Our May meeting was a treat. We tasted two flights of beers and did it in a basement in Florida. Of course this was a purpose-built, subterranean room complete with a bar and beer aging rooms.
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:
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:
*Highland IPA 7%
-smelled hoppy bitter
-tasted very hoppy but not bittter
-dry IPA
-trailed bitter hops
-smelled hoppy bitter
-tasted very hoppy but not bittter
-dry IPA
-trailed bitter hops
*Highland Tasgall Scotch Ale/WeeHeavy 8%
-smelled faintly of wood
-tasted slightly whisky
-trailed very quickly!
Very unremarkable beer.
-smelled faintly of wood
-tasted slightly whisky
-trailed very quickly!
Very unremarkable beer.
*Aardwolf Pen is Mightier Scotch Ale 4.2%
-smelled like - not much
-no sour or sweet beer smell
-tasted very light oak
-trailed quickly with not much aftertaste
-smelled like - not much
-no sour or sweet beer smell
-tasted very light oak
-trailed quickly with not much aftertaste
*Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Stout 9.5%
-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 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.
*Cigar City Hornswaggled Irish Red 5%
-smelled sweet citrus orange
-tasted citrusy with hops
-lingering malty flavor to finish
-smelled sweet citrus orange
-tasted citrusy with hops
-lingering malty flavor to finish
*Cigar City Puppy's Breath Porter
Kickback ran out of this and replaced it with :
*Dog Fish Head Choc Lobster Porter
There were no glasses left for me to taste.
Kickback ran out of this and replaced it with :
*Dog Fish Head Choc Lobster Porter
There were no glasses left for me to taste.
*Unibroue La Resolution Belgian Strong Dark Ale 10%
-smelled sweet wine
-tasted like a merlot
-sweet at the end
-trailed quickly to oak!
-smelled sweet wine
-tasted like a merlot
-sweet at the end
-trailed quickly to oak!
*Smuttynose 2015 Scotch Ale 7.8%
-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
-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
Owner Steve Flores was gracious enough to give us a tour of the basement, aging rooms and all, after we sampled the beers. The room where all the kegs are hooked to the taps is like keg and beer spaghetti. There's even a shelf of pickled hops in that place! The wall of lockers will be for rent soon and IMWC will most likely have a space. Here is some of what we saw:
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