New Beer Weekend #270

I thought I could beat @Beersnake in opening this thread. AI might be able to in a few years, but we are a few thousand threads away from that. Please select a new-to-you beer that you would like to share your thoughts about with fellow BeerAdvocates. Please detail the look, the smell, the taste, the mouthfeel, and your overall experience with that beer. This is Tree House Brewing Juicy Machine. A NEIPA. 7.1% ABV. The look is murky and bright carrot orange, with a gorgeous, thick, white foam top. The smell is sweet and fruity. Orange, mango, papaya, lime, and watermelon explode from the glass. The taste is not as sweet as I expected, but very juicy. Mango, banana, lime, green apple, and passionfruit flavors are at the forefront, but there are many more flavors at the bottom of this fruit salad. The mouthfeel is thick, juicy, soft, and creamy, with medium carbonation. Overall, this is a standout beer from Tree House Brewing's hazy beer lineup. The sweetness is just right for me. Many of their beers have a more intense flavor, but you cannot have a session with them. This one you can.

 

Cheers to Kinship!

Today’s new beer, Sly Fox Kinship Extra Pale Ale, has an interesting backstory:

“A highly drinkable Extra Pale Ale brewed in collaboration with our long-time friends and pivotal craft beer supporters at Exton Beverage. This bright, golden-hued ale celebrates both their 50 years in business & the 30th anniversary of Sly Fox. A light dry hopping with Amarillo and Vista hops imparts delightful aromas of orange blossom and lemon zest.”

Pretty cool that they are celebrating two anniversaries with one beer: a twofer!

To the best of my recollection, I have never consumed a beer brewed with the ‘new’ hop of Vista (well, it is new to me):

Vista Hops

Vista Hop Profile

Looking for more info about using Vista hops? Previously named USDA Elite Line 074, Vista Hops can add a new flavor profile to pilsners and lagers as well as new elements to your IPA.

They are the newest variety to be released by the USDA public breeding program. Vista emerged from the Elite Line because of brewers' feedback at the 2019 Hopsource that was put on by the Brewer's Association and hosted here at Yakima Valley Hops. Brewers who participated in the blind smell tests described Vista as having Stone Fruit, Citrus, Tropical Fruit, and Floral characteristics. It ranked highly on the hedonic score with most brewers "Liking it Very Much" or "Liking it Moderately". Vista also ranked 7/10 on the potency scale so it can excel in fruit-forward IPAs and Pale Ales, but brewers also said it would work well in lighter, more delicate styles like lagers and pilsners.

Vista Aroma: Tropical Fruit, Tangerine, Melon, Pear, Green Tea

Vista Typical Analytical Range

Alpha: 11 - 12 %

Beta: 4 - 5 %

Total Oil: 1.0-2.0 mL/100g

Since this is the first year that Vista hops are widely available, be sure to leave a review below to let us know what you think of them!

https://yakimavalleyhops.com/produc...Vt_Oy8KxyFYJ4mMn_uI0SUXeZpedeHsCE6t-yyu9qiR6c

Well, Vista sure reads tasty. I wonder how well it will ‘play’ with Amarillo?

Served in my Spiegelau IPA glass:

Appearance:

Golden yellow with a BIG white head.

Aroma:

Vibrant aromas of citrus (e.g., orange) and some floral.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with a combination of citrus and floral flavors. There is a medium bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with a dry finish.

Overall:

I really enjoyed drinking this beer! It is a very good dual anniversary beer!!

@RobH @rotsaruch @KOP_Beer_OUtlet

 

@Beersnake, the only thing I am training for, unlike your ultra marathons, is moshing next weekend at the Cannibal Corpse concert. Since Cannibal Corpse is from Buffalo, New York, this beer is part of my training program. Genesee Brewing Octoberfest. From Rochester, New York. Courtesy of @TCgenny. The look is clear, golden, and caramel brown. The smell is brown bread, pancakes, caramel, and brown sugar. The taste is caramel, brown bread, brown sugar, and sea salt. The mouthfeel is clean, crisp, and smooth, with medium carbonation. Overall, this is an exceptional Octoberfest beer. I am beginning to understand @TCgenny's affection for this brewery.

 

Cannibal Corpse was a freaky band around here back in the day. The “scene” was never quite that hard, but they did their thing and had a good following. I’m a long time friend and official / unofficial employee of Buffalo Drum Outlet (now closed after 40 years). Paul Mazurkiewicz “worked” there briefly with me…he was really there more to get the employee discounts (no shade…LOL!). Fine guy, but we “had” to bemoan his choice of Pearl Free Floating piccolo snare in the early days. Big beastly kit and that teeny tiny snare. Anywhooo. Go Cannibal Corpse.

