Great River - Hop-A-Potamus

Friends!  It's only May 9th and you've already made this my best month ever!  With a little extra love from Goose Island, it's not only my best month, but I also breached 20,000 hits.  I'm feeling pretty good about things right now and with that in mind, today's review will be for a brewery who also has quite a few things going for them.  Today, I'll be reviewing Great River's Hop-A-Potamus.  Don't worry, if you haven't heard of it.  They're a local brewer in Davenport, IA (just off the Arsenal Bridge, for those wishing to find it), but are enjoying a pretty good local distribution and really coming into their own with some unique, flavorful beers.  Also they recently won a "Canny" Award at the first ever Cannys.  The Cannys are "a competition that recognizes the high-quality, captivating graphics featured on craft beer in cans. Awards were presented during the Craft Brewers Conference, May 2-5 in San Diego, California." (Source: craftcans.com)

Photo blatantly stolen from Great River's Facebook page.

The best part about Great River?  Their craft brewing spirit.  They've embraced cans.  They collaborate like crazy with a local distillery, Mississippi River Distilling Co, to the point where both business have been out at local supermarkets giving out samples.  They have a great presence at local festivals.  They try creative things at their bar ("We have organic brown beer and vanilla beans?  Throw 'em in the firkin!").  They seem to embody everything that is right about craft beer and I hope that attitude continues with their deserved success.  The can for Hop-A-Potamus reads,

"Hop-A-Potamus is a double dark rye pale ale made with a ton of pale and six kinds of rye malt for a 'full' body.  This double dark rye pale ale is fiercely hopped with a Northwest blend for a stampede of flavor and aroma.

Beware: Hop-A-Potamus will charge if provoked!  Hop-A-Potamus is not for the foolish for the faint of heart."

With a description like that, who can wait?  Let's pour!

Aroma 10/12

I initially poured this beer a bit too cold and it changed the aroma completely.  Initially, the hops and rye were fairly minimal but the sweet malt was bursting from the glass.  The malt was so laden with caramelized sugars, I could've sworn it was an overripe banana.  Really weird considering the style.  The hops materialize soon enough and provide a light citrus and what could be a peppery spice, though that is likely from the rye. While the malts never fade away entirely, the rye becomes more noticeable in that earthy, slightly sour way that rye has about it.  Thankfully, the sour of the rye helps to bring out those faint citrus hops.

Appearace 2/3

Simply sitting in the glass, this beer appears like a darkly stained cherry wood.  Deep walnut browns and blacks abound, but not without ruby facets shining from time to time.  When held to the light, the red shades become even more striking and allow for all sort of brown-red combinations like maroon and even magenta.  The head was small, less than a finger, but appeared creamy, wet, and thick.

Flavor 18/20

A lot of earthy, yet not spicy, rye gets things started and quickly moves into a backbone that is quite reminiscent of the aroma.  The sweetness returns in that uber-caramelized way that I swear reminds me of an over ripe, caramelized banana!  Is there Belgian yeast in this?!  Despite the sweetness, the beer remains remarkably crisp, and enjoys a faint, bright citrus note.  An earthy note from the rye casts its shadow over the proceedings to bitter things up quite a bit (and add a moderate peppery spice), but only an occasional glimpse of hop resin is available from time to time.  The finish is a strengthening of all the ingredients that would cause you to buy this beer in the first place.  The hop resins bite at ya, the rye is earthy and bitter, the alcohol (9.0% ABV) even shows up a bit, and there's a finish almost like mouth-watering, bitter, brown ale. Aftertastes are a reprise of the rye's sour and a dark, lingering bitter down the back of the tongue.

Mouthfeel 5/5

 I dig this.  For a beer that claims to have 9% ABV (I believe it) and 99 IBUs (I am skeptical), this beer drinks like it has neither.  It's full-bodied (as advertised on the label) and offers a carbonation that is not aggressive enough to compliment or bring out a rye's spiciness, but neither does it leave the beer feeling flat or syrupy.  Keep in mind, not feeling syrupy is no easy task with he amounts of malt the brewers have crammed into this can.  The warmth is all but invisible throughout the beer and two pints of this on an empty stomach will leave you laughing at all sorts of internet nonsense.

 Overall Impression 8/10

This is a tasty beer, but I'm having a difficult time determining the borders after these worlds collide.  On one side, you have a ton of malt (rye and pale).  This results in a lot of sweetness, a great color, and a full body.  Got it.  However, if six kinds of rye malt are being used in this thing, I rather expect it to be insanely earthy, peppery with spice, and bitter like a custody battle.  While I get lesser amounts of bitter and earth, the spice is all but absent.  And on the OTHER hand, you have a pale ale - traditionally, a biscuity.crackery tasting, dry, lightly hopped delight of a beer (pale ales are rapidly becoming one of my favorite styles).  I'd venture that none of the pale ale characteristics remain.  There is an abundance of sweetness in the malt, despite the rye's attempt to bitter things up, and... OK, I guess I can see how some folks could argue this an "imperial" version of a pale ale.  Abundance of (attempted) dry malts up front and a nice hop presence behind.  However, if that argument IS to be made, then the malts up front need to be made even more dry and crisp (the hallmark of a great pale ale) with the rye, and the hop presence at the end could be made even stronger.

