Freight House Pale Ale

Thanks to Joe Weitlispach for bringing a growler of  this up to Holland, MI this past weekend. Front Street recently moved their brewing operations to the Freight House, where they will accompany the Farmers market. As the restaurant remained in the old location, the beers will be changing, beginning with the Pale ale. Tasted for the first time Friday night (after Eric opened the growler!) but I didn't have a chance to review it until Sunday evening, given the weekend was full of events (i.e. Hatter Days). In any case, enjoy!

Appearance: A perfect amber with a great clarity. Obviously, since the growler had been open for a couple days, the carbonation and thus the head were very minimal. Nevertheless, a thin white ring coated the glass. Some haze was present.
Aroma: Fruits and hops are the most prominent. I get notes of peaches, apricot and even mango. The grain bill is primarily a biscuit with a mild caramel sweetness. The yeast definitely fermented on the high, estery side.
Taste: Very sweet tasting, but with a dark tropical fruit flavor derived from fermentation and encouraged by the hops. The start is generously carameled with undertones of toffee. The flavor moves forward into an estery character midway through which is then balanced by a bite from the hops, easily giving the impression of nectarine and mango. The beer overall embellishes a floral persona with a finishing dryness. Alcohol can be gurgled into a vapor at the end, putting it notably on the high side. Finally the end maintains a faint green flowery flavor.

Mouthfeel: Thicker than most pale ales, even paralleling a near syrupy consistency. The carbonation is low from sitting with little pressure in the growler, but there is enough after 2 days to satisfy the desired texture far too commonly expected in beer. The finish isn't as dry as I would expect, but still has a remaining stickiness from the large percentage of residual unfermented maltose left in the beer.
Overall Impression: It seems this beer was made in an effort to tone down the hops from the original Raging River Pale ale as the malt bill increased. I thoroughly enjoyed the fruit character incorporated into this one, while the hops further encouraged a tropical aspect to the beer. Bigger, but with little sacrifice to drinkability. Nice work Front Street, I can't wait to be back in the QC and check out the new Freight House location

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