New Beer Weekend #275

Old Schoolhouse - Fresh Betty (yeah, of course it's a fresh hop)

16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. No date that I see on the can, bought it yesterday at Full Throttle Bottles.

Pours moderately hazy with a medium-small sized head that settles slowly into a fairly even, fairly thick skin. Moderate to light carbonation at rest. Smell is hella fresh hop resin, lemon rind and pith, some zest.

Taste is tons of melon and bubble gum, serious dankness, melon rind and a little floral sweetness, tropical juice singing harmony.

Mouthfeel is medium to thick, borderline chewiness. Overall, this is actually pretty excellent. Quite impressed.

 

Oh yeah, I was a little scared to be honest

 

Perennial favorite for me. So good.

 

Another freshie from @snaotheus

Trap Door Brewing's Fresher Than Fresh. Fresh Hop West Coast IPA. 7.0% ABV; 4.03 overall

Pours an effervescent & bright gold with one finger of eggshell colored head. Average-ish head retetion & lacing

S: Melons, a little grassyness, nose was a little muted until warm

T: Follows the nose, fairly dry, some pomelo notes up front. Mineral hop dryness combines cantaloupe, a little orange zest, white grape and grassy notes as this beer warms up. Finishes dry with green melon, pomelo & a little bit of woody hop

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, decent balance

Easy to drink, but the hops don't really pop enough for greatness, close

 

Obelisk - Fresh Hop Citra Echoes

16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Dated 10/07/25. Bought it at Full Throttle Bottles yesterday.

Pours clear honey-gold with a medium sized head. Dregs of the can have some sediment, but not enough to really diminish the clarity. Smell is dank and weedy, pine and resin. Tons of floral hop character.

Taste is melon and banana (strata?), bitterness comes late and manifests as lemon and grapefruit zest. Not that strong at 7.2%, but has a noticeable booze presence. Overripe tropical fruit juiciness.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, not quite thick or sticky, nice prickliness. Overall, pretty good fresh hop beer.

 

I think that one won the gold medal at the fresh hop festival this year

Wasn't my favorite, but I liked it a lot

 

Laye this afternoon I walked over to Bosque West again, and made slow work of a tasty New Beer:



Bosque Scotia Scotch Ale

Look:
The beer is a rich burnt sienna color topped by a crown of thick vanilla foam that rose over the top of the glass. The retention is spectacular. There's still a finger-tall disk of foam 20 minutes after the pour, and it leaves intricate curtains of lace all the way down.

Smell:
The nose is deep with sweet malt, toasted multigrain bread, caramel, dark brown sugar, and a trace of smoke. As it warms, it offers notes of dried cherries and plums, along with a mild herbal/floral character.

Taste:
Flavors of sweet malt and caramel coat the tongue from the get-go. But they're more rich than sugary, and not too sweet. The beer dries out through the middle and reveals a mild but discordant assembly of herbs, tangy plums, and cherry cough drops. There's a kiss of salinity like a breath of sea air. The finish is burnt brown sugar and wheat toast underpinned by a gentle, tea-like bitterness.

Feel:
Full-bodied, a little chewy, a little sticky. Carbonation is mellow and pleasant. No alcohol heat.

Overall:
Scotia is a tasty and well-made wee heavy. The flavors argue a bit in the middle, but the beer starts well and ends well. A satisfying pint as the air cools, the Sandia Mountains turn gold, and the low sun strikes brilliant sparks off windows across the city.

 

My gaming/nightcap beer is another one from @Resistance88 and he sent it because I had never had a Amburana wood aged beer before.

The pour is stout black with an impressive two inch beige head that left rings of lacing.
The taste, where to begin? The imperial stout is first and foremost, but the cinnamon, which normally is far too strong for me, is actually delicious. Apparently it is the Amburana wood that provides that flavor.
The feel is slightly viscous, may be a touch thin, but the texture is excellent.
OA, happy to have been able try this.
Thank you Thomas!
(You are now at least 3 for 3)

 

OK, kids...I have no idea what I'm in for with this one. Bought from a store cleaning out their cellars - this one musta been pretty deep! I don't see it in the data base here either...but I forgot to look under retired beverages...



