New Beer Weekend #305

Bonus holiday weekend beer, this one also from Chicago, but from Revolution via their latest variety pack I somehow missed over the years.

Revolution Brewing Citra-Hero

4.32/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5



Full review linked above. This is one of Revolution's finest IPA efforts. Bursts with citrus, pine and grapefruit flavor, light caramel malt treatment for Midwestern brewed IPAs, looks great, feels great, is great. Glad I finally got to it.

Might have a beer visit post Sox game for one or two more depending on train schedules. Otherwise this wraps up my NBW #305, which turned out to be a great one on my end, both as a participant and along for your ride!

Cheers!

 

This can came from @GreenBayBA from a MPLS bottle share. A lovely tasting beer that was just a perfect starter for yesterday. Quite easy to drink... so much so that the tastes and feel read like a poem. I think after every sip I said out loud "Oh Man."

New Glarus 2026 Quad
4.24/5 rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
12 oz can stamped G0 36 11:36 into a goblet.
L: Pours murky rusty brown color with a 1/4" off white head that recedes quickly to edge foam, steady light carbo, no lacing.
F: A complex array of fruits, light grains, pastry dough.
T: Lightly sweet orchard fruits, pear, wild berries, gentle yeast, a note of apple skin bitterness, rhubarb tartness and lightly sweet overall with distant malts at the end of the finish.
F: Very brisk and lightly effervescent medium bodied mouthfeel with a medium-long medium-dry finish. It dries the center of the tongue. Feel becomes fairly smooth as the beer warms.
O: A very easy drinking beer even at 10% ABV. Tastes are beautifully balanced and for the most part it is sweet & tart. It is delicate, fairly full-flavored, and finishes a bit dry. It is outstanding.

 

@HoppingMadMonk jumps straight to the beers without reading the directions. Luckily, he’s got a guardian angel BA who’s got his back, and pays the ridiculous copays for my intense psychological therapy. Al, can you please be an in-network therapist in FY27?

1) who do you enjoy having a beer with?
The answer is obviously Theodore “Duke” Alfredo St Hubbins III
The neighbors call him Teddy.

2) who would you like to enjoy a beer with?
The answer is Napoleon , he would get Nappy hammered then talk him into invading Russia
The next answer is Pablo Picasso… need new art for the office
The next answer is Cindy Crawford, who would enjoy a full beer bathing experience
It’s all about the experience , Ammirite?

 

Paul
The beer review was worthwhile for the epic BA meetup pic
Excellent!

 

I checked your reviews and didn't see Pliny the Younger in there. I am glad you have hit that one. I wanted to surprise a few of our dedicated NBWers with a chance at trying it for the first time.

 

Think about it from another angle. The one thing that remains consistent is change. The Prof, Bonzo & Moon paved really kick-ass paths for us to follow. Like, everytime I saw Rush live they were paper cut tight but were also f'n around with the structure and internal parts of the music. That is IMO the best part re performing live music. Even a smidgen of freedom can create waves. Ocean-sized shoes to fill with those 3 drummers and if the new sound moves you, well..that's where it counts.

 

Rush song = Circumstances
Plus ca change
Plus c'est la meme chose

 

Samuel Smith Oak Barrel Aged Yorkshire Stingo English Strong Ale, 8% ABV. Pours deep red, with a three-finger foamy beige head that settled into a foam cup. Aroma is light fruit, toffee, and malt. Taste follows, plus butterscotch, slightly sweet, moderately bitter oak. Dry mouthfeel, slightly over-carbonated. Overall excellent.

4.06/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

 

I thought about your DM after reading @jonphisher 's review, and was glad he (and perhaps another) NBW poster had a chance at their first. I have a huge backlog (well over 1,500) to cut and paste into here, which I slowly but methodically started. Thanks again!

I'll never forget my first experience. A bad snow storm allowed me to extend my San Diego trip with just added hotel days, so I was able to have a draft at one of my favorite San Diego stops, San Diego Tap Room. Sadly this was on a Saturday, several months before New Beer Sunday was extended for the weekend. Here is a recreation of what I would have posted.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Line wasn't too bad. One draft pour per person. Loved the PtY, but PtE edged it out for my second pre-flight selection.



