New Beer Weekend #306

Maybe it leaves the Carolinas

 

Maltiness! Not saltiness, fkn autocorrect!

 

Greetings, New Beer people! Thanks to @Whyteboar for getting us started right.

He asked, "What beer style (styles?) do you think are woefully underrated or under appreciated?"

Maibocks. One of my favorite styles, and unfortunately rare up here in the PNW. There's an abundance of lagers up here, and no shortage of pilsners. But maibocks (and export lagers, for that matter) are thin on the ground.

Which is a good segue for my first New Beer of the weekend:



Ex Novo Bock Holliday

The beer is a bright, clear yellow-gold topped with off-white foam. It has good retention and creates noteworthy lacing. The nose is rich with bready malt, lightly toasted and adorned with spicy floral hops. I also get a little apple skin and herbal notes as the beer opens up. The flavor starts off with moderately sweet toasted malt, a bit of honey, and a touch of caramel. A light fruity character floats on top through the middle, more pear than apple. The malt turns nutty ahead of a firm bitterness in the finish. Floral and licorice notes compete for attention. The aftertaste is more nutty malt intertwined with licorice, and alcohol thats a bit brash. Medium-bodied and a little creamy with restrained carbonation.

Overall, this is a tasty maibock with plenty of nice toasted malt and a distinctive cast of supporting flavors. It would benefit if the sweetness and licorice/herbal character were pulled back a smidge (and I like licorice) but this is no more than a quibble. I would be happy to drink this again.

 

A ‘blended’ IPA

Today’s new beer is from East Branch Brewing (Downingtown, PA) and the words “East Branch” refers to the east branch of the nearby Brandywine Creek. They enjoy naming some of their beer brands with water references and for today’s beer they decided to go BIG: Pacific IPA.

But back to the ‘blended’ part, this beer was brewed using a hop blend that is marketed as NewZilla hops:

“NewZilla Hops

New Zealand Hops

NewZilla is a proprietary blend of New Zealand hops available exclusively from Hop Alliance, in collaboration with our NZ partners, Pikimai Hops. This new hop blend boasts pungent tropical fruit flavors with notes of lemon, lime, stone fruit, figs, apricot, peach, gooseberry, and orange. This blend features all the hops grown at our "sister farm" Pikimai Hops in Tapawera.”

https://hopalliance.com/products/ne...jKxpOnz6mEsly3F9GpC5iT&variant=42990977876102

Served in an East Branch Willi Becher glass:

Appearance:

Golden yellow with a white head.

Aroma:

An intriguing mix of hop aromas: citrus (lemon/lime), stonefruit (peach/apricot) and a hint of pine. And some bready malt in the background.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with a combination of citrus, stonefruit and pine and even some melon on the palate. And some breadiness in the background. There is a firm, notable bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with a dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is very good and I found the combination of hop flavors to be both intriguing and enticing. This beer also has the quality of drinkability, when I was done this pint I very much wanted to drink a second.

Cheers!

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet @rotsaruch @RobH

 

Mornings at the cabin usually involve a little hike, of sorts. We stick to the gravel roads, but they wind through the woods and there are elevation changes. The area has gotten a bunch of precipitation recently, so the waters were running high. There was much more volume in the little rivulets of water that feed the main waterway, and running water was heard most of the hike.


The hike was so hard, I hiked right out of the sole of my shoe. Not that I had to use the shoes that sat 5+ years baking in my car because I forgot to bring my regular shoes. Plus the sole was only partly ripped from the rest of the shoe before the hike.


After a healthy start, I figured I’d go with a lighter offering of beer. And it is a new one to me… Baby Wings by DC Brau - a day IPA as claimed on the can, clocking in at 3.5%.

A fairly clear golden body, there is at least a little chill haze that may lighten, but midway through there is still haze to be seen. Solid head, easily revived; visible carbonation, slightly meditative to watch; some lacing, Rorschach in nature.

Nose is hay and grass, presenting itself in a somewhat demure way. A little funk is in there as well - maybe a little bit of weed. Not too bad for a light beer. The taste has the huskiness I find in a lot of low-ABV beers - I generally figure since there has to be less sugar to generate ABV, in some fashion, I am getting more of the rest of the malt. I am probably wrong, but the experience fits that description, even if it is off. The weed and grass of the nose combine to a more generic bitterness - maybe somewhere between fruit skin and vegetable leaves.

No surprise that this is light, and ends up decently bitter, but in a strength fitting to the heft. For those of you who have danced with these lower ABV IPAs, you are going to find any revelations in this one. It’s pretty ok.

So does my lower expectations for a lower ABV beers (or AAL) make them under appreciated? Maybe/probably. I didn’t think foreign export stouts were terribly under appreciated - though under-represented I agree with. I liked Altbier as an option - it might fit both distinctions. I could possibly make an argument for Hefeweizens, I have seen more backhanded comments or qualifiers in the style than many others (ok, not nearly as much as AAL). And this can happen within a statement where the person is actually enjoying a Hefe.

 

You mentioned Altbier and then went and had a style that I think fits either criteria I considered quite well - brown ales.

 

Close cousin

 

Brasserie La Debauche (France) ‘Keep the Secret’ Freeze Distilled Rice Imperial Stout with Eastern Spices & Hetbs.

33 cl bottle into a Teku glass. Pours flat with a really cool tumeric colored ring around the rim.
Nose is savory and herbaceous, the spice mix really works. Alcohol vapors.
Galangal, lime, turmeric, ginger, lemongrass, coconut and coffee meld together in an explosion of condensed flavors. 23% abv means this beer puts its toes on the Cocktail line. It’s an intense slow sipper. Great spice filled aftertaste and burp. There’s a little residual heat.,. Instant buzz.
Mouthfeel is full and oily. Surprisingly medium carbonation.
Overall, the balance between warm spices, sweet notes of coconut and bitter nuances of coffee makes this a multi-layered Extreme Beer experience.

