Hopback Ale | Brewerkz - Riverside Point

2.63/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Tried on tap at the brewery during a recent trip.

Pours a slightly cloudy dark golden colour, with a filmy white head. Looks uncarbonated. Some lacing. Not bad, but not great.

Light nose, a slight fruit note, not very hoppy at all. Slight banana phenols, and a hint of sweat. Can't see too much to it.

Taste is pretty thin, with a slight Pride of Ringwood harshness on the back. Slightly sweet, hint of metal. Feel is completely flat, expected for a cask ale, by this is pretty weak. Expected some creaminess from the hand drawn pump.

It has some interest at least, but it is so out of style and unpleasantly chaotic. There's not a great deal to recommend it.

★ 663 characters

2.34/5  rDev -23%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

560ml cask ale, from handpump at the brewpub. SGD$4.99.

Appearance: Light, hazy copper. Medium dense, tall white head. Dissipates at moderate pace.

Aroma: muted, slightly sweet. The beer was served slightly cold for real ale, but this is true even as it warms to cellar temps.

Taste: Malty and sweet, with relatively limited hop presence (, especially for an ESB style, and a dry-hopped one at that. Slightly fruity.

Mouth: creamy and slightly slick, smooth. Finishes very clean.

Overall: deeply underwhelming. Something you can throw back while watching sports, in that it's inoffensive, but especially for the most expensive beer of Brewerkz' twelve, I'd hoped for more.

★ 692 characters

4.07/5  rDev +33.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Short, white head made of nice fine bubbles. Head retention wasn't bad but it could have been better. Only a little lace left on the sides of the glass. The beer was golden in colour and slightly cloudy. I'm guessing that the head retention and clarity were adversely affected by the serving temperature. Much too cold for a real ale.
Mild british hop aroma, slightly grassy and citrusy. Slight malty sweet smelling.
Smooth, easy drinking beer with a good mouthfeel. Nice body but on the lighter side of things.
Clean tasting, well balanced beer. Less malty tasting then I expected. Good hop flavour, the grassy and citrusy tones appear only faintly in the taste.
They serve it too cold to start but I understand why they do it. It's so warm in Singapore that by the time you get half way through, it's the right temperature. Not as powerful a beer as would be expected in cooler climates but we're in Singapore.

★ 918 characters