would say Spiteful in Chicago (bitterness in delivery and beer naming) and Hop Nuts (nice old school Mosaic Citrus IPAs) in Las Vegas are two I can typically pick out blind based on their consistency and enjoyment of what they present across their IPA and for Spiteful other styles they brew.Two of my favorite breweries.

Going to keep my one remaining “drink fresh” style new to me can on hold for a week, and take advantage of the cold temps here to go with two imperial stouts for the thread this week. This is one of two planned flavor variants released this year by Goose Island.

Goose Island Beer Co. Bourbon County Brand Cherries Jubilee Cask Finish (2025)

3.66/5 rDev -14.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5



Full review linked above. This is cherry cough drop/syrup covering much of what makes the original base unique and excellent. Consistent with their variant releases this decade, flavor as advertised, but not much more. One and done for me. Hope tomorrow’s pull provides a bit more depth and enjoyment.

 

Its kind of hard to say, a very subjective score and cutoff point, that just generally works for me personally, and might not work for others (if its like a 3.7-3.75 I would revisit just to see if my opinion stays the same). Not a hard and fast rule, but generally works for me. 3.8 and above, easy repeat, below...if circumstances are right, maybe.

 

Gimme Gimme, a Hazy IPA from a new to me brewery, Big Rig

From a 568ml can packaged on 27 Feb. 2026, so it's pretty fresh. Poured into a pint glass. A three finger fine white head on a cloudy light apricot. Excellent head retention. A layer sticks around to the end. Sheets of fine lacing.

A strong aroma of citrus, dominated by grapefruit. The taste is tropical fruit, again dominated, although less that the aroma, by grapefruit, some pine and citrus pith. A mildly bitter hop finish.

Medium body and carbonation. Overall a solid Hazy IPA.

3.84/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

 

Nice! Your efforts are always appreciated, @vurt

 

I think we just gotta decide who is opening each week, then no one steps on any toes and any long openings people prepared are not wasted or lost a few posts in.

 

You are not a fan of the Hokey Pokey!?!

 

Greetings and salutations all!
Had my new beer last night and the internet goes out. But what a great wind storm! Our cellular signal is too weak for doing much of anything so had to wait to get our signal back.
Well, it’s back now, so onto the beer!
This is one I had been thinking about before I knew it existed. You see, Right Brain’s CEO stout is a good coffee stout that has lots of flavor.
So I wondered what an imperial version would taste like.
Much to my surprise, I spotted a 4 pack of assorted imperial versions of the CEO stout and chose to start with the one with the least additives.

The pour is stout black with a very tall light brown head that left rings of lacing.
The taste features extra coffee, a solid dose of dark chocolate and really ripe figs. The base stout is even more coffee forward, to the point of being harsh, but this is smooth and almost sweet.
The feel is rather what I expected from them, but hoped the oatmeal would lend some body to an otherwise thin stout.
OA, not sure if I prefer this one over the base, it’s certainly tasty enough, just lacks character.
The others will be interesting if nothing else!
Back later from Horrocks where we are seeing an Irish band play.
Cheers all!

 

Greetings, good health, and happy pi day my fellow NBWers - had a window of opportunity this morning so I decided to pop open this recent release from Pizza Port. Refreshing on a hot day (we're about to start another record-breaking heat wave in the San Fernando valley, with temps 30+ degrees above normal anticipated all week). Cheers!

3.89/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Packaged on February 19, enjoyed on March 14, 2026. Poured from a pint can into my Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

Lightly cloudy mustard body with a small ivory crown. Dense, soapy lacing; excellent retention.

Candied ginger, honey tangerine, gooseberry, and pink peppercorn in the nose - citrus forward and a tiny bit dank.

Tart (lemon/lime) and herbal palate entry with dandelion greens and honey giving way to orange/tangelo pith as the complexity dissipates. Bright with moderate but lasting bitterness, resolving to a medium-dry finish with lingering crackery malt. Good but tastes more like an experiment than mastery/refinement of craft.

Medium bodied with good carbonation and a whisper of tannins. ABV is present but not overbearing.

While a good WCIPA, this leans into the cryo/kief extract side of things which distinguishes it from many of the other seasonal Swami variants, and not necessarily for the better.

 

I picked a single of this up the other day. From OEC Brewing.

Emerald Dragon Weizen, 5.5% ABV. Weizen Ale brewed with Lemongrass and Elderflower.



Pours with a light haze, a pale golden/yellow color. With a dense white head forming. Good retention and lace left behind. This is a looker.
Aroma is peppery spice, clove, orange and lemon peel. Banana esters, and a zesty snappy wheat character.
Taste wise, more wheat up front, and peppery spice. Orange and lemon again, that almost becomes tart. Banana esters, clove/spice, and plenty of sweetness. Though that never become cloying.
A medium body with crisp carbonation. As this breaths, it becomes wonderfully smooth. Very enjoyable to drink.