4.43/5 in the BA DB

 

Kros Strain Dunkel Breakin' My Heart Munich Dunkel, 5% ABV. Pours black with a four-finger light-brown head that left commensurate lacing. Aroma is roast malt. Taste is toasty malt, slightly sweet, moderately bitter. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.02/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

Lovely opening and picture @cjgiant, looks like a little oasis.

Hoping to join the mix this weekend but we're running around all day and tomorrow may be no better. We'll see how the weekend shakes out but I may be enjoying reading about new beers this weekend as opposed to drinking any.

 

Starting off today's new brews with this tasty Bruery imperial stout:

All The Creamy Cows | The Bruery | BeerAdvocate





Think I'll have another new Bruery beer next, cheers!

 

Wingman by Brewdog


3.05/5 rDev -12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Brewers notes: The eagle has landed. When you’re looking to let the good times roll, Wingman has your back. A maverick of a Session IPA, this is a smooth ride of mellow tropical fruits, piney notes and a sharp citrus aroma. Refreshing, infinitely drinkable and with a steady boozing altitude of 4.3%, you’ll want to keep Wingman by your side all night long. Prepare ground control. Refreshment incoming.

Chilled bottle poured into a Monhegan beer glass

Thin white foam layer quickly fades to a ring , few lacings

Aroma is grassy

Taste is grassy

Mouthfeel is light, dry finish

Meh , I move on from this beer

 

For my last new brew of the day, had another good Bruery imperial stout, this time a coffee/chicory one:

Morning In Saigon | The Bruery | BeerAdvocate





Probably won't have any new to me brews tomorrow, but who knows. I'll try and keep checking in the rest of the weekend to see everyone else's new beers!

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

I am a bit under the weather this weekend, which sucks. At least my smell and taste are not hurt by it. Time for my new beer.

Beaver Fever - Urban Growler Brewing - St. Paul, MN - American Blonde Ale - 4.0%

I'm not going to lie, I brought this beer into work based on the name. I also like the style as well. The beer has a nice flavor to it, and does a good job of packing a good beer into a 4% beer. This beer was canned only 4 days ago.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35306/802379/
3.71/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From a 16oz can. Canned on May 26th, 2026

This beer is very clear looking and has a nice golden color. There's a nice steady stream of carbonation bubbles rising to the top of the glass. There's a 2 finger fluffy white head to this beer that doesn't have the best retention. There's some pretty good lacing on the glass.
The aroma is malty. I get a hit of grain hitting my nose. There's a slightly grassy aroma to the beer.
The flavor starts out somewhat light. I get a floral hint in the beer right away, that has a grassy element to it. The floral goes to a grain flavor that lingers in my throat.
The body is very bubbly feeling from the carbonation. This beer is crisp and very clean feeling.
This beer does a good job being a low ABV beer that has a decent flavor to it.

This may be it for the weekend. If so, see you all next weekend. Cheers!

 

Cinco De Mindblock
Maibock ~ PetSkull Brewing Company
Manitowoc, WI

This thoughtful drop was made courtesy of the Noble Norge @GreenBayBA himself. A brand new beer and new brewery to me that is making quite an impression! The beer and video pairing alone launches me into next level fan status BA.

The beer itself pours a beautiful deep honey amber color with a very slim cap of white suds. The aroma is all nutty toasted malt that totally delivers in the flavor as well. Quite delicious with all that toasty malt goodness. Like butter yes!!! In the sense of a rich Ritz cracker (not like movie popcorn or diacetyl). The house flavor and water profile are somewhat distinct to my tasters. This one has got a bit of fur on it as well at the 7.7% coming with a moderate heft in the mouthfeel. Which is really suiting me just fine BA. Overall maybe a touch less refined than the Enegren Maibock however I am loving everything about this Spring Time offering. Thank you for the opportunity @GreenBayBA

Cheers

 

Thanks @Whyteboar for your kickoff and question, and sorry about Transient not holding your beer order. Hope they gave you a good replacement or comped pour.

In terms of underrated style I wish I saw more of, I’ll take the two Flanders (Oud Bruin & Red Ale), as they are hard to find beyond a couple of well distributed selections, and I’ve been mostly pleased with the American breweries taking the time and effort to put together a thoughtful brew.

I have a goal to hit every Chicago Brewery this year (and beyond), so will get ready and hit a still undetermined brewery or two breweries and get my New Beer Weekend started.

See you soon.

 

Occidental Brewing Maibock
Portland, OR

Continuing the spirit with another new to me Maibock beer and brewery BA. I feel like all of the sudden this brewery dropped at my local here in San Diego.

This is a nice beer but not quite the depth or robustness of the PetSkull beer previously consumed. It does have some crystal clear clarity in looks and a nice toast blonde malt note. Good drinkability. A bit lighter on its feet overall. There is a touch of sulfur noted in the finish that I am not super fond of but otherwise pretty nice. Priced very well for like $12 a sixer actually. Prost

 

Nice dark, thick black beer.
Like drinking the thick oil at the bottom of the crankcase.



Drinking out of small goblet.
Pours a jet black with a thin head.
Smells of dark roast with hints of molar.
Nice smooth slick mouth feel.
Tastes a very dark bitter molasses.
Hints of espresso, dark chocolate.
Some sweetneess, like fermented figs.