New Beer Weekend #253

Well, I had an unexpected day at work yesterday, today I'm getting an unexpected day off. That means one thing, more new beer.

High Yield Pale Ale - Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative - Minneapolis, MN - 5.2%

I do think this beer does taste good, though I wish it had a touch more hops on the finish.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/49207/747323/
3.58/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From a 16oz can. Canned on 05/16/2025

This beer looks quite beautiful to me. It has a nice amber color to it and is fairly clear looking. There's a nice stream of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass to produce a 2 finger off white head. The head retention is quite good and long lasting. When the head dissipates, there's a clingy looking lacing on the glass.
The aroma is sadly faint. I am getting just a faint malt and hop aroma. There's just not a lot there.
Taste - The beer is actually quite malty. I get a lot of grain and biscuit up front. There's caramel hints to the beer. The finish has a bit of a pine hint to it from the hops used. The bitterness does start off mellow, but it builds.
The body has a nice feeling from the hop finish. There's a smoothness to this beer.
This is an interesting beer. I was hoping for a bit more hops, but it still is good and tasty.


I do have to go somewhere in a couple of hours, but I may have one more before then. Cheers.

 

Summit Light Lager

I enjoyed Summit's regular Lager a week or so ago, let's see how the light goes:


Appearance: Clear pale yellow, big head.

Smell: Bready, hay.

Taste: Mild sweetness, then remains sweet and reminiscent of grape soda. Light bodied. The grape soda note sticks around through the finish, a little breadiness at the end.

Overall: I liked the Summit Lager so I'm trying their Light Lager. Maybe a bit sweet and for some reason I'm getting grape soda. Decent enough but won't replace the macro light lagers for me.

 

I like your "arrive early" approach. Gives one a chance to not only try one out in a very focused way without impeding social interactions AND one can get the lay of the land.

 

Enjoyed this new one last night, courtesy of @russpowell ..

Stonecloud - Barley Wine Lips



Notes:
P caramel, 1f khaki head, decent retention
N med nose of caramel with some green apple and citrus fruitiness
T follows nose w/ caramel, semi-vibrant apple, citrus; finishes w/ some apple tanginess that lingers
Mf med to med-full bodied, soft-med to med carb
O an all-around pleasant barleywine that drinks well; thanks again, Russ!

Cheers

 

I am so "jelly" as the kids say. Pack me in a suitcase next time.

 

RAR Lecter Nectar IPA, 6.7% ABV. Pours hazy pale yellow, with a 3+ finger white head that left great lacing. Aroma is orange and tropical fruit. Taste is grapefruit and hoppy bitterness. Dry mouthfeel, overall very good.

4.06/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I aged this one in the fridge for a few months...

 

While I have had this one in the past, I have never had a chance to sit and put a review down...so here you go...

Odell Mountain Standard Time IPA, 6.5% ABV.

Best by date is 8/7/2025, I think they do 4 months BB date (I could be wrong), but I think that is plenty fresh for me.



Pours with just a touch of haze, a yellow color. With a dense white head that forms. Good retention and plenty of lace left behind.
Aroma is fruity, peachy, pineapple aroma up front. A bit of citrus pith. Fairly standard for a new age hopped IPA, but still enjoyable.
Taste wise, the fruity peach and pineapple is up front again. Some citrus, and the fruitiness becomes sweet/juicy like. A light bitterness lingering but would like that to be stronger.
A medium body with a bit lower carbonation than I would like. Certainly "soft" in that context. Though a very nice and well made modern IPA that I have come back to on occasion.

This is never going to be the style of IPA that I gravitate towards all the time. It could be dryer, with more bitterness and carbonation bite. Though all that said, its still well made, as would be expected by Odell. I much prefer their regular IPA, but this is nice to have when I can't find that one or that is really old. Solid.

