November 28, 2007
This comes in the standard 12 oz brown bottle. The main label has the name of the Brewery at the top. There is a picture of a funky pumpkin headed scarecrow on it with a mouth full of sharp teeth. It looks like it’s trying to growl at the moon. Behind that it appears to be a door on an old building. The name of the beer is closer to the bottom. It has a quick blurb that says, “Ale with spices added. (Cinnamon, Allspice and Nutmeg).
It has a ruddy orange color to it. There is some cloudiness, but light does pass through easily. It poured almost no head. What film there was faded quickly to a film and then nothing. There is no lacing at all.
An overpowering scent of pumpkin, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon is noticeable. Caramel malts can also be detected if one concentrates. Though not as strong as the scent, the flavor is again a combination of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and pumpkin. Floral hops finish it off with a bitterness. The aftertaste actually worsens before it starts to fade. ItÂ’s a bitter combination of beer and pumpkin pie. Actually this almost tastes like an IPA that had a slice of pumpkin pie dissolved in the bottle.
ItÂ’s a medium bodied beer. There is some prickly carbonation on the tongue.
This was an unpleasant beer to drink. The flavor was vile, the aftertaste disconcerting and the thought of drinking another will wake me up in the middle of the night screaming. In fact after the first sip I made such a hideous noise that the entire family came running to see what was happening. If I never drink this beer again, IÂ’ll be a happy man. I may just have to kick Bruce in the dick the next time I see him for giving this to me. I give it 1.5 out of 10.
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November 21, 2007
Like most beers this came in your standard 12 oz brown bottle. The body label is green with the brand name in a white oval with “Brewed in Saint Louis” on a black background spread above and below it. Only on the neck label to you get the type of beer, Summer kolsch ale. On the neck label there is some information about the beer itself. According to the date on the bottom of the main label this beer was “bottled with love on” April 12, 2007.
A nice thick white head forms when poured into a glass. I had an inch thick head with nice large bubbles on it. The head slowly dissipates. After 15 minuets I still have about an 1/8 inch head on the beer. There is some lacing on the side of the glass. There is a pale yellow color to the beer. A cloudiness can be seen when one tries to look through it. If it is held up to a light source you can really see how cloudy this beer really is. You can make out objects on the other side, but not much detail.
The scent is a strong citrus hop scent with a touch of sweet grass. There is also a slight bread aroma to it. The flavor is mainly of bread malts and citrus hops. There is a lemon accent to it that can probably be linked to the slight bitterness. The aftertaste fades quickly. Overall the taste is kind of weak and unimpressive.
This is a medium bodied beer with a nice crispness to it. The carbonation is at a good level for the overall body and taste of the beer.
I enjoyed drinking this beer. It wasnÂ’t anything I would brag about, but I enjoyed it. This is a nice hot day or drink with pizza beer. The flavor acts as more of an accent than as the center of attention. I give this beer 4.5 out of 10.
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November 14, 2007
Again we have the standard 12 oz brown bottle. It has a shadowy picture of what appears to be a man standing at a beer drinking a beer in the 20s. I doubt this was Ness as he was the big prohibition enforcer in Chicago. Then again after 1933 when prohibition was lifted he did move to Cleveland as the director of public safety and according the Great Lakes Brewing Company, he was a frequent visitor of their brewpubÂ… so maybe it is. Also on the label is a brief description of the beer, including the fact that Ness frequented their bar. It also states that it has 6.3% Alcohol by Volume.
There is a nice dark copper coloring to the beer with a touch of amber. It poured a thin tan head that quickly faded into a film on the top. There is no lacing at all on the side of the glass.
Your standard lager scent is present. A strong malt aroma with a slight hint of hops. ItÂ’s not very complex, yet at the same time it is appealing. The flavor isnÂ’t much more complex. There is a nice malty flavor with roasted grains and a grassy accent. A slight citrus hop flavor is also present. The aftertaste is a little bitter, but it doesnÂ’t last very long.
This is a light bodied beer. There is a normal level of carbonation to it and it is pretty easy to drink. It doesnÂ’t sit heavy and would probably go well with a sandwich.
I thought this was a pretty good beer. ItÂ’s nothing too fancy, but itÂ’s not bad. I donÂ’t know if I would go out of my way to buy it, but I definitely would drink it if one was given to me or if I saw a six-pack at the store. I give it a 5 out of 10.
