The Standard: Greetings, beer people of the world! Happy Friday to ya, and welcome to New Beer Weekend #307! I have a beer in my hand, and I hope you do too, so let's get on with it! Here's how New Beer Weekend works: First, get a new beer. That is, a beer that's new to you. Maybe it was canned yesterday and released this morning and it doesn't even have an entry in BeerAdvocate yet. Or maybe it's a beer that's been around for decades and you finally got your hands on it. The bullet point you want to take away from this paragraph is: A New Beer is a beer that's new to you. Next, tell us about that beer. What's the name and the brewery? Was it good? Was it awful? Would you drink it again? You don't need to write a big review, just tell us what you think about the beer using as many (or as few) words as you like. Finally, pictures are always appreciated, but not mandatory. That's all! ----- And now, The Classic Rock Remix: (To the tune of “We Will Rock You” by Queen) Time to drink a beer, drink a New Beer Maybe it’s one yer lookin’ forward to drink today Put that beer in your face, it’s no disgrace If it's new to you, you're in the right place, it’s a New Beer, New Beer Weekend! New Beer, New Beer Weekend! When you drink a new brew, now you Gotta write a little bit about your New Beer today It don't have to be long, you can’t go wrong Maybe you could even put it into a song, this is New Beer, New Beer Weekend! (Drink it!) New Beer, New Beer Weekend! One more thing you should know, let's go, If you got a beer picture post it up here today If you don't then that's fine. We don't mind. Come hang out with the beer geeks and have a good time, on a New Beer, New Beer Weekend! (Drink it!) New Beer, New Beer Weekend! (Welcome to the) New Beer, New Beer Weekend! (Hmmmmm) New Beer, New Beer Weekend! Alright! [Guitar Solo] ----- As an encore, here's the first New Beer of New Beer Weekend: Hetty Alice Ten Seven Pale American pale ale, collaboration with Grasslands Barbecue (Hood River, OR) The body is a medium yellow-gold color with excellent clarity. The dense head of bright white foam leaves only a few webs of lacing but lasts to the bottom of the glass. There's plenty of juicy tangerine in the nose, backed with pineapple, mixed berries, and light diesel. A bit of malt hangs around underneath, but it keeps pretty much to itself. The flavor opens with tangerine, pineapple, and a twist of orange oil. In the middle the beer pivots to toasty malt and the bright citrus softens to a marmalade character. Pine bitterness accumulates into the finish. The mostly dry aftertaste is strawberries, lingering citrus, pine and weed on the breath, and toasty malt. Medium-bodied and a little fluffy, with nimble carbonation and a mild hop and alcohol burn at the end. Overall, I enjoyed the way that the malt started out as a background character but eventually grabbed some of the spotlight. I liked the way the pine and bitter citrus prevented the beer from ever getting too sweet. Ten Seven is a really nice pale ale. It would be even better with a pinch less hop burn and maybe a half point lower ABV.
Thanks @vurt for kicking off NBW! Revolution XV American Strong, 13.5% ABV. Cuvée of of extended-aged double-barrel Straight Jacket and Ryeway to Heaven. Pours dark brown, with a one-finger beige head that evolved into a ring of foam. Aroma is cherry and vanilla. Taste is cherry, vanilla, bourbon, oak, and spice, moderately sweet, slightly bitter, no cherry tartness, no bourbon burn. Moderately thick, and smooth. Overall world-class. Incredible natural cherry taste. 4.61/5 rDev +5% look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75 Most cherry beers fail by being too tart or artificial. This one nails the cherry taste and the barreling.
Happy NBW, my friends. It's been a long week. Terramar - Dark Forest schwarzbier 16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. It's dated...canned on...something that starts with 12 and ends with 25. Bought it a couple weeks ago, probably at Chuck's Hop Shop. Pours nearly black with a medium sized tan head, dense and creamy. Lots of carbonation. Smell is almost stoutly in its darkness. Roasty coffee and some dark chocolate, hint of smoke. Taste is same vibes, less intensity, a bit more sweetness than the aroma was suggesting. Coffee and something nuttier than just chocolate, though still on the dark chocolate side. Mouthfeel is light, smooth, clean. Very nice beer.
Nor a new one tonight - I went "low grade" with a Pliny the Elder. Tough to stoop so low Phase one- we got us a big-ass tiger trap: House was built in 1870 - stacked stone foundation. One weird section of brick. Forms go up Monday and concrete hopefully gets poured. Fingers crossed that we don't get hammered with rain - supposed to go mostly North of us...
I will never listen to that song again without hearing "New Beer, New Beer Weekend" Great start @vurt - I'll be joining in soon!
I *really* wanted a schwarzbier last weekend as it is another on of those styles that are woefully neglected. Always remember kids, even if it's a dark lager it isn't necessarily a schwarzbier.
