Final stop before the 17 mile ride home was Wandering Leaf. Ossuary Helles: Appearance: Clear yellow, minimal head. Smell: light bready aroma. Taste: Mild sweetness, light breadiness, light body, light grassiness in the finish. Tastes good even though I say everything is “light”. Overall: First visit to Wandering Leaf, quite busy for a Saturday afternoon. Decided to try the Ossuary since it had won gold at the Minnesota Brewer’s Cup. It was tasty, hits all the right notes for a helles. I’ll have to visit again to try some of their other beers.
Arioli from Godspeed Brewery From a 355ml can packaged on April 14 2026. Poured into a pilsner glass. A one finger fine white head on a very slightly hazy gold.The head diminished to ta thin layer that stuck around. Lots of fine lacing. Aromatic hops in the nose. The taste is of subdued malts overlaid by the hops which overtakes it. A flavourful by mildly bitter finish. A very smooth texture. A medium/light body and moderate carbonation. Overall a solid Italian Pilsner. Well worth a try. 3.88/5 rDev 0% look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Wandering Into The Fog - Freedom 4.26/5 rDev -0.7% look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 Look: yellowish gold with an orange hue, dense hazy, soapy bubbly head didn't last long, left spots of lacing Smell: woody, resin, grassy, grapefruit, mango Taste: mango, grapefruit, peach, papaya, spicy, pine, apricot, berries, citrus rind Feel: thick body, low carbo Overall: 8.6% abv. This is what you get with this hop combo - Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe and Krush. So many citrusy, tropical flavors kept coming thru. Hell, I may have missed a few. The citrus rind and intense spice come on strong and linger. Very enjoyable brew. Even more so when paired with Davidian by Machine Head. Let Freedom ring with a shotgun blast! Cheers!
Time to rise and shine with this new beer. Hale Lake - Klockow Brewing - Grand Rapids, MN - Helles - 5.2% This came in on Thursday at work and I was very excited to try it. It is delicious and a great beer for summer. Review: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/51689/576555/ 3.96/5 rDev +2.6% look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 From a 16oz can. No date on the can. This beer is nice and clear looking and golden in color. There's a bit of a carbonation stream in this beer. The head that forms is 2 finger in size. The bubbles are so tiny and fluffy looking. The head retention is decent and there's a bit of lacing left on the glass as the head dissipates. The aroma is dominated by the malts. I get a light and pleasing buttery biscuit aroma. The flavor is also grain dominated. The beer starts off with a buttery biscuit. The flavor then turns more toward a milled grain flavor. The finish is a honey like touch to it and a slight floral flavor. Light and crisp body. The feeling has a slight bubbly character to it. This beer feels clean and coats my throat with grain goodness. Very well made and very tasty beer overall. Delicious.
Welcome everyone to New Beer Sunday, where the odometer reads #1111. Clearing my March new to me stock, and also my non Chicago stock with this selection I meant to try earlier, the likely younger than @beergoot 's Three Floyd Kolsch selection based on his review comments. Always a sucker for a new to me Maine Beer selection, though Allagash and Oxbow are the two Chicago distributed Maine Breweries I prefer at least a little more. Maine Beer Company Spring (Kolsch) (Bottled 3/20/26 @ 11:10:18 AM) 3.83/5 rDev -7% look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 Full review linked above. Not sure if today is a fair test as I'm not having the best taste or aroma experience due to whatever cold I have, but bumped the respective scores up slightly, and enjoy the bread, pepper and lemongrass I'm getting, and the standard Kolsch experience. Noted they also release a Spring IPA, so will be looking for that next Spring. Looking forward to following the thread the rest of today.
We found out on Tuesday that Allagash has come into our market, and I am very happy and excited. We took all the lines that our local distributor had. I bought a 6 pack of this. Surf House - Allagash Brewing - Portland, ME - American Lager - 5.5% Well, I was excited, now I'm disappointed. This beer has almost no flavor. What little I pull out isn't bad, it's just way too light for what it should be. If I want no flavor, I'll get a macro brew. Review: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4/695050/ 3.38/5 rDev -10.6% look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25 From a 12oz can. Canned on 05/07/2026 This is a pale golden looking beer that looks pretty clear. There's a 3 finger white head to this beer that is pretty fluffy looking. The head retention is decent. There's a bit of lacing on the glass. I do get some lemon notes in this light aroma beer. I do not get much else. The flavor, well, there's really not much there to be honest. I do get some citrus notes with some grain. All are faint and really hard to pull out of this beer. There's a faint bitterness on the finish. The body does feel clean. The body is pretty light. I had high hopes for this beer, but they have been dashed. I will finish the rest of the 6 pack off, but won't get more of this beer. I may try for one final new beer this weekend. I am pushing toward 2500, and am almost there. Cheers all.
