6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
On tap at GRBC. Clearish orange/amber body, thin off-white clumping head. Piney, bitter hops aroma. Flavor is dominated by earthy, herbal English hops that impart a strange mint-like character to the body. Lasting bitter finish as the hops resins coat the mouth. For whatever reason I can handle beers overhopped with American varieties, but these European hops turn me off in high concentration. This remained drinkable, but it’s not necessarily my thing.
Tried
from Draft
on 10 Jan 2005
at 21:34
4.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 4
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 4.5
On tap at GRBC. Deep red-brown, fairly clear, with a thin off-white head. Mildly sweet aroma with caramel and dark fruit. Underwhelming, somewhat acrid flavor with sharp metallic notes and bitter grain dominating the palate. As the beer warmed toast, caramel, and dark fruits showed but these components were quite understated, leaving the bitter off-flavors to dominate the palate. Hollow and lacking the spicy, leafy German hops character typical of altbiers. Whiff.
Tried
from Draft
on 10 Jan 2005
at 21:28
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
On tap at GRBC. Deep brown, pretty much opaque body with red highlights and a thin cream head. Aroma of coffee, dry roasted malt, and sharp graininess. Considering the rather bland aroma, I was nicely surprised by the tasty body, with roasted malt, coffee, and plenty of sweet coffee cream (lactose) with a slightly bitter dry roasted malt finish. The body was thin as is standard at GRBC, but the beer was tasty and conjured memories of Mackeson XXX Stout.
Tried
from Draft
on 10 Jan 2005
at 21:25
5.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
On tap at GRBC. Clearish deep red body, medium light tan head with shades of dingy gray. Slightly sweet caramel aroma with notes of musty fruit and wet socks. Somewhat sweet flavor, mostly sharp toasty grain, rather metallic and somewhat fruity. Earthy hops in the finish but this is mostly dry cereals. Long, rather unpleasant bitter aftertaste. I recommend staying away from their regular offerings (like this one) that seem plagued by metallic off-flavors and unusual grain sharpness.
Tried
from Draft
on 20 Dec 2004
at 13:13
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
On tap at GRBC. I ordered this knowing it would most likely be hideous, but I was wrong. Murky red-brown body, thin off-white head with a touch of pink. Tart cherry aroma, musty, earthy, and sour. Flavor was sweet, bordering on cloying, dominated by balsamic vinegar and malt sugars with a nice tart cherry backdrop that added just a touch of acidity. Quite vinous. Definitely not a lambic, definitely a Flemish Sour Ale. Would benefit from a bit more funkiness and toned down sugars; the sugars give this a bit of a soft-drink artificially sweetened aspect. Easy drinking.
Tried
from Draft
on 20 Dec 2004
at 13:04
6.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
On tap at GRBC. Deep brown body, thin clumping tan head with shades of dingy gray. Dry slightly acrid roast aroma with sharply metallic grain notes. Plenty of dry roast in the flavor with bitter dark chocolate providing the rest. A bit sharp on the tongue, finishing with a suggestion of spicy rye and the slightest hint of fruit, but these essences were slight.
Tried
from Draft
on 20 Dec 2004
at 12:49
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
On tap at GRBC. I’m a bit worried- this makes two good GRBC beers in a row. Actually, now that I think about it, "pleased" should be the operative word. Poured copper with a thin off-white head. Banana esters and a hint of clove dominated the body, with notes of chocolate enhancing the esters. Slight wheat tanginess in the aftertaste. Tight carbonation. A bit thin-bodied but the palate was dense enough to make up for that. Another good GRBC beer!
Tried
from Draft
on 04 Oct 2004
at 13:32
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
On tap at GRBC. Clear copper-red body, thin off-white head. This beer seemed to straddle the line between an Oktoberfest and Vienna. Sweet with fruits and subdued caramels, finishing dry and biscuity with some grassy hops thrown in for good measure. No apparent off-flavors and the body wasn’t watery. Is GRBC beginning to brew good beers?
Tried
from Draft
on 04 Oct 2004
at 13:29
5.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
On tap at the restaurant. Dark brown body, thin light tan head. Bitter roast aroma with a touch of dry chocolate. At first the body was watery with a rather foul bitter roast aspect, but a few more sips revealed a serviceable, if mediocre, porter. Mostly bitter underdeveloped roasted malt, grain, and a touch of chocolate and caramel.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Jul 2004
at 20:06
6.1/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
On tap at the restaurant. Clear straw-colored body with effervescent carbonation and a thin off-white head. Sour apple peel, candi sugar aroma that came across as quite sweet with a sour streak. Flavor was surprisingly nice with cloves, candi sugar, sweet bread, white grape, and banana, finishing with a touch of band-aid alcohol. A tripel for the masses; this is quite thin-bodied and tastes watered-down, although it is pleasant overall.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Jul 2004
at 20:03