6.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Mug Club draft. Wow, had to check the dates on my ratings list, but yep, it’s been only two years since this RB opened, not two years since Tim took over as brewmaster. And 67 brews in that time: a new recipe every ten days! Okay, this is described as a Belgian Blond Ale. Looks disarmingly like a pilsener; golden body, thin white head, very few bubbles. Fruity smell with a tart hint of green apple that wouldn’t be out of place with a cream ale. Taste carries that fruitiness with signs of a warm ale ferment. Golden Belgian malt under bits of apple and cherry. Hops show in bitter prickles on my tongue. Sharp, spicy finish. Hidden "gas" makes this a filling beer.
Tried
from Draft
on 29 Aug 2008
at 23:53
7.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Mug Club draft. Solid, cloudy reddish brown, with a half-inch foam crown. Malty smell actually brings some rye to the nose, along with PNW hop resins. Taste is big on pine and grapefruit, but not a hop bomb. Instead, it lets more of the rich malt in. More peppery spice comes in at the end. Another biggie, and there’s probably some in a barrel waiting for the next few months. Hop load leaves a kind of peppermint aftertaste.
Tried
from Draft
on 20 Aug 2008
at 08:41
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Taster. Yup, robust vanilla and bourbon smell, giving a strong impression of alcohol. Nearly opaque, blackish brown, with a thin, dark brown head. Taste is big on mocha java. No stout flavors like the regular Rickshaw, but like one of the little chocolate bottles filled with a vanilla liqueur. Not too much rye detectable in this specialty batch, but the barrel aging is to blame for that. Great sweet finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 Jul 2008
at 13:58
8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Sampler. Pils-amber color, quite cloudy center, giving it a dark core. White head quickly turns to ring of lace. Rich malty smell minus distraction of hops or tartness. Taste is sweet like vanilla ice cream. Some barley wine character that would be expected with a beer this strong. Further on, I finally notice a pack of European hops giving this brew that claimed peppery edge. Some weizen style clove esters at the finish.
Tried
on 11 Jul 2008
at 12:16
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Sampler. Cherry cider smell from my sampler tumbler. Cloudy, almost sludgy brown color, just a rim of foam around the edge. Sweet and fruit-tart, with threads of bourbon and vanilla, cherry cordial, and a bit of a vodka burn. Tartness stays in the background, and some hops turn up right at the end of the experience. 350th Illinois Beer! Counting all the "Corporate" Rock Bottom ratings that I’ve only had at the Chicago RB!
Tried
on 11 Jul 2008
at 12:00
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
Two samplers at RB Yorktown. This must be the very definition of session beer: I went through both these glasses without bothering to write many notes.
Draft: Clear, macro-pale color, a thinnish head with some cling. Couldn’t match much smell beyond a basic beer impression.
Cask: Cloudier in the glass, with a frothier, longer-lasting head (a switch from the usual cask vs. draft, no?). Definite wheat beer smell with hints of ale fruitiness. Relaxing, thin cask mouthfeel. Nice conversational brew with some warming alcohol qualities.
Draft: Clear, macro-pale color, a thinnish head with some cling. Couldn’t match much smell beyond a basic beer impression.
Cask: Cloudier in the glass, with a frothier, longer-lasting head (a switch from the usual cask vs. draft, no?). Definite wheat beer smell with hints of ale fruitiness. Relaxing, thin cask mouthfeel. Nice conversational brew with some warming alcohol qualities.
Tried
from Draft
on 09 Jun 2008
at 13:28
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Sampler, then goblet at RB Yorktown. Pours several levels of bronze gradations, slightly hazy, with a thin head. Cherry smell is there, and I also get notes of chocolate, somehow. Starts starts out with cherries, not quite as tart as described, instead kind of kirsch liqueur impression. Vanilla bean comes into the picture, and just enough oak to make you want to sip this from an easy chair. No added brett, but impressions of of from whatever might have been in the wood. Brewmaster Tim tells me this was an oak barrel, but they took out the previous char and made a fresh char before adding the beer so it wouldn’t be overpowered by bourbon. I think of New Belgium’s Le Terroir when I drink this.
Tried
on 09 Jun 2008
at 13:16
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Tall Pilsener glass at RB. A slightly brassy yellow under an inch-high, bubbly head. Looks kinda normal, donnit? Big grassy and spicy hop smell, nearly obliterating the usual "beer" smell I get with a light lager. Taste has Imperial IPA levels of piny hops, with a definite fresh, green character. Malts tend a little to the caramel roast bit of the spectrum, but there is a lager "cleanness" that keeps it from tasting like yet another IIPA. Rings of lacy lacy foam on the glass after each drink. Sharp prickly carbonation brings out the pils character toward the bottom. Very drinkable, but noticeably intoxicating. Good thing this browser has spellcheck.
Tried
on 15 May 2008
at 13:28
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Draft at RB. Hey, Cornfield gets a big ol’ mug and I just get a goblet? Is that what my AHA-branded Mug Club card is worth now? ;^) Brown and cloudy with a light bubbly head. Smell reminds me of a darker Belgian dubbel. Taste reveals sensuous brown malts, and a slight bite of yeast. Almost nutty, then ample spiciness from fermentation. Thick, nearly syrupy Belgian malts. Goes down way too easily for a beer with this strength.
Tried
from Draft
on 11 Apr 2008
at 15:54
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
Draft goblet. Okay, I call this stout instead of "fruit beer" to differentiate between beer aged on fruit from beer fermented with fruit. Are you with me? Good.
Heady chocolate raspberry smell from the goblet as I’m taking my notes. Poured black with a ring of brownish foam on the edge. The oatmeal stout is apparent in a very smooth beer taste. Raspberry is very complementary, not overdone. Bourbon and the described oak and vanilla come up, too. Any advertised chocolate would be coming from the malt roast, but that’s been very well mellowed by barreling and the oatmeal. Very smooth, like a light raspberry liqueur, silky bubbles. Yeah, I’m probably rating it too high for its own good, but let’s open the floor on this beer to discussion, starting… now!
Heady chocolate raspberry smell from the goblet as I’m taking my notes. Poured black with a ring of brownish foam on the edge. The oatmeal stout is apparent in a very smooth beer taste. Raspberry is very complementary, not overdone. Bourbon and the described oak and vanilla come up, too. Any advertised chocolate would be coming from the malt roast, but that’s been very well mellowed by barreling and the oatmeal. Very smooth, like a light raspberry liqueur, silky bubbles. Yeah, I’m probably rating it too high for its own good, but let’s open the floor on this beer to discussion, starting… now!
Tried
from Draft
on 04 Apr 2008
at 23:06