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October 24, 2007
There is only one way you can get any beer from Carlyle right now and that’s in a 64 oz brown glass bottle they call a growler. (Someday I’ll do a post about what real growlers are.)On the front in white screening is the name of the company. There is a white circle with a picture of a foaming mug in the center of it. Across the bottom it says “Blessed is he who drinks beer.” It also has their address and phone number on it.
While one could attempt to drink this from the bottle, I highly recommend pouring it into a pint glass, just for the ease of handling. For this special occasion I used my Drunken Wisdom Pint. There is a dark brown coloring to the beer that passes through with difficulty. When poured you get a nice half inch tan head. The bubbles are small and it fades slowly to a film on top. There is some nice thick lacing on the side of the glass.
When first smelled you get a strong scent of roasted malts. An earthy undertone is noticeable if you take a second sniff. A slight chocolate accent is also detectable. The flavor is a good mix of roasted chocolate and coffee malts. There is a pleasant hop finish to it. The aftertaste has a slight bitterness to it that is not present in the beer itself.
This is a medium to full bodied beer. It has a great mouth feel that coats. There is only a slight carbonation to the beer. ItÂ’s a beer that is easy to drink when itÂ’s either warm or cold out.
This is a favorite beer of mine. Not only do I enjoy drinking it, but I will buy growlers full of it to share with others. Unfortunately unless you are visiting Rockford, Illinois or have someone bring you a growler, you canÂ’t try this beer at this time. IÂ’ve been talking trying to talk them into starting to bottle it for years, but they just wonÂ’t do it. If you like a dark beer that isnÂ’t as thick as a stout or porter, youÂ’ll love this beer. I give it 7.5 out of 10.
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October 17, 2007
He made sure to get me a nice 12 oz brown bottle so I didnÂ’t have to review on a can after all of you complained. It has a black oval label with the name of the company and the beer on it. There is the Eagle logo for the company at the top center of the circle. In a gold ribbon at the bottom it says AmericaÂ’s Oldest Brewery. The label says this is a combination of the Dark Brewed Porter and Premium beer.
There wasnÂ’t much to the smell. After much consideration I figured it had a scent of roasted malts with a fruit undertone. Nothing that was very complex like one would expect from a Black and Tan. The taste was a very mild malt flavor. There was not much depth at all, it was very simple. Again with a Black and Tan there should be a bit more to it.
It is a very smooth beer. ItÂ’s light bodied and very easy to drink. However it was almost like drinking water. The body didnÂ’t really hold any mouth feel at all.
Okay, first off I have to pick this beer apart. This really isnÂ’t a black and tan, this is a half and half. A Black and Tan generally is Stout or Porter and Ale. A Half and Half is a Stout or Porter over a lager. A proper black and tan or half and half are layered. Generally they pour the lighter beer (ale or lager) first and then using a spoon pour the darker beer (stout or porter) over it in a pint glass. When you look at the glass you should be able to see the two different layers of the beer, the dark on top and the light on the bottom. When this poured into the glass it looked much like their Porter only slightly lighter in color. This is just Yuengling mixing their Porter and Premium lager together in hopes of marketing on a pub trend. If you want to know what a real Black and Tan is like I suggest going to a reputable pub and ordering one. IÂ’d suggest Guinness over Bass.
As much as I know IÂ’m about to bring the wrath of many loyal readers upon myself, IÂ’m not overly impressed with this beer at all. I can see where it would be good with pizza or pub food, but nothing that makes me want to go out of my way for it. ItÂ’s really a dark beer for people that donÂ’t like dark beers. I give it 4 out of 10.
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October 10, 2007
They used a standard 12 oz brown bottle. The body label has a picture of the headless horseman in the middle of an oval. The name of the beer is in old style white script lettering below the horse. On the neck label they have the name of the beer again with a Jack-o-lantern on it.
Into a bar style pint glass this ale poured a hazy copper color. Light passes through, but there is a lot of sediment that prevents you from being able to see through properly. There was a very thin white head that quickly faded to nothing leaving only a ring around the edge of the glass. There is some lacing, but not a lot.
A strong scent combination of pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg compliment the malt backbone. It reminded me a bit of pumpkin bread. On the first taste one gets a strong spice and caramel malt flavoring. It is followed by a light pumpkin taste. It almost tasted like I was eating pumpkin bread while drinking a beer.
There is a nice medium body to it that gives a slight coating to the mouth. It is slightly high in carbonation, a bit more than I generally enjoy.
