New Beer Weekend #162

Paulaner Grapefruit Radler, 2.5% ABV; 3.03 Overall


Pours a hazed honey color with fast-falling beige head. Zero head retention & lacing

S: A little grapefruit, sort of fades over time

T: Sweet pink grapefruit, a little sweet grapefruit & dryness up front. Dryness & grapefruit as this beer warms, sweetness of this doesn't really make me think beer. Finishes dry with sweet grapefruit, not much else

MF: Light, medium body, moderate carbonation

I not a huge fan of Radlers, to be honest I was beginning to wonder if there was any alcohol in it. Works as a thirst quencher, but about as memorable as a Capri-Son

 

Social Project Brewing's Drops of Jupiter Necraton Double Hazy IPA, 7.8% ABV; 4.13 overall

Pours a hazed gold with a thumb+ of eggshell colored head. Pretty good head retention & lacing

S: Guava, peaches, green melons. Nose started strong & tailed off as this warmed up

T: Follows the nose, some orange sweetness as well, a little dryness & lime as well up front. Passion fruit, guava, lime & dryness as this beer warms up, some pineapple notes as well. Finishes with green melon, guava, pineapple acidity & a little sweetness, just a little dryness

MF Medium body, creamy carbonation, lovely balance

Great take on the style, would certainly pick up more of this in the future

 

Found this at the grocery store earlier this week and hadn't seen it before. Wowza what a beer!

Union Export - Peter's Brand Classics Pilsner



First thought was that was one of the prettiest golden beers I've seen. Head retention was great with nice but slightly fleeting sheet like lacing.

Nice and earthy + malty with just enough sweetness to balance.

Perfect amount of carbo and light body.

Overall a delightful beer!

 

Enjoyed the Saturday reviews, and a few beers put on my radar, notably Switchback Ale @GlenFarclas and both Shlling offerings enjoyed by @HoppingMadMonk . Hope you have a better beer day today @champ103 .

Welcome one and all to New Beer Sunday #966! Back with Part Two of my Wax Wing weekend. Triple IPAs can be too malty for me, usually like them with a few months on them, so hoping this hits my sweet spot.

Wax Wing Thicccarus



Can Notes: Can given by Jake, @brewskis ' in June, refrigerated until today. No can date, 4/26/23 release date noted via social media. 10.0% ABV, American Triple IPA. Brewed and packaged by Wax Wings Brewing Company, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Appearance: Initial pour about half the can into a shaker pint glass. Creamy reach full bubbly creamy bright white head, lasted over five minutes post aggressive pour. Hazy murky orange juice pour, seeing carbonation through the haze. Looks great. 4.75

Aroma: Nice dank tropical aroma bursts as you open the can, continues with citrus, pineapple, tangerine, grapefruit. It's all there, sweet flavors held at bay by dankness that blends well. Outstanding. 4.5

Taste: Not sure if age tamed any excess malt with the high ABV, but this beer is definitely on point at this stage. Tangerine, pineapple, citrus blend well with a hoppy bitterness and dankness well preserved over the 4 months in the can. Don't get any malt flavors, don't want any. A wonderfully crafted beer in a style that can be hit or miss on my end. 4.75

Mouthfeel: This drinks dangerously below the listed 10%, would even half way through going nice an easy for me. Very good balance, bountiful sweet flavors held in check by a nice dank and bitter hops. Faint consistent gentle carbonation throughout, medium to full creamy body. Nice sweet tropical flavors linger in the aftertaste. 4.5

Overall: Triple IPAs and NEIPA styles are not my first choice due to the hit and miss nature for my palate. However, going just off of memory, I believe this beer ticks my Top 3 for both styles. Just a remarkably well preserve beer, hits my high notes, perfect balance. A tremendous offering, and I can see why this brewery is getting lots of love. Not sure I'd change anything for this. Now dying to try a fresh version to compare and contrast. Really hope we can start seeing this brewery distributed here. Thank you so much Jake! 4.75