Overall score is 3.74, B almost a B+ for me.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/267/401438/?ba=champ103#lists

 

Flathead Lake - Bluff Charge Huckleberry Ale





Notes:
P hazy copper, 1-2f foamy white head, retains a thin layer of foam for quite awhile, heavy white lace
N big sweet juicy huckleberry notes, very inviting
T didnt quite follow the nose unfortunately, carb masks profile at first, subtle to moderate neutral berry notes and tartness in the forward, finishes with a med-bold grassy/herbal bitterness, very little of the huckleberry sweetness I was hoping for
Mf light bodied with high carb (a bit too much carb, imo)
O despite the awesome nose, was let down by this one

Cheers

 

Our weekend company has departed. A good visit. These grandkids are four and almost six, and they are busy! After playing with them all weekend, our 28 year-old son told us he's never having kids.
My new beer for today is Sasha, a NEIPA from Jester King.
A hazy orange color. One inch white head that persisted. Tiny bit of lace.
Aroma of citrus fruit and a hint of pine.
Taste of grapefruit, grapefruit rind, pine.
Medium-bodied, nice bitterness.

 

Covert Artisan Foxfire Czech-style Amber Lager, 4.7% ABV. Pours deep copper with a one-finger off-white head that left wispy lacing. Aroma is sweet malt, faint fruit, and hoppy. Taste is bready, faintly sweet, slightly bitter. Decent slightly dry mouthfeel, overall excellent.

4.05/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

 

Hey, we get a bonus day for NBW!
This is The Bruce Eggar from Mortalis Brewing. An 8% NEIPA.
Internet searching leaves me with no clue which Bruce Egger they are referring to, however I did determine that the beer uses Bruce hops (never heard of them).
I
3.74/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Gifted from a fellow BA in person. Kept cold until served. Poured from a 16-oz undated can to a bulbous teku-style glass.
Pours out a very light opaque yellow. The head lasts maybe a minute and fades to a thin ring. Glass tilting puts individual bubbles on the glass but they drop within 20 seconds.
Smells like berry and citrus candy. Quite a sweet aroma actually.
But the taste is bitter in the front, with a hop bite and a sense of alcohol. However the finish is just as sweet as the candy aroma.
The mouthfeel is coating even with IMO above average carbonation.
It's an okay beer, but the hop bite is a little harsh.

 

No new beers yesterday, but today is another day.

I came across town to Belmont Station because I knew they had 4-packs of my favorite maibock: Lenzbock from Heater Allen. I was also hoping to find some Fonta Flora Maibock, but they appear to be out. Ah well.

Since I'm here, I figured it would be rude not to stay for a pint, so I'm having my first new beer of the day.



Hetty Alice Kodachrome IPA
Attractive yellow-gold body with a hint of haze. The pure white foam lasts almost halfway down the glass and leaves good lacing. The nose is mostly citrus on a bed of blueberries and slight sweet and toasty malt. Soft floral character comes through as the beer warms. The flavor leans towards citrus, with lemonade and lime Skittles (yum!) dominating. Thankfully, this is not a sweet IPA. The middle shows light malt redolent of multigrain crackers, and some tropical fruit shines through. The finish is tangy citrus shaded with tasty woody/floral spiciness and gentle bitterness. (Side note: While I have no particular desire to revisit the IBU wars of the early 2000s, I do wish modern IPAs had more bitterness.) The body is lean, with lively carbonation. Overall, a most pleasant pint on this mild and breezy PNW spring afternoon.

 

Discounted New Czech Dark Lager Weekend!

Bakalar Dark Lager • Czech dark lager • 3.8% ABV • 42893 07:45 printed on label • $1

Official brewery name in the BA database: Tradiční pivovar v Rakovníku (Pivovar Rakovnik)

This beer was sitting on the shelf at the Smith St. Spec's in Houston for $1 a bottle. It looked like a flea market wholesale ... I mean, a whole bunch of these bottles lined up begging for somebody, anybody, please buy me! So I did. For a dollar, why not?

I'll be going back to buy a whole bunch more.

What I expected to suck or frankly to be off or sour or flat turns out to be one of the best session beers I've ever had in any style. It's roasty, toasty, sweet, bitter and fairly sophisticated. The charred oak flavor balanced with malt sweetness is better than Xingu and almost up there with Kostritzer, though not as sweet as my memory of Kostritzer. I know those are technically different styles, but in the world of dark lagers, this Bakalar is suprisingly good IMO.

