Fixed Gear American Red Ale

Tasted Saturday night following the tapping of Great River's Dirty Blonde Ale. Josh and Andy had cooked a huge meal complete with organic mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts and for a main course, Back-strap from a deer Andy shot down in Kentucky. Jen brought this beer back from the Plainfield Binny's.

6.5% ABV
34 IBU

Sound: Not much of a pop when opening, but counter to what was heard, the beer did erupt in a cascade of froth when poured.
Appearance: Rubied red with a soft looking texture. Cloudy. Head is off white/light beige with a soapy texture, but well retained. Lacing is speckled and dry. Difficult to see any action within the glass.
Aroma: Fruity and zesty with a rich hop character about it. Definitely Simcoe used. Perhaps may come off as catty to some. I feel it maintains a tropical element more than anything. Fruit plums and tart raspberries.
Taste: Faint bready malt creates a foundation for the more up front and dominant characteristics of this beer. The hops are amplified, especially the Simcoe hops, as aromatics. Some residual soapiness in the aftertaste, but I find it negligible. Spicy with a bit of a burn at the end, not just from the alcohol, but also a product of the hops. More malt is tasted in the end as well. Overall, caramel/crystal malt is well masked by the hops. In combination, some dark fruit emerges as the beer warms up. Perhaps figs or raisins.
Mouthfeel: There is a bite from the carbonation as the beer leaves the mouth and the dryness kicks in. Medium bodied. Finishing dry and resinous.
Overall Impression: Different from a pale ale because much of the hops are at the end of the boil leaving a huge aromatic base, while presenting a rich malt flavor. Simcoe is very strong, and almost too much to have another, but for one beer, this one is very refreshing and drinkable, but of a different breed. Be prepared. Following a review of the brewery's description of the beer, I found that no such (Simcoe) hops were used, instead Chinook (understandably) and Cascade. However I still stand by my interpretation of the flavor.
$9.99/Six-pack

86/100

Riverwest Stein Beer

I picked this bottle up from the Midwest Brewers Fest in Plainfield last month. Reviewed while watching South Park on the new movie site Jen showed me: http://tubeplus.com/

Appearance: Brilliantly clear with strong carbonation, apparent from the accumulation of medium sized bubbles on the sides of the glass. Soapy white head leaves behind a styrafoam dry lacing. Darker amber in color.
Aroma: Lightly toasted barley makes a brief appearance along side a more pronounced hop character. A bit woodsy and dry smelling with an undertone of vininess.
Taste: A bit watery was my first impression. However at second taste, the malt comes through more pronounced characterized by subtle roastiness and toasted barley. Rather light, but with the finishing neutral hops, the beer eventually leaves a rather palatable caramel flavor on the palate for a long lived aftertaste. The viney flavor is a bit more masked here than in the aroma, but can still be picked up near the end, along side the bittering tannic hops. An element of chocolate evolves as the beer reaches room temperature.
Mouthfeel: Light and bubbly. The carbonation maintains a frothy texture within the beer while the mouthfeel itself is relatively smooth. Finish is dry and somewhat clean.
Overall Impression: A nice step back from all the pales and stouts, while still remaining light and refreshing. Malt profile is present, though not exaggerated. Flavorful yet refreshing.


83/100

LakeFront IPA

One of the beers I was able to get at the end of the Midwest Brewers Fest in Plainfield a couple weekends ago. I thought I had reviewed it in the past, but apparently not as I had opened it just to drink but luckily realized with half a glass to go that it wasn't on the blog. Reviewed on Monday morning following breakfast at the local Mexican restaurant.