I had high expectations for this beer, and it stull greatly exceeded them. Have to say this supplants M-43 as my favorite MW NEIPA, and is on equal terms with my two favorite to date Triple IPAs (Hop Nuts Anniversary Triple IPA and Russian River Pliny the Younger). I'm headed to Kalamazoo for a Munster 3 Floyds Doubleheader once the latter gets its act together and finally reopens their legendary brewpub.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass not sure when it was canned, but recent for sure. Pours an attractive hazy yellow with a half finger sticky white head that leaves plenty of thick streaks of lace, with nice retention. 4.5

Aroma is peach, mandarin, mango, honeydew, a hint of coconut, white grapes, and apricot. 4.25

Taste follows peach, mandarin, mango, honeydew, white grapes, a little kiss of coconut, and apricot. 4.25

Mouthfeel is bigger than average, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 7.5% it has big flavor, but still easy going down. 4.5

Overall this brewery is young and very good. This one with Simcoe, Citra, and Cashmere is very nice stuff. 4.25 Have a great Sunday all and cheers.

 

LOVED it.

 

Poured into a 16 Snulip glass canned on 6/22/23. Pours a very attractive hazy orange yellow with a two finger sticky white head that leaves thick gobs of lace, with amazing retention. 4.5

Aroma is peach, tangerine, pineapple, guava, and apricot. 4

Taste follows peach, pineapple, tangerine, guava, and apricot. 4

Mouthfeel is above average, soft gentle carbonation, not sticky or dry, and at 8% very easy going down, but plenty of flavor. 4.25

Overall this is older than most I would review in this style, bust still a really nice NEDIPA I would recommend for sure. 4.25

 

4.34/5 rDev +3.6%

look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 16 ounce can dated 5-31-23 into a snifter.

Look- Straw, very hazy, creamy white head, above average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Clementine, white grape, pineapple, melon, pithy, high strength of scent.

Taste- Clementine, melon, pineapple, white grape, pithy, mildly astringent, between medium and high strength of flavor.

Feel- Medium body, average carbonation, moderately bitter, mild astringency, moderately creamy, moderately dry finish.

Overall- Another great NEIPA from this brewery. This beer provided a very enjoyable drinking experience. It’s astringency was not over the top, but was pronounced enough to slightly detract from my taste and feel ratings.

 

Bourbon Barrel Aged Siberian Night with cherries

11% Stout by Thirsty Dog (taphouse only)

Poured from tap at the Thirsty Dog Taphouse, the body is black as a Siberian night with neither head nor lacing.

Booze on the nose along with light cherry and dark fruits. Taste follows nose and the booze is felt but not hot. Barrel heat felt on the face but not in taste. Not much malty char expected in a stout, but good flavor.

Light carbonation and soft mouthfeel.

Less of a traditional stout and more of a luxurious after dinner beverage. Delightful.

 

After reading several posts praising this Pilsner and comparing it to a few of my favorites, I decided to give it a try. I cannot tell what this is — almost no smell or taste. It doesn't taste bad, just doesn't taste at all.

 

Urban Chestnut Dorfbier, Dunkel Lager. 4.8% ABV.



Pours a dark ruby brown color. A little bit of a murky consistency. A dense white head forms with retention and lacing for days.
A warming and inviting aroma of toasted brown bread with a bit of toffee. A simple but enjoyable malty aroma.
Taste wise, that baked and toasted brown bread is up front again. Which I love. A bit of sweetness, and toffee. Even toffee covered apples. A light lingering earthy and grassy hoppy flavor that is just enough to balance everything out.
A medium body with good carbonation. This becomes very smooth and super clean. Very moreish to drink. I can come back to this with ease.

I really like this example of a Dunkel. Not surprising really, as I hold Urban Chestnut in high regard. A nice, nuanced, inviting malt character that is not too sweet. Also very well balanced. Overall, well done.

Overall score is 4.15, A-
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24764/88130/?ba=champ103#navigation

Reading this behemoth of a novel this afternoon, David James Duncan's first novel in over 30 years. Ridiculously hyped, but I'm having trouble seeing and getting into it. Will give it a little while longer to see if it clicks.