This beer pleasantly surprised me. Normally I donÂ’t like pumpkin beers as they have an over powering pumpkin taste to it that really kills the flavor. This one has more of a pumpkin accent that really enhances the flavor. IÂ’m still not overly fond of fruit beers, but this one was pretty good. I give it a 4.5 out of 10.
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October 06, 2007
I don't know if I agree with that list, I've had a couple of the beers on there. And there are ones I've never heard of. But as the author states, "With that in mind, we here at Inventor Spot bring you 10 of the ballsiest beers we could find." Which means some of the ones I've had, they may not have. Overall there are some interesting beers on that list.
Bilk anyone?
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October 03, 2007
It came in the standard 12 oz brown bottle. It had a bright red label with a black oval that had the name of the brewery on it and a smaller red oval in the middle of the black one with a goose head. A red banner with white lettering had the name of the beer on it. There is a little history about the beer on the label.
When poured into an Ale pint, it has a hazy copper/amber coloring to it. Light passes through, but you have a difficult time making out shapes. The quarter inch head faded quickly to a ring on the edge of the glass, there is no lacing at all.
My first sniff of the beer was a mix of citrus and malts. The strong citrus scent almost drowns out the rest. You can smell a touch of coriander as well. The taste is much like the smell. A taste combination of malts and biscuits, but with a strong citrus finish to it. Surprisingly there was a slight alcohol tinge to it that one doesnÂ’t expect from an ale. There is also a bitterness that lingers into the aftertaste.
This was a thin-bodied beer. It was very light with almost no coating at all. There was a decent bit of carbonation to the bottle. ItÂ’s very easy to drink.
I canÂ’t say I was overly impressed with this beer. In fact everyone IÂ’ve talked to totes this as the jewel in the Goose Island crown. To be honest this beer didnÂ’t impress me much. IÂ’m giving it 4 out of 10.
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September 26, 2007
Like most beers, this comes in your standard 12 oz brown bottle. The label is really busy. There is a blue and white checkerboard background with the scene of people celebrating Oktoberfest. The bar maid is actually quite stunning.
The color is a nice amber/copper. Light passes easily through the beer, and there is no cloudiness at all to it. It poured a thing white head that faded quickly to a film. The film faded into a ring around the glass that eventually disappeared. There was no lacing on the glass at all.
The scent was a bit surprising, I was expecting a much stronger, more German beer scent, instead it smelled of Malts, slightly sweet and a hint of hops. The taste was much the same a slightly malt sweetness with a hint of hop bitterness. You could also taste a slight nuttiness to it.
It is a smooth medium bodied beer, light on the carbonation. ItÂ’s very easy to drink and has a nice feel to it.
This was pretty good, I was figuring on a slightly different style, but still pretty good. I could see myself drinking this during a game or while eating a big plate of brats with sauerkraut. I give this beer a 5 out of 10.
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September 19, 2007
Even though it comes in a 12 oz brown bottle, this one has a different shape to it. Along the base of the neck there is a band blown into the glass with the name of the brewing company on it. The label is blue and red with a picture of a red bicycle on it and the name of the beer under the bike. There are hops in the blue border framing the bike. On the side there is a story of how Fat Tire got itÂ’s name.
When poured into a glass it forms about a quarter inch white head with large bubbles. The head fades fast leaving a film on the top of the beer and some lacing on the side of the glass. There is a deep clear amber color to it. Light passes through easily with no problems.
I had difficulty making out the full scent of the beer initially. The scent was not weak, just very subtle. There was a pleasant combination of malts with a citrus accent. The taste was very mild. It had a light malt flavor with a mild hop backbone. There was just a hint of bitterness that enhanced the flavor. There is almost no aftertaste.
This is a medium bodied beer with a light carbonation to it. ItÂ’s very easy to drink and leaves almost no coating in the mouth.
This is another beer that I had heard a lot of people say was a great beer, and it is very good. The flavor was a little mild and the nose was kind of weak. Over all I thought this was a good beer. I could see someone sitting down on a hot summer day drinking a six-pack of this with some friends while they grilled. IÂ’m going to rate this a 5.5 out of ten.
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September 12, 2007
Again we have the standard 12 oz bottle brown bottle that we see most beers come in. The label is tan and looks like a bad photocopy job, but I think it was meant to be like that. In the middle of a long story about the beer is the name, “DEMOLITION” in bigger bold lettering. On the back label it states that this beer was bottle on 042006 and states (Flavor will continue to develop over fiver years.) That list bit may be important later on.
