Urban Chestnut Brewing Company Reviews

tmoreau	3.6 Urban Chestnut Urban Underdog American Lager On tap at The Beer Cellar-Glen Ellyn, IL. as a 9 oz. serving to a snifter, showing a slight haze to the light golden color. with a sudsy layer of soft white froth, and wavy cling to the lacing. The nose was steady malt, light Pils scent with a hint of corn, and modest dried fruit. A bit less than medium bodied, the taste was a mellower mimic of the aroma notes, with decent carbonation, and slight minerality. Uncomplicated, but a very drinkable lager. Tuesday, April 9, 2024
drpimento	3.8 Urban Chestnut Czech Pilsner Pretty good beer. A little more bitter than the actual Czech pilsner's that I've had. Fresh, grassy, bready, bittersweet. Clean and satisfying. Wednesday, March 6, 2024
DrnkMcDermott	3.5 Urban Chestnut German Porter 16 oz can from Woodman's, Rockford. Frothy pour with some spongy tan foam. Beer is reddish brown. Toasty malt nose like most any porter. Taste is noticeably drier up front than any dark ales. Still a slight touch of fruitiness, too. Decent hybrid of lager ferment and porter style malt bill, though perhaps a little more hoppy than either style wants. Tuesday, March 5, 2024
thegreenrooster	3.2 Urban Chestnut Pastaria Pour is a clear gold with a large white head. Aroma is a spicy hop with not much of a malt. Flavor is grainy and maybe even a little corny with again a spicy green bitter hop on the back of the tongue. This was a different pils for sure. I went back and forth on it but It ended up being quite tasty. Saturday, March 2, 2024
Botrytis	3.5 Urban Chestnut Zwickel Optisch präsentiert sich dieses Zwickel ganz stilecht, tiefgülden und gut opaltrüb mit kräftiger, feiner Perlage. Die weiße, feinporige Schaumkrone wirkt dabei flaumig und gut haltbar. In der Duftaromatik verhält es sich etwas zurückhaltend, getreidig-malzig und fruchtig-hefig mit einem leichten Anklang von Marille, Birne und Banane. Der Antrunk kommt frisch, feinspritzig, fruchtig-malzig und angenehm bitter. Das Mundgefühl erscheint feinrezent und gut moussierend mit einem mittelkräftigen Körper, einer weichen Textur und einer leichten Trockenheit. Aromatisch spielt sich Ähnliches ab wie in der Nase. In den leicht getreidig-malzigen Noten binden sich passende, leicht fruchtige Hefenoten (Birne, Marille) und eine würzig-kräuterige Hopfencharakteristik ein. Das ist absolut stimmig, rund und harmonisch. So ein Bier weist üblicherweise eine hohe Drinkability auf - und ja, das tut auch dieses Zwickel! Im Nachtrunk bauen Rezenz und Malz langsam ab und machen den Weg für eine leicht trockene, angenehm bittere Hopfennote frei. Die weiche, hefige Note bleibt zwar etwas länger stehen, aber das Ende gehört definitiv dem Hopfen. Thursday, February 29, 2024
gripweed57	3.9 Urban Chestnut German Porter 16 ounce can. Translucent dark brown color. Large frothy tan head. Stringy lacing. Rich, roasty malt aroma leans towards brown bread, tobacco leaves and Bakers Chocolate. Flavor upfront brings notes of bittersweet chocolate, crushed black peppercorns and dark chocolate. Medium bodied. Finishes dry and bitter. Quite tasty. Saturday, February 24, 2024
italianjohn	3.5 Urban Chestnut Czech Pilsner Clear golden pour with a thick white head and spots of lacing .... aroma of black pepper, herbs, floral hops, bready malts and grassy hops with notes of lemon ..... taste is of black peppercorn, herbs, spicy saaz hops, floral and grassy with a punch of lemon .... also has bready malts and some light grain .... little slick and oily in the mouthfeel .... Peppery bite lingers a bit as well as the spicy saaz hops, floral hops and lemon ...... finish has mostly hop oils, saaz hops, grass, lemon and black pepper .... crisp with a nice body to it ..... quality Bohemian Pils Friday, February 23, 2024
wlajwl	3.7 Urban Chestnut Czech Pilsner Aroma spicy hops and slightly sweet/beery malts. The flavor is mild fruit and a spicy hop/slightly sweet/beery malt finish. Friday, February 23, 2024