 

A quick one from me today as I tried out a new to me post yard work beer. Not a lot to say other than that I'd rather reach for their other rice lager recipe or, even better, the Schankbier I reviewed a couple weeks ago. This is the first from my recent batch of JA that has been a miss for me.

Jack's Abby Framingham Lager
4.5% American Lager

Pours a straw yellow with a quarter-finger white head that disappears rapidly.

I get almost no aroma, maybe a bit of cracker.

There's a bit more going on with the taste. White bread, cracker, buttered bread, a bit of biscuit, with some honey coming in near the finish. Hop bitterness comes to the fore on the finish and aftertaste.

As usual for JA, fine carb leads to a smooth feel. Light-bodied.

Overall, this is a good AL. For my tastes, I prefer the new-recipe Ray Catcher to this if I'm looking for a craft AL.

 

One and done for me this weekend, but it's a good one. Thanks @Dimidiata!

This is Fruitful Forecast - Blackberry from Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, and it's fantastic.

4.24/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a rusty, almost cranberry red with a finger of off-white head that had better retention than I thought it would. Aroma is tart and very fruity, with the blackberries showing through very clearly. Not even a hint of oak from the foudre.

Taste and feel are wonderful. Light, well carbonated, and as with the nose, loads of blueberries. Pleasantly tart and very, very tasty and easy drinking. For my personal taste, there is so much more art in a beer like this than kettle sours with loads of puree thrown in. Give me a saison like this any day of the week.

 

Happy New Beer Sunday...today has been a fun and me filled day, Mrs. Phisher and kids, along with Gigi went down to Maryland to visit family for 24 hour trip. That means Opa and me have the house to ourselves, silence and quiet I have not experienced in a long long time. Did a bunch of yardwork at our house, reno should be finishing in next 4-6 we hope. After that went to a few beer stores to grab some singles and O-Fest shopping.

I'm not chilling in the basement with this beer watching the Phillies, wow life is good right now. I had my first Mudhen beer a week or two ago now and I was so impressed I went to grab a single of their pils...can states: "...This pilsner style lager is crafted to reflect the island upon which it is brewed; welcoming, refreshing, and satisfying. While on break at the shore, or reminiscing of when, enjoy this crisp, clean taste provided by the highest quality malt and American noble hops we could find."

I'm in, here we go...

Mudhen Brewing - Mudhen Pils (German Pils 5%)




The pour is quite nice very light pale and crystal clear, sudsy head develops then collapses to leave some film and thicker islands, a few spots of soapy looking lace.

A very pleasant and aromatic nose, its cracker like and very zippy, there is a hint of yellow citrus, followed by fresh spring time air, both lightly floral and herb like, honey like bite.

The taste is great; cracker like with some light bread character, hops become slightly more grassy like on the tongue and leave a hint of lingering spice on the tongue, they even carry a little bit of a woodsy character to me...a lot going on but incredibly well balanced. Cause its fresh in my mind it reminds me of a more balanced version of Nooner.

Light body, biting but smooth carbonation, a beautiful kiss of pale malt sweetness greets the tongue before being cut clean off by a grassy bitterness lingers on the back of the tongue and leaves a nice drying sensation...very clean, zero off flavors.

Another Mudhen beer, another good one, yes this brewery is on "firmly trust" list now, I would highly recommend this beer to any beer lover. I hope you go in the off season @MacMalt if you do let me know what you think. I'm hoping I see more of their beer show up in the fall and winter...

-------------------------

That is it for me today, me and my father in law are gonna chill the night away doing our own thing. I got the crock pot going and I'll probably have an extra beer or two to celebrate my 24 hours of just me, that many hours to myself I may not know what to do and it probably won't happen again for a long long time. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everyone and have a great week.

 

Rude Boy - breakfast stout with maple walnut coffee

6.4% stout by by R. Shea.

Poured from tap at the brewery, the body is a dark black with small initial head. Modest lacing

Nose is fresh roasted coffee with minor maltiness. Very aromatic.

