Anniversary Beer 'X'
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

I always thought the Downtown Indy had the potential for a truly *amazing* brew.

This isn't it. However, it is damn close. In a way, this beer reminded me of an overly ambitious homebrew -- there is so much more right with it than there is wrong, but the flaws manage to marr the beer beyond repair.

So, let's break down the stats, from notes written on a napkin:

Appearance: A niiice brown. Slightly hazy. A light coffee-and-cream head that lingers for a surprisingly long time, given the alcohol.

Smell: Bland. Boozy. The Fusels (see below) really make themselves known here.

Taste: Wow, it's excellent. There is a lot going on here. At first, it seems like it's just an oversized American amber. Nothing too special, just some nice toasted malts with a sweet back when . . . whoa . . . the debittered chocolate malt slaps you from left field. Pow, pow, pow, goes the aftertaste, a delicious echo of chocolate. All this backed by pleasant english hops.

Then comes in the BIG SUCK. WOW this beer is HOT HOT HOT. There are some seriously fusels going on here, either that, or I am used to beers (and wines) that can hide the 10% . . . this tasted more like a 25-30% cordial. Wow. Hothothothothothot!!!! There was some serious yeast funk here, and not in the good 'delicate saison' sorta way, but more the 'I brewed a beer in the dead of summer, with no temperature control, and I underpitched'. In fact, I am certain that this beer was underpitched. It's really the only explaination.

Mouthfeel: Mostly eclipsed by the chocolate-cum-fusel punch. It was pleasant, if unremarkable.

Drinkability: An amazing brew marred by some glaring flaws. I'll be drinking it again, and I'd wager it'd go down well with most BA's. Check it out!