New Beer Weekend #272

In real danger of me going back to back to back here. Stupid naps

Prairie TROPICY'ALL New England IPA, 6.4% ABV; 3.82 overall ( With Sabro, Citra & Lemondrop Hops )


Pours a very hazed straw/gold with 2 fingers of eggshell colored head. Better than average head retention & good lacing

S: Citrus, coconut, pineapple & white grape

T: Tangerine, white grape, coconut up front. Some dryness sneaks in along with more coconut, lime & pomelo as this beer warms up, a little white grape skin too. Finishes with dryness, lime & coconut

MF: Medium body, creamy carbonation

Drinkable enough, tropical enough; was hoping for more. Flavors don't play great together. Fresher might possibly yield better results, 60+ days old. Since I am the second person to mention it here, this review stands until I see fresher

 

Many cheers to @mactrail for helping me not post 3x in a row. All to do with my sleep patterns

Prairie Lil' Dunk Imperial Pastry Stout, 9.5% ABV; 4.07 overall

Pours an effervescent chestnut with instantly failing mocha colored head. Zero head retention & lacing, some viscosity

S: Vanilla & Oreos, & Coffee. Coffee really hangs around once warm, some cookie to counter it

T: Creamy Oreos dunked in a little coffee, nothing too strong, with dryness up front. Coffee gets stronger but has plenty of push back from creamy cookies & dryness, just a little woody hop once this beer warms up. Finishes with creamy Oreos, Coffee & dry notes

MF: Medium body, subtle carbonation, some stick to the teeth tackiness. This is the major detractor for this beer, body not quite there & more carbonation please; this only rallies once warmed up

Will be buying more. not without some minor flaws but so delivers on the flavor & nose. Criminal drinkability

 

Nice CAMRA glass. I think I still have mine from a CAMRA festival I attended in Southampton in 2003. Good times.

 

Ecliptic Massive Gravity Imperial Stout

Look:
Very dark reddish-brown with cola brown highlights. The creamy head of tan foam shows average retention and leaves quite a lot of lacing.

Smell:
This smells more like a dunkel than an imperial stout. And not a great dunkel either. Leads with malt that's rather sugary and a little creamy. There's also a bit of caramel, a hint of cola, a murmur of roasted malt, an unsubstantiated rumor of char. Notes of sweet brown bread and some earthy hops come through as the beer warms. So does more roast malt.

Taste:
This is a notable improvement over the nose. The flavor starts with dark chocolate and a surprising amount of dark roasted malt. Quite sweet, but the sweetness is quickly tempered by a generous, unexpected, and thoroughly welcome bitterness which persists through the aftertaste. Notes of caramel and coffee with cream follow. The finish is rather chalky, with flavors of dark chocolate and roasted malt predominating. Alcohol and a drop of cola come through in the end.

Feel:
Medium-body with rather coarse carbonation. Mild alcohol heat adds a glow to every sip.

Overall:
It's kind of sad that this is where the Ecliptic brand has ended up. The packaging makes this beer look like it's supposed to be the stout version of those high-alcohol double IPAs where the ABV is the largest thing on the label. The low price supports this hypothesis. That said, the inauspicious look and smell were somewhat redeemed by the flavor, which featured dark chocolate, roasted malt, and an impressive bitterness. Massive Gravity is ultimately a cheap beer, yes, but not a bad one.

 

Had more but, 8 moves since then, plus some other bad luck has taken scores of glasses

 

Yeah, I know how that goes.

I have a good idea of where my CAMRA glass ought to be, and I'm going to have a look tomorrow. It should be in one of the 2 boxes of glasses I really don't want to lose, so I just don't use them any more.

 

I had at least 50 more than now. Nonic glasses, who cares? The rest, tragedies

 

I believe they drop their beers fresh or relatively fresh, and this particular one was flawed for whatever reason, at least by my tastes. I have two more Forest & Main beers for another weekend, hope they turn out like most of the others.

Kicking off New Beer Sunday #1076 with my second Pilsner, this one from one of my favorite National Breweries.

Sierra Nevada Pils

3.53/5 rDev -13.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5



10/5/25 - (Home) (Chicago, Illinois) Can Notes: Purchased a single 8.4 oz can at Beer on the Wall at store temperature on 9/12/25 for $2.27 including tax. Packaged 8/18/25, not sure if 16:12 indicates 4:12 PM EDT. I believe C1 indicates canned in Chico, California. 4.7% ABV Premium Pils Craft Lager. Purest Ingredients, Finest Quality. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company., Chico, California & Mills River, North Carolina, U. S. A..