Taste follows nose and adds a maple flavor and some light walnut notes. The maple is present but not overly sweet. A solid malty char serves as a sturdy backbone for this stout.

Good carbonation and mouthfeel as the finish dries things up nicely.

Good beer for coffee stout fans.

 

Half Acre Benthic 2x4 BA Imperial Stout. 2022 version. 10 months old at opening. The brewery's notes:
2 x Dark Matter Catuai (washed, Guatemalan) whole bean coffee and 4 x hand-toasted coconut. This recipe is a blend of the following select barrels: Elijah Craig bourbon aged 9 months, Willet bourbon aged 9 months, Eagle Rare bourbon aged 10 months, Woodford Reserve bourbon aged 10 months, Woodford Double Oaked aged 16 months, Bardstown bourbon aged 16 months and Pinhook bourbon aged 16 months.

Pours a viscous jet black color. An aggressive pour yields a two finger dark mocha, almost reddish head that slowly forms due to the viscousness of the beer and impressively sticks around for a while given the abv. 4.5

Aroma is giving off huge Mounds bar vibes, with a plethora of coconut and chocolate coming through. Chocolate-covered coconut macaroon, fresh toasted coconut, and dark and milk chocolate all are at the forefront. As you dig deeper, the coffee shows, giving off a light fruitiness and fresh ground gourmet coffee beans. Nothing acrid or green pepper thankfully. Also get bourbon-soaked nougat, vanilla, oak, and bourbon spirit. As it warms the coffee and barrel intensify to match the coconut and chocolate notes. 4.5

While the aroma is more adjunct-forward, the taste, albeit still full of coconut and coffee, brings a big barrel presence. Oak tannin and bourbon wonderfully balance out the sweetness of the base and adjuncts. The coffee is also a bit more forward in the taste compared to the aroma, which brings a nice, slightly fruity dark roast coffee presence that also balances out the sweeter characteristics. The coffee adds a slight bitterness, but nothing acrid or green pepper. Get milk chocolate-covered espresso beans, coffee grounds, no bake dark chocolate cake, toasted coconut macaroon, vanilla frosting, Mounds bar, bourbon-soaked nougat, toffee, charred oak, vanillin, and forward, yet smooth bourbon spirit. 4.75

Full body. Dense and viscous. Oily, sticky, and slick. Mild carbonation. 4.5

I'd describe this as aggressive, yet refined. Despite the enormous amounts of coconut and coffee added to this one, it is still done tastefully and has balance to it. The barrel and coffee do a wonderful job balancing out the sweeter base and coconut presence. The base, adjuncts, and barrel all come together harmoniously and complement one another so well. Half Acre's barrel program is one of the best not only in Chicago, but in the country in my opinion and this is yet another example of that. 4.5
Aggregate Score: 4.6

 

Well, I was really checking can dates in the store on Friday. Despite hating stores rushing the season I was taken by Allagash Haunted House Dark IPA. Respected brewery, check; unique style, check; recent can date, check???? Yea well check again because today when I'm reviewing it I notice the year is 2022! I guess in the store I just saw August 4th and figured no beer would be in this decent store's cooler over a year old.
Well it didn't turn out to be that bad. Maybe the hops were more pronounced last year.
Could it be that they didn't set their inkjet correctly at the brewery? I noticed @maddogruss rated this beer about 2-weeks ago with a score slightly higher than mine.

3.73/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Purchased from a store cooler.
Poured from a 16oz stamped PACKAGED 08-04-22 to a Nonic glass at fridge temp.
The body is as dark a brown as can be without being black. There is a 0.4” tan head on top that laces well.
The aroma is of chocolate malt.
The taste rich malty porter for most of the taste, but the finish gives just a hint of the hops involved. There are also mild coffee and chalky notes.
The mouthfeel is light in body.
Overall, it's hard to believe this is over a year in the can, it's actually pretty good.

 

Hopefully you can find this years version to compare to what you just had. I think it is an awesome beer, seem like even with age it is still quite tasty