Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Shaker @ brewpub. Now I loves me a brewpub Vienna, usually a good chance for the brewers to flex their malty lager muscles. And while this nailed the style, it again was too perfect and came off as slightly boring. The caramel yet clean lagered malts come through with light cocoa as well. But.... meh. I actually got a bit too much of the hops than I would like for the style. Super easy to drink and I could definitely put a few down but I would like something a bit more interesting here. Actually, reading the description of this beer is more interesting than the beer. I wonder who the art fan over at Free State is. But again, congrads to the brewers for hitting the hammer on the nail but old news as far as I’m concerned.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Shaker pour @ the brewpub. Another plain-Jane Steam beer, don’t really get why brewers like to make this style. Slightly hoppy, rather undescriptive type (some citrus, some green vines, but weak and nothing special). Otherwise a very clean brew with no pizazz. The lager yeast really comes out making it ever more clean and boring. You nailed the style... next.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Draft at GABF! Nose of EtOH, bourbon, and oaky vanilla. Clear brown with a small beige head. Flavor was very bourbony with some caramel, chocolate, and vanilla.
theisti (5540) reviewed Lovejoy IPA from Free State Brewing Company 16 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
10 oz pour in a thinned tulip glass at the brewpub. Pour copper golden ruby - smallish off white head. Perfect patch lace. Aroma of floral orange hop and bready semi-sweet malt. Nice balance. Taste is the hop initially, introducing resin along with the floral and citrus. In the taste more peel than fruit. The middle turns to the bready malt, which loses its sweetness in the taste. Palate is earthy mineral, medium body, above average carbonation. Clean and straight forward, nice.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
Cask - 10 oz pour in a small thinned tulip glass at the brewpub. Pour is slight haze ruby copper with a smallish 1/2 inch off white - tan head. Nice delicate splotchy lacing. Aroma of resin citrus hops, mineral earthiness and some straw and caramel malt. Pretty mild nose, but clean and fresh. Taste is really fresh floral resin hop, with a nice mineral grass malt with some fruit sweetness behind that. Really great integration and balance. Palate is medium to full mouthfeel, and really not a bit watery despite the low abv. Lowish cask carbonation and a great lingering resin earthy finish. Crazy drinkable. I would drink this a lot if it was continuously available - it was cool how different a beast this was from the Old Backus.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
At the brewpub cask served in a small thinned tulip glass. Big bubbly cask head that leaves a lot of sticky lacing as it fades. Color is orange/amber, its dark and hazy but not murky. Enough hazy to it to only allow medium clarity. Aroma is thick, malty, English biscuit. It is thick but not "big" and a rich aroma. Flavor is has a bit more English yeast fruitiness coming off. Overall becomes a fruity biscuit. Plenty of flavor yet light and quenchable. Sweet tea aftertaste. Has a nice full mouthfeel as well on top of the reduced carbonation cask feel.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
I have had this for the last 2 years. Last year I was not impressed at all but this year I liked it a lot more. So this is the rating for a shaker @ the brewpub within a week of this being tapped in ’09. Comes to me with a completely clear dark amber/copper color. Small head but it leaves a slightly sticky lacing on the sides of the glass. Aroma is straight clean, no sugary, caramel sweetness. Heck its an O-fest. The flavor comes of better, where I often find the style boring this is different. Its nicely nuanced with a light sugar sweet but still well lagered, a thin line to walk. Lots of earthy caramel, sweet yet earthy and easy drinking from the lagering. The caramel aftertaste sticks around for a while. Good stuff, I would drink it again.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
A few shakers at the brewpub. While I love the idea of a hoppy hefe brew this did not live up to other takes on the style but still decent stuff. Clear golden color with a lightly sticky lacing. Aroma is thick sweet esters with an herbal hoppiness muddled up through the esters. Plenty of sweet banana. Flavor is similar with lots of esters and muddled up hops. I would like the hops and esters to be differentiated a bit more without losing the strength of each.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Tap @ brewpub. Color is clear golden with a thick head at first, fades to nothing much. Just a plain thick white bread malty brew, well lagered down. Finally executed but at the end boring.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Shaker @ the brewpub (a few times). Color is clear reddish color. Aroma is very green, harvest vine, hops, sharp mineral aspect and a touch of diacetyl. Flavor has a stronger bitterness and a sharper mineral character, and some more of that caramerl and diacetyl mixed in, which really throws me off. Why have the hops and the diacetyl mixed together (I am assuming it was meant to be that way).