New Beer Weekend #267

'sup, Tim

RŌM - Yosemite

16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Can is dated 07/24/2025. Bought it in Costa Mesa a couple weeks ago, probably.

Pours clear straw gold with a medium sized head that fades to a thick, clumpy skin with a heavy ring. Lots of active carbonation. Smell is heavy on the pine resin, lots of earthy citrus rind too. Honeysuckle or floral notes.

Taste is lots of melon and bubble gum, lots of melon rind bitterness, lots of floral sweetness. Something citrus zesty. Quite bitter.

Mouthfeel is light, smooth, not quite crisp. Overall, good solid WC IPA with some modern flavors to spice things up.

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

I had a typo and added an extra "e" to the word weekend before I fixed it. For many here the extra "e" means an extended weekend. For me, it is an actual weekend, for a change. Time to get through my back stock of new beers, and the first one is one that my friend @Alefflicted gave to me.


Black - Lupulin Brewing - Big Lake, MN - American Stout - 7%

This beer is good, though the flavor is really bland off the bat. The flavor does build and smacks you in the face with great malts, and a nice licorice bitterness on the finish. Tasty!

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40035/760459/
3.93/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From a 16oz can. Canned on 05-28-2025.

The name of this beer fits: this beer pours pitch black into the glass with no chance of any light shining through. There's a very thick 3 finger brown head to the beer. I am digging the head retention and the lacing I am also digging. Looks quite good.
The nose is malty as I would expect. I am getting a hit of licorice off the aroma. I am also getting nice roasted dark chocolate malt tones here.
Taste - Well, up front I am really getting nothing. It is bland as heck right off the bat. When the flavor does hit, it hits hard. I get a huge roasted dark chocolate malt hit. The malt changes over to a slightly bitter licorice flavor and this flavor and bitterness does linger in the beer.
The body is full feeling. There's a good smooth feeling. The feeling of the bitterness does linger in my throat for quite a while.
This is a good beer, though the flavor did confuse me for a bit when I was getting nothing.


I'll be back for more later. Cheers!

 

We are off to a good start on this long weekend! Time for a beer for sure - lots going on. I'm going to ease in to things here beer-wise. I turn 67 today, traded in my car last Saturday for a Ford Maverick, replaced our long defunct hot tub, and surprisingly worked my last hour at Ocean Spray on Tuesday. I was gonna retire in April anyway, but this seems OK. I get 12 months severance pay and a six month extension on insurance plus unused vacation time and a good chunk of the bonus. Insurance is the big thing we need to unpack.

Only thing that really bothers me is not going out on my own terms after 44 years. Other than that I'm pretty sure I'm OK.

So anyway let's go to Sidereal Farm Brewery:



This is Exquisite Drip which they call a Biere de Miel, 5.4% ABV. It's a saison here. It's brewed with honey, aged in French oak foeder, then conditioned in the can/keg with more local honey. I did have a taster at the brewery.

Pours a very pale, fairly hazy yellow with about a half inch of soapy foam. It falls fast but there's a more than respectable cap with excellent cling.

The smell is lightly floral and the honey is pleasantly mild. It's aromatic without being over the top. There's a little clean, crackery malt in there.

The taste is similarly mild. You can tell there's honey but it's only slightly sweet. I am gathering they used the extra honey similar to priming sugar since it is can and keg conditioned. There's a nice, mild bitterness in the middle of the taste. Very floral aromatics. There's a very laid back oakiness that comes on a bit as I drink more. That peppery/phenolic tags in at the end. There's an almost white graoe must sense here as well. The flavor strengthens overall as the beer warms but it's not baking me over the head - just rounder and a little fuller.

Light feeling and fairly dry. In our conversations at the brewery these guys love dry. Nicely carbonated but not super-lively.

I think this is a deceptively simple beer. Balancing the honey to get the flavor with minimal sweetness seems to be the balancing act here. Was it a wee bit better on tap - yes but not by much. This is a very nice, thoughtfully crafted, farmhouse style ale. Around the 4.1 mark. I'd drink this any day!