Appearance: Glowing copper colored with a subtle haze which gives the beer somewhat of a shadow when the fingers cross any light passing through. However, carbonation can still be seen. The head retention and even presence is poor, only to retain a faint white film across the surface.
Aroma: Fresh hops immediately whiff up from the beer. Citrus and pine are notable characters that resemble tropical fruit, like pineapple. If you've ever been in a hop cooler, this is exactly what it smells like, a conglomeration of multiple varieties of freshly preserved hops.
Taste: A mild biscuity sweetness isn't realized until the end of the first sip when it actually re-appears under the layers of bitterness. Nevertheless, the malt certainly takes a back-burner status, leaving most of the flavor to the fresh hops. At the mid-taste we are only truly introduced to the wealthy varieties of fresh hops and aromatic complexities of tropical citrus and deciduous pine resins. The finish is almost hot with the alpha acids, which accompanied with some alcohol leave a very crisp and refreshing flavor, and perhaps may even cancel out any grassiness that may well have been there. The aftertaste is bittered and reminiscent of fruit skin tannins while remaining extremely dry and resinous. Grapefruit emerges as the beer gets warmer.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with a lower end carbonation, yet enough to follow through the bitterness right as the hot spike in the middle to end of the taste hits. The palate is left very dry, yet quenched any thirst.
Overall Impression: A sipper and a drinker. Set cold, this beer is a fantastic thirst quencher, remaining very drinkable and rich in complexity. Warm, more fruit flavors develop alongside the prominent pine and tropical citrus. Fresh hops are key (either big late addition or huge dry-hopping) If you're a hop head, I'd definitely look towards getting a six pack of this...or maybe a case...


95/100

Big Easy Imperial Maibock

Tasted following an easy run Sunday afternoon. Jen and I split the bottle in the tasting flight she got me for my birthday. Bought this from Rock Island Hy-vee in an assorted six pack. I'm certainly glad they sell Lakefront Brewery out here, though I'd love to see their Organic ESB out here...

Appearance: Pale golden amber color with a brilliant hue. High carbonation. Bubble accumulation on the sides make this beer look crisp and refreshing. The head was an initial 1/2" creamy white foam, but dissipated into a ring around the glass.

Aroma: Clean smelling and crisp. An undertone of honey  and light pale malt round out the sweetness. Wheat citrus is pulled through as the beer develops a floral based scent. Candy caramel aroma as the beer warms. Some hay/straw smell as well.

Taste: Honey and bready sweetness initially with a drying flavor. There is also some wheat elements to the foretaste. More bitter than other bock beers. Some peppery components finish the beer off with a mild citrus taste and alcohol. Also I find minute notes of smokiness. Fruity aftertaste, with a prominent butterscotch character. Yeasty finish with a lagered pungency. Alcohol is nicely integrated into the beer where the dry grainy and hop finish does a nice job of masking it. Finally, as the beer warms, I get somewhat of a simmering apple character to it. Some tartness.
Mouthfeel: Full body, yet still a soft mouthfeel and a persistently low carbonated texture. A little sticky to the lips but finishes dry and crisp due to the alcohol.
Overall Impression: I enjoy the bready/alcohol aftertaste. Lots of malt, but still a lower end on the bitter side. Smooth and full bodied. Alcohol content still is low enough/or goes un-noticed enough to remain a good drinkable beer. I enjoyed having this because it was definitely something out of the ordinary


Tim: 88/100
Jen: 90/100

Fuel Cafe: Coffee Flavored Stout

Tasted following a morning working in the yard planting Organic Seed Saver's Swiss Chard and Golden Zucchini. Enjoyed with an omlette made from yeilds of the yard.

Appearance: A very dark brown pour, with the look of molasses. Blackish brown in the glass with an opaque consistency. There isn't much of a head to speak of. Small bubbles reveal themselves just before reaching the top. Otherwise clarity is at 0%. a bubble fountain can be seen from the top in the center of the glass, but fueling no head. No lacing.

Aroma: A robust dark roasted coffee malt aroma is apparent right from the beginning. Nothing burnt, but with a mild sweetness to back it up. This beer seems to maintain a far more subtle coffee aroma than other's I've tried which either have a soured acidic flavor or just are burnt and over roasted. Some chocolate is present too.