"I've enjoyed beers all over the world. But there's still something special about a proper pilsner at a European Pub. Crisp, refreshing, and served in a smaller glass to keep it at the ideal temperature and flavor. - It's how Pils is meant to be enjoyed." - Brian Grossman Chief Brewer.

Appearance: Poured 3/4 of the can into a 0.25 liter pilsner narrow flute glass, yielding a generous bright white bubbly head leaving a dozen clumpy soapy lacing spots and a creamy cover over most of the clear straw light yellow base. Sustained light carbonation after the initial pouring burst. 4.25

Aroma: Light to mild strength cracker, salt, pepper, backed by lemongrass. Enjoying what I'm gathering. 3.75

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, but flavor even fainter, with a subtle cracker, faint salt and lemongrass. Stop holding back. Salt comes out a little more solo during the second half. 3.25

Mouthfeel: Light and easy drinking, sustained fizzy carbonation. Body light, lightly sweet, minimally dry, cracker salt start to finish, but need to concentrate throughout or you might miss it. 3.75

Overall: Enjoying what I'm gathering, but it's very light. I'd like a little more boldness to dig into the flavors that are playing hide and seek. I'd like to try the draft to see if more boldness appears in that delivery method. Honestly, I want to see you be brave. 3.5

Guess I'm a harder on this style that I enjoy. At least I'm enjoying what I am able to pull, and hope you do as well as we close out New Beer Sunday / Weekend. Not sure if Beer Advocate will provide a third day next weekend for Columbus Day. I'm volunteering Saturday afternoon at Dovetail for a charity event they are running, so not sure if I'll be able to review some live from the event, or recap notes after my shift.

Cheers!

 

Time to rise and shine with this breakfast beer.

Punkin Ale - Dogfish Head Brewing - Milton, DE - Pumpkin Beer - 7%

The flavors of this beer are well balanced and I am enjoying it this morning.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/6260/
3.81/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From a 12oz can. Best by January 2026.

This beer has a dirty golden color to it. There's a steady stream of small carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. There's a 2 finger off white colored head. The head looks creamy and has decent retention, with good lacing on the glass.
The aroma is as expected with this beer. I am getting a good balance of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
The spices come into play right away in the flavor. Good balance between the flavors. The spices do fade a bit and a slight earthy flavor comes in, which is the actual pumpkin. There's a bit of a bitterness when this happens. The finish is again the spices, but it seems more cinnamon than the others.
The body is quite good overall. It has a good thickness to it. The spices coat my throat in a clingy feeling.
This is a good pumpkin beer, and I can see how it has stood the test of time.

Be back later with an Oktoberfest. Cheers.

 

Good day BAs! Today's New Breakfast Beer:



Devil Dog from Roak Brewing. 12 fl oz can picked up at Horrocks, Grand Rapids, MI, 23/08/25 - $ 2.53 (including tax and deposit)/$ 0.211/fl oz. Reviewed 05/10/25, review 3604. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated can. On room temperature shelf at store, stored at home at 40 degrees F. Served at 44.9 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 52.7 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Amber-Brown (SRM 18), nearly opaque.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, same with much precipitate visible through the glass. When rear-lite, opaque with light penetration only at the edges, brown.
Head – Average (Maximum two cm, aggressive center pour). Wheat, high density, short retention, leaving a 0.5 cm crown and a thin rocky cap.
Lacing – Excellent! A wide band of near-microscopic bubbles coats the area above the crown as the level drops.
Aroma – 4.25 – Roasted malt and coffee, no hops, no alcohol.
Flavor – 4 – Starts slightly sweet with mild roasted chocolatey malt, no hops, no alcohol (8 % ABV, according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Slight gastric warming. Ends slightly sweet after a sweet/slightly bitter/sweet taste cycle.
Palate – 4 – Medium: Creamy: Soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Basically, follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.
Final impression and summation: 4 (After deducting 0.25 point for an undated container) Uncredited art work. Easy drinking oatmeal stout.
Rating 4, rDev +2%

 

Time for that Oktoberfest I mentioned before.