 

Thanks to @Beersnake for getting things started

...community beerworks peach
....appearance actually comes off like peach juice with minimal head
...close to medium carbonation with a medium body as well,maybe even a bit of a creamy feel to it
...aroma is very mild but theres fresh peach that doesn't come sweet at all. A little earthy with a sweet tart quality to it
..taste is a sour tart hit at first that makes the mouth pucker up a bit. Then the fresh peach comes through,mellow but nice and earthy.
...overall its a well done beer that would probably pair better with a sweet dessert than how I paired it

 

I am actually back again with another new beer. This beer got lost in my fridge for longer than I thought. I have to thank @falloutsnow for it from our trade early this year.

Smoked - Triptych Brewing - Savoy, IL - Smoked Beer - 4.9%

I am a huge smoked beer fan, and I am totally diggingg this beer. Too bad I lost track of it, but I do not think it has fallen off at all. It is very delicious, though, I do wonder what wood they used to smoke the malts? It has a sweet flavor to the smoke.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30967/555767/
4.1/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From a 16oz can. There's a date on the can, but it is unreadable. It has been sitting in my fridge since March, or so.

Clear looking beer and golden in color. There's a bit of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. There's a 1 finger white head to this beer that has somewhat poor retention. There's a bit of lacing on my glass.
There's a good hit of smoke in this beer, and I am enjoying it. The smoke has a bit of sweetness to it, which is interesting to me.
Ok, the beer has a nice smoke flavor. This smoke flavor does last throughout the flavor profile. There's also a sweetness to the flavor. It seems like it is part of the smoke and I have to wonder what type of wood they used to smoke the malts? There's some cereal grain notes that also show up in the flavor profile.
The body feels great. It has a nice depth for a beer that is 4.9%. Very smooth, and the feeling from the smoke does linger in my throat.
Well, this got missed in my fridge for a while, but I would say it has held up very well. A very delicious beer.


Can I do a 3rd review tonight and still be functional tomorrow? Not sure, but who knows.

 

Theakston old peculiar
...an unusual but pleasant looking dark brownish ruby appearance
...medium light carbonation with a slightly thin body. Not necessarily an impressive feel but still pleasant.
..aroma is a mix of plum,medium dark chocolate, and something that reminds me of prune bread.
...taste is almost dry, watered down chocolate, plum, dark fruit bread.
..overall its good but not blowing me away. Long week and I'm a bit whipped so ill have to revisit
..

 

Happy NBW all, and thanks to @Beersnake for getting the party started.
We had our monthly SAN (stout appreciation night) tonight and had a new guy show up with a cooler of beers that made me drool a little. Should have taken a photo.
But one in particular I wanted to try, had been on my wants list for a while so it was chosen from the wide assortment he had brought.

Oh my. Finally!
Okay, it’s good. Very good even. But sweet, almost too sweet. That said, it somehow works.
No picture of the beer in my glass, sorry! I was geeked just getting to drink it.
The pour is stout black with a light brown, dense head that leaves sheets of lacing. Looks good.
The taste starts with maple syrup and marshmallows. Coffee and chocolate are soon to follow. It was probably my imagination but I swear I tasted pancakes. Not a bit of bitterness anywhere, Smooth as silk.
The feel is lightly viscous and softer than anything I remember. Not sure how that works.
OA, it’s very good, just a little sweet for regular consumption.
There were other beers that were new to me as well but this one stood out.
Cheers all! I’ll be back tomorrow.

 

Congratulations on figuring the retirement out!

 

Much better on Cask

 

Props to @Beersnake for getting us started.

Olde Hickory Parallasein Barleywine ale ( aged in Port Wine Barrels for 299 weeks! ), 15.0% ABV; 4.09 overall

2022 Vintage

Pours an effervescent & murked up iced tea color with fast falling tan head. Zero head retention & lacing

S: Port barrels, jammyness

T: Follows the nose, some brown sugar & molasses note, plus oakyness & a bit of leafy hop. Red wine/grapes show up
as this beer warms up, some tannic notes & a touch of leather & oaky dryness too. Finishes with Port notes, dryness & some sweeter red grape notes

MF: Medium body, slight carbonation, warming. Carbonation picks up a little once warmed up

I wish I was more into Port, but there is lots to like here. Drinks pretty easy for the complex brute it is, a sipper none the less

 

Hat tip to @Beersnake for kicking off the Long New Beer Weekend.

