Rush Signals 40th Anniversary
Henderson Brewing Company

Henderson Brewing Co. "Rush Signals 40th Anniversary"
16.9 fl. oz. brown glass bottle
$15.49 @ Lower Merion Beverage Co., Ardmore, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: I know this beer is old but I'm hoping because it's 12.9% ABV that it's held up. We'll see. It's poured a cloudy dark peach colored body beneath a finger's width of white head. I should have been more careful in transporting it, and should probably have let it sit in the fridge for a lot longer - my bad. The aroma is both fruity and malty. It smells a little bit like a pink Starburst candy to me. What flavor was that? Strawberry? Yeah, I guess that matches up with what I'm smelling. It's also got some sharper, more acidic fruit to it but I can't figure out what that might be, and there's some alcohol there as well. It's a little spicy but that might be the yeast. Wow, the taste is similar but much fuller, and much more vinous. I should have done some research on this but I didn't think it mattered. The label says that it's an extra strong Belgian style blonde with Riesling must and whole pressed apples. It's obviously the Riesling must that I'm getting, and I find apple in almost every beer so there's that. I get the Belgian yeast as well with some light clove and spicy phenols but it's not intense. I wonder if it's bottle conditioned. The label states that it was brewed in August of 2022, and then bottled in September, which is not a lot of time for a beer of 12.9% but I guess it worked. There's definitely some alcohol to it but it's surprisingly tame. And speaking of surprises, this is younger than I thought it was. There was another bottle next to it on the shelf and that's probably the one that was older. OK, back to the taste - it's sweetish and fruity upfront. I'm going to say I'm getting notes of sweet red berries, white wine, apple of course, including green apple, a hint of pear, some cherry, and distant melon. There is some oxidation to it and it makes the malt seem a little flabby. It's not too bad, but it's there, mainly papery, and I think that might also be leading me to the melon note. It's not off-putting to me as I'm used to tasting old beers, and if this was less expensive on clearance (as it should be) I'd buy up the whole lot. It's very nice up front, sweet and fruity and refreshing, and then it softens to become more malt driven and papery going into the finish. The alcohol comes forth a little bit at that point, along with the clove and some spiciness from the yeast, keeping it in balance. I have a lot of experience tasting old vintage beers and I have a very good idea of what this was originally like. This is 3 years and 7 months old, and my guess is that it was probably in near perfect condition for about a year and a half, and may have even improved slightly beyond the just bottled version but who knows? Well, the answer is that no one really can because it's not possible to taste those beers side by side. It just occurred to me that there might be Rush fans who collect this kind of stuff but that's not me and I don't care to bother putting the empty bottle out there. Back to the beer itself again, it's medium to medium-full in body and moderately crisp. I don't know if it's lost any carbonation over the past few years but it's OK as it is. All in all I think it was probably a great beer while fresh, and much brighter and probably seemingly more acidic. As it stands I still like it, even with its defects, but then again I'm a big fan of beers brewed with grape must so maybe I'm a little bit biased.
Review #9,489

 

Poured from a 16.9oz bottle into Chimay goblet.

L - Clear medium gold pour. Slight white lacing.

S - Sweet apple juice, crisp white wine.

T - Dry and tart apple with a mild hoppy bitterness. Apple peel bitterness reminds one of biting a fresh Granny Smith.

F - Dry with very fine carbonation. No discernable alcohol heat.

For as high an alcohol content, this is a very refreshing beer (and potentially dangerous). Would be interesting to see how it responds to cellaring.

A - Medium gold color with light haze and dense white lacing floating on top. Carbonation is low.

S - Light fruitiness with some apples and a little bit of must.

T - Light sweet honey malt with apples over top with a slight bit of spice.

M - Medium body with gentle carbonation.

O - Nice residual fruitiness.

 

Bottled Sept 2022
Pours a foamy bubbly 1/2 finger head with moderate retention, a bit of lacing, hazy amber golden color

Nose has a ton of aroma, sweet malt, grainy cereal malt, juicy white wine, mild candi sugar and Belgian golden malt, semi sweet, fruity esters both generic yeast derived pome fruit and the juicy white wine, bright apple, like a Courtland, Macintosh, or similar, enough to come through like that, mild floral phenol spices in the background

Taste starts with some mild tart apple, again that Courtland/Macintosh-family like apple but like fresh apple not juice or cider, some juicy white wine mixed with that, semi sweet wine, then comes the Belgian golden malts, sweet grainy slight toasty bready malts, a bit of a sweet candi sugar note, more fruity esters and floral phenol spices, generally juicy, very light potpourri alcohol and phenols. Mild sweet finish but dries quite a bit.

Mouth is med to a bit fuller bod, semi thick, med carb, very light warming alcohol

Overall I don't know how they did it but this was fantastic. A great Belgian base beer that supports itself but plenty of juicy white wine and fresh apple that was so poignant I could almost taste the variety

500 mL bottle from the LCBO; brewed Aug 2022, bottled Sep 2022. Served slightly chilled.

Pours a clear golden-orange colour, producing two fingers of tight, foamy white head that falls off within five minutes, give or take. A neat quarter-inch curtain of lace clings to the glass, with a generous, creamy collar and sudsy cap living on - it's an attractive beer. Understated aroma of sweet apple flesh, white grape skins and bready, wheaty malts, with hints of clove, vanilla, pineapple and floral, spicy hops.

A pleasantly fruit-forward strong blonde ale: there're hints of tart green apple & sugary apple juice, interspersed with bready malts, Meyer lemon, wheaty cereal grain sweetness, and a vinous white grape note. Subtle suggestions of apricot, floral hops, hibiscus & pear, with yeasty flavours peaking late in the sip - clove spice, grape skin and bubblegum, dissipating into a slightly boozy aftertaste that quickly dries off. Full-bodied, with moderate carbonation that adds some bite to this brew's smooth, fulfilling texture; good drinkability considering its strength.

Final Grade: 4.09, an A-. Henderson's / Rush Signals is not your typical Belgian blonde ale - the inclusion of apples imparts an acidic, rustic farm cider element that I rather liked, while the dry finish is more suggestive of a classy, champagne-like beverage. It's an interesting beer for sure... but it's also quite pricy, so if you don't care for apples and/or white wine then it might not be worth your 14 dollars. I really liked this, and plan to procure a second bottle for cellaring purposes.

 

500 ml bottle from the LCBO for around $15 CDN. Bottled September 2022. Served cold into a Chimay chalice.

Appearance - Brilliantly clear, drk golden, nearly amber in color. A finger of loose but long lived white head rests on top. Lots of visible bubbles and some spidery lacing left behind.

Smell - Yeast, bready bits with plenty of grape aroma and a nice combination with some apples.

Taste - Flavor overload. Starts a bit bready and yeasty then the Riesling grapes kick in and give off a tart vinous flavor. That's followed by additional tartness from apples. Some booziness in there too. A bit too much going on.

Mouthfeel - Semi dry finish, lots of carbonation, plenty of heat from the booze quotient and fairly full bodied.

Overall - The apples and grapes make this just a bit too much of extra flavors rather than letting the brew stand on its own. Still a worthy purchase (if just for one bottle).