New Beer Weekend #225

Enjoyed catching up with the great beers, reviews and pictures from around the country. Sad most of these beers will be inaccessible unless I travel, but @russpowell 's Boulevard 35th Anniversary Ale selection is one I'll keep an eye out for here.

Audibling again for this potpourri weekend, as I found the bottled date on the initially planned beer, so going with this one with an unknown bottling date. This beer was entered here in July 2023, so this could be from that batch or perhaps they brewed one or more since. This is one of my favorite breweries and I'm always excited to come across rare new ones from these guys. Also excited that this is the Number 2 ranked Rauchbier in all zee Vorld, behind their Number 1 ranked Lentbeer. This one has a connection with my Cherry Kringle Stout in that smoked Cherry Wood was used for this offering.Hope I get similar success.

Schlenkerla (Heller-Bräu Trum) Aecht Schlenkerla Weichsel

4.64/5 rDev +9.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75



Full review linked above. I came in with very high expectations, and they were exceeded by this World Class brewery. The cherry aroma and flavor from the cherry wood adds to the excellent smoked malt experience. Everything is in perfect balance, really hard to not gulp this all down before finishing this review and WBAYDN post. Thank you Beer Temple for your commitment to offering the greatest beers from across the globe!

This concludes my beers for the extended weekend. Hope people have an extra stashed to review today, either on a day off or perhaps after they return from work. Cheers!

 

Drekker Fuzzy BRAAAAAAAAins Double Fruit Smoothie Sour, 6.7% ABV. Pours dark-orange with a slight ring of bubbles. Aroma is mango, peach, apricot, and vanilla. Taste follows, moderately sweet, slightly tart. Decent mouthfeel, overall outstanding-adjacent.

4.29/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

While the beer is great, there's a missed opportunity here. With a name like Fuzzy BRAAAAAAAAins, this should have been at least 12% ABV!

 

Well, since this thread continues, I might as well do another.

Harvest Moon - Blackstack Brewing - St. Paul, MN - American IPA - 6.4%

Nice flavor to this beer. Good hints of pine and mango. Great body. Tasty!
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48592/722770/
3.94/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From a 12oz can with no date on the can.

This is a clear pouring beer and golden in color. There's a 1 finger white head to this beer. The head retention is decent and there's a bit of lacing on the glass.
Aroma is hoppy. I get some tropical citrus notes in this beer. I also get some pine notes as well.
Flavor starts off with a hit of pine, and the pine lingers. I get a hint of mango in the middle. The finish is pine and it has a nice bitterness.
Great body. Good fullness. Somewhat sticky feeling.
Very tasty overall. A pleasure to try.

I think there will be another. Cheers!

 

Good evening NBW
First review in the database on this one

Dank Torpedo

12oz bottled 09/20/24 poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp 8% ABV. The beer pours bright medium amber with khaki colored head. The head recedes to a rocky cap and leaves plenty of lacing. The aroma is mild with fresh cut pine and a hint of citrus. The taste is bittersweet caramel malt with resinous evergreen and earthy moderate plus bitterness. The feel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Very sticky, not with sweetness, but literally dripping with pine sap. Overall, very good IPA to my palate. As advertised.

This wasn't the one from the pack that had me excited, but it's very good. None of the 4:20 and plenty of pine forest. Cheers all!

 

New one (to me) for the weekend - had to enter this into the BA Database.



4.03/5 rDev 0%

look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A very solid DIPA from New Image, playing on their "East Coast transplant" with a tribute to the clear West Coast style
L - crystalline gold, see through, decent head, and lacing retained. Bubbles or minutes on end. No complaints
S - The aromas are those of muted melons, grass, some dankness (thank you Simcoe) that has shades of Pliny to it, and some piney floor berries.
T - This is a smooth operator, that showcases the hops well, but not superbly. I don't get much complexity or depth on the palate from it, but this is my first can of it (10.30.24 canning date). It's fresh as I taste this on 11.11.24 but will be curious how it evolves.
F - Great mouthfeel, great balance (incredibly smooth) with no alcohol, booze-burn, or hop burn presence. Just well made. Love the feel of the low impact carbonation here, but it's not flat.
O - Another really well made beer from the good folks in Arvada, Denver, CO. This is a well made DIPA that honors the west even as it uses Michigan (?!) Chinook hops.