Link to their draft list on the day!

Here it is, Pliny the Younger!



Link to WBAYDN #2674 post, with two more WBAYDN links to my other two pre flight selections (Pliny the Elder & Karl Strauss’ Aurora Hoppyalis).

Russian River Pliny the Younger

4.21/5 rDev -10.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Review Notes: 10 oz draft pour at San Diego Tap Room (Pacific Beach, California).

• Appearance: Light blonde orange pour, mild carbonation, bubbly bright white cream, head leaves bubbly lacing. 4.5
• Aroma: Sharp pine aroma, sweet. 4.0
• Taste: Sharp pine taste, light dryness, sweet, citrus, nice. 4.25
• Mouthfeel: Dry, lightly bitter, light carbonation lingers throughout. Easy for the high ABV, crisp clean pour. 4.25
• Overall: Overall, very chill WCIPA, more mellow than Pliny the Elder. 4.25

Thanks for prompting the reminiscing and me to add this to BA.

 

I have had Elder multiple times over the years...not recently but still ha. I never had Younger, I happened to be at the Philly bar Monks Cafe around 2007 or 08 maybe? Apparently they had it on tap then, but I had no idea what it was or why so many people were there ha. I was just getting beers at the bar after a GSA meeting (Geological Society of America), after the conference we just wandered around the city in hordes...geologists on the lookout for booze, look out

 

Sounds like that was a great experience as well, even if you weren't aware of the FOMO, or reason for the FOMO. Monks Cafe is a must hit for any Beer Lover. I went every day they were open last trip (closed Mondays, which they have recently rectified with Monday evening service).

Cheers!

 

4.37/5 rDev +5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Look: clear gold, sudsy soapy head, little lacing spots

Smell: berries, earthy, resin, dank ripe mango, herbal

Taste: berries, pine, peach, grapefruit, mango, resin, apricot

Feel: med body, moderate carbo, dry sticky finish, fizzy

Overall: 7.4% abv - 76 IBU. Starts off piney and resinous mixed in with berries. This remains constant throughout. I love the other fruit flavors seeping in. I'm saturating my tastebuds with a lightning bolt of Lupulin. Fizzy on the tongue with a strong pine and resinous finish. Dry and sticky. Simply divine. Pairs well with Running Free by Iron Maiden. Cheers!

 

Good Memorial Day afternoon, New Beer Weekenders. And thank you to the powers that be that extended the festivities. Yesterday, my son took me to Eno River Brewing in Hillsborough, North Carolina, which is his wife's hometown. Hillsborough is a quaint, Pre-Revolutionary War town, the county seat of Orange County, and it has an almost Vermont-like vibe. Eno River Brewing is a fairly new venue and I've been impressed with the beer so far. Today's review is Bronco Buster, a West Coast IPA single-hopped with Amarillo. I don't recall having had one before. It was worth purchasing cans!

It is a hazy, bright golden-honey color with over a finger cap of frothy, bright white foam and thick, soapy lacing. It is effervescent with myriad bubbles ascending the glass. The smell features dry, crackery malt, grass, lemon, and grapefruit. Its taste is dry and tart with abundant lemon peel, grapefruit rind, dry grass, and cracker. There is just a hint of orange/tangerine from the Amarillo hops that provides balance. This ale has a crisp, lite feel, with lively carbonation, and it is readily drinkable at 6.9% ABV.

3.98/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

I wish you all a great week. Cheers, NBW!

 

Holy Mountain + Horus - Pecking Crew, 3% abv bourbon barrel fermented smallywine (?)

16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. It's Holy Mountain, so of course there's no date stamped on the bottom, but surprisingly there's also not a silly joke. Heads up: I have no idea what to expect from a 3% abv "smallywine."

Pours slightly hazy, on the dark side of amber, tan or khaki head on the pour, lots of carbonation. Smell is dates and light vanilla, somewhere near a dubbel and/or doppelbock, hint of very ripe bananas and a non-trivial wet wood aroma.

Taste is similar, but far from the heavy-handedness I'd expect from those big styles. Banana seems to have disappeared, a lot more wood, actually bringing across a bitter almost bark-like flavor. Doppelbock / dubbel vibe still tracks.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and almost fizzily effervescent. Overall...this is interesting and pretty tasty, definitely something worth trying though probably not something I'd want every day.

