Thursday, February 10, 2011

Brewery Review: Front Steet Brewery - Davenport, IA

I know I'm severely lacking on the quantity of my brewery reviews, so following practice, a farm2fork meeting and a group meeting about my moral philosophy presentation, Joey Waldorf and I headed to this brewery mid week 10 before finals week. Jen and I went here many times following our Saturday visits to the farmers market. I also went here with my sister and her husband Monte to try their Apricot ale, which is top notch. This visit (2/9/11) we ordered tasting flights.

Cherry Ale - Ambered orange with a brief haze. Served with a cherry. Minimal head except for the foam ring around the glass. Sweet and artificial cherry smell. Some toasty flavor, but I think the majority of the cherry flavor actually comes from the actual cherry. Old Davenport gold with cherry?
68/100
Hefe-Weizen - Cream yellow. Literally completely cream yellow mousse color. Served with a lemon. Very strange looking. Citrusy and yeasty. Clove an banana with a estery finish. Tart. Mild, but fizzy carbonation.
84/100
Old Davenport Gold - Clear straw color. More of a head, but still minimal. Light and honey flavored. Some citrus at the finish. More flavor than most basic lagers. Still an ale I think though. Spike carbonation and very refreshing.
77/10
Bucktown Stout - Black brown, but still some translucency around the edges. Subtle roastiness. Astringent and a little more hops. Caramel is notable as well. Very light body for a stout.
79/100
Brown Ale (seasonal) - Browned amber, hazy with an bronzed tint. Smells nutty and brown sugared. Sweet and carameled with a spicy nutmeg and ginger as well as cinnamon in the finish. Still complex and enjoyable and not over done.
82/100
Raging River Ale - Maintaining the strongest head of them all. Hazy amber with a white foam head. Hoppy and fruity smelling. Very bitter and grassy with a dash of pine. Finish is dry and resinous. Some phenols to it, but very tasty.
85/100

Front Street is one of the Quad Cities older breweries oldest existing brewery. They are located on River Drive in a very obscure, not often visible location. The environment comfortable and family/townie oriented with soft music. Everything is wood and brick. A small bar with a couple Tv's that aren't as distracting as many breweries are. Food is tasty, with college student affordable happy hours and specials. Their beer selection is limited, but appeal to everyones tastes (wheat, stout, lager, pale ale, fruit, and special). Flights are inexpensive ($6.50). I usually go for the tasting flight and then follow it up with raging river, but there was just something about the look and taste of the hefe-weizen that got me. Anyway, The atmosphere is inviting and comfortable enough to do homework (or type a brewery review...which I'm doing here writing this now). Growlers are 12 and 10 to refill. 
Check them out:
http://www.frontstreetbrew.com/

Brewery experience: 43/50

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