Kickbacks, in Riverside, is a sensory overload of art, installation pieces, pennies, beers, ceiling fans and steam punk decorations. The only thing the place lacks is light enough to see everything. The menu is read with cell phone light and the staff have trouble seeing the taps at the bar. The food is alright, tasting better the more beers one drinks. Luckily for us the beverages were the focus of our outing.
The beer menu is four pages long and does not include specials. The menu for the aged beers (5-10 years) is separate as has to be asked for at the bar. We only found out about it right before our tour of the aging rooms. Todd and I actually drank one of the beers last summer in St. Augustine, the most expensive beer I have ever drunk.
Here is what I tasted:
-smelled hoppy bitter
-tasted very hoppy but not bittter
-dry IPA
-trailed bitter hops
-smelled faintly of wood
-tasted slightly whisky
-trailed very quickly!
Very unremarkable beer.
-smelled like - not much
-no sour or sweet beer smell
-tasted very light oak
-trailed quickly with not much aftertaste
-smelled coffee, burnt wood
-tasted dry, burnt oak- almost sooty
-dried my mouth out
-trailed bitter, charred oak
This beer is not sweet at all! Espresso by itself has some sweetness.
-smelled sweet citrus orange
-tasted citrusy with hops
-lingering malty flavor to finish
Kickback ran out of this and replaced it with :
*Dog Fish Head Choc Lobster Porter
There were no glasses left for me to taste.
-smelled sweet wine
-tasted like a merlot
-sweet at the end
-trailed quickly to oak!
-smelled sweet like a wine
-tasted warm and dry like a cabernet
-bitter hops in the middle with malted barley
-reminded me of brandy but bitter
-trailed slowly whisky, slight oak