New Beer Weekend #298

Vastly exceeded my expectations. DFH is slowly expanding their portfolio here I hope. Loved those anniversary Imp WW Stouts

 

Started off today's drinking with this tasty pastry stout from More Brewing:

Henna: Coconut Double Rainbow | More Brewing Co. | BeerAdvocate



I liked this one a lot, the strawberry flavor stood out to me. Wish the coconut had more of a kick but that's a minor complaint. Think this will be my only new beer today since I plan on drinking some not new to me ones after this. Might have a new one or 2 tomorrow, we'll see. Cheers everyone!

 

This is my first ever one from Tired Hands.

 

I happened to pick the same beer this week and will be doing a little comparison of reviews with our fried @russpowell to see if I agree with him or not. My pic of Dogfish Head Citrus Daydream in the UVa glass because they lacrosse team finally beat Duke after 20 or so years of consecutive regular season losses to them. They are turning their season around recently. Too bad the baseball team couldn't take down FSU today.

I might even argue this thing is leaning into the territory of yellow on the color scale, but otherwise we are in agreement here. The head built up pretty nicely, but without great structure and fell to a thin ring of medium sized bubbles.

First thing I got was the lemon, but I am also getting a good dose of sweet grain on the nose. I could see the "perfumy hops" as I was going to go with a "light floral note in the background." Really have to dig, but maybe a hint of cut grass, but I could be imagining it after a couple sips.

Because I also get the lemon-lime up front, again paired with a mouthfeel-light sweetness backed by a mid-summer cut grass note. The opening definitely fits it in the vibe of your typical big brand AAL. I get lemon grass in the linger, and after getting it, I started noticing it making a brief appearance mid-palate before taking a break for the "plain" grass to get some playing time. I can sense a bit of white grape in the middle as well, as the citrus is fading into the first pop of lemongrass.

I'll need to be in the mood for a slightly sweeter light offering when I grab this, but it does fall fully within the circle of a goes-down-easy refreshing beer.

 

Thanks @jonphisher for getting this started and enjoy your break.
Today I have Foam Brewer's Long Distance Driver, a 5.5% "West Coast Inspired" India Pale Ale.

3.81/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Purchased cold at a store 2-days ago and kept cold until served. Can is a 16-ouncer stamped “CANNED 2/25/26, LATE ARRIVER”.
A ¾”/18mm white head forms of small and medium bubbles. This head fades to a surface coating and a thicker ring within a few minutes. The gold body is about SRM 3 or 4. It is almost clear, but there is a slight chill haze. Lacing is medium.
The aroma is lemon/lime with a mild soapy note.
The taste is medium-bitter with some pine poking through the citrus. There is very little sense of the alcohol.
The mouthfeel is medium with a slight hop oiliness. Carbonation is medium.
As a 5.5% beer labeled as a “West Coast Inspired Pale Ale” I think they nailed the description. I view it as a decent sessionable WCIPA for fishing or lawn mowing.

 

So tell us what you think. Inquiring minds want to know - we are a curious bunch!

 

I think it's a really good hazy IPA. I like the citrus flavor. I don't really know how to "properly" review these to this day. It tastes good

 

Back already with another. I swear I had had this in the past, but I could find no record of mine in the BA database (not that I rate or review everything). I finally searched my Google Photos for "Spring Beer" and a Maine Beer Co. IPA named Spring showed up from 2020. This beer below was only entered in the BA data base in 2024. So here I am with a new beer to me, Maine Beer Co. Spring, a Kolsch Style Ale, clocking in at 5.0%.

4.26/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Purchased cold at a store 2-days ago and kept cold until served. Poured from a 1pint, .9oz bottle dated 20.MAR.26 to a Stang-like can glass.
A super-white, super-thick fine white large head forms. This eventually settles to a manageable ¼”/6mm, but retention at that level is strong. The straw-colored body is SRM 2-3. Continuous nucleation bubbles are visible throughout the session. Lacing is also pretty strong with story rings evenly spaced apart.
The smell is tangy, like fermented straw.
The taste is crisp with bread-yeast, cracker. It's a battle of a mulit-malt bill vs. noble hops. And it works.
The light mouthfeel is enhanced with a hop oil finish. Carbonation is medium-strong and appropriate..
An excellent Kolsch.

