Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Bomber Bottle, in .25 l straight-sided glass. My sample is just labeled "Brew Kettle German Style Alt (old) Beer," which the bartender said shouldn’t be rated because it was not being commercially served. But this bottle, from the cooler of the BOP section, has the ol’ gov’t warning on its label, and other non-Ringneck stuff has rated pretty well, here, so I’ll assume this is the same recipe, except this one may be extract-based. Deep coppery pour with a frothy, persistent eggshell head. A Munich/Vienna malt nose that does taste a little like extract and steeped grains. Smell is bit hard for me with a swollen nose right now, but I can get pleasant hint of a little hops and a very slight smokiness, perhaps a bit nutty, too. I agree that it’s a very clean beer. I had thought I shouldn’t hold on to this much longer because it might not have been filtered, conditioned or pasteurized, but it had held up very well. Ultimately, the taste is a little on the light side for what should be a hoppy German style, but there is nothing displeasing about it.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottled. A big malty smell upon opening. Nice amber pour under a slightly rocky, slightly tan head. Big caranel malty taste, too, with a notable alcohol component. Rye is there mostly as a spicy kick to a mostly, I think, German hop list (okay, now that I’ve read the description here, I’m wrong about the pedigree of the hop. But it’s still a good bittering hop instead of going over the top in an APA way).
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Draft sampler, at the Brew Kettle. A light Pils color. This was sixth in my sampler tray, yet it still had a decent ring of foam when I got to it. Not much else that stands out except there is a notable Pilsener hop component. Hey, it’s a tricky style for the small brewer.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Draft sampler, at the Brew Kettle. More a porter color when in a little taster: brown highlights not found in other schwartzes. Verrry alcoholic. Kind of smoky, like a maple smoked ham. Ain’t no Sprecher, but intriguing nonetheless.
McDermottDrink (4627) reviewed Old 21 from The Brew Kettle Brewery 20 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Draft sampler, at the Brew Kettle. Boy, it’s hard for a beer to compete in a popular style, innit! Just check the disparity between this one’s Overall and Style percentile rankings. Oh well:
The board behind the bar now says this is only 8.5% abv. A big hop smell of, well, cat dander (perhaps it triggers my allergies). Pineapple, grapefruit, pine cones come through, though, when I drink it. This thing raises a fight all the way down my throat. Of cource there’s lots of malts there, but they don’t have much of a chance.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5
Draft sampler, at the Brew Kettle. Light yellow, of course. This was third in my sampler tray and the head is already gone. Taste is kind of "off"–a bit too yeasty, methinks–otherwise it wouldn’t be bad. As with many brewpubs, I’d just guess their lagering facilities aren’t yet up to snuff. But it turns out this does turn into a nice easy drink as I get toward the end.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Draft sampler, at the Brew Kettle. Quite the li’l hop monster they’ve got here (currently listed as 45 ibu). Hop smell and taste is a bit grapefruity, and more than a bit harsh, the way a hophead would love. Has a proper pale ale color, light brownish-orange, and a thin head held back by its hop load.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Draft sampler, at the Brew Kettle. Proper coppery color. Light head in the sampler glass, leaving just a thin ring. Nicely toasted malts, but overmatched by a big hoppy hit. Good if you like your ales hoppy, which I think most of us do.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Thanks to Aracauna for sharing this from his cellar with the crowd at KP’s SE Gathering. Pours dark with some ruby highlights that accentuate it as it supports a creamy tan head. Good rich malt aroma and good malt and roast malt flavor will appeal to any Stout lover. Smooth and well balanced, but a bit thin in the body.