Beer:30... Rivertown Roebling Porter UPDATE

Had the chance last night to try this beer again. After my first tasting a while back, I felt that the beer was not right, carbonation wise, and that with the proper amount, it would be fantastic. The flavors blended very well, but overall the lack of carbonation made the beer, pardon the pun, fall flat. After having the beer last night on tap, I can say that it is an amazing beer. Everything in my pint glass was brewed to perfection. Last night was the evening of porters for me, and this beer topped the list out of the many. Glad to update this one, as it seems that my first go round was just a simple bad batch.

Click here to read my first impressions of this porter.

Well done Rivertown! I look forward to having this one again!

Cheers!

Beer:30... Cincinnati Beer Week Collaboration Barleywine Ale.

I will be the first to admit that certain beers get me excited. There is nothing like a quality beer, and nowadays there are many different brands and styles to choose from. Something magical happens though, when multiple brands come together to produce a limited, special brew for a special time. Thanks to this being Cincinnati Beer Week, that time is now.

Cincinnati Beer Week is a celebration of the libation. Running from Feb. 2nd to the 9th, many local venues and local breweries are participating to make this inaugural year a week to remember. And what would a beer week be without a special beer? So in the true fashion of collaboration, all of the major players in the Cincinnati beer arena came together with the common goal, to make a beer for this special week. Enter the Barleywine Ale:

Today I was lucky enough to stop by the Mt. Carmel Brewing Company on my way to drop off my wife's lunch at her workplace. I will admit, if you are not paying attention, you will drive right by the brewhouse. It was very cool to see where one of my favorite brands was made, and to chat a bit with some of the nice folks there. After filling my growler, and picking up a pint glass, I was out the door to head home.

Barleywines are interesting beers, and this one is no exception. Poured out of the growler into my glass, it gives you the ruby coloration that Barleywines are known for. Once in the glass, the smell of this beer is gorgeous, hitting you with sweet fruit, some citrus, and balanced with the smell of hops. The smell reminded me of Great Divide's Old Ruffian a tiny bit, due to the hops. When the beer hits the taste buds though, all of those scents come together to make an amazing flavor. The beer has a sweet taste, which flows nicely with the hop bitterness, a bit of vanilla in there, and the alcohol finishes it up quite nicely with a warming sensation. I have not found an alcohol content on this one yet, but I am sure that it is quite high. This beer finishes, and makes you wish you had another. Luckily, I bought a 64oz. growler.

So take all of the craft beer companies in one city, put them into a room, and give them the goal to make a beer for one week, the inaugural Beer Week. For some reason, I keep getting the mental picture of the council scene from the "Lord of the Rings" where all of the factions are deciding what to do/how to get rid of the ring. Except all of the members in the roundtable are beer Gandalfs, super wise to the craft of beer making, and the quest at hand is a Barleywine quest. Be sure to look for this beer in your own travels, especially during this special week here in the Cincinnati area. I will be buying some more, and I suggest you do too before it is all gone.

Now if only I could find a bottle or two to put away in my cellar...

Be sure to check out these links:
Cincinnati Beer Week
Christian Moerlein
Listermann Brewing
Mt. Carmel Brewing
Red Ear Brewing
Rivertown Brewing
Rock Bottom Brewery

Cheers, and happy Beer Week!

Beer:30... Rivertown Brewing Roebling Imperial Robust Porter.

I do love history, and here in the Cincinnati area, there is lots of it. Case in point is the Roebling suspension bridge. Finished in 1866 connecting Covington Kentucky and Cincinnati Ohio, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It is a distinctive landmark here in the Cincinnati area. Just look at a couple pictures of this historical landmark:

Image from 1870, from Wikipedia Commons.

Image from 2005, from Wikipedia Commons.

Enough with the bridge talk, lets get to the beer. Enter Rivertown Brewing Company's Roebling Imperial Robust Porter. Named after the very distinctive local landmark, this beer has big shoes to fill. Sadly, it does not fit the bill, or bridge, in this matter.

First off, I do like this beer. Nice notes of vanilla, chocolate, and coffee hit the taste buds in a pleasant manner. The flavors are very nice to the palate, but something is amiss. It is almost like the beer is flat. Not much carbonation going on with this one. Not that carbonation is a deal breaker, the mouth feel of this beer is not that interesting. It almost has a watery feel. The carbonation of this beer is the exact opposite of their Oatmeal Stout that I picked up last year. That beer had so much carbonation it tasted like a bad fountain soda. Another interesting aspect is that when poured, there is a very minimal head. What does bubble to the top is very thin, and bubbly it is. No lacing ended up on my glass after the thin head disappeared. Lastly, I would not call this an Imperial. That makes me think of big alcohol beers, and although I cannot find an ABV on this one, I doubt it is very high.

Hopefully, this is just a bad batch, or bad bottling. I really would like to try this on tap to see if there is any difference. Maybe it is the bad mojo of my Miller Lite San Diego Padres pint glass, since it is recommended that it is enjoyed out of a snifter? My next drink will be out of my snifter to compare. I feel that this beer has great potential, but just falls short of the huge historical shoes that it is trying to fill. I will keep trying Rivertown's products, hopefully I will find on that makes me happy.

Cheers!

Just riding along... Riding with the moon.

Last night was gorgeous. By gorgeous I mean temperatures close to fifty degrees, and a mostly clear sky with a full moon. A night like that calls for one thing: Bike ride. A couple friends were summoned, some "essentials" were loaded into the HaroX, and off we went down the trail.

All three of us had lights on our respective bikes, and also headlamps, but once on the trail, it was unnecessary. The moon was out in full effect, casting a gentle glow over the entire bike path, enabling us to let our eyes adjust and ride on without using any artificial light. This was not the longest or most extreme ride that I have done this year, but quite honestly it was one of my favorites. Around fifteen or so miles in around 2 hours, the pace was light, with a few stops and conversations. After the ride it was winter seasonal beer sampling time:

The beers on the agenda for the evening were two highly enjoyable brews, 21st Amendment Brewery's Fireside Chat, and Cincinnati's own, Rivertown Brewing Company's Winter Ale. Both beers were heavy on the spice, and both had a nice winter beer flavor. After a few of these, I didn't mind the cooler temperature.

I think that a ride like this should happen a little more regularly, maybe when the weather starts turning warmer again. Hopefully this was not the last of the nicer weather, but looking out the window today says otherwise...