Dominator
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

 

This is a very, very good hoppy IPA. It went really well with the spicy food I ordered.
The typical piney bitter hoppy taste we all love in an IPA was up there, and very dominant. This beer is no wimp. Well worthy of a pint when you are in the area. But you'll want to make this your last beer(s) because it will dull your taste buds and ruin your pallet.

Pours a golden orange color with one finger of sticky white head.

Scent of citrus, grassy hops, tropical fruit, and some grain. Very good and refreshing.

Taste of dank, earthy, grassy hops, citrus, and light fruit. Could use more bitterness from the hops, but this is still one good IPA.

Mouthfeel is medium light bodied and oily with good carbonation.

I had this one on tap at the Orland Park Rock Bottom.

A= This ale poured a nice dark gold color with orange highlights. The white sudsy head rose 3/4" and then settled to a thin cap. Lots of sticky sheet lacing left behind on my glass.

S= I found a bready sweet malt base covered over by a big fruity west coast hop blanket. Tropical fruit and grapefruit dominate with a lesser hint of pine in the nose.

T= Much like the smell, the flavor of this ale lead off with a nice biscuity sweet malt character, with a nice amount of caramel. That was followed by a big hoppy burst of grapefruit, pine, and tropical fruit/mango. Finished drier and left a nice bitter aftertaste.

MF= Medium bodied with a great feel and moderate carbonation.

D= A damn drinkable IPA especially considering the ABV. I could easily drink a few of these before I knew what hit me! Iain Wilson does it again!!!

Had this from a keg at a house party I was at last night. This beer is an amber reddish brown color with a nice white, frothy head. Just about all of this beer's characteristics heavily reminded me of Great Lakes' Burning River Pale Ale (only not as good), which is not a bad thing, but these are the characteristics I think a good IPA should have. There are some malty and hoppy aromas and not much else. The taste is the same, a nice balance of malty sweetness and hop bitterness, neither one being dominant over the other. Has a crisp and smooth medium to full bodied mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Quite easy to drink. I am wondering if this beer was actually the Powerhouse Pale Ale or the Riverbend Red Ale and not the Dominator IPA, but a friend of mine who also attended the party asked the host of the party who got the keg what the beer was and he said it was the IPA.

Eric

Appearance - clears up rather quickly off the nitro tap, a fairly clear autumn orange. An off-white, off-orange head is thin but stable.

Aroma - orange and grapefruit mostly. Peach as well.

Taste - malts, sweet orangey citrus to start. Changes character abruptly on the swallow, a notable grapefruit rind bitterness taking over. Alcohol comes on at the aftertaste, warming the throat considerably. The intensity of the hops magnified by the alcohol approaches a medicinal quality but doesn't go overboard. The finish has an interesting exhale breath of grain that I seldom find in the style. Bready, peanutty even. Nice mix of flavors overall.

Mouthfeel - served pretty much at room temperature, quite smooth, moderate carbonation. Hits the style properly, though I wouldn't mind having a wee bit more of a chill to it.

Drinkability - a raw fresh, moderately bitter IPA. I'm no self-subscribed hophead but I'd have it again. I'd growler it if it wasn't stuck in the cask. Oh well, carpe diem.

The beer poured a copper-yellow color with a white head that disipated quickly and left adequate lacing. Very present carbonation in the body of the beer. The aroma was largely of citrus hops and with a grassy hops aroma. The taste was strong in the hops but had an equally strong malt taste profile giving is a toasty taste. The mouthfeel was bubbly with no real notice of alcohol. It left with a lingering dryness to it which was pleasant. It was a good beer probably my favorite beer that Rock Bottom has made.