Object M31
River Roost Brewery

On tap at the Mule Bar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drank on tap at Juniper Bar & Restaurant, Burlington, VT
Served in a tulip

Fantastic appearance. The hazy, orangey-yellow body was topped by a tight, creamy, finger-tall, bright white crown that slowly dropped to a lasting collar. Streaky patches of lacing stuck all along the glass and lasted until the drink’s end.

The aroma was amazing initially. Super hoppy and intense with strong fruity notes. Big tropical fruit presence. Mango came through strongest. Fairly sweet. Lots of punchy dankness too. Citrus notes were also detectable. Some juicy orange for sure. Hint of tangerine. As the beer sat, the nose mellowed and the citrus notes took over.

The flavor profile was quite different from the aroma. Citrus dominated. Big juicy orange and tangerine presence on the front end. Bright and lemony in the center. Fairly tart and tangy. Grapefruit appeared as the beer moved along the palate. Pithy, bitter, grapefruit rind-like notes and resiny pine sap came through in the finish. Lots of lingering bitterness too.

Nice creamy, slick and smooth mouthfeel. Somewhat lighter bodied for the style. A fine, fairly subtle effervescence gave the beer a nice soft suppleness.

River Roost are a relatively new Vermont nanobrewery who seem to be getting a lot of attention recently. Although their beer is only available on tap at a handful of locations, I was really fortunate to stumble upon this at Juniper in the Hotel Vermont. This is a solid overall take on the style. I look forward to trying more of their beers in the future.

 

 

From a 32oz growler, filled at the brewery yesterday. Served in a River Roost-branded stubby IPA glass... because proper glassware.

Pours a thoroughly cloudy, dull grapefruit juice colour with two fingers of soft and soapy, cream-coloured fluff. Retention is very good, leaving a solid cap of lather and a thick curtain of sticky, bubbly lacing sheeting up the side of the glass. Yum.

A rich, biscuity, fragrant nose of pineapple and lemon juice. I smell... Galaxy!

Tastes of lemon juice and orange peel, pineapple, strawberries and, although that biscuity malt I smelled is still marginally detectable, this is clearly all about the hops, juicy and oily, with better-than-medium bitterness.

Feel is (redundantly) thinly juicy, oily and, despite appearances, actually slightly less than medium bodied. Carbonation is fine, tingly and dialed-in on the money.

Think lemonade for grownups.