Root of the matter I looked forward to this weekend’s tasting since I am a fan of the Kölsch beer style. And the ‘bonus’ is this beer was gifted to me by a very good friend. For those BAs who are less familiar with the Kölsch beer style I would recommend the article “What is a Kölsch beer?”. https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Brewing_Kolsch Well, back to today’s beer which is Root Down Kolsch. From the Root Down website: “Kolsch Kolsch Style Ale ABV: 5% DESCRIPTION: Clean and Crisp German Kolsch Style Ale. Notes of fresh hay with a slight yeasty funk. Light herbaceous mint with a hint of tangerine rind. Clean medium bitterness, crisp mouthfeel and carbonation. Malt: Pilsner, Vienna, Wheat Malt. Hops: Hersbrucker, Saphir.” And an extract from the above linked article: My Requirements for a Kölsch Flavor: a combination of Pilsner malt flavor and subtle fruity esters (white wine flavors) from the Kölsch yeast Low-moderate bitterness and zero hop flavor/aroma Very light in color: straw colored Mouthfeel: light – medium bodied with a crisp/dry finish Enough jibber-jabber, let’s drink this wonderful beer. Served in my Firestone Walker Pivo Pils glass: Appearance Golden yellow color with a BIG fluffy white head. Aroma: There is a combination of bready malt and fruity aromas. Taste: Flavor follows the nose with a pleasing balance of bready malt flavor and subtle fruity flavors, and just a hint of citrus. There is a low/moderate bitterness Mouthfeel Medium bodied with a dry finish. Overall I enjoyed drinking this beer, it is very good. Cheers! @rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet
This looks a little too familiar, I feel like this was my backyard about two months ago… ———— Good luck with the start and hope it does as smooth as smooth goes for these things. Really cool seeing the old foundation of stacked rocks. I also think it’s so wild they dug such deep foundation back then, really neat.
I was thinking through same thing as I watched the excavator. I'm 6' 3" and have plenty of head room in the existing basement - a little unusual for houses ftom that era here. Can't even comprehend doing it manually then laying all that stone - almost 1600 square feet area almost 7 feet high.
Crush Puppie Blue Raz from Farm League Brewing From a 473ml can poured into a tulip. A solid one finger white head on a clear chartreuse green. This beer contains spirulina so I guess that explains the colour. The head diminishes to a thin layer. Some patchy lacing. A pretty strong berry smell. A fresh berry taste. Refreshing but not much depth. Moderately sour. A light body with good carbonation. Overall it performs as billed. A crushable, quenching summer sour. 3.55/5 rDev +8.6% look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
Thanks to @vurt for the great start! I'm drinking Werewolves of Ecuador from The Bruery. A bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout with vanilla beans, vanilla powder, and vanilla flavor. 14.7% ABV. Poured at fridge temp. Pours a VERY thick black with almost zero head. The nose is really nice. Maple, bourbon, loads of vanilla, brown sugar, fig newtons, gingerbread cookies, and chocolate. The taste is also really good. Chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, cookie batter, maple candy, molasses, brown sugar, and a nice layer of dark fruit. Mostly dark berries - blackberries mostly. The vanilla is obviously front and center on this one, and I'm not complaining. The mouthfeel is pretty thick and creamy, with a strong vanilla and dark berry aftertaste. Recommended for sure. 4.31/5 rDev 0% look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Have a good NBW. Thanks @vurt for the kickoff and song rendition. Another week of painkillers and I got my kidney stone surgery set for June 24th. I went to the dentist for the first time in 6 years and they needed to set up 2 deep clean appointment and have to reseal my composites in the back molars, which have been done at least 5 times over my life. Last night I finished Oscar Wars by Michael Schulman: 4.25/5 Incredibly enjoyable history set up around key historical turning points and specific ceremonies that range from 1927 to 2022. Great overviews of politics and culture shifts through the years. Set up with 11 chapters over 21 hours, so a pretty slow pace book, but I loved it. Right now: Rasputin by Douglas Smith: 4/5 Great and well researched biography that also covers a lot of the Russian royal family intertwined with his life. It sheds a new light on his life and dispels myths about him that have lasted for a century. It was published in 2016, 100 years after his death. Long ass book with 33 hours/850 pages. The North Coast beer was mentioned in the introduction too, I grabbed a can at Total wine before I made this post. Kittens are out of control as usual. Julia just got a mix pack of cat toys for them to lose under the couch earlier today. I also got a pic of 4 of them on the windowsill yesterday. We went to Total Wine this evening after getting litter and bread/PB from Walmart. There was a ton of stuff marked 50% off including stouts, so we are going to go back and grab all the Big Bad Baptist variants for sure soon. I grabbed a couple Prairie stouts. Lawson's Hop Wired IPA. Canned 4/30/2026. Great fluffy head retention and foamy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big red grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, cracker, white bread, and herbal/floral/grassy hop earthiness. Light-medium pine, citrus rind, herbal, woody, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and body; balanced bready/grainy malt and sticky/resinous hop mouthfeel. Lingering hop oil resin dryness after the finish, with minimal astringency. Fairly soft feel, well made hazy style smoothness. Fantastic vibrant, juicy, and dank Galaxy and Mosaic hop profile all around, always been a big fan of both hops. 4.25/4.25/4.25/4.25/4.25: 4.25/5 Cheers