J. W. Lee's Harvest Ale 08 Vintage Limited Edition. 11.7% It says it can be laid down like a vintage wine to enjoy for years to come...lets find out!

Looks nearly still on the pour. No head and a scant few bubbles. It's a slightly cloudy dark brown. There was sediment in the bottom of the bottle that mostly stayed put.

The smell is fantastic. Lots of fig, sweet cherry, dark brown sugar. A bit of tobacco and maybe some leather.

Holy hell - this is incredibly, ridiculously smooth. Big fig and almost date flavor, a bit of prune. The cherry comes in a bit later and it all mingles with an underlying dark brown sugar sweet flavor. Brown bread and a touch of tobacco. There's a late-arriving flavor just on the swallow that I can't put my finger on, but it seems oaky - plain oak. It also reads just a bit smoky. A very little bit of pepper eventually comes in on the aftertaste after a few sips.

The feel is soft and lush. Nearly still. While it is sweet up front there's a dryness at the finish. The only sign of the 11.7 is a pleasant warming on the way down.

I can't do this justice - it's tremendously flavorful and exceptionally smooth drinking. I can't even imagine what it may have tasted like when new. I'm assuming the 08 means this bottle is 17 years old - kudos to the shop's cellaring. Well above 4.0 on this one - wonderful.

 

I didn't tell you on purpose, but as @Beersnake and @sulldaddy will tell you , you've been CINNAMONED!!!!!!!!!!!

 

When these are done right, gold IMHO

 

Those hold up great

 

Another Fresh Hop offering courtesy @snaotheus Stoup Brewing Fresh Hop Fiend IPA, ABV unknown, Comet Hops from Loza Farms; 4.64 overall

Pours a bright & effervescent gold with a thumb of pearl colored head. average head retention & better lacing

S: Pine, melons, & citrus, some cattyness once warm, nose just got better over time, hints of peach & strawberries

T: Pretty piney with faint melon notes, dryness & a little grapefruit pith up front. More grapefruit, dryness, woody hops & a little more melon once this beer is warm, a touch of herbal bitterness as well. Finishes with grapefruit, pine & melons

Medium body, creamy carbonation, lovely balance

Great drinkability, would guess this to be between 6 & 7 % ABV; well done hop showcase

 

B-b-b-but 17 years??

It's not in the database - not sure I should add it, but i might just to keep track for myself.

I think he had a couple more - I might be forced to go back! Here...take my money... I do have another from a different year. Looking forward to it now that I know!

 

Go get them. Hard for me to tell. I've either had them old like this or on cask at a CAMRA festival, where my tastebuds ( and me )were always toast by this point of the session

 

Another world beater from @snaotheus Fremont Fresh Hop Lush IPA, 7.0% ABV; 4.47 overall. My last new beer of the weekend

Pours an effervescent gold with a thumb of fluffy ivory colored head. Pretty good head retention & great lacing

S: Melons, passion fruit & guava in vast quantity

T: Follows the nose, dryness, white grape, pine & a little pineapple up front. Pine, white grapes, cantaloupes, pomelo & dryness as this beer warms up. Finishes with a variety of melon flavors, pine, dryness, pomelo, white grape & lemon

MF Medium body, fairly firm carbonation, very good balance

Superb drinkability, this a nice blend of hop flavors

 

Pot & Kettle Oatmeal Porter Brewed with Coffee
7.5% Porter by Trillium



While playing a board game (Pandemic), I shared this Porter with two friends. All three of us agreed it was outstanding. The mix of coffee and malty char worked perfectly together. Wonderful notes of chocolate and vanilla are met with a wee bitterness. Medium mouthfeel though creamy with good carbonation. Highly recommended. Thanks to @Resistance88 for this beer.

 

One of my favorites of the season. Cheers!