New Beer Weekend #265

I do plan to add a beer later today if I don’t pass out, been a long few days of travel but for now I’ll respond to your question @Beersnake.

I think I definitely review/drink less new beers now than a few years ago. I used to try and get 2-3 new beers a weekend but now usually it’s only one.

I’ve been less into getting new beers solely for this thread, which is what I used to do. I more now seem to only buy a new beer if it really catches my eye. That is what happened a little bit ago and I grabbed a few VT singles for today and the coming weekend.

 

xx New one for me from Tox Brewing. Lace, a Czhec style lager.


3.84/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Purchased 2-days ago from a store cooler and kept cold until served. Poured to fragile Six-Point Pilzner glass from a 16oz can stamped 06.09.25.
The body is Pilz color, but not completely clear.. With a simple pour the head goes out of hand. It did fade to a ring though. Lacing is nonexistent.
The aroma is biscuit as expected.
The taste is similar, very biscuit, some hop. Very drinkable. Dry finish.
The mouthfeel is medium for the style. Carbonation is a little light.
Not bad, not impressive.

 

Happy NBS!

Having a very juicy/tasty NETIPA from Weldwerks (CO).

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/38773/577107/?ba=Wasatch#lists

Cheers!

 

Good evening NBW
I can't believe I had to enter this in the database. Apparently, my tastes and curiosity lie way outside the norms for BA. I'm two for two this weekend reviewing beers not previously listed on BA.

Taj Mahal Black Label

650mL bottle MFD: 03/25 poured into a mug at fridge temp 7.1% ABV. The beer pours bright golden amber with off white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island leaving no lacing. The aroma is mild with sweet corn or rice syrup and malt. There's a hint of orchard fruit as well. The taste is more of the same with semisweet bordering sweet corn / rice syrup, orchard fruit and no detectable hops or bitterness. The feel is slick, medium plus bodied with below average carbonation and an undry finish. No detectable brewing flaws or off flavors other that the sweetness. Overall it's ok if you're comparing to bottom shelf malt liquor, but it still is a chore to finish.

Cheers all!

 

I actually don’t know the name of this?



Its Omnipollo. I cannot locate the name.

This is pure Yirgacheffe. There’s malt up front, and the body plays like pure stout syrup. And yet, balanced because it leads into lemon and coffee. But not your mocha, it’s African. It’s bright, acidic, almost tentative when I try to really understand what’s happening.

What I like about it most is that it plays almost like a CDL at times because there’s so much light, vibrant, sub 6% abv character and yet, unequivocally, it’s a stout.

Thanks Deciccos for always carrying fun, interesting beer!

 

Well, me and @Premo88 had the same idea this weekend...some lagers at Equal Parts Brewing.

Lagernaut German Pilsner, 4.9% ABV with the Hladinka pour.



Pours with a bit of chill haze at first. This clears up as it warms. A golden/yellow color, with a dense white head that lasts forever. Lace left behind.
Aroma is a lemon rind hoppy character up front. Cracker and grainy like malts for balance. Fairly standard, but enjoyable.
Taste wise, zesty, spicy hops up front. Lemon grass specifically. A really well done malt character, that ranges from grainy, cracker like, to baked bread and honey like. Then a lingering peppery, spicy bitterness that dries everything out.
A light to medium body. Crisp carbonation at first, but becomes like silk as this breaths. Super clean and finishes wonderfully dry. Yeah, I can, and did, down this in big gulps. Really easy to come back to.

Another excellent lager from Equal Parts. That Hladinka pour is spot on and this is just all around really well done. Nothing more left to say, just go drink it.

Overall score, 4,2 ,easy A score for me. which I think is what @Premo88 put it as as well ha. Since I added it to the database, now he needs to add his

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/44383/758892/?ba=champ103#lists

 

One more new beer for me from Equal Parts Brewing...

Saharan Dust IPA, 6.2% ABV.



