New Beer Weekend #220

Picked this up yesterday from the huge pile of fresh hop beers at one of my favorite local grocery stores—Green Rush, a collaboration between Bale Breaker and Russian River. As expected, it’s fantastic. Preliminary review below. Cheers!

4.46/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
16oz can (packaged 9/24/2024) into a tulip. Pours a clear golden/straw color with a sudsy white head.

Aroma is mostly pine resin with some citrusy notes. Lively. Smells like fresh hop cones.

Taste is an instant burst of piney resinous hops on a neutral canvas of dry pale malt. Classic West Coast IPA construction. Hops are bright and green, with more depth and dimension than normal dried hops.

Mouthfeel is pretty standard—medium body, drinkable.

Overall an excellent fresh hop beer that does a great job of showcasing the key ingredient. Exactly what I expected from two masters of the art of brewing hop-forward beer.

 

Good Sunday afternoon, New Beer Swiggers and commentators. I'm a big fan of Black IPAs and have wanted to try Allagash's Haunted House for quite awhile. I cannot help but compare any Black IPA I drink to Carton Brewing's Epitome, which to me is the gold standard. Haunted House is an easy ale to drink but it simply lacks the depth of flavor found in the leaders of the style.

It has a very attractive appearance: clear, dark cola/black cherry in color with more than a finger cap of creamy, very light-khaki foam with an attractive film of lacing. The nose offers roasted malt, pine resin, and modest citrus. Its taste opens with dry, roasted barley and Blackprinz malt devoid of any sweetness. The Nugget hops accentuate the bitterness. The Cascade hops add tart grapefruit notes. As it warms I begin to notice burnt coffee grounds that provide acidity. While I'm glad to have tried Haunted House, I much prefer some of our local versions, including Slack Tide's Knockdown and Autodidact's Dark Horse, and of course Epitome.

3.92/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Have a great week, everyone. Cheers, NBW!

 

Social Project Brewing Co. Time for Me to Fly Double Hazy IPA, 8.1% ABV; 4.46 overall


Pours a very hazy gold with 2+ fingers of whippy ivory colored head. Insane lacing & very good head retention

S: Mango, guava, a touch of cattyness, fades a little once warm

T: Follows the nose, pretty dry, some green melon & pineapple, a touch of woody hops as well. Some sage-like flavor/weedyness, green melon, pronounced dryness, mango & pineapple as this beer warms up. Finishes catty with green melon, dryness, mango & pomelo

MF: Medium body, smooth carbonation, very nice balance, a little acidic once all warmed up

Drinks too easy, great flavor

 

Victory Festbier a Marzen Style Lager 5.6 ABV. This brew pours a dark brownish red with a white head. There is a nice malty aroma. The flavor malt with a slight hop bitterness. Full mouth feel off dry finish. Overall one of the better fiestbier, I have tried this year

 

My wife just picked this up for herself, but I had no new beer today so....
This is from Space Cat in Norwich CT. A 5.0% German Pilsner.

 

Song of Autumn
5.8% Red IPA by Hill Farmstead



Poured from a pint can with canning date stamp of 9-10-24, the body is an opaque brown with a fluffy white head. Very good lacing.

Aroma is light pine and citrus. Taste follows nose. The flavor is a mix of hoppy pine and a background malt. Clear and simple flavor. A medium bitterness soon is tasted and slowly trails off at a nicely dry finish.

Mouthfeel is soft with good carbonation. Body is substantial, a medium weight.

A delightful red ale that should please fans of the style.

 

Back to back this early on a Sunday??? Slackers, I had at least 7 pages in sight, maybe we'll get there?

Boulevard Carrot Cake BA Belgian Style Strong Ale, 12.2% ABV; 4.17 overall


Pours an effervescent ruby color with a pinky of fast-falling beige head. Some effervescence throughout the bottle, a little bit of head retention & lacing

S: Vanilla, cinnamon, hints of booze

T: Does taste like carrot cake frosting/cake up front, dry, very sweet, plenty of vanilla, some booziness on the lips. More sweet booziness, vanilla, cinnamon, oaky notes as well once this beer warms up. Finishes a little dry, oaky with plenty of carrot cake frosting & cake notes as well on the edges

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, a little booze bite

Great initial flavors was looking for more depth & hidden aspects, a few showed up to elevate this a little. A sipper; would buy this again as a one off. Perfect execution might render this world-class. Nails the dessert beer aspect

 

Hopefully that wanders down this way, we are getting some from these guys

 

Happy NBS!

Having a very tasty, true to style, Tripel from RedRock Brewery (UT), 11% abv..

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1412/307529/?ba=Wasatch#lists

Cheers!

 

Another tasty local fresh hop beer to round out my New Beer Weekend—Stoup Fresh Hop Fiend with Citra. Preliminary review below. Cheers!

4.3/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
16oz can (packaged 10/1/2024) into my Seahawks Super Bowl American pint glass. Pours a clear golden straw color with a 1-finger head.

Aroma is, not surprisingly for a Citra fresh hop beer, full of orange, grapefruit, and tangerine. I can almost picture the juice dripping down my fingers as I peel a fresh Mandarin orange. Just wonderful.

Taste leads off with more grapefruit than orange, like licking the inside of a grapefruit rind. Tons of alpha acids. Tingly, sharp bitterness hits the palate mid-sip. Finish clean and crisp like a good WCIPA.

Mouthfeel is balanced and smooth, borderline creamy. Highly drinkable.

Overall an excellent fresh hop beer that does an excellent job featuring the Citra fresh hops

 

Lumberbeard + Trap Door - Hoptaneous Combustion fresh hop WC IPA

 

Correction: This was Fresh Hop Fiend with Krush, not Citra. That’s what I get for giving my fact checker the day off. Cheers!

 

Taking it somewhat easy today and enjoying this.

Laurentian Porter - Hammerheart Brewing - Ely, MN - 6%

Quite tasty. Smoke is very subtle in this beer.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31326/218808/
3.95/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
From a 16oz can with no date on it.

This beer looks really thick while pouring it. It looks pitch black in color - no light shining through the glass. The head is a thick 3 finger brown color. Frothy looking and long lasting. Amazing sticky lacing on the glass.
The aroma of this beer is actually light. I get some chocolate notes. I get some caramel.
The flavor starts out with a dark chocolate flavor with hints of caramel. The back is where the smoke comes into play. It is fairly light tasting. I get a bit of sweetness off the smoke.
The body is pretty decent. Full and smooth feeling.
Tasty beer overall, and so glad they're back.

I may be done after this one. See you all next weekend. Cheers!

 

You are all true friends of the crown. Dilly dilly! Chicken bacon ranch sandwiches and taco dip tonight for the Cowboys Vs Steelers game.