Tenderfoot
Rahr & Sons Brewing Company

 

Pours an effervescent caramel/prange with 3 fingers of tan head. Great head retention & even better lacing

S: Dark fruit, woody hops,

T: Follows the nose, figs, plums & dark cherry mostly up front along with boozey dryness. Leafy hops, woody dryness, faint toffee notes as this warms, some port & dark cherry notes mix with leafy hops. Finishes fruity, woody dry, & just a litttle vanilla & herbal hops

MF: Medium body, restrained carbonation, a little sticky

A solid example of the style, well worth seeking out, some Christmas Pudding in this one

Poured from a 2014 bomber into a snifter in about 8oz increments starting at about 45F: Letting the liquid hit the bottom of the snifter, the pour produced a two finger khaki head that stuck around for a few minutes and dwindled down to a film with specks of lacing. Smell is caramel, plum-mango-peach, fig, licorice, cocoa, and awesome. Taste is caramel, toffee, coffee, a mix of dark ripe fruits that leave only a slight bitterness, but the other flavors stay on the palette for a good long while. Alcohol is not detectable in taste or smell, but can be felt from within. Carbonation- since I naturally released a lot of CO2 pouring a large head, it made the beer less acidic, and all these flavors just start jumping out. This beer has aged tremendously well, needless to say. There is enough carbonation to get the flavors to every corner of the mouth, but overall low carbonation. As the beer warms the flavor profile becomes more complex and exciting. I'm drinking probably 55F now and still no alcohol anywhere but the warmth in my abdomen. I didn't think this beer would age this well, but boy was I wrong. If you can find a 2014 Tenderfoot bomber, buy it. At 11.5%abv, one bomber is just right for me, and a bomber of this is $6.99. It's my second favorite Rahr beer, second only to the Bourbon Barrel Winter Warmer.

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at the Ginger Man. Dull pour, aroma hints at wood notes, brown sugar. Taste follows with more sweet malt, the proceeds with some gentle alcohol burn. Not great, but pretty tasty.