Official review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16590/345175/?ba=Premo88#review
4.42 (+17.6% rDev)

I have no idea why these bottles were discounted — it delivers everything I want in a Czech dark lager and at only 3.8% ABV, and it's light, dry and crisp enough to make for a good dark-malt option on a hot day. I'll be going back to Spec's to buy enough of this stuff to fill out my fridge.

Cheers!

 

SOSUS from Toppling Goliath.
I don't see much from TG other than the "Sues", I guess I'm not much of Mosiac hop guy, I think Founders did a Mosiac IPA also. Anyway,
3.99/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
L: A murky pale gold, small white, some spotty lace.
S: Pineapple and tropical fruit.
T: Flavors and aromas are similar.
F: Medium bodied, great carbonation, a bit sticky,
O: Solid offering from TG but I'll stick with Pseudo Sue.

Purchased at Beer Bazaar, Hainesville.
Edit: I see TG has brewed this with different hop varieties, this was the Mosaic version. Sorry for any confusion.

 

Well, I am home after a couple at Bad Habit Brewing with @Alefflicted , and time for another new beer.

Jalapeno Cowbell Cream Ale - Urban Grwoler - St. Paul, MN - Chile Beer - 5.2%

This beer has a ton of flavor from the peppers, and they are the star of the show here. They totally used the flesh of the pepper, and not the seeds in making this beer. There's a mild heat, but it's all about the flavor of the peppers, and there's a lot there. I can see if you're afraid of heat you might avoid this. I would say, at least give it a try, you might be surprised.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35306/746185/
3.65/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From a 16oz can. Canned on April 02, 2025

This beer has a nice clear golden color to it in the glass. There's a bit of carbonation rising in the glass to produce a 1 finger white head. The head retention is ok, and there's a bit of lacing on the glass.
The aroma is very hot from the peppers. If I say, woah, it must be intense. The peppers are all I am getting, no malts or hops. Very one dimensional nose, and not sure in a good way.
Taste - The beer is dominated by the peppers in the flavor department. The heat, thankfully, is less than the nose let on, but is still there. Lots of jalapeno flavor, plus a green pepper hint to the flavor. The pepper flavor is totally from the "flesh" of the peppers and not the seeds. There's an earthy and grassy hint to the pepper flavor also. I do get some grain in the flavor profile, but the peppers are the star of the show.
The body is full for the style. The peppers do linger in my throat, but it's not really heat, but more from the flavor.
Peppers have a lot of flavor, but it is drowned out by the heat. There's a faint heat in this beer, but this beer is about the flavor, not the heat. I can see if you're afraid of the heat, you might be tempted to avoid this beer. I'd say, give it a try, you might be surprised.

I may be done here, not sure yet. Either way, cheers to all the patrons of this virtual bar.

 

Founders all day Shandy
...very clear light gold appearance
...medium carbonation with about a medium body but has a sticky slick coat the mouth and linger feel about it
...aroma is a mild lemon candy with some other fruit in there. Cereal and mixed grain are also there and adds a nice balance
..taste has some sweetness but kept in check with the lemon showing up as candy like but theres just enough grain and cereal to make it enjoyable

 

Goldfinger + Pollyanna + Binny's - Bank of the Rhine, dark lager

16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Canned on 3/24/25. Sent to me by @Luscious_Malfoy in Stout/Barleywine BIF #2.

Pours fairly clear, dark amber, not quite reaching opacity at the glass's widest. Medium sized, dense, creamy head. Moderate active carbonation visible along the edges. Smell is nuts, toffee, dark bread. Plenty of grain husk, yeast is evident but not overwhelming.

Taste is moderately sweet, very grainy, leans toward the brown bread. Toffee is clearer, something more tea-like. Earthiness. Almost a sourdough yeastiness to it.

Mouthfeel is prickly and clean. Very nice beer. Pretty much what I expect from Goldfinger, based on what @FBarber has taught me about them.

 

I hope you'll indulge me for what is likely a very basic question with a well-known answer:

Is New Beer Weekend for reviewing new beers you've never had before, or for reviewing beers you've had before but never reviewed?

(Feels like both, but I'm trying to read the room here.)

 

My understanding has always been that it's for beers you never had before.

Though I may have stretched that definition more than once, and haven't been evicted (yet).