Daytrotter Pale Horse
Bent River Brewing Co.

 

 

Pours a pale orange-straw color with a great degree of haziness and a tight off-white foam cap. Scent is floral, tropical fruits (notable melon), and some citrus hints. Taste follows, with some hoppiness added in for good measure. Feel is crisp with a nice balance of fruitiness and hoppiness. Would recommend!

BOM 12/2019

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a murky color somewhere between yellow and orange. Finger of white head, with fair head retention and lacing. Aroma is herbal, honey, resin, and citrus. Flavor profile is honey, herbal, floral, and pine hops, with a dash of biscuit malts showing up. Almost like a drizzle of honey on a Popeye's biscuit. Mouth feel smooth, and crisp, with a medium thickness. Overall, a fair showing of hops, but it tastes a bit off, and harsh.

Served in a 12oz snifter from a 12oz bottle.

Pours a hazy amber color. 2/3 inch head of an off-white color. Great retention and good lacing. Smells of sweet malt, pale malt, slight yeast, and slight citrus hops. Fits the style of an American Pale Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of sweet malt, pale malt, slight yeast, and slight citrus hops. Overall, good appearance and feel, but simplistic and only average aroma and body.

 

First brew and review of Bent River. Since I seek un-Had brewers and I'm unlikely to get to Moline (running out of time living in Illinois for 40 years and ready to move on), now is a good time for an impromptu review of Bent River. In paging through their website's beerlist, I noticed very few high-IBU beers.
This is consistent with the trend in recent years that I've noticed of Midwest brewers defining themselves without being West Coast copy-cats and piling in the hops. It has become more of a farm-to-table brewery movement using ingredients mostly from the Midwest (since no one can grow good hops here anyway.)

As for Daytrotter, it is a decent effort. I would prefer some fruitier hops, but their experiment with these less known hops is respectable. While I don't expect Bent River to compete in Chicagoland's increasingly saturated market, I will try their brews again... if I find them.

Taste: Crisp, semi sweet malt, unique hops give it some wild strawberry notes. Mellon fruit nose. Gold, clear, with a white foam head and some lace. Medium/lite body. 30 IBUs