Cheers NBW and @vurt !! Being a light beer consumer from time to time I've been wondering if Outlaw Light is any good. A chance sighting at a different grocery store than my normal prompted a purchase, and here we are. Its flavor took a bit of getting used to, but oh my the lasting foam and feel were pretty outstanding for a beer of this ilk. Going to have another or two today! 3.17/5 rDev +5.7% look: 4.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25 Outlaw Light is an interesting take on a light Kolsch. For example, it pours with substantial foam that subsides yet leaves plentiful amounts of lacing. An amazing achievement for a light beer. Furthermore, it has near perfect carbonation with a better than average feel which combine for strong drinkability. Frequent sips reveal its light AAL nature with a strong flavor of semi-sweet grains and a somewhat dry nondescript hop bite. As I began drinking Outlaw Light, I thought it did not taste very good. But as I continued on through the glass it grew on me, especially its feel and fine carbo. Now a day after having had it for the first time, I'm looking forward to having it again. This is worth a try if you enjoy light beer from time to time, and notably this was cheaper than Keystone Light when I purchased it.
Good afternoon NBW This never hit Kentuckiana, but I picked up a bottle in Ft Wayne or Indy. Glad I did. Chimay 175 750mL corked and caged bottle poured into a Chimay chalice at cellar temp 6.5% ABV. The cork comes out with a big pop and the bubbles stream continuously from the bottom of the glass. The beer itself is pale gold in color with off white head that lasts. Sticky lacing throughout. The aroma is mild with sweet pale malt, light fruit and light phenols. The taste is semisweet pale malt and banana flipping to clove and light white pepper bitterness. The feel is divine in the way that only bottle conditioning can provide. Heavy carbonation while not harsh with medium plus body and a mostly dry finish. Overall, excellent Belgian blonde. I didn't bother to Google the date significance of 1850 to Chimay, but it's funny that the "collector" chalice I'm drinking it from is a 150 year version with 1862 - 2012 embossed on the back. Maybe the monks are better at marketing than math... I'll still buy their beers and it's one of very few places in the world that require a passport that I would consider visiting. Cheers all!
After finishing my weekend errands yesterday there was still plenty of afternoon left, so I ambled over to Breakside Beaverton for a pint on the patio. They didn't have any New Beers on, but they did have an IPA that I hadn't tried since it was introduced (2017?) and had never reviewed. Breakside Stay West IPA Bright gold with canary yellow highlights and a minimal glow of haze. The etched bottom of the glass feeds a thin but long-lasting disk of ghost white foam. Lacing coats the glass. The nose is muted, but offers mango, grapefruit, some pine, and a vague woody note. The flavor is also rather muted, but refreshingly dry. Grapefruit pith and light black pepper ride on top of a malt base that's crisp and subdued. Notes of pine, apricot, and pineapple. Mango is there too, but less than the nose suggests. Nice lingering bitterness. Light-medium body, prickly carbonation. This pint reminded me why I haven't tried this beer since it was first released: Stay West is surprisingly bland for a Breakside beer. I like the dry character and the bitterness, but it really doesn't have much flavor. At least it isn't sweet.
Tarantula Hill Brewing Co. / Pizza Port Brewing Co. -- Johnny Brewtah West coast India pale ale ABV: 6.5%; pouring temperature: 49.3 ℉; canning info: n/a Source: not sure, but likely a local purchase at Coaltrain Fine Wine, Craft Beer & Spirits 3.83/5 rDev +0.3% look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 Clear, bright yellow pour and body; dense carbonation; thick, dense, white head, long-lasting. Nice scent blend of fruity esters with grass-like and herbal qualities. The taste amplifies what the smell hints at; very mild light malt base, hint of biscuit; zesty and bitter hop presence; peppery with a delicate phenol edge. Light to medium-light feel; crisp with a light and sharp bite; semi-dry. A nice, crisp collaboration west coast-style India pale ale from Tarantula Hill Brewing Co. and Pizza Port Brewing Co.
Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Samplers and commentators. I hereby nominate @vurt for the Cavedave Prize for Poetry and Lyrics. I think Dave would have enjoyed your lyrics - I did! This afternoon I'm reviewing two new-to-me DIPAs. The first is from Little Willow Brewing Company in Massachusetts (although I think this one is brewed in Connecticut. Hazy Days is an Imperial Hazy IPA hopped with Citra and Galaxy - simple but very effective. We have been receiving lots of Little Willow cans in our area and I haven't had one yet that isn't top shelf. Canned on 5/18/2026 so just under 3 weeks old. It pours a hazy, pastel yellow-orange with over a finger cap of fluffy, milk-white foam and thick lacing that lasted through the pour. A nice fruity nose featuring lemon, lime, grapefruit, and musky tropical fruit. Outstanding, bright fruity flavor featuring sweet passion fruit, melon, and pineapple balanced by tart lemon and bitter grapefruit. Citra and Galaxy are such a great combination when done right! There is clean, mild hop bitterness throughout. This ale has a full, creamy mouth feel with pleasant carbonation, and it doesn't drink like 8.5% ABV. 4.34/5 rDev +0.7% look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Olde Hickory The Event Horizon BBA Imperial Stout, 10.4% ABV. Pours moderately thick and black with a one-finger medium-brown head that left great lacing. Aroma is honey and roast malt. Taste is roast malt, faint honey, slight bourbon, faintly sweet, moderately bitter, no bourbon burn. Decent mouthfeel, slightly dry. Overall excellent. Solid BBA Stout. 4.31/5 rDev -1.1% look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 Thanks to @CarolinaCardinals for sharing this with me.
I swung by Fox Farm yesterday. Its not often they have a beer I haven't had, but Double Burst is a play on one of my favorites, Burst (like it wasn't obvious). Surprisingly to me, I have never reviewed Burst here, but I know I've enjoyed it many times. 4.51/5 rDev +3.4% look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5 Purchased cold at the brewery yesterday and kept cold until served. Poured from a 16oz undated can to a pretentious tulip-like glass. The brewery’s website says that this batch was canned on June 3rd (4-days ago). I paid $5.10 per can. The body is a milky, hazy yellow/orange (SRM 3 or 4). The rather large white head fades to a ring slowly. Lacing is heavy throughout the session. The aroma is super orange/lemon/lime at first, but becomes more subtle with malt notes as time goes on. The taste has a bitter front but the citrus comes in mid-way. The finish is sweet. There is alcohol after-glow well after the swallow. The mouthfeel is a little creamy, but not crazy. Carbonation is appropriate (I realize I say that on 80% of my review. Overall, really nice. Will buy again.
Picked this up while on vacay, glad I did... 4.04/5 rDev +3.6% look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4 Not the dessert beer I thought it was going to be... Instead, I found this to be somewhat balanced between sweetness and booze, so much so, both were muted to me. I like how it had 'floaties' in the caramel colored liquid, and that it's smell was mostly sweet and hiding the booze underneath. Speaking of the booze - it hid itself well from the tongue - but it's there and it's welcomed. Mouthfeel is strongly medium-bodied with not cloying of note. Truly liked this, I'm glad I picked up that four-pack while on vacay...
NBS #2 is this week's release from Autodidact Beer, In Bloom, a collaboration with Lolev Beer in Pittsburgh. It is hopped with Citra, Riwaka, Wai-iti cold pressed hop juice, and Waimea cold pressed hop juice. It has very good depth of flavor. Reviewed 2 days after can release. It is a dense, pastel lemon color with a finger of fluffy, bright white head and lots of thick, soapy lacing. A fruity nose featuring lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange, white wine, and pine needles. Wow, this is fine! What jumps is the pine sap, which is fresh and strong. The fruits are well-balanced between tart/bitter lemon peel and grapefruit rind, and sweeter notes of orange/tangerine and stone fruit. There is also a strong herbal and peppercorn presence and a touch of hop burn which hopefully will mellow. This ale has a full, creamy feel with moderate carbonation, and the 8.3% ABV gives it a nice pop without distracting. 4.28/5 rDev 0% look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25 A quirky aspect of Autodidact's Hazy Imperial IPAs is that they tend to have a pronounced hop burn at first but it mellows after a week or so. The cans sell out almost immediately so I tend to have one the first weekend and then let the others sit for a week or so. I hope you all are enjoying your new beers this weekend and have a great week. Cheers, NBW!
I know it’s not Christmas, but this was looking so lonely and forlorn in the fridge, I had to drink it. Nice, but pretty bourbon dominated 4.16/5 rDev +0.5% look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 Drinking put of a small goblet. Pours a clear black with a slight reddish tint and a quickly disappearing tan head. Smells of dark chocolate backed up with bourbon. Nice smooth slick mouth feel. Sweet taste of dark chocolate and espresso with cherries on a base of bourbon. Some suggestion of chili peppers and Christmas spices.
