Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Draft. Another nice summer fruit wheat beer by Pete Crowley. Pours an opaque wheat body, made a little browner by the apricot, under a thin, lacy head. Smell is of a clean lawnmower type beer. The apricot flavor is not profuse, but lends a nectar character and a seet/tart note. Seems to be a light American(?) hop bill, just to balance, although there is a more bitter taste in the finish. Its alcohol sneaks up on you a little, instead of lending "warmth." A little "thick" for a summer beer, you’ll have to sit down to enjoy it.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Draft. Nice, thin but firm, clingy head over a straight brown body. Caramel sweet malt, but just a hint of stoutish coffee malt. A nice fresh hops taste (30 IBU) matches nicely. Honey taste arrives at the roof of the mouth, and makes for a lightly sticky aftertaste.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Draft, at RB Chicago. My reaction was different than yous, but c’est la vie. I found it a very agreeable and refreshing lawnmower type of wheat with well-behaved charries, contributing more tartness than "Smith Bros." Pours a thin head on a cloudy golden wheat body, with a deep red center, like frozen cherries in a popsicle. The slight citrus character of the American wheat base gives it a "cherry lemonade" quality.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Draft. A note on the blackboard behind the bar says this is "Made with 160 pounds of real raspberries" in a 30 bbl brew system. The bartender told me it also uses 120 lb. of honey.
Hazy American wheat color with a tinge of rosiness. Pleasant raspberry smell under a low-lying, milk-foam head. The taste is actually understated for the usual fruit beer; raspberries stay in the background, except for their tartness, which seems complemented by citrusy American hops. I also get nice notes of wine and oak. Pretty darn good!
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Draft, on the RB Chicago rooftop. Well, back in America, and I gotta say nothing beats coming home to a good handcrafted brewpub beer. This seems like one of the "India Pale" variations on basic styles that’s getting popular, and it’s done very well. A very nice pilsner body hids a big taste of the usual IPA suspects, Cascade and Centennial. Could even be a little Northern Brewer in there, but what the heck do I know, I sure ain’t no BJCP graduate. All in all, a great lunchtime beer!
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Draft. The latest to fall under the "Terminal Stout" tap is actually a porter. Acquits itself pretty well in this category, with a nice dark roast malt feel, and a combination nothwestern and English hop profile. This doesn’t knock me off my feet like other porters have, but it still makes for a nice session beer. I was bringing a friend to his first brewpub sampler, and he did enjoy it, though.
Earlier Rating: 10/22/2003 Total Score: 3.3
Draft, Chicago. This was just listed as “Porter” at RB, so I’m putting i here. A thicker than expected, dark brown head. Full of coffee and chocolate flavor, and just a hint of cola, I think. Forced carbonation gives it a somewhat grainy mouthfeel, but it’s still a little “thin.” The smell is not very strong, but its roastyness becomes more assertive and I go further down. I’m getting a feel for English hop bitterness here, although that could also be astringency.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4
Draft, sampler. One of those "light" beers that corporate brewpubs are required to keep on tap. Has that slightly metallic off flavor of a lite beer, but otherwise, not really terrible. There’s simply not too much you can do with this style.Re-sampled, Oct. 8, 2007. Not much that changes my rating, but I’m surprised to note that I liked Tim Marshall’s version at the Yorktown location better. Maybe it’s because I had that in a mug and I’m piecing this out from a sampler.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Original rating, 2/20/04. Draft. Surprisingly hoppy for a “starter” beer. It’s now described at RB as an American Pale Ale, and so it is. Not fruity like a Sierra Nevada, but good sharp bite of Northwesrtn hops. Typical Pale Ale brown color and thin heads.
Rating from cask, 2/24/12 A much different beast on cask. Big on hop aroma right off the top of the sampler. I’m told by the server the current hop is the Falcon’s Flight mixture. Gold color, hazy with a thin scrum of foam. Taste carries on with pine and resin hops. The palate is a tad thin as it goes with a cask beer. If you can score it on cask, my rating as 8/4/7/3/15 for a total of 3.7.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Draft. Very light, with a good lemony spritziness. Not quite as complex as other brewery wits I've had, but quite pleasing. An attractive cloudy, pure white head sits for a spell atop the expected cloudy yellow body. Maybe a little watery, but easy drinking. One of those wits that could be used as your lawnmower beer.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Re-sampled, June 21. Just had it again because it was still on tap after the first day of summer. It's holding up very well, and now I get a nice nose of American hops, too. Still very enjoyable!
Tap, at RB's Sub Zero Barleywine party. Releases a nice malty smell in the taster, with a trace of foam still clinging. Sips like a syrup, with a pleasant note of fruitiness, oranges mostly. After the 3rd or 4th taster I get a few licorice notes, too. No harsh alcohol as with some "young" barley wines. Only problem is it's in a category where there are some awesome brews, so it suffers only in comparison.