Beer Review: Rock Bottom Red Ale

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 5.7 percent

Appearance: Rock Bottom Red Ale looks the way you'd expect your typical Irish Red to look. It has a deep red garnet color in its body and features a powerful, white head that's about an inch and a half thick after initial pour. It dissipates at an average rate and leaves some excellent lacing. Very attractive.

Smell: This beer's aroma features plenty of caramel and toffee undertones. An even sweeter maltiness lies right behind those two dominant flavors.

Taste: The three flavors I picked up with my nose translated well onto the tongue. Those three flavors were pleasant, but I was surprised by the strong hop character of this beer.

Overall Rating: 

I loved the maltiness, caramel and toffee elements to this beer, but I think the hop character was just too dominating. That might appeal to some of you out there, but I wished I would have been able to enjoy the initial three flavors more without the hop interference in this particular brew.

Beer Review: Rock Bottom Belgian White Ale

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 5.3 percent

Appearance: Belgian White's have been one of my favorite beer styles dating back to my early days of getting into beer. I find the look of their fluffy, white crowns fascinating as they are in contrast to the rest of the beer's body. This one has about an inch of thickness in the head and it remained atop the brew for most of the drink. The body was an attractive orange and very cloudy.

Smell: This beer had a pleasant aroma of coriander and spice. I also got hints of wheat and yeast, which is what you'd expect when drinking such a hazy beer.

Taste: This is the department in which I was slightly disappointed. It might be partially my fault because when I fall in love with a beer based on its appearance I tend to develop high expectations pertaining to the experience that's to come. The spice hits you hard, but the citrus is lacking just a tad in this Belgian White. Aside from the taste, the mouth feel was very carbonated and fizzy, which I appreciated.

Overall Rating: 

This was such a beautiful-looking beer. I was just slightly disappointed in the taste. I want to be smacked in the tongue with the citrus zest. it just wasn't in the cards for this pint.

Beer Review: PCBW Home Opener Kolsch

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: N/A

Appearance: Home Opener has a hazy, yellow body with a plethora of carbonation. The haziness gives the effect that this beer might have some heaviness to it despite its color.The head is very foamy and frothy.

Smell: The initial smell is very sweet and malty. Some hints of grassiness sneak their way in behind that. Some citrus scent makes it something pleasant to smell on a decently hot day.

Taste: Home Opener is mostly a sweet and citrus-like beer. The beer also features some hoppiness on the finish, which adds something bitter to the adventurous flavor. This is a great beer for after doing some yard work. A good thirst-quencher.

Overall Rating: 

This is one of the Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week collaboration beers that were brewed in time for the city's week-long celebration of local beers. Brewers from Rock Bottom Brewery at the Waterfront and from Penn Brewery collaborated to make this wonderful concoction. This is an awesome beer when it's hot outside or if you're really looking for something to beat the thirst.