 

Thank you @Beersnake for kicking off our weekend!
I finally picked up one I had passed on for years. Probably the bacon. But I should have pulled the trigger on this years ago.

The pour is like my morning coffee and looks stout black in the glass. The manilla colored head is dense and dissipates rather quickly, leaving sparse lacing.
The aroma barely got through, which is rather impressive for me as I have very little ability to smell anything.
The taste is not as sweet as I thought it would be. Nice balance between the coffee, rye, stout and a tiny touch of salt, apparently from the bacon.
The feel is nicely viscous, matches the level of flavor in this.
OA, sorry I passed on this so many times. Good beer.
Cheers all! See you all tomorrow!

 

If I see Paul Mazurkiewicz next week, I will tell him you says hi. He is often referred to as the Lars Ulrich of death metal, where his skills are limited, but his impact is unmatched.

 

I’ve been hearing about Dubai chocolate this and Dubai chocolate that, so I figured I’d try this Imprint Liquified Dubai chocolate. I like chocolate. I like pistachio.

Poured cold to a mini snifter, color is a deep opaque brown, with a lively tight mocha head.
Aroma is a strong dark chocolate, smells “grainy” like a puree. Why a puree, I don’t know. Flavor is immense chocolate flavor, dark cacao at first and then a milk chocolate finish. I can’t really get the pistachio. I’ve had a few pistachio adjuncted stouts, and my palate isn’t sensitive enough to discern it. No saltiness, if they used salted nuts, but they might not have. The mouthfeel is medium heavy, good for the flavor and dessert range. It’s sort of a “typical” Imprint dessert stout to me: bold, brash, in your face, close to over the top, insanely hidden double-digit ABV, and probably enough sugar to warrant a few units of insulin. Definitely not one for multiples.

 

Harsh, but funny! I’m sure he won’t remember me, but tell him Eric the Cleaning Monster says hello. I’m sure Paul the owner says hi, too!

 

Hello New Beer Weekend!!!

Time for another weekend of new beer, and here's my first from a local brewery to me.

Tasty Notes - Bad Habit Brewing - St. Joseph, MN- NEIPA - 8%

The aroma is so damn good. The flavor is good, but less than the nose let on. I am enjoying this beer on this rainy evening, and I am so glad I picked it up in the taproom to take home tonight.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42984/763057/
4/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
From a 16oz can, purchased at the brewery. Canned in September of 2025.

This beer has a murky and hazy look to it. The color is more of a dark golden color. The head is a slightly off white, and is 2 fingers in size. The head retention is decent and there's some lacing on the glass.
The aroma -ow, so tropical. This tropical aroma seems more than just the hops, yet, it is "just" the hops. Tangerine is just hitting my nose so hard here. Some orange notes as well as grapefruit. Faint dank earthiness also touch my nose.
Taste - There's some tangerine notes that hit my throat right away. This citrus also has some orange and grapefruit hints. These flavors do seem way more mellow than the nose suggested. Once these flavors fade a huge wave of bitter pine hops hit my throat and it has a faint dankness to it.
So smooth and soft feeling. The body is full and just feels right.
This is a damn good beer overall. The flavor is delicious, but was a bit of a letdown only because it wasn't as strong as the nose suggested.

One and done tonight. See you all tomorrow. Cheers!

 

I sense back-to-back new beers coming, prove me wrong. Cheers to @Beersnake & almost @GreenBayBA for getting us started.

Sierra Nevada/ Stortbeker Octoberfestbier, 6.0% ABV; 4.29 overall


Pours a bright & effervescent gold with 2 fingers of cream-colored head. Zero head retention & lacing

S: Bready & grainy, plenty of floral & herbal hops. Great nose

T: Grassy, bitter grainy notes, a touch of breadyness & lemon & a little dryness up front. Some sweet bready notes mix in with grassy bitterness & a little lemon as this beer warms up. Finishes bready, a little dry with a touch of lime & grassy notes

MF: Medium body with moderate carbonation, great balance

Superb drinkability, nails the style

 

As predicted, NBW entry #2

From @micada Spider Bite Beer Co. Boris the Spider RIS, 10% ABV; 4.16 overall

Pours an effervescent Chestnut/Mahogany with 2+ fingers of mocha colored head. Viscous, some head retention & lacing

S: Super roasty, cocoa notes, a little vanilla once warmed up, a touch of coconut too

T: Follows the nose, Baker's Chocolate, much dryness & a little char up front. Some woody hop notes mix in with roastyness & Baker's Chocolate as this berm warms through. Finishes dry with woody hop notes, roastyness & cocoa

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation for the style. Carbonation smooths out & becomes creamy with some warming notes

Solid, old-school RIS, drinks too easy for the heft

 

Great review and one that makes me want to re-review it — as I've worked through my 6-pack, it it has gotten better and better and better. In fact, I'm tempted to buy another 6-pack and sit on it until Christmastime b/c I'm convinced it will be a 10/10 beer by then.

