Loose Caboose
Roanoke Railhouse Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

Have put up the Christmas tree, and now it's time for some bier and football... From a 22oz bomber, a brthday gift from Artied2...

Into an imperial pint.... it has a smidge of haziness present which helps hide some of the steady carbo streaming upwards. Color is a deep golden, perhaps looking more like apricot jam. Head is minutely dine and thin, off-white, and most clings to the edges. Not much lacing left behind, though... Aroma is a bit fruity, bringing to mind some more apricot and a little tangerine. It feels fairly smooth on the tongue, and the body is a passable medium.

Flavor has a touch of malty sweetness, being a bit toasty and biscuity. There is a touch of caramel here, too, but it seems like it was burnt a bit in a pan. A little fruitiness and honey is also present, and there seems to be a dryish, herbal quality to it. Trying hard to see how this is an imperial pilsener, but whatever... Not bad, overall... Thnx Bro!! Prosit!

3.58/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

1548

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to my boss for bringing me back this Imperial Lager to Ohio. Poured a hazy light orange, nice but small creamy head. Aroma is faint, hint of honey accented malt. Flavor is oddly sweet up front, more honey notes, A little hop bitterness on the finish. As it warms it seems to get a little more sticky, and have a slight alcohol burn. Some tropical fruit taste. This is OK....I wouldn't go out of my way to buy this, but it's decent.

No freshness date; Poured in a Sam Adams Perfect Pint glass.

A - One inch off-white creamy head; Clear and copper colored with visible carbonation; Scattered patches of lacing

S - Sweet lager smell with faint hints of cloves and lemon peel; A bit of pine and spice from the hops are detected as well

T - The taste is pretty sweet as well; Flavors of cloves, lemon peel, syrupy sweet malts, and just a touch of alcohol; The primary hop used in this beer is the Perle variety, which after looking up, is known for its slightly spicy and light mint qualities - both of which can be found in the taste here

M - Low carbonation; Medium bodied; A little syrupy in the mouthfeel; Just a bit dry and minty-like in the finish as well

O - Overall, I enjoyed having this beer again. The amount of sweetness may have been a bit much for me, but I thought there was a nice, light presence of spicy, minty, piney hops to bring some balance. I'm not one to drink lagers too often, but this one is a solid choice for those seeking a sweeter, bolder option.

 

Catch up rating form notes, 2012: Bottle from my brother-in-law while visiting Roanoke. Light hazy orange pour, small creamy head. Nice rich, deep malty aroma, slightly sweet. More big deep malty notes in the taste, mild hops at the back. Thick and slick. A nice strong lager.

 

Second beer I tried from Railhouse Brewery was the Loose Caboose. It poured a copper/amber clear with thin white head tha laced slightly. The smell includes some perle hops and slight grain. The taste...at least at first was dominated by alcohol. After your pallate adjusts to the alcohol, you can begin to taste some floral notes and malt. The mouthfeel is medium body with light carbonation. Overall the beer is ok....the alcohol isnt balanced as well as other Imperial Pilsners.

From 22oz bomber to nonic pint glass on 8/23/11
*From notes

-- I picked up this bottle at Wine Gourmet in Roanoke, VA when visiting my sister in the middle of July --

A: Clean and filtered amber. A good pour yields a one finger head and minor lacing.

S: Some sweet alcohol and an ample amount of crisp, earthy malt.

T: Big time alcohol, which transitions into a rather creamy and robust burnished malt. Some layered sweetness runs through this beer's veins. Hints of toasted water cracker on the finish.

M: Pretty rich and creamy. It could use a touch more oomph considering the "Imperial" designation, but I'm certainly not complaining.

O: Roanoke Railhouse's Loos Caboose is fine example of a style that no one really asked for. Along with their Track One, Roanoke Railhouse had proven their ability to produce solid lagers. I'm excited to see what they do with an ale.

Pours a reddish copper color, with a creamy cap of foam that hangs on for about a minute before chilling to a skim.

Candy-like aroma, almost like a grape- or cherry-flavored chewing gum. Indicates prominent sweetness and alcohol presence to come in the taste. Not much else really, but nice, and the distinctive sort of aroma I've found in other big lagers. Alcohol is fortunately not medicinal, and is actually very well-incorporated here.

Yep, it's sweet, and it's candy-like, gum-like even, but not cloyingly so. Pretty close, though. But I seem to dig these big lager confections...occasionally. Big bursts of cherry pie, grape Bubble Yum, peach syrup, toffee, maple, and a kiss of the alcohol, which gives a pinch in the ass to everything else. Pretty intense and a bit tough to grapple with a whole bomber, but I like it for what it is.

Smooth, round, slick, creamy...texturally goes very well with the rest of the beer's character.

Wasn't familiar with this local(ish) brewery, and apparently they're not even close to prolific. But I know I like this, and am happy to award it a relatively high score. I mean, I'll take this slow...I see myself nursing it for well over an hour, as it's pretty sweet, but it's got plenty of balance, nothing totally out of whack, and is an acceptable alternative to the bigger ales I've been rocking lately. Try it if you see it, if you're an inquisitive beerist into the more experimental stuff.