That lemongrass is noticeable, and amps up the citrus to an almost tart/acidic level. It works well with the other more traditional Hefe characteristics. A very nice take on the style, and I'll track some more of this down when I get a chance. I could do with more than a single here...

Overall score is 4.04, A-
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/34667/728790/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Cheers everyone! Starting off my NBW with this tasty barrel aged imperial stout from Happy Hollow Brewing:

Robinson’s Cave | Happy Hollow Brewing Company | BeerAdvocate





For some of their beers, instead of labels they use cards. Believe all the artwork is done by the owner/brewer's daughter. Think they're a nanobrewery, don't see their beers available regularly so I try and buy some whenever I can. Should be back in a little bit with another new beer or 2.

 

I opened a second New Beer last night. It turned out to be a rare disappointment from one of my favorite NW breweries.



Chuckanut Barrel-Aged Stout

12-ounce can purchased at Belmont Station in Portland, OR. Date stamp on the shoulder of the can reads "BA STOUT 6 Canned FEB 19 26". Enjoyed in an English tulip-style half-pint glass.

Note:
The label indicates that this is Chuckanut's Export Stout aged in oak whiskey barrels from Westland Distillery, and clocks the ABV at 9.3% (unlike the 9.8% shown on the beer's page here).

Look:
In the glass it is a dark walnut brown with ruby highlights. It builds a tall head of frothy, golden tan foam that fizzes away to nothing in about a minute.

Smell:
The nose is of moderate strength, leading with oak and whiskey on a rather subdued base of milk chocolate, caramel, and dark fruit notes.

Taste:
The flavor is similar. Whiskey bolts out of the gate, shadowed by oaky tannins. Roasted malt and milk chocolate flavors come through next. I also get notes of cherries, plums, and mild coconut, along with hints of char and smoke. The boozy finish is whiskey, chocolate, oak, and light vanilla.

Feel:
The body is light-medium at best, with a nice smooth texture, but it feels thin due to carbonation which is frothy bordering on harsh. Finishes with prickly alcohol heat.

Overall:
Chuckanut Barrel-Aged Stout has some good flavors, but it is thin, hot, and over-carbonated. I picked up 2 cans last weekend, intending to send one to a friend as part of a birthday box. However, this beer would not make a very good present, so I'll store it away for Cellaruary 2027 to see if it improves.

 

You are a good beer friend to have Eric

 

This beer sounds like a beer I would enjoy, Tonewood used to make a wit with lemongrass in it with motueka and the interplay between the yeast notes lemongrass and lime forward motueka was so good.

Emerald Dragon sounds very similar but with German yeast instead, I bet it is perfect on a warm day.

I don't know if you get Von Trapp there but their summer ale this year is a weissbier and I can't wait for it to start showing up.

PS...I'm still on Lonesome Dove and I still love it so much. But at this rate I won't be back in the what book are you reading thread until fall haha.

 

Unfortunately, I have never been able to find, or had a chance to try Von Trapp, its high on my list though.

Lonesome Dove is probably the only books that is near 1000 pages, that I just started reading again after I finished ha.

 

Last new beer for me this weekend...

Downed Lands Carlow Irish Dry Stout, 5.5% ABV.



Pours a nearly opaque black color. A dense tan head rises with retention for days. With lace left behind.
Aroma is full of molasses, bitter bakers chocolate, plenty of roast. Its really very enjoyable for a stout, but seems too big for the style.
Taste wise, like the nose, big roast and creamed coffee. Molasses, bitter chocolate, caramelized sugars, and becomes very sweet.
A medium body and moderate carbonation. Thick, chewy and syrupy. It is enjoyable to drink, but again, I think its too big for the style.

Don't let my score fool you, this is a very good stout. If they would amp the ABV up just a touch, and call it a Foreign Extra Stout, this might be excellent. As is, its stuck between what I want in an Irish Dry Stout...that is lower ABV and dry finish...with that of the much bigger Guinness Foreign Extra.

Again, pay no real attention to the score as I had to put one down for the review. This is an example of one I wish I could just right a review and not leave a score...but it ended up at 3.6, which is a B for me. Anyway, that doesn't mean much, its good, and would recommend it.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/58867/682936/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Legacy - Canadian Farmhouse Ale, a French Bière de Garde, not a common style to see.

From a 473ml can. Poured into a pint glass. A big one finger fine white head on a cloudy apricot. The head soon diminishes to a thin layer. Lots of patchy lacing.

Spicy malts in the nose. The taste is of toasted malts. Slightly sweet up front with a mild hop finish.

A medium/light body and carbonation. Overall an interesting farmhouse ale. Well worth a try.

3.89/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75