Pours a clear golden/orange color. A one finger white head forms with good retention. Lace left behind as well.
Big aromatic hops up front. With a tropical fruity citrus character. There is a weird cotton candy like sweetness...
Taste wise, follows the nose with lots of that tropical fruity character. Citrus and orange peal, even "juicy" and then I get a candy like sweetness lingering. Which, I wish was more bitterness, but there you have it.
A medium body with moderate carbonation. There is a sticky, sweet, slickness here that I'm not the biggest fan of. Saying all that, it is not hard to drink. If not my preferred IPA.

Given the name...Saharan Dust is usually what keeps hurricanes away from Houston...so I was expecting something a bit drier. There is really nothing wrong here, outside of my own personal preference. Wanting something with more bitter dryness. Its still fine for what it is...a new age/modern IPA with plenty of fruity/juicy character if t hat is what you want.

Overall score is 3.58 for me. Easy B. I can see why others like this more than me, but there you have it...
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/44383/512409/?ba=champ103#lists

 

I will most definitely add a full review this week. I may also go back to the taproom next weekend just for another pour of that brew as well as a mug of their Oktoberfest.

You didn't try their British-style "pub ale," did you? I'm not a fan of nitro, but I am a fan of British pubs and British ale, so I need at least a wee half of that to see what they got going there ... and if it's even half good, I'm going to badger some poor bartender about how they need to get serious about that S and make more with proper carbonation (no chance they'll do a cask version).

Glad to see you made it out for some Lagernaut.

Cheers!

 

As a matter of fact I did review it a few weeks ago...I was not particularly pleased. Being on Nitro was on thing, but I was annoyed by the pour as well. Basically, if they are going to spend all this time and energy to get all the side pour thingy's right, they can have a real nonic pint glass for their nitro pour. Instead it was in one of their hour shaped glasses, which is not anything you want with nitro...but hey I'm just nit picky right

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-weekend-261.681152/#post-8210495

 

Finally contributing from the Green Mountain State, we’ve arrive and boy is it beautiful to have cool weather, lows in the high 40s tonight!! Because of that I will open this weather appropriate single, an English style porter.

I’ve had beer from this brewery years ago, and they’re still around in a great beer state so they must be doing something right; so I grabbed this one and hope it’s tasty on this fine first evening of vacation/adventure.

Queen City - Yorkshire Porter (English Porter 5%)



Nice pouring beer, it’s dark brown, shows clarity on the edges, ample fluffy light brown head, settles to a nice cap with no lacing.

Nose is mostly chocolate, with some ashy and toffee character, maybe some wet earthy touch from the hops.

Taste is spot on for English and not American, it’s more malt driven with light bittersweet character; chocolate, coffee, soft lingering roast that borders on char; just an underlying sweetness pervades.

Light body, soft; maybe even a touch luscious, if that’s possible for a 5% beer; little bit of malt sweetness lingers on a moderately bitter and mostly dry beer.

I know many English styles well, but porter isn’t one of them; this beer however has all the characteristics I love of English beer, drinkable, smooth, balanced, simple yet nuanced; really looking forward to their ESB which I will save for another weekend.

——————

I plan to record some vacation posts this week and post next weekend along with my normal in person post. Hope you’re all OK with that…

Have a great week everyone and see you all in 5 days with some reviews from the Land of Maple..

 

@champ103 and @Premo88 do you two ever meet up for a beer?

 

Yep, several times...sometimes our schedules don't work out though

 

Bourbon Barrel Vanilla Imperial stout by Big Axe. 11% ABV.



Poured from a 12 ounce can, the body is jet black with no head. No lacing during the tasting.

Aroma is sweet bourbon, and a light vanilla.

Taste follows nose as the bourbon is front and center. Added flavors are oak and a light malty char. As things were allowed to warm, blank was expressed.

A light bit of booze on swallow, things surprisingly dry up quickly.

Mouthfeel is medium and carbonation low but present.

A good stout that I'd enjoy more with a bit more carbonation.

 

To answer the weekend question, I've reviewed 41 beers to date. Last year I did 84 so I'm about on the same pace. I usually don't drink much during the week - I try to manage my consumption (calories and to avoid previous bad habits from my younger days) and enjoy new discoveries the most, so I will have 2 or 3 new beers a week.