It has a nice golden honey coloring to it. It is very cloudy. Light will pas through, but you arenÂ’t able to actually see through the beer to the other side of the glass. When poured it produced a quarter inch white head, but it faded quickly to just a film on top and then a ring around the edge of the glass. There is no lacing at all.
The beer has a scent of citrus and grass. A slight hint of honey is also noticeable. An underlying aroma of hops is also present. The taste is bitter, bitterer than an IPA. In fact itÂ’s so bitter that it overpowers most of the other flavors. The best I can give you is a hint of citrus. You can also taste the alcohol in it, this beer is 8% Alcohol By Volume (ABV), and itÂ’s noticeable in that slight grain alcohol taste to it. And not good grain alcohol, but run through the radiator flavor kind of grain alcohol.
The beer itself is medium bodied and has a nice silky mouth feel to it. It is a little heavy on the carbonation, but not too bad.
Ben Franklin has the famous quote, “Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy.” Well after drinking this I can say, “The fact that Bruce gave me this beer to drink is proof that he hates me and wants me to live in gastric pain for the rest of the week.” This is a seriously unpleasant beer to drink. In fact this will be in the running for the worst beer I’ve drank in the last 5 years. Now, maybe I should have let it sit the five years in my fridge as the label suggests, but it already had a year aging and it tastes god awfully bad. To be honest I had this beer for the first time a year ago (Same six pack) and it’s been kept refrigerated since. It tastes worse than it did then. I’ve got to give this a 2 out of 10, and I may be being generous with that score.
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September 05, 2007
It came in the standard 12 oz brown bottle. The neck label had the brewery name on it and some Celtic knotwork. The body label was the Cross of Saint AndrewÂ’s with a pair of two-handed claymores crossing and a thistle in the middle. The name of the beer was in purple under center.
The coloring was a rich dark brown with a ruby tint. Light passed through it with some difficulty, but was able to pass through. It poured no head. The best I got was a ring around the edge of the glass. It left no lacing and after a couple of minutes the thin, barely noticeable ring had faded to nothing.
The beer smelled of a nice smoky peat you get with a good Scottish ale. A mixture of sweet spices and molasses helped round off the scent. The first sip revealed a taste that was a combination of smoked grains, caramel and a slight raisin accent. It had a rich malty flavor. There were some hop accents, but not much, almost no bitterness at all.
It had a good medium body to it. A slight creaminess helped coat the tongue and mouth. There was a nice level of carbonation that gave a slight bite to the tongue.
I’m a huge fan of Scottish Ales; they are of my top three favorite beers. (Can any of you guess what the other two are?) This is not a bad Scottish ale. Unfortunately it’s not one of the best out there either. I found this to be appealing, yet still there was something about it that made me feel like it was trying to hard to cater to the “Scottish” crowd. Over all I’m rating this a 5 out of 10.
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August 29, 2007
As indicated above, it came in a bottle, the standard 12 oz brown bottle. It has a red neck and body label. The body label is oval in shape, has the eagle symbol that the brewery uses as its logo and the name of the beer on it. It also proclaims that it came from AmericaÂ’s Oldest Brewery.
This was a nice dark beer. With a strong dark brown coloring and slight hint of garnet to the coloring, it has your standard porter look to it. Light had difficulty passing through the body. It poured a nice thick half-inch tan head. However, it faded quickly to just a film on the top of the beer. It left no lacing on the glass at all.
The nose was a mix of roasted malts and sweet caramel grains. There was a hint of chocolate to the scent as well that helped make the scent that much more enticing. The taste was a mix of roasted malts with a touch of coffee. A slightly bitter hop tasted finished it off. It has a slightly bitter aftertaste to it. The flavor is a little on the thin side and very simple for a porter. There is a weak bitter aftertaste to it.
For a porter the body was too light. It should have had more of a medium body to it, but the mouth feel reminded me of the lager. There is a slight creaminess to it, but nothing that left a good coating in the mouth, as one would expect.
I enjoyed this beer, and again I think I was hyping it up since IÂ’ve heard so many good things about Yuengling. Again this is a good beer, but I can think of a couple dozen porters and stouts I would go out of my way for before this. IÂ’m giving it 5.5 out of 10.