Total 43/50

I can nitpick all I want, but in the end this is a damn tasty beer.  Big, earthy, with high marks in the technical categories, and a well hidden ABV, this beer is one I would encourage more locals to buy if it was available.  This beer sold quickly once it hit the shelves.  It truly is a unique beer and I have trouble measuring it against other styles... but I'll try anyway.  It's not as rye heavy as Sierra Nevada's Ruthless Rye, but then again it's also trying to blend in the pale ale style.  It's much more bitter than a good pale ale (like, say, Three Floyds Alpha King), but lacks some of the hop intensity one might expect give the abundance of malt (and the high IBUs).  This review was written on my last two 16 oz cans, but I happened to find a lonely 4-pack in the back of a grocery store cooler.  Huzzah!  If you're planning a visit to the Quad Cities, make sure that Great River is on your list.  They completely understand the craft beer vibe and they make some damn good beer to boot.  Cheers Great River!  Keep up the great work.

Stolen from the Great River website.

Front Street - Raging River Ale

This brew, Front Street's Raging River Ale, was the second beer I had during my brief visit.  It was during this pint that I had a chance to talk to Jen, the wife of the husband/wife owner team.  In our brief talk she mentioned some talk of expansion!  This is great news for a local brewpub that definitely deserves its success.  Let's pour!

Photo again blatantly stolen from their website.

Aroma 10/12

The brew is definitely hop-leaning and the malt is not making its presence felt via the nose.  It is then a good thing that the hops are such a nice combination of citrus and pine.  This combined with an ester that recalls a bit of green apples is a very light and pleasant way to start this beer.

Appearance 2/3

A dark golden honey color with barely a covering of white head.  It is moderately translucent, bright, and very appealing in its shades of yellow.  Even an average amount of head and retention would have yielded a perfect rating in this category.

Photo is my own.

Flavor 18/20  

This beer starts off strong out of the gate with sweet notes of honey and almost a sugary sweetness!  Very light and refreshing.  The backbone starts with strong caramel tones, but has a lovely smorgasbord of sweet and light tartness involving the apple from the aroma, citrus from the hop, and a distinct floral tone that wraps everything up before featuring the hop bitter.   It should be noted that the hop flavors and bitter are almost completely separated in this brew.  The bitter does arrive in the very beginning of the finish.  It is an abrupt contrast to the prior sweetness, but an excellent finish that is appropriate for the style.  It continues the flowery sweetness while introducing the aforementioned hop bitter as well as an additional peppery hop flavor.  The pepper helps dry the finish and keeps it remarkably clean despite the mouth-watering sweetness introduced earlier.  Aftertaste is fairly clean, but does leave its bitter calling card on the edges of the tongue.

Mouthfeel 5/5

The beer has a medium body that feels heavier than its light color would have you believe.  Also, one is not accustomed to having light, hop-emphasizing beers attain this level of creaminess.  The carbonation is a perfect compliment and only adds to its refreshing nature being both abundant and non-distracting throughout the pint.  The mouthfeel is very nice and lends itself to the feeling that this is a more substantial offering of the style.

Overall Impression 9/10

This is a very impressive local offering!  It is clean, refreshing, bubbly beer with a complex hop profile.  It manages to neatly separate several hop varieties and showcase each one without becoming “hop crazy” or dominating the rest of the brew.

Total 44/50

This ranking puts this beer at the top of the excellent category and rightly so.  There is marvelous sweetness up front and a wonderful, complex garden full of hops to wrap up the flavor.  I am not sure how they separate the hop flavor and the bitter, but as I held it in my mouth I had to all but swallow it before those hop bitters became present.  It is definitely a two-phased beer.  This is not a bad thing; I rather enjoy the effect.   They finished it right by making this light ale with a dry finish.  I cannot wait to take another sip or order another.  Hoppy beers are not my forte, but I am coming to appreciate them more with every bottle.  This beer is no exception and I would recommend it to anyone taking that bold step into the world of IPAs and hoppy goodness.  As mentioned earlier, not only are hoppy beers not my forte, but they are also not usually my first choice off of the menu.  This beer is definitely an exception to the rule.  I will be back for this one.  Prost! 

Another stolen image.

