Given to me as a gift by my friend Kate for my 30th birthday, thanks Kate! Enjoyed on my 30th birthday at home watching Tyra (why I’m not sure...). Appearance is a murky/dirty copper / mud water with not much head, maybe a small white ring around the glass. Aroma is very malty, like caramel toast, but more on the bread element. Taste is a malty bomb, very much like toast, not too thick but not thin by any means. It doesn’t seem very carbonated, actually seems flat, but I’m belching after drinking this one which I typically don’t do (in public). This states it was brewed to be paired with an Italian dish, and unfortunately I wasn’t eating one while consuming, I can say though that I don’t think it’s very good to drink on its own, can’t say the same for being paired with a meal, but I do think it would go well with a hearty & starchy dish like pasta. Would try again with an Italian meal, but not on its own.

12 oz.bottle, $1.50 loose @Binny’s. Bought this in March, added the listing here in April, and I’m still first to rate this. Poured in a glass handled mug. Kicks up a big stiff head over an amber body, well filtered so there is nothing to see but busy bubbles. Smell is a little faint, but lets some lighter Crystal malts through, and a bit of American bittering hop. Actual drinking is pretty easy. My expectation of steam beers is that there is usually bittering only, like with Northern Brewer hops, and little aroma hop, and that’s what this has. Clean malt package kept puckery by those hops. A big and slightly unrefined flavor to put you in mind of a frontier tavern beer.

12oz bottle @PreJam Gathering-pours a tan ring for a head and copper color. Aroma is pine/earthy hops, secondary light/medium malt-caramel. Taste is pine/herbal hops, some medium malt.

Draft at Ballydoyle, Downers Grove. Once again, I’m impressed by the quality of the beers Argus makes their first time on tap. Maybe being fresh from a local brewer and served at a place that takes care of their beer has something to do with it, but this is as good as an Oktoberfest can get. Only the RB credo of only giving big ratings to barley wines and impy stouts keeps me from rating this higher. Admittedly, the smell is just middlin’, a nice maltiness with sweet notes, but not much more. In a thistle pint, it’s golden brown, like autumn leaves; very clear, with a good layer of pillowy foam atop. Taste is just what a malty German beer should be. Rich and sweet, but not overly roasted or sugary, just a light caramel touch, Noble hops that just add some balance at the start, then become a bit spicy and peppery further down. Enough carbonation to keep you from swilling it, and to deliver more flavor. Clean, smooth lager finish. Only surprise was a slight estery banana burp five minutes later. I’m admittedly biased because I was first to enter this brewer on RB, but they’ve all been very good.

Draft at Ballydoyle, Downers Grove. Yes, my opinion is skewed by the fact that I just popped in for a cold one after mowing the lawn, and knew this had just made the taps. Light brownish yellow (looks better than my description) with a short white layer of foam. Smells of light malts, and fresher hops. Taste? Hits the spot exactly. Nice abundance of Northern Brewer hops: though it smell like fresh cones, the taste was more of a dry hop. Strong bitterness and little citrus or pine. Malts are toasty, making for a slightly darker color than other Common beers. After a strong lager impression at the start, there are a few ale esters. A great beer, with no distractions. Once again, Argus is not putting beers out while still learning how to make them, this one has been dialed in from the beginning.

Draft at Ballydoyle, Downers Grove. Another exclusive to the Ballydoyle pubs by this South Side brewer. Really fills an imperial pint glass; dark brown, but still clear enough to let some light through. Fresh malty nose with some mild hop bitterness combine for a nice "beer" smell. Taste brings in big, toffee flavored malts, some American hops that show their dry-hopping, and some citrus and grass. All combining to keep up a good bitter focus. Frankly, the total package comes just shy of a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale; a solid offering for a new brewery.

Nitro pint at Ballydoyle. So this is actually contract-brewed for Ballydoyle, but as Ballydoyle is not passing this off as something they made themselves, like Pabst beers, I think this is the right description. So, it’s a bright golden orange in a Guinness pint, with a finger of fine foam, and patches of tiny bubbles clinging to the sides. A malty smell with some tart, like it was blended with stale beer. Taste has maltiness of a red ale, nicely sweet over a nondescript English hoppiness. Mouthfeel is a bit watery, but that’s to be expected for a nitrogen pour.