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August 22, 2007
It came in a brown 1-liter bottle with a ceramic Grolsch style stopper. There is a large green label with a picture of a red mill on it. In large red letters at the top is the name of the brewery; the name of the beer is incorporated in the bottom of the picture. There is a picture of a wheat stalk on each side of the mill.
It poured a dark obsidian color that was opaque; light did not pass through at all. A nice 3/4 inch tan head formed. The bubbles were large and dissipated quickly leaving only a ring around the edge of the glass and very minimal lacing.
There is a fragrant combination of chocolate, coffee and oat malts. The scent is almost that of a specialty coffee one would get at Starbucks. The scent is very appealing. It has a full flavored mix of oats and mocha with a hint of coffee accents. With a slight bitterness to the aftertaste, itÂ’s very appealing.
It has a creamy mouth feel that one should get with a stout. The body is somewhere between medium and full. ItÂ’s thicker than a medium bodied beer, but not quite a full bodied one. There is a perfect amount of carbonation for a stout.
Overall I really like this beer. IÂ’ve been craving it off and on for the last two years. IÂ’ve bragged about it to people and have gone out of my way to bring samples of it to those that I think would like it. Unfortunately it doesnÂ’t come in 12 oz bottles, at least not in the last couple of years. So after doing my review it pained me, but I had to dump the extra out. ItÂ’s not going to last in the container once the seal is broken. I truly love this beer and would recommend trying it if you ever get a chance.
IÂ’m giving it a 7 out of 10.
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August 16, 2007
Once again we have our standard 12 oz brown bottle. The label is black with the name of the beer inside a red circle. There is a little blurb on the neck label that they add yeast to the beer just prior to bottling to start a secondary fermentation.
There is a nice dark brown, almost black color to it. Light just barely passes through it. The head pours an inch thick tan with very fine bubbles. You get the nice cascading factor down the side of the glass as the head dissipates. Unfortunately the head fades to almost nothing quickly, not even leaving a ring around the edge of the glass.
The scent is a mix of roasted grains, chocolate and coffee. There is a slight after scent of hay as the beer starts to settle. The flavor of the beer is mainly coffee malts with a touch of bitter cooking chocolate to it. There is also a nice roasted malt backbone that really brings the flavor to the tongue.
It is a medium bodied beer. A little water for a stout, there is none of that creamy mouth feel one generally associates with a good thick stout such as Guinness or MurphyÂ’s. ItÂ’s lightly carbonated and slides past the tongue easily.
Overall this was not a bad beer. I was expecting a bit thicker than it was, being a stout and all. IÂ’m going to give this beer a 6 out of 10.
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06:38 PM
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August 08, 2007
It came in the standard 12 oz brown bottle. The label is a tan color with an evil looking winged monkey on it. Above the monkey in red letters is the name “Flying Monkey” and under the winged monkey on a red banner is “Amber Ale” There is a diamond checkered pattern on the lower third of the label.
When poured it barely forms a head. What head that is produced quickly fades to almost nothing quickly. The only thing that remains of the head is a slight ring around the edge of the glass. There is no lacing on the glass. It has an amber color to it that is clear. There is no cloudiness at all.
It has an aromatic smell of malts with a slight floral hop accent. There is a taste of roasted caramel malts with a slight citrus finish. A mild bitterness from hops rounds of the flavor. There is almost no aftertaste. What aftertaste there is doesnÂ’t distract from the beer.
There is a crisp, dryness to it. ItÂ’s light bodied with a decent amount of carbonation. Not so little to make it flat, but not enough to bite the tongue.
This was a decent beer. I had higher hopes for it, but itÂ’s not bad. I donÂ’t know if IÂ’d go out of my way to find it, but I wouldnÂ’t pass it up the store I was in had a six-pack of it. Over all IÂ’ll give it a 5.5.
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July 18, 2007
Tonight’s beer came in an off white 12 oz can. On the front with an old fashion style looks is the logo inside an oval. There is an Eagle in the center. There is a story on the side of the can, “D.G. Yuengling & Son is officially recognized as America’s oldest brewery. With over 178 years of brewing tradition and fiver generations of Yuengling Family ownership, D.G. Yuengling & Son holds the American Brewing industry record for the longest, continuously operated brewery…” There’s more, but I’m not typing it.
