Very smooth upfront, citrus in the middle and a savor finish (not dank, can't quite put my finger on the flavor profile on the finish).
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Undated can from the brewery, drunk 10/10/25.
Clear, bright, brassy-golden. Large, creamy, off-white head, strong retention.
What to do for rating 16,000? The usual super special, crazy, wacky, rare, expensive, 700% abv, Octuple barrel-aged imperial stout is the obvious choice, but it feels a little less relevant these days. I have a hard time drinking them and it really puts a damper on my evening. Even in our tasting group, the BA stouts and barleywines are beginning to get to be too much of a chore to drink many of.
But here's a beer at 4.8% abv that has a ton of aroma and flavor, of which I can drink a full can without compromising my next day. Haven't done a lager for a milestone; especially not a regular old, non-special release pilsner. But it feels appropriate. Add to that, that this has been consistently one of the best brewery's I've had in recent years, phenomenally underrated, underappreciated and underhyped, with a friendly, accessible owner/brewer, to-boot. And so, is this beer just as good as all the recent ones I've had from River Roost? You bet! Cheers to lagers!
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Festbier from River Roost Brewery 4 months ago
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8.5
Brewery draught, 10/3/25.
Clear, bright golden with a splash of light brass. Big, fluffy, white head, good retention.
Bright herbal hops with rich, honey and bread from the malt to balance. Snappy on the finish with crisp yeast and more hop.
Clean and polished, rich maltiness with high attenuation and not too much breadiness. Mostly honey and slight biscuit with good hop bitterness to balance. Earth, herb, fresh grass and more fresh yeast and biscuity malt lingering pleasantly. Clean and polished.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Brewery draught, 10/3/25.
Bright, spaghetti squash yellow. Heavily hazy. Small, off-white head, steadily to light cover.
Bright and juicy mango-papaya with sweet, succulent, honey and white bread-like malt. Zesty herbal notes mix with rich melon and maybe a smidge of dry banana. Kumquat and a touch of passion fruit round it out. Bright and aromatic and very unique/interesting for the style, which isn't easy to do.
Juicy, malty, well-attenuated with banana-papaya-melon and zesty, citrus bitterness to balance. Excellent flavor and balance with no resin, twang, big herb or alcohol noted. Just bright, true hop notes done well and interesting.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Double Dusky from River Roost Brewery 4 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Brewery draught, 10/3/25.
Heavily hazy, pale brass-golden. Sizeable, creamy, white head.
Some light skunkiness with spicy NZ hops adding tropical fruit skin. Fruity yeast and light, juicy citrus with a mix of rich honey and biscuit from the gently balancing malts.
Fruity, juicy, very zesty-spicy with mineral, white wine, light skunk and lemongrass. Soft, supple texture, nice and dry. More playful fruitiness on the finish with excellent bitter ess throughout.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Quintana from River Roost Brewery 4 months ago
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8.5
Brewery draught, 10/4/25.
Clear, bright, rich gold. Big, fluffy, white head.
Pepper, honey, dry biscuit and gentle oak with a hint of butter and vanilla. Crisp lager yeast and a gently sweet, balancing corn. Earth and mineral, even.
Rustic, with crusty, bready biscuit and softer corn. Dry oak lends a fun flavor and the beer seems to not be too dry or acidic despite the oak. Neutral and crisp with big bread and honey notes and more crisp yeast. Amazing what he's doing with these BA lagers...
tfontana (7277) reviewed Double Más from River Roost Brewery 5 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8
Can from trade with CLW--thanks, Chris! Deeply hazy light brown-dark yellow with light sparkle, thin head with fair retention and nice lacing. Aroma is strong citrus, grapefruit and pine. Taste follows aroma. Smooth, frothy, creamy texture, soft carbonation, finish as taste. Kind of old school with these hops but executed really well.
Leighton (34941) reviewed Northern Dusky from River Roost Brewery 6 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Nice hazy. Bright citrus and tropical fruit purée, mellow rindy bitterness, some oat, pale bread, mango, orange, papaya. Decent balance to finish, low bitterness.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Impressive stuff. Great barrel character, good dark fruits, bourbon, mellow cocoa, sturdy roast, raisins, fudge, burnt toffee. Moderate warmth, gooey chocolate, dark fruits, berries. Excellent.
CLW (16859) reviewed Hammerbeam from River Roost Brewery 6 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
16 oz can. Aroma of dark bread and mild nutty malt. flavor files with a very subtle hop bitterness the balance to the nutty toasted malt. The texture is also quite good for how low of an ABV. I can only imagine how great this would be on a side pull. Wow! 🤩