ClarkVV	4 Urban Chestnut Imperial Porter - Bulleit Barrel-Aged Grove draught, 2/15/24. Dark, undetermined clarity. Small tan head of modest retention. Pretty round, mellowish whiskey with soft chocolate-vanilla-roast and good base maltiness. Not boozey. Wow that's...shockingly good. The whiskey imparts a strong spice and savory character that works with the mild, mellow roast and light vanilla. Great balance, with good malt depth and attenuation. Nothing sharp or tannic here, no big coconut or anything from barrel. Lingering chocolate and honey-like maltiness with easygoing bourbon. Thursday, February 15, 2024
ClarkVV	3.1 Urban Chestnut Jubilation Pilsner Grove draught, 2/15/24. Hint of chill haze. Muted brass-golden. Small smattering of white head sits at spotty cover. Malty (cookies and honey) with lightly peppery hops to balance. Can't say I don't get a bit of flour again... Powdery, floury again in the flavor. Seems like these need to age a bit longer? Kind of muddled flavors as a result. Which is a shame bc the dbl decoction gives a great texture and the beer is dry and not over-hopped. Thursday, February 15, 2024
ClarkVV	3.5 Urban Chestnut American Zoigl Grove draught, 2/15/24. Clear, light amber-bronze. Small white head slowly to spotty cover. A bit floury in the nose. Very light, herbal hops and strong mineral character, minimal specialty malt. Good bitterness up front with modest maltiness (biscuit, cookie) and good attenuation. There's a pervasive slight flour character, for lack of a better way to describe it, that I don't live, but otherwise this is well-done. Thursday, February 15, 2024
GregMooreNH	3.5 Urban Chestnut Czech Pilsner Pours hazy amber with a two finger, white head. Aroma is caramel, bread and Saaz hops. Finish is caramel, moving to bread and spicy Saaz. Finish matches the taste. Saturday, February 3, 2024
GregMooreNH	3.6 Urban Chestnut German Porter Pours black with a two finger light tan head. Aroma is cocoa, roast and molasses. Taste is chocolate and brown sugar, moving to rich roast. Finish mirrors the taste. Friday, January 26, 2024
bhensonb	3.9 Urban Chestnut Czech Pilsner Can from Tavour. Pours gold with a large foamy white head. Aroma of grass/spice with pale malt support. Med body arguably. Clean. Crisp. Dry. Grass/spice on top of light pale/bready malt. Very nice. Saturday, January 20, 2024
poisoneddwarf	3.8 Urban Chestnut Ku’Damm - Raspberry & Lime 16 oz from the City Brew Tours 12 Beers of Christmas Advent box. Pours hazy salmon pink with a one and a half finger pinkish-white head with great retention. Aroma is chalky, raspberry, lime, SweeTarts. Taste is moderately sour (6/10) and a little sweet with flavors of raspberry and lime. Friday, December 29, 2023
Bif	3.4 Urban Chestnut German Porter 16oz can. Pours a black color with a nice head. Aroma of coffee and roasted malt. Taste of roasted malt coffee and bit of dark chocolate. Some bitterness that lingers into the finish. Moderate body, flavorful but a bit thin for a porter. Interesting. Sunday, December 17, 2023
bhensonb	3.7 Urban Chestnut Count Orlok Can from Tavour. Pours clear dark brown with orange glints and a decent foamy tan head. Aroma of pie spice. Not quite med body. Flavor is pie spice, tho a bit peppery, and it seems a little wheaty. Dry, but more spice than bitter. Think I may be detecting actual squash. A veg thing. Decent but different. Tuesday, November 28, 2023
thegreenrooster	3.6 Urban Chestnut German Porter Pour is a black with a large bone white head. Aroma is a nice roasted and coffee malt combo. Flavor is a little thinner than the aroma let on but you still get some roasted malt and bitter bakers chocolate. They call this a Starkbier but I would say this is a cress between and porter and schwartzbier. Saturday, November 25, 2023
thegreenrooster	3.8 Urban Chestnut Czech Pilsner Pour is a clear bronze with a large white head. Aroma is a real nice wet dough malt and a spicy hop. Flavor is the same, nice chewy wet dough with a spicy saaz hop. Real flavorful and well done. Saturday, November 25, 2023
Finhead	2.9 Wally’s Light Lager Clear, straw-colored pour with a white head. The light grain aroma matches the slightly sweet taste. It has a light body with a quiet finish. Thursday, November 9, 2023