It has a dark amber color with a hint of red to it. There doesnÂ’t appear to be a hint of cloudiness to it and light passes through easily. . It pours a three quarter inch head that fades quickly to nothing. There is no lacing or even ring around the edge of the glass.
The scent is that of floral hops and caramel malts. If you smell it long enough, you can get a hint of corn. You can taste a mixture of caramel malts with a touch of hops. There is almost a pear-like flavor to the aftertaste that fades quickly. There is almost no bitterness to the beer.
It is a light bodied beer. There is a lot of carbonation to it that is almost distracting. ItÂ’s very smooth and easy to drink.
I have heard a lot about this beer, but never had one until tonight. The anticipation of drinking it was probably better then the act itself. To be honest to every one that has said so many good things about this beer, I think you built my anticipation up only to be let down. I really didn’t think it was that impressive. It’s like your standard American lager. There really isn’t anything all that special about it. I think this is just another beer that gets hyped due to a reputation, a reputation for being the oldest beer in America. It is easy to drink, this is one of those get drunk quick types of beers. I had the first one down in three “sips”.
Overall, I did enjoy the beer, I was expecting more, but it just didnÂ’t deliver. Overall this is not a bad beer; in fact itÂ’s a good beer. Why anyone would call this their favorite, I donÂ’t know. I give it 5 out of 10.
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July 11, 2007
It comes in the squat 12 oz brown bottle. The main label has a picture of a bulldog with a monocle holding a pint in his left hand. In big red letters above the pictures is the word BULLY! In the same script below is read PORTER. On the red neck label there is a little blurb about the beer itself as well as the breweryÂ’s logo. I do believe they are trying to give this beer an English look.
There is a dark coffee color to the beer with a hint of dark red. Light reluctantly passes through it, and itÂ’s too dark to tell if there is any cloudiness to it at all. It pours a very thick tan head that is long lasting. Heck IÂ’m almost done with the pint and there is still a head on the beer. It leaves some lacing on the side of the glass.
You can smell a combination of roasted coffee and chocolate malts easily. There is a citrus and floral hop background to the scent that is almost completely overpowered by the scent of the malts. The taste is a nice combination of coffee and chocolate roasted malts. There is a slight hop bitterness to the finish, but it helps add to the flavor and isnÂ’t distracting. It has a mildly bitter aftertaste, but it isnÂ’t lingering or unpleasant.
It is a medium bodied beer with a high level of carbonation. To be honest the carbonation is a little on the strong side for my likes, but not unpleasantly so.
IÂ’m very pleased with this beer. I should not be surprised since after the last couple of times sharing a pint with Bloodspite, I know he has a good taste in beer. IÂ’m going to be heading through KC in a couple of weeks, I may have to stop and pick me up another six-pack of it. Overall IÂ’m going to give this a 6.5 out of 10.
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July 05, 2007
After work we met there to check it out and see what it’s like. The place was packed. We just wanted to sit at the bar, but there was no room. We ended up having to get a table in the dining area. The place was filled with your yuppie suburbanite crowd. Sadly enough since I had just come from work, I kind of fit in wearing my shirt and tie. Yea, it’s that kind of crowd. To make matters worse, the atmosphere was crap. This is your standard cookie cutter, Chicago chain restaurant in the mall look and feel. I guess it's fitting since it is a chain brewery. The only thing different was the big stainless fermenting silos in a glass-partitioned section of the building. Really, they could take those out, add more tables and slap a “Panera Bread Company” sign out front and you wouldn’t know the difference. Anyone that lives in the Chicago area knows EXACTLY what I’m talking about.
We kept telling the serving staff we didn’t want food, we just came to sample some of the beer, yet they kept trying to sell us food. I guess it’s their job, but it was annoying. Then AFTER we ordered our first pint and are discussing which one of the four brews they had we wanted to try next the waitress advised us that they have a “sampler” tray. Yea, that would have been nice to know prior to half way through the first pint. But it’s new, so I’m going to cut it some slack. However, you think they would advertise it on their beer menu, but they don’t.
But lets get down to the nitty gritty of the whole thing. What was the beer like? These arenÂ’t going to be my normal reviews, as I didnÂ’t bring a note pad, and IÂ’m pulling it from memory, so youÂ’re just going to get the basics here. BTW, I may screw up the names a little, remember, no note pad.
American Light Lager: As I read their description I told Bruce it was going to be like a Miller Lite, Bud Light, or Coors light. When they brought the samplers they described this one almost EXACTLY like that. It was very light bodied and watery. There was almost no taste to it, and the scent was minimal. It was like a watered down Miller Lite. It was weak, lacking, and very disappointing.