Tonight's new beer is:



Barreled Souls Black Bombs Over Barly, a 14.1% barleywine. I did have this in a flight and it was stunning. I bought quite a few bottles figuring it will age very gracefully.

Here's the skinny from the brewer. Aged in a combination of Jamaican Rum barrels and Smoke Wagon Bourbon barrels for 12 months and 6 days, Black Bombs is the same base as regular Bombs but with some Pale Chocolate Malt from Thomas Fawcett in England and some Midnight Wheat (a kiln roasted wheat malt) from Briess in Wisconsin added into the grain bill. The malts add some milk chocolate notes with a bit of sweet coffee undertones.

Pours an oily-looking very dark cola color that looks black in the glass. About 3/4 inch of tan foam at its peak. Short-lived and it vanishes fast. There's a weak ring of microbubbles at the edge.

The smell is luscious but not heavy. The combo of the rum and bourbon is smooth and well integrated. Plenty of the dark fruit cast us in play - fig, dates, prune, cherry. Sugary sweetness from the rum. A very faint vanilla and a little milk chocolate.

The taste is silky smooth but it comes in little waves. The base beer is very apparent - never fully overshadowed by the other players. Bourbon speaks up first - a little sharp hit that rises above for a microsecond - slightly smokey and woody. Just a tad of vanilla. Then Jamaica rolls in with a velvety sweet rum flavor. The malts come back with a nice milk chocolate and just a little bit of sweet coffee. While all that's going on, there's plenty of dark fruit and a bit of toffee flavor. Very late in the taste there's a spice hit - something like clove and anisette and a bit of white pepper. As it warms some woodiness emerges.

It's surprisingly light feeling - while slightly sweet it's not syrupy. It's really pushing the salivary response.

I really dig this beer. The rum barrel really ads a new dimension and smooths the sharper taste of the Bourbon. The specialty malts add subtleties of milk chocolate and coffee. I think as it warms more there's a bit of a wheaty almost rye-like tang as well. Easy A+ from me - just a question of how high its gonna land above 4.5.

 

My gaming beer, and as Sunday’s we drink Barleywine (per @Dimidiata of course)
Pulled this out of my cellar, to my shame I don’t remember who sent it to me or in what BIF that was, as all of them are amazing.

So, I was told that barley wine ages well (at least better than most beers) and it might have, though drinking it in August of 2025 might have been a bridge too far.
The pour looks like pouring iced tea with a tight beige head. Black coffee appearing in the glass. No lacing to speak of.
The taste is surprisingly harsh - I expected something smoother. But that could be a misconception on my part.
Leather and wood, bourbon and dark chocolate (bittersweet) and some espresso.
The hops seem to have flourished in the last few years, no lack of bitterness.
The feel is curiously thin, not a knock, but the ABV needs some body behind it.
OA, nice to try, but maybe a fresher one would be more to my tastes.
At this ABV, it’s one and done for me.
Cheers!

 

Good Evening BAs! Easing into NBW with a beer I picked up in Ohio a couple of weeks ago - Jackie O’s Dark Apparition - Apple Brandy Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (2024):



Poured at 53°. Creamy dark tan head with rocks; dissipated quickly leaving several islands of micro dots, a solid ring, and small spots of lace; black body with ruby edges; medium legs on swirl. Apple Brandy nose; boozy retro nasal; chocolate close behind. Entry is chocolate, caramel candy coated apple, hot boozy Brandy; not sugary, but sweet toffee in the finish. Silky smooth feel; medium light body; alcohol burn on tip of tongue; medium mouth warmth; moderate minus carbonation. Overall, great balance of 7 malt base with barrel flavors; an exceptional BA Imperial Stout from the masters in Athens, OH.

4.5 | 4.5 | 4.75 | 4.5 | 4.5
Score: 4.6 rDev +6

Wish I had bought more…maybe I’ll get lucky and find it when I go home for Christmas. Cheers y’all!

 

We do and we will again ... and I've a feeling we might be seeking out the brown drink next meetup.