That first beer on a long weekend or a vacation is a special one, isn't it? This one certainly is:



Breakside 2025 Fresh Hop Wanderjack IPA
This is the 2025 version of Fresh Hop Wanderjack. Which might call for a quick bit of back story:

"Fresh Hop"—Right now it's hop harvest time in the PNW. Most of the hops grown in the U.S. come from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. This gives brewers in this region the chance to brew beers with hops that are so fresh that they end up in the fermenting tanks within an hour or so of being picked. This contributes amazing character to the aroma and flavor of fresh hop beers.

"Wanderjack"—Breakside first released Wanderjack in 2020 as a 10th anniversary beer. They brewed it with Barley Brown's Beer of Baker City, OR, which is best known for their magnificent Pallet Jack IPA. The name "Wanderjack" is a portmanteau of Breakside Wanderlust and Barley Brown's Pallet Jack IPA. It was my favorite beer of 2020, and apparently proved to be so popular that Breakside continues to brew it occasionally (not often enough).

The 2025 version of Fresh Hop Wanderjack uses fresh Strata hops from Coleman Agriculture. The Breakside website points out that these hops were grown less than 40 miles from the brewery.

Look:
The beer is a bright, deep gold color with significant hop haze. The thick head of white foam leaves visible rings after each sip, and decays to a thick collar about halfway down the glass.

Smell:
The nose is actually rather subdued, starting with mild citrus, pine, and a decent payload of stone fruits. There's also a whiff of strawberries which gets quite strong by the bottom of the glass, and a good dose of weed which also starts mild and gains strength as the beer warms.

Taste:
The taste also starts rather more subdued than regular Wanderjack, but it doesn't take long to straighten up to its full height. The beer leads with tangerine and mango. Before long, it blossoms with underripe nectarine and strawberry, a handful of blueberries, a breeze of pine, and a big weed smack in the face. Pungent fresh Strata hops in full effect. Malt? I guess. It's pretty far in the background. The finish is weed and indistinct tropical character over an impressive punch of bitterness.

Feel:
Medium-light bodied with a skinny malt body. Strong carbonation lightens the body and provides a ready surface for the fresh hop smells and flavors to float above.

Overall:
Strata is not my favorite hop, but it is vividly displayed here. Once it warms, the beer fairly throbs with vibrant berries and weed. Breakside's fresh hop game is always strong, and 2025 FH Wanderjack is an opening bid that demands attention. More please.

 

Wow that is a big week for sure, congratulations on the retirement; happy birthday and happy truck driving.

 

I’ve seen NZ cascade advertised more and more these days; I know a google search would work but that’s no fun.

Do you, or anyone else in this thread, have opinion on how they differ from cascade here in the US?

 

I believe that was the first FH beer I had when we were in Seattle for a wedding 4 years back now I think.

Didn’t realize they used same label, or at least did, for their FH beers. I think it was in texting @snaotheus that I learned to check bottom of can for what beer it actually was.

I remember describing that one as sucking on a hop cone but I’m not sure if it was strata or not, that slips my mind.

 

@vurt I love fresh hop beers. The flavor from the fresh hops, to me, provide an earthy character to the beer that I am a huge fan of. I am waiting on the season here, because there's a lot of local hop growers here. Also, one brewery does grow hops on their patio, and I am hoping they use them in a beer this year.

Now it is time for some juice for breakfast after that long night last night.

Monsoon Strike - Modist Brewing - Minneapolis, MN - Fruited Kettle Sour - 5.5%

The flavors on paper might seem weird, but they work well together in the glass. Very tasty.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/43654/722738/#navigation
3.82/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
From a 16oz can. There's a date on the can, but I can't read it due to it being mostly off the can.

This is a very murky looking beer in the glass. It looked somewhat thick while pouring it. The color is a pale golden color, with orange hues. The head is a 2 finger white head that has good retention. There's a bit of lacing on the glass.
The fruit is the star of the show here with a strong hit of tangerine. There's other citrus notes here as well with the delicious smell of key lime. There's also a slight tartness to my nose from the raspberries.
The tangerine does start off the flavor profile. This flavor does linger in my throat and provides some bitterness on the back. The key lime has a small supporting role in this beer as it comes in the middle. The finish has the bitterness of the tangerine plus a touch of tartness from the raspberries. The raspberries and key limes are both subtle flavors in this beer.
The body does seem a bit light here. Slightly thin. The tartness and bitterness feelings do linger.
This is quite tasty overall. The flavors on paper might seem weird, but they do work together well.


Well, yes, there will be more new beer as the day goes on. Cheers all!