Hard for me to figure out how to rate this. I think I'm going to give it pretty good marks...if I wanted something vaguely barleywinish with low abv, I guess this would be the best option available.

 

I forgot how nice this is. I agree with BA this is a should be labeled a hazy IPA.
Doesn’t have as overwhelming of a tropical fruit smell and taste as Tree House beers, and retains some bitterness.
Rated at 100 on BA, which is probably correct.

 

Everybody's Brewing - Uncle Stepdad's Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, 10% abv.

16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Dated 11/18/2025. Given to me by my Alaskan math teacher friend last night.

Pours dark, basically black, medium sized head. Carbonation is detectable, but tiny and slow. Smell is dark roast coffee, some anise, good but not too nuanced.

Taste is nice -- molasses and vanilla thrown in generously, roasty bitterness is strong, anise is dialed back a smidge. Roast coffee is still pretty dominant, but playing really nicely with the bourbon barrel.

Mouthfeel is medium. Overall, very nice.

 

@snaotheus batting for both sides in the abv war

 

You called it! Conscious choice on my part.

 

The Hodag of Rhinelander by 3 Sheep's Brewing

Sent to me straight outta of Title Town by the generous Mayor of 3 Sheep's himself @GreenBayBA. Greenbay knows I love my hops and did not hesitate to unleash this monster brew upon me! A beer so new I had to add it to the databanks BA

The Rhinelander Hodag is a legendary cryptid and the official cultural symbol of Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Originally a lumberjack hoax from 1896, the mischievous creature is described as having the head of a frog, tusks, short legs with large claws, a dinosaur-like back, and a spiked tail.

So I have to inquire if anyone here has ever experienced any off flavors from the use of Cryo hops? In particular the aroma and taste of burnt plastic hose, chemical/adhesive, and/or band-aid. Now this beer does not list the actual use of Cryo hops but this is something I have perceived in many IPA's over the past few years utilizing Cryo hops. Otherwise I understand these to be definite phenolic off-flavors in the brewing process. Any who, unfortunately this beer has them in spades. Now I have also found in such situations that by allowing the beer to settle and aerate it does help alleviate this unpleasantness somewhat but the forces were strong with this one.

@GreenBayBA i see you had reviewed this one back in April, not sure if it is just me but I can't really imagine so...

Working my way beyond the off notes...there are some really nice underlying kiwi fruit flavors with a touch of mango, green melon and lemon-lime sorbet. There is a firm doughy malt base and some assertive alcohol presence. The mouthfeel
is spot on creamy and semi-full with some mild bitterness helping to dry out the finish.
Appearance is a murky sunburst orange with adequate head cover of khaki tan froth the lingers for several minutes. Looks absolutely lovely in the flared nonic pint glass.

I am not one to bash on beers/breweries really, especially ones that were gifted to me...I really wanted to love this 3 Sheep's Imperial Hazy featuring Nelson hops but it was a bit of a beast to get through and not in a very pleasant way. That said, I would still rate this to be above average overall.

 

It's a grey and rainy afternoon here in Beaverton. Had a nice walk at Tualatin Hills Nature Park when the rain was just drizzle, and am now waiting out the heavier rain at Central Station Taps with an intriguing New Beer.



Santiam Old Ale

Beautiful clear copper-amber body with red-orange highlights. No head or lacing to the pour. Nose is several different kinds of sweet, but doesn't trip my "too damn sweet" alarm. Toasty and bready malt base with notes of toffee, candi sugar, a little mixed berry, a trace of butterscotch, and molasses. Flavor is drier and more nutty than the nose led me to expect. Candi sugar up front merges into a decent earthy bitterness with undertones of caramel, sugar cone, red Swedish Fish, and roasted hazelnuts. Caramel and bitterness briefly intensify in the finish, and are partially offset by a crunchy Belgian waffle character and a hint of cooked strawberries. Slight vinous note in the dry and malty finish. The body is medium and smooth. Carbonation is modest.

This beer confounded my expectations and left me impressed. I wish the bitterness were pulled back a little to give the other flavors a bit more room, but that's a quibble. This is a tasty and approachable old ale with sly complexity.