Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Sampler at the brewpub. Comes to me with a foamy ass head. Color is dark brown. The aroma is sweet sugar sweetness mixed with alcohol and alcoholic sweetness. Flavor has way too much booze covering any beer under there. Dry and barrel leafiness lingers on the palate. It was a 5oz sampler and it was 1/3 foam but yet I could not finish it.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
~ 5 oz sample glass at the Rock Bottom in downtown Chicago. The pour is a brown light copper with a smallish off white head. The aroma is toasted lightly sweet malt, along with a hint of grassy hops. The flavor follows the nose, nice firm malt sweet backbone, with a light drying hop finish. The palate is medium bodied, nice active carbonation and a clean dry finish. Of my 4 samples, this was the easiest drinking, but it also lacked a bit of a defining character. This is probably an example of a beer that a sample likely doesn’t give a true sense of the beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
~ 5 oz sample glass at the Rock Bottom in downtown Chicago. The pour is a dark, dark brown with copper highlights and not much of a light tan head. the aroma is sweet malt, fruit, a hint of the vanilla, and then a giant blast of the bourbon. The taste follow suit, its crazy strong bourbon smashed down on top of some sweet fruit maltiness, and a hint of grassy hop character. The coconut and vanilla are in the nose, though they seem more to be a character of the barrel treatment. The palate is medium bodied, a bit oily in the mouth feel, and giant booze on the finish. I drank about half of this, and gave the other half to my Brother in Law, who loved this beer. I’m not a fan of over expressed barrel treatment, so this one was not for me. However, it is a well constructed version of that style, so I am sure others will love this.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
~ 5 oz sample glass at the Rock Bottom in downtown Chicago. The pour is clouded brown with an off white head that manages to leave a solid amount of lacing, despite the taster glass. The aroma is dark cherry fruit, toasty malt, and a mixture of malt and fruit sweetness. There was discernible alcohol present as well. The taste continues the malt focus, with the dark fruit sweetness, the toasted roasted malt, and a touch of grassiness. I also noticed a bit of diacetyl which detracts some from the overall flavor. The palate is medium to heavy bodied, a bit slick in the mouth feel, some warming alcohol in the finish.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
~ 5 oz sample glass at the Rock Bottom in downtown Chicago. The pour is a hazed golden copper, with a smallish off white head. The aroma is sharp citrus hops, along with an assertive toasted malt and caramel sweet. The taste is more hop forward than the nose, showing a grassy, earthy, tropical fruit sweet bitterness that sort of layers on top of the strongly sweet malt backbone. The palate is medium bodied, with a decent hot alcohol presence. This was nice, though 5 ounces was about all I needed.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Draft at RDC. Less hop smell that I’d think, especially since I’m tasting this right aftrer their Chicago Gold on cask. Nose has more slightly sweet malt. Cloudy amber color, a lacy thin head. The taste is where the hops come in, with a mix of pine and grass, maybe a squirt of grapefruit. Solid malt backbone, although at times it comes across like cough medicine, but even that’s not a distraction. Fizzy only at the back of the palate. I’m told that like the chicago Gold, this also has the Falcon’s Flight blend of hops, but tig here. But I’m making a note to get me some FF when I get the brew kettle fired up again.hey are actually not as b
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
I’m going with this as a new beer since there aren’t too many dubels on the brewer’s list, and none with a similar abv. Yep, there’s a nice red wine barrel nose, even a bit like sniffing the end of a wine cork. In tasting: a nice wine background sets off the slightly dry malt. Nicely turned. May not sound like a praise here, but it comes across to me like a mixture of sherry and Vernors soda. I say that with love.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Draft taster at RB Chicago. Body is clear and bright like the tripels I have known in my lifetime. The smell has mostly candi sugar, but not overly sweet. Taste is also slightly sweetened malt. A hint of grains of paradise. And some autolyzed yeast. I’m not digging this as much as i thought I would, but maybe I have greater than normal expectations for this style.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Sampled from the tap at 2011 FOBAB. Poured a hazy deep amber brown with a light earthy brown head that dissipated slowly to the edges. Aroma had a good amount of honey, with backing floral notes and a hint of red wine. Flavor was a bit thin with some honey and sweet grains and a slightly dry finish.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
A hazed reddish brown ale with a thin white head. In aroma, a smooth vanilla laced malt with white grape skins, light treacle, very nice. In mouth, a smooth sweet caramel malt with light woody notes, raisins, red wine, nice. On tap at brewpub, Nov 11 2011.