Taste: A bit of tartness is tasted in the beginning, but the fore taste remains relatively uneventful aside for the carbonated feel on the tongue. Then the acidic coffee flavor enters with not too much malt to balance. Some caramel enters to help offset the flavor, but it isn't enough. The beer finishes dry and almost with a soapy roasted aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Carbonation is medium to high, but the body is somewhat light and almost watery. Carbonation bites the top and back sides of the tongue. Finish is dry.

Overall Impression: Initially I was excited about this beer because it had a very mellow, but malt sweet aroma, but the taste was insufficient as it characterized a tart coffee flavor which means the coffee was made prior and then added to the beer. Still it maintains a refreshing element from the lighter body and higher carbonation. Though not particularly impressive.

74/100

Bock Beer

Tasted on the hottest day of 2011 we've seen yet. Topping off at 91 degrees even the 4 miles I did at practice felt like 12. Thanks to Jen for getting this as part of an Assorted Six Pack from Rock Island Hy-vee ($9.49)

Appearance: Bronzed brown with a tint of orange. Very little head, hardly even foam to constitute a ring. Quite opaque and turbid, but with some clarity I'd expect to see carbonation, however there was none. It looks to be a pretty flat and uneventful beer.

Aroma: Woody with a huge rich caramel base. Lots of toffee and sweetness at the nose. Some faint hints of roastiness, but a very apparent fruity scent pierces the nostrils as a followup to the other grain based smells. Subtle hops carry out the aroma, reminiscent of most lagers.

Taste: Robust toasted malt and caramel are at the forefront of the flavor. Toffee and even cocoa come in after but remain longer on the taste buds. Some spicing is present with notes of vanilla. A lagered yeastiness presents itself in the end along with Noble hops, pilsner character and a toasted nut complexity. As the beer warms the toffee and vanilla become more pronounced, as the also begin to encourage more of an alcohol taste in the finish. Aftertaste reminds me of a dark cherry component.
Mouthfeel: Little carbonation made for a bigger body. The texture was smooth, but nearing flatness. Pretty sticky on the lips. Nevertheless it maintained a soft feel.
Overall Impression: Interesting beer. It has a lot of different characteristics than I'd classify most bocks. It was less crisp and more sweet, went lighter on the hops and went more for a malt bill. Carbonation was on the poor side. But I did enjoy the toffee and fruity component along with a lagered element in the finish.


81/100

New Grist Sorghum Beer

Tasted following a 15 mile run and a beer-in-the-shower re-hydration attempt. Tasted alongside the fantastic Mediterranean dinner Jen made. I got this beer out of the fridge at Great river along with 5 others that have been sitting there for quite a while, so hopefully the taste isn't inhibited.

Appearance: A clean and brilliant pale straw color. It looks like it could be a pilsner. There isn't much of a head, but still there remains some spotted white lacing alongside the glass. Bubbly, champagne-like carbonation present among this beers amazingly clear figure.
Aroma: Nondescriptly sweet. Some mild notes of citrus and lemon along with a very faint grain smell. Maybe some apple. There isn't much to say for this category.
Taste: Lemon citrus take a flavor component with a citrus and light fruitiness of apples and other basic fruits like pears or grapes. some yeast is present, but hardly. Some grain-element is tasted but again is faint like the rest of the flavors. The beer pretty obviously boasts a strong sugary backbone, but itself remains nondescript. Finally the beer does finish on a mild hop bittering component that is dry and a bit flowery.
Mouthfeel: Light and drinkable and for the most part refreshing. A bubbly champagne carbonation, but on the lighter side rounds out the texture. Somewhat of a medium bodied texture nevertheless.
Overall Impression: I'd say this beer most likely resembles a light econ-lager based beer like bud-light but crossed with a hard pear or apple cider beverage. I was glad to get around to tasting this beer since it is one of the very few beers that exist in the American craft beer industry that are gluten free (and still called beer). A decent beverage, but nothing I'd personally taste again, unless at the brewery. Certainly a great alternative for those with gluten intolerance...


78/100