Cheers!

 

Reads like a cool beer and thanks for the lesson on Vista hops, never heard of them but I’m sure we will see more beers pop up this coming year; I’ll keep an eye out.

 

Good morning all you beer lovers and happy new beer weekend!! I was gonna start us up last night as I had a new one but one thing after another and then I didn't have time to do a proper post so I save my notes and am posting this AM.

Two days of hot fall and woke up to beautiful low humidity and low temps, hallelujah. Beautiful weekend for soccer games and beers on the deck, prime time for oktoberfest beers; looking forward to posting a few in the annual thread that Todd just started.

Last night's choice was a new to distribution beer that showed up last week, I'm personally a huge fan of AAL being embraced by craft; a much maligned beer being taken back from the macros. This one in particular, is one of two AAL from South Jersey that use 100% local adjunct and malt. I rarely buy this brewery's beer because of their prices but I made an exception to try this one as a "treat yo self" six pack, on to beer...

The Seed - Simply Light (AAL 4.2%)



Pours a lovely light gold, initial pour is crystal clear with a dense white head, micro dots of lace; swirling really brings back a nice cap every time.

Nose is very light; straw comes to mind, lightly toasted corn, hop character is subtle, but there; even split between grass and herbal.

Taste is lightly sweet; malt shows a light grain character, lightly kilned, finish is pleasantly grass like.

Body is light, nice lively, and lightly effervescent smooth carbonation, really clean with a nice touch of light bitterness; any sweetness dries out quick and fast; exhibits quite high drinkability.

As someone who seeks out craft AAL, this one quite good; the subtlety and drinkability just continued to grow. Price and availability probably make this a mostly one time six pack but it’s a good one and worth trying if you like the style; this is a well constructed beer and cleanly lagered beer. Cheers to AAL @JackHorzempa

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I'm looking forward to all the beers this weekend and hopefully contributing a special one from Tonewood if I can make it over there during all the chaos this weekend, time will tell. If I don't I still got a few new beers hiding out in the fridge

 

Craig, is this a new bottle or one that's been hanging around for a few years - I really like this beer and didn't find any on my last trip the Grand Rapids.

 

Greetings BAs! Thanks @Beersnake for opening the thread!

Today's New Breakfast Beer:



Octoberfest from Old Nation Brewing. 16 fl oz can picked up at Siciliano’s, Grand Rapids, MI, 23/08/25 - $ 3.80 (including tax and deposit)/$ 0.24/fl oz. Reviewed 20/09/25, review 3592. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “BEST BY 11/12/26.” Stored at home at 40 degrees F. Served at 43.8 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 54.6 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Pale amber (SRM 9), slight chill haze.
Body – Medium Amber (SRM 12), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, pale amber with a slight haze.
Head – Average (Maximum three cm, aggressive center pour). Vanilla, high density, average retention, leaving a 0.4 – 1.0 cm crown with an irregular upper edge and a partial cap.
Lacing – Good. Irregular reticulum tending toward torn curtain lacing.
Aroma – 4 – Caramel malt, no hops, no alcohol.
Flavor – 4.25 – Follows the nose, slightly sweet, no hops. No alcohol (5.7 % ABV, according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Slow gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium: Watery: Lively carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Uncredited art work. Crisp, slightly sweet Märzen, very typical of the style. Fruit fly approved.

Rating 4.15, rDev +6.4%

 

Poured into a 16 oz Snulip glass canned on 9/16/25. Pours an attractive hazy yellow orange with a half finger sticky white head that leaves thin streaks of lace with solid retention. 4

Aroma is honeydew, peach, passionfruit, and apricot. 4

Taste follows honeydew, peach, passionfruit, and apricot. 4

Mouthfeel is about medium, soft gentle almost watery carbonation, not stick or dry, and at 7% it drinks easier. 4

Overall not bad, but uninspired for me. Still tasty, just a tad odd. 4 Cheers