 

Happy NBW all!
Excellent start @jonphisher! I intended to post this last night because it was seriously good. But on my way home I had an adventure of sorts.
Deer are a constant threat to the well being of your vehicle around here so I was more than a little surprised by the grill of my Subaru being taken out by a tree.
I parked a good 10 or 15 feet away (where my car stopped after braking very hard) and I put on my flashers to warn anyone coming behind me. Just as I walked up to the tree to look for power lines I saw a car coming from the opposite direction. And when I realized it wasn’t going to stop, I jumped towards the trunk of the tree thinking this mighty oak wouldn’t move far.
Lesson in kinetic energy (IIRC) force equals mass times velocity.
The oncoming car moved that tree enough to hit my car and knock me down.
It also had a big branch sticking through the windshield so I expected the worst.
Miraculously the driver escaped with barely a scratch and there was no passenger (who almost certainly would have been killed instantly) Still not sure how the driver walked away.
There’s a lot more but it’s pretty boring from here. About that beer though…


32 oz crowler sent to me by an amazing @russpowell - Russ, thank you for this and welcome to the ranks of the visually challenged. Good luck getting used to those!

(Shared with a friend, so that is how I got an aroma score.)
The pour is, well, stout black and the light brown head took over my glass - about 80% was foam. Bad technique on my part. But wow. Garth’s glass was much better as I paid attention. The lacing was in rings and stayed on the sides of the glass for 15 minutes.
The aroma was coffee forward with mild cacao notes and almost a sweet undertone.
The taste is flat out delicious. I love a good coffee stout and most of the best ones are imperial stouts. This holds up to many of those and is superior to many. Coffee, chocolate, white toast and I’d swear they use milk sugar in this. There is definitely a sweet flavor in there.
The feel is lightly viscous, a little more body than most (non imperial) stouts and has a light tongue coating aspect.
OA, I cannot think of a better non imperial stout that I have tried. This rocks!
I have to find out if it’s got lactose in it, it felt and tasted like it did but I’ve yet to find that out.

I shared it because drinking 32 oz of beer in one sitting is a challenge sometimes. But after tasting it, I don’t think it would be a problem at all.
Thank you again for this tasty stout Russ!

 

Good Saturday afternoon, New Beer Weekenders. This morning, I drove up to Tin Barn Brewing Co., in Chester, NY, to pick up cans of its collaboration with Autodidact. So I bought some other Tin Barn IPAs, including Spaceman Satellite. They call it a TIPA at 9.8%. It is hopped with Citra, Nectaron, and Australian Galaxy. It is a nice ale!

Canned on 3/25/2026 so 10 days old. It pours a dense, pastel tangerine color with a large, creamy cap of egg-white foam and very thick lacing. Very attractive pour. The smell is rather sedate; mostly lemon and lime. Its taste is much better: lemon, lime, peach, pineapple, and hints of red berry and tropical fruits. The hop bill is imaginative and the Nectaron is deftly handled; it is not overly sweet as is often the case. The hop bitterness is mild and clean throughout. It has a great mouth feel: creamy and appropriately carbonated and the 9.8% ABV is well-hidden.

4.15/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Honestly, I haven't had a beer from Tin Barn that I didn't like. While it flies under the radar in upstate New York, it is worth checking out. I have a couple other new beers which I'll review tomorrow. Until then, cheers, my friends!

 

Well thats one for books!
Glad everyone was uninjured
Cheers

 

I will ask the next time I'm there, I've not heard there is lactose, but who knows?

 

That was a sad day when I read that, I preferred them to Parkbrau, no contest

 

Great side by side...

 

CocoBanger Imperial Stout from Pohjala
4.41/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Drinking out of a small goblet.
Pours a slightly reddish clear black with a thin tan head.
Smells of coffee, cocoa.
Nice smooth silky mouth feel.
Sweet. Taste includes coffee, cocoa, with a hint of coconut.

very nice
Rather sweet