Front Street - Bucktown Stout

Some personal business took me to the Illinois/Iowa border today and this was fortunate.  On that border there is an area consisting of four cities referred to as the Quad Cities and it is composed of Rock Island & Moline on the Illinois side, and Davenport & Bettendorf across the Mississippi in Iowa.  Despite being a smaller market, this area has given rise to FOUR, count ‘em, FOUR breweries and some would argue a fifth in a chain restaurant  called Granite City.  It makes a strong, nay, irrefutable argument for traveling into the area and having some great local beer and supporting local communities.  This review’s beer is for Front Street Brewery in Davenport, IA.  I am actually sitting in the establishment right now.

Quick Note: Please forgive the quality of any shots in this review or Front Street's next review.  I did not have a camera with me or even a decent cell phone.  My recently-deceased cell phone had an unfortunate accident involving a motorcycle.  But I digress...

The atmosphere is very nice in a remodeled early 20^th century riverfront building - lots of wood and exposed brick.  In fact, out the front window I can clearly the mighty Mississippi rolling on by, the local Lock & Dam No. 15, and the Rock Island Arsenal (which manufactured TONS of rifles used in WWII).  Bucktown was actually an area of the city that Wikipedia describes as such,

"The eastern end of downtown Davenport, historically known as Bucktown, was infamous at the turn of the 20th century for its speakeasies, dance halls and German music pavilions. It was home to a documented forty-two brothels in a two block area. The reputation of Bucktown traveled across the country and garnered national media headlines as the "wickedest city in America... Bucktown was also known, however, for its culture. The strong German heritage of the community formed the identity of Bucktown and its infusion of the arts into the everyday... In Bucktown, the music of the people was played by the era's finest musicians, including Louis Armstrong and the legendary Bix Beiderbecke."

That is a pretty rich heritage.  If that heritage was an uncle, he probably would not be invited to many family gatherings.  This place is loaded with local history and it is literally plastered all over the walls in large black and white photos that depict not only the history of the area, but also of the building itself.  Very cool!  The community should be proud to have an establishment like this.  Enough gabbing though!  On to the beer.  Let’s pour!

Unflattering cell phone shot.

Aroma  8/12

The malty beginnings are smoky and toasted moderately.  There was no charring when making this stout.  There is, however, a chocolaty sweetness that makes itself more known as the pint warms.  Coffee is the primary aroma, but this typically strong scent is not allowed to overwhelm its counterparts.  Very mild beginnings.

Appearance 2/3

Like the aroma, the appearance is a bit light for the style.  The beer is not black, but gets probably as close as it gets without achieving that goal.  It is completely opaque, but black has been swapped for a ruddy chestnut brown that reveals dark reddish-browns at its edges.  Head is small, does not offer much in retention, but sticks around quite a bit as a collar.  There is a minute amount of lacing present.

Flavor

The first sips show the malt used in this beer.  It tastes like a rather pale malt that has gone through some lighter roasting than expected.  It makes the beer less intense than other stouts, but that could work out very well for some drinkers who prefer just that.  The malt also adds a sourish sweet flavor that is again distinct, but not unpleasant in the least.  The backbone then steps in with the lighter chocolate notes and the stronger coffee flavors.  This fades a bit and gives way again to the sour/sweet malt and some pretty distinct earthy tones.  The finish is unusually sweet, but does have the appropriate emphasis on coffee.  The coffee gets to combine with a delicate hop bitter which always makes for nice finish.  Aftertaste is almost entirely hop bitters, but does involve a little of the prior coffee and the result is almost that of charred coffee beans despite the lack of blackened ingredients anywhere in this beer.

Mouthfeel 3/5

The carbonation is high and a little out of place for the style.  It is prickly and contrasts the body/creaminess that stouts normally seek to attain.  That said, it still does maintain a better than average creaminess and a medium heavy body.  No detectable warmth.

Overall Impression 6/10

A pretty good stout.  Definitely not an intense version, but not the type used to introduce others to craft beer stouts either.  It lies somewhere in that dangerous middle ground that achieves neither wide spread success (too weak), nor critical accolades (flavor powerhouse).  It is a good beer that I would not have problems ordering growlers of were I living in the area, but it would benefit from a push either to the extreme or to the acceptability of the masses.

Total 34/50

Almost every section of this beer’s review notes that it is light for the style and that sums things up rather well.  This can make for a very good “exbeerience” for those who are not looking for the insanely dark tones that an Imperial might provide.  It is a rather light coffee stout that I would prefer ANY day to almost anything most local places/chain restaurants have on tap.  It is a great alternative to have in the area, but falls a bit short when competing on a national stage.

I really like this brewery/brewpub (They do serve food.  Good food at that!).  I enjoy this beer.  It might not bring home any first place trophies, but it is a pretty good stout that you can definitely have several of without any reservations.  Cheers to Steve and Jen for running a fine establishment!

Photo blatantly stolen from their website.