Oktoberfest - Brau Brothers Brewing - Marshall, MN - 6.2

Some beers from this place have blown me away, and some have just been terrible. This is one of the good ones. I am enjoying the malty character of this beer.

Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14967/159881/
3.78/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From a 12oz can. Canned on the 212th day of 2025.

This is a clear looking beer in the glass and a nice copper color to it. The head is 3 fingers in size and off white in color. The head retention is decent, and there's a bit of lacing on the glass.
There's an earthy and nutty aroma to this beer. I am also getting a good deal of cereal on my nose.
The beer is malty tasting as expected. The earthiness from the nose does translate into the flavor. There's a good deal of cereal grain flavor in here. The hint of nuts does also add to the flavor profile. There's a slight bitterness on the finish.
The body has a bit of a bubbly feeling to it. The thickness seems pretty good.
This is a decent beer, and I'm glad I picked it up.

Not sure if I'm going to try for one more new one today. If not, see you all next weekend in this virtual bar.

 

Wow, I've never seen Prairie Stouts in cans around here. Wonder if they're moving away from bottles? I'd be fine with that.

 

Sierra Nevada Pils

Appearance: Clear pale yellow, big head.

Smell: Floral note, maybe a bit of grass, some citrus.

Taste: Mild sweetness, then the mid-palate is a little herbal and bread, finishes earthy and a bit grassy with a hint of radish.

Overall: Had to try the 8 pack of little cans, I usually enjoy Sierra Nevada. This was fine, but more earthy than I prefer in my pilsners. The can size doesn't bother me since it was an 8 pack.

 

Good Sunday morning NBS/nbw and thanks to @Beersnake for hosting this week.
Todays offering is as close as I will go toward the pastry stout catagory.
This breakfast stout has some blueberry, and maple. This one took some time to get used to.
Overall enjoyable.
Have a Beautiful Day

Morning Timber - Blueberry

American Imperial Stout | 9% ABV
Beer Tree Brew Co. in Port Crane, New York

Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4.08/5 rDev -1% | Average: 4.12
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured from a can dated 08/28/2025 into the test glass.
A - Dark brown bordering on black in color, a thin mocha cap slowly dissipates to its ring self.
S - Blueberry up front, with some stout threads including. milk chocolate, espresso, a bit of fudge
T - Milk Chocolate, with of course bluberry, maple, some roast malts, this is a close to pastry as I will get.This configuration works quite well
M - Medium in body, slick on the palate, the sweet side wraps the tongue and never lets go. The finish is quick and dry.
O - A Good to very good stout, the base stout is something I will seek out, This blueberry model is well executed and a pleasure to sip on

 

I spy NE fall in the foreground, our greens are just yellowing up; plus some lack of rain false fall colors.

 

Tyskie Gronie from Tyskie Browary Książęce (SABMiller)

3.56/5 rDev +14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a 500ml can into a shaker glass. A vigorous pour produced a two finger fine white head on a clear gold. The head diminished to a layer. Minimal lacing.

Sweet, spicy malts in the nose. The taste follows the nose. Grassy. Some herbal spice. Decently malty. A mild, lingering semi-dry hop finish.

Medium body and carbonation. Overall and easy drinking European Pale Lager. Solid but unspectacular.

 

A Keen Eye
They are indeed under transition.
Best

 

The leaves have started to turn up here too @jonphisher . My favourite season, for food, beer and outdoor living. I’m trying to convince the kids to forego a trip to the trampoline park, and instead go on a little hike through the urban forest that begins across the street from our place. We shall see…

I grabbed a bunch of beers at one of my local favourites on Friday, True History. They are a lager specialist who try their hand at a wide variety of regional style variations. This one is their version of a North German Pilsner. Whole Menu, Twice



Pours a slightly cloudy straw gold with moderate head that sticks around as the beer is enjoyed.

Nice floral and herbal notes on the nose with some soda cracker.

Taste follows nose closely. Floral hoppy punch with a tame cracker underpinning. Gentle minerality. Just right amount of bitterness on the finish.

Medium body. Crisp.

Another winner from a favourite. If you are a lover of breweries like Suarez, Old Mecklenburg, Bierstadt, etc., and ever find yourself in Toronto, do yourself a favour and stop in at True History.

Cheers!

 

You have a tall task right there, I wish you all the luck.

Hoping to join you all in a bit with a beer if I can.