7/10
Tried
on 01 Sep 2019
at 17:34
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Draft at Alter's Beer & Cheese Social, March 9. Cozy hoppy smell with pine, just a bit floral. Rich red beer body, a slightly tan draft head. Taste has toasty malts at the forefront, surrounded by a brace of hop. A melange of pine and citrus, with a bit of florals. A slightly stronger alcohol content is apparent. Richer malts than an IPA. Very enjoyable.
Tried
from Draft
on 12 Mar 2019
at 03:36
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
5 oz. taster at the Alter tap room. Rating #3300! Earthy brown malt still "heard" after being smothered in the bourbon barrel. A rich brown color, with some highlights at the skinnier bottom of the glass. The taste still carries a full bourbon barrel note, but it still plays nicely with caramelly brown malt, putting both equally on stage. Oak based vanillin knocks back bitterness. Heady taste for a mere 7% abv.
Tried
from Draft
on 19 Nov 2018
at 04:49
7.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Shaker pint draft at Mercat a la Planxa in Chicago, Illinois. The pour is clear golden with a minimal white head. The aroma is floral, dry grass, bit of lemon citrus and caramel malt. The taste is all of the notes of the nose with floral, citrus and caramel malt all blending nicely. The palate is medium bodied, soft natural carbonation and a sweetish softly bitter dry finish. Solid IPA
Tried
from Draft
on 07 Nov 2018
at 22:44
7.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
On tap at Marriott in Downers Grove, IL. Medium gold pour. Small white head. Faint sweet malt nose. Flavor upfront is biscuity malt with sweet honeyish notes. Some fruity citrus in middle. Easy drinking with a modicum of flavor. Syrupy malt finish.
Tried
from Draft
on 22 Aug 2018
at 02:43
6/10
Tried
on 02 May 2018
at 18:31
7.9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
5 oz taster at Alter, because I gotta drive after this. So, will this become their Dark Lord or Big Hugs in the future? Let’s see. Aroma is a bit mild, which may be owed to the small sample. But there’s some chocolate and toffee in there. The nose is just low on the usual alcohol bomb that might be more apparent in a barrel-aged version. Color is a respectable deep brown to black, with the usual thin ring of foam along the glass surface. The taste is nicely malty, with not too much roast. Yes, it is smooth, with Droste chocolate the strongest component of the roast. The alcohol does power into the parking space on the second sip or so. A strong note of brandy and plum. English hops are not very bog, but it does make the taste lean into an English Barleywine more than a big-assed imperial stout. Refined even as the taste gets stronger toward the end.
Tried
on 29 Apr 2018
at 18:01
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
14 oz flute at Alter Brewing. Pretty mild smell, just a slight note of cherry and malt, is the only reason the aroma rating is relatively low. Cloudy reddish brown body, a thin foam ring settled down as I tried to get online for this live rating. Taste: oh, tart cherries. Yes indeed. It’s more spritzy and refreshing than sour, kind of like a Berliner Weisse with a dash of cherry syrup. A good malty backbone gives this some extra dimension. I’d like to say what the wheat contributes to this brew, but that’s where the tartness overtakes any impressions. This would be a great porch beer if it were a little LESS strong (there, I said it), but that’s why they base a shandy on it, I guess.
Tried
on 29 Apr 2018
at 17:41
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Draft at Tivoli Bowl, Downers Grove. I thought from the name that this was a single-hop beer. Okay, it's not. But it's a fine example of a highly hopped beer with Citra in dominance. Big fresh hop nose from a fizzly head, with pine backed by orange and pineapple. Amber body with a bit of haze. the taste is equally hoppy, with the same palate as the nose. 6.6% abv doesn't seem that much, but this does go to my head for at least a few minutes (or maybe because I'm exerting myself bowling).
Tried
from Draft
on 07 Jan 2018
at 23:40
8.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Golden color under a frothy head. Tropical fruit nose with a slight backing of pine bitterness. Taste is plenty juicy, worth tropical fruit and Mandarin orange. As good an example of a juicy IPA as I can think of. And it's at the Tivoli Bowl, so my first bowling alley beer in many years.
Tried
from Can
on 05 Nov 2017
at 15:20