 

Well, this will be the last of this NBW thread for me.

Tiny Diner - Back Channel Brewing - Spring Park, MN - American Imperial Stout - 9.25%

This does have a nice flavor to it. The chocolate is slightly sweet and the coffee is slightly bitter. Very nice balance.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/49773/693984/
3.79/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From a 12oz bottle, no date on the bottle.

This beer pours pitch black in color with no chance of any light shining through the glass. It has a 1 1/2 finger brown head with smaller bubbles. The head retention is quite good and there's a bit of lacing on the glass.
The aroma isn't too strong, and a lot less than I was expecting. I just get faint coffee and malt notes in it.
The flavor starts off with chocolate notes. The chocolate has some sweetness to it, but not too sweet. The coffee flavor comes into play on the back. It seems rich and roasted quite a bit. The roasted coffee has a slight bitterness to it.
The body is creamy feeling. Very smooth feeling. No real burn here.
Not bad at all. This does taste good, and it seems well made.

See you all next weekend in this virtual NBW bar. Cheers!

 

On Monday we drink Barleywine? Well, sometimes.

The pour was nearly transparent amber color with a manilla color head 2 fingers tall and leaving rings of lacing.
The taste is toffee with a touch of pine.
Not sure it’s “modern” but it is quite well balanced. Hides the ABV easily.
The feel is slightly thinner than expected, with the balance of flavors it makes it very easy to drink.
OA, this is nice, not many barleywines have a hop profile.
Cheers all!

 

Thanks to @muchloveforhops3 for this NEWHAKAIDO Brewing Double Daruma IPA, 8.2% ABV; 3.97overall

Pours a chill hazed gold with a thumb+ of eggshell colored head. Good head retention & better lacing

S: A little breadyness, faint citrus & a little green melon. Citrus picks up once this beer is warmed up

T: Green melon, tangerine & a little guava up front. Hints of coconut, sweet oranges, a little lime, guava, passion fruit & green melon once warmed up. Finishes with sweet citrus, some lime, a little dry & more green melon

MF: Medium body, middle of the road carbonation, good balance

Solid take on the style, ABV is well disguised, easy to drink, nose kind of drags this down a little

 

Another Montana beer from @muchloveforhops3

Highlander Beer Co. Scoth Ale, 7.5% ABV; 3.99 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut/mahogany with one pinky of tan head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Smokey, caramelized sugar, faint vanilla notes

T: Follows the nose, woody & leafy hops, some toffee notes upfront. Sweet smokey notes, brown sugar dominates, some dryness, faint hints of bubblegum ( I get this sometimes with smokey beers ) & dryness as this beer warms up, hoppy notes take a back seat. Finishes with some warming booze on the fringes, brown sugar & the dryness that comes with it, a little more smokeyness & some woody hops

MF: Medium body, pretty firm carbonation, warming

This is a style that I love & just doesn't get attempted locally. This one is a good take on the style

 

Hello Late Night NBW

A warm end to the weekend.
Night Will Fall (2023) by Urban Roots
Pours motor oil thick, obsidian in hue. Slight mocha brown foam forms lazily and settles to a ring. Light slick lacing.
Nose pumps roasted cocoa malts, boozey warmth, more chocolate, some meaty dates, honey, and a slight earthy background. Warm, boozy sweetness finishes off.
Flavor follows the nose well, but booze forward. Whiskey, sweet, almost hot.
Mouthfeel is chewy, and as the nose predicted...a warm finish.
Overall a nice ride, but you got to be in the mood for some a boozy delivery.
3.84/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75