thank you to @vurt for the kick off. Its been a hot minute since I was in here. Soccer tourney and general life stuff. But tonight only had one game and actually had to be a linesman as 2 referees didnt show up. Was kinda funny to have to call our girls offsides quite a few times. Blatantly off calls only! ONe beer and more games tomorrow. This is Angle Tree Brewing in North Attleborough , Mass. Ironically picked up while at a soccer tourney. Brewery was 7 minutes from our hotel. The beer is Good Grief Brown ale and registers 6.8% ABV. onto my review: I am sampling a cellar temp 16 oz can poured into my .5L dimple mug. Purchased the beer at the brewery about 3 weeks ago. The beer pours a rich chocolate brown color with a soft fluffy , and billowing head of almost 3.5 cm. The foam almost tops the mug, but not quite. It also then fades to a thin edging fairly quickly after the pour. No real lacing when swirling the mug. Aroma is some light bakers chocolate notes and hints of roasted malt. Nose is pretty mild and not sweet really, nor is there much hop presence. First sip reveals a medium body with smooth texture and mild tingly carbonation. Drinks very easy on the physical traits. Flavor is similar to the nose advertisements. Some roasted malt and more bakers chocolate than sweet. I do get some chalky mineral note as the beer dries out after the swallow. Again no hops, and the booze is well hidden, even at 6.8% , I get no warming or peppery bite. OVerall this is a decent brown ale that has good flavors and is drinkable. Id drink it again, but Im not sure I would chase it down. 3.92 in the BA DB
Took me a while longer to post here tonight but I’m finally able to join the party. Been seeing scenes from “Wayne’s World” all night; heads banging to the sounds of Bohemian Rhapsody and then the movie “Strange Brew” gets superimposed with crazy hockey players. Yeah, I have a therapist, why do you ask? But old movies are not what we are here for, we’re here for the beer! Specifically new to us beer. And I found one. Kickstand Brewing does Birch Bark Porter, which is a solid example of the style, albeit a little thin. So when I see an imperial version, I have to try it. The pour is well brewed coffee brown and looks stout black in the glass. A tall, dense beige head takes its time dissipating. The taste is warm bready malts with mocha and oatmeal. There may have been extra chocolate in it but if so it didn’t translate to the taste much. Still, a pleasant enough porter. The feel is very thin, almost water thin. Not sure how they do that. It was thin enough to notice but not enough to ruin the beer. OA, except for the thinness it’s a good porter. Not that I expect viscosity or anything, but some density would be nice. Well, our BA stouts are abnormally thin, stands to reason that our porters are as well. Tomorrow I hope to have one I’ve looked at for years but haven’t bought it yet. I fixed that. Cheers all!
Alesong Cherry Decadence Barrel-aged (Westward Whiskey) imperial oatmeal stout with vanilla and dried cherries The body is brown that stops just short of black. It's opaque as far as my phone light is concerned, although I see some attractive cordovan highlights at the edge. A long-lasting ring of latte colored foam settles in in top. The nose is dark chocolate, then vanilla caramel, then a subtle cherry note. Bourbon character starts light, but gains presence without upsetting the chocolate-vanilla-cherry balance. I'm happy to report the flavor largely follows the same path. It starts with luscious dark chocolate and threads of vanilla and caramel. Bourbon and oak come through next, along with sweet and tart cherries. Hints of coffee and char lead to a finish where the cherries and bourbon take a half step forward. Not too sweet! Body is full and creamy. Carbonation is discreet and effective. There's alcohol warmth, but less than you'd expect from a beer above 14%. Cherry Decadence is the best barrel-aged stout I've had from Alesong since their almond-coconut Bailey's Joy (for Portland's late lamented Bailey's Taproom). And that was almost a decade ago. This has a wonderful balance of flavors and a most pleasing amount of barrel character. Superb texture is...well...the cherry on top. Excellent beer.
Fremont - Orange & Cacao (2026) 16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Bought it a couple weeks ago at Fremont Columbia City. Pours black and thick with a big fluffy head. Smell is tons of cacao, something not quite hitting the cinnamon button but getting close (I hope). Hard to say orange for sure, but something vaguely in that direction. Taste is more in the orange and chocolate direction, though there's something spice like in there, maybe nutmeg instead of cinnamon, but no...that's cinnamon. Mouthfeel is thick and chewy. Overall...if I'd looked at the label ahead of time I probably wouldn't have opened it. Not terrible, but another reinforcement of my dislike of cinnamon in beer. Hard to review on its own merits instead of my preferences, but I tried.
Imperial Kvass Gira from Volfas Engelman Pours a dark amber brown with plenty of foam in the tall glass. This tastes so much like cola, just not quite so sharp and spritzy. Flavor of dark fruit with whatever they put in cola, with a hint of root beer. It is quite sweet. Aroma is hard to decipher, but nothing like beer, and with a nose of rye bread. Overall this is a quite drinkable and decent example of Kvass. From the 568 ml can purchased at the European market I visit occasionally.