Benedictine Bock: This was one I was going to choose for my second pint before we found out about the sampler. Again there was almost no scent to it. In fact with all the background smells, I really couldnÂ’t single out this beer, and it was right under my nose, literally. It was also light bodied and watery, but it had a darker richer color. The flavor was rather disappointing. It was weak and they described it as having a hint of chocolate to the flavor, but one couldnÂ’t really taste it. It was better then the American Light Lager, but not by much.
Double Pull: It’s half American Light Lager and half Benedictine Bock. I’m going to sum this up by quoting that old anecdote, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
DukeÂ’s IPA: They described this one of having a grapefruit flavor to it. They werenÂ’t wrong. It smelled like grapefruit, it tasted like grapefruit, and if they jammed any more hops into it, I think the bitterness would have caused my face to implode from the pucker. Now, I will invalidate my review of this beer up front. I do not like IPAs, so itÂ’s hard for me to review them honestly. IÂ’m pretty much set at hating them. But from what the staff said, no one has liked it. I about fell out of my chair laughing when Bruce suggested they hook up a hose to the tank itÂ’s in and wash down the parking lot with it. I donÂ’t know what the parking lot did to him, but damn, thatÂ’s just harsh.
Bad Axe Stout: This was the pint I ordered first. I like stouts, IÂ’m fonder of the European stouts over the American ones, but I still like all of them. Rarely do I find one that I donÂ’t like. Well, I canÂ’t say I didnÂ’t like this one, but IÂ’ve had many more that were better then worse. It was a light-medium body. There was a good creamy feel to it, but the overall body was again watery. It was way too bitter for a stout, they went too heavy on the hops. There was something amiss with the malts as well, and Bruce nailed it on the head; it tasted burnt. I think they were trying for a good roasted malt flavor, and over did it. It really was not a complimentary flavor to the beer.
That was it for their beer on tap. They have some others coming up in the following months and they have some seasonal ones as well. Overall I was not impressed at all with the quality of beer. I found it to be rather disappointing. Yet, I am going to give them another chance. In October IÂ’m going to head back and see if maybe a couple months of practice might help out the brewmaster. Then I can also check out the quality of their seasonals. At this time IÂ’m just not holding my breath.
The worst part is that after leaving I felt like a bad man. Not because I didnÂ’t like the place or their beer, but because I went to a brewery other than Carlyle. The urge to drive down there and drink a couple of pints to plead for atonement (and wash the bad flavor out of my mouth) was over whelming.
People if you are in the Rockford Area and want a good locally brewed beer. Do yourself a favor and go to Carlyle. What do you expect from a brewery in a mall?
Oh and Bruce has a much shorter and more to the point version of this post.
Posted by: Contagion at
08:57 PM
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June 27, 2007
It comes in your standard 12 oz brown bottle. The label is yellow that has a cartoonish picture of what I suppose is Robert the Bruce. In the oval around the picture you have the name of the beer in the top half, and the name of the brewery in the bottom. It also has the tag line, “It’s not normal”. To be honest the smile on Robert in the picture is kind of scary and if I had to look at it all the time, I think I would get creeped out.
It has a nice dark brown color to it. Light barely paces through, and itÂ’s hard to tell if there is any cloudiness to it or not. There was a very thin tan head when poured. It quickly faded into a fine film on the top of the beer and a slight ring around the edge of the glass. There is some lacing, but not much.
The scent is of roasted caramel malts. There are other malts that act as subtle undertones, but nothing distinct. We also have a nice touch of wood smoke to the scent that really brings the smell dancing into the nose. There is a nice richly roasted caramel malt flavor to this beer. The malts are primarily what you taste. It has a nice hop accent to it. The after taste is slightly bitter, and fades quickly leaving you to want to drink more.
This is a nice medium bodied beer with a creamy feel to it. It coats the mouth and throat that is rather pleasant.
This is a very nice beer. It reminds me a lot of the Scotch Ale at Carlisle Brewery here in Rockford, only not as flavorful. I really found myself liking this one a lot. Considering itÂ’s 6.4% by volume IÂ’m surprised that it drinks as easily as it does. Overall I like this beer. IÂ’m giving this one 6.5 out of 10.
Posted by: Contagion at
06:00 PM
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