Kleg	2.7 Urban Chestnut Count Orlok 16 oz. can from The Bat Cave. Pours a dark root beer color with a huge beige head and excellent retention. Good lacing. Yeasty aroma, like a Dunkelweizen. Dark wheat Dunkelweizen flavor too, with slightly less yeasty flavor than the aroma, and barely any pumpkin pie spice flavor. Lots of cloves too. Medium body. Low carbonation and low bitterness. Decent Dunkelweizen, but a disappointing pumpkin beer. Saturday, November 4, 2023
thegreenrooster	3 Urban Chestnut Konomi Pour is a cloudy blonde with a large fluffy white head. Aroma is rice and fresh picked flowers. Flavor is some bland neutral malt with minor sake notes. This could have used some ginger or jasmine to spice things up a bit. OK and easy to drink. Saturday, November 4, 2023
sinfull	3.7 Urban Chestnut Oachkatzlschwoaf (O-Katz) Clear, amber color. Big, white head. Malt, dried fruits and some caramel in the aroma. Malty taste with just enough of earthy hops. Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Ratman197	3.9 Urban Chestnut Stammtisch Pounder can poured a clear gold with a small lasting white head. Aromas of straw, herbal notes and a hint of yeast. Palate was light bodied and crisp with a dry finish. Flavors of straw and herbal notes with a crisp dry lingering bitter finish. Wednesday, October 25, 2023
thegreenrooster	4 Urban Chestnut Barrel Aged Chestnut Bock Pour is a murky river water brown with a small white head. Aroma is pretty much all bourbon barrel. Lots of oak and char. Flavor is honeycomb sweetness with alcohol and lots of the barrel. Very smoky and vanilla bourbon with a touch of molasses spice. This is a Dierbergs only beer and I think it was $7 a bottle. This was well worth it and I may go pick up a few more. Flavorful bourbon notes with just the right amount of sweeter malt. Saturday, October 21, 2023
Ratman197	3.9 Urban Chestnut Schnickelfritz Pounder can poured a hazy gold with a lasting creamy white head. Aromas of wheat, yeast, clove and light bubblegum. Palate was light to medium bodied and smooth with a dry finish. Flavors of wheat, yeast, clove and a hint of bubblegum with a smooth dry lingering clove finish. Saturday, October 21, 2023
gripweed57	3.7 Urban Chestnut Oachkatzlschwoaf (O-Katz) 16 ounce can from Tavour. Amber orange pour is topped by a frothy beige head. Sweet malt aroma. Flavor is sweet, toasted malt with bready notes. Smooth and drinkable. Nutty, spicy finish. Friday, October 20, 2023
GregMooreNH	3.3 Urban Chestnut Count Orlok Pours clear, dark mahogany with a two finger, light tan head. Aroma is pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Taste is pumpkin, brown sugar and cinnamon, moving to nutmeg and clove. Finish is standard fare pumpkin spice. Friday, October 20, 2023
poisoneddwarf	3.7 Urban Chestnut Count Orlok 16 oz. Aroma is nutty, clove, nutmeg, vanilla. Pours murky deep brown with a large beige head with good retention. Taste is sweet, savory, and spicy with flavors like the aroma. Like a dunkelweizen with added pumpkin. Saturday, October 14, 2023
sinfull	3.2 Urban Chestnut Big Shark Tangerine Radler Clear, golden color. Thin,white head. Tangerine, orange and malt in the aroma. Same notes in moderately sweet, juicy taste. Sunday, October 8, 2023
Cimbasso	3.1 Urban Chestnut Zwickel On tap at a ‘historic’ Sports Bar at the Hyatt in St. Louis. Clear golden colour with a white head. Decent malt taste and some grassy bitterness. Not bad, but none of the finesse of a real German Zwickel. Monday, October 2, 2023
wombat23	3.6 Urban Chestnut Dorfbier Can. Hazy amber, beige head. Toasted malt, caramel, toffee, bit nutty. Good. Thursday, September 28, 2023
notalush	4 Urban Chestnut Oachkatzlschwoaf (O-Katz) Pint can - clear light amber - nicely rich maltiness that is bready and lightly sweet, tempered by a light acidity and some finishing floral bitterness - clean, balanced, crushable - some rich nuttiness and dark bread on the tail end, along with a light spiciness - yum! Friday, September 22, 2023
Bitterbill	3.4 Urban Chestnut Schnickelfritz From City Brew Tours, no dating. It pours a slightly hazy gold with an abundance of foam, shrinks slowly leaving good lacing behind. The smell is cloves and banana, light citrus, fruity. The taste is fruity..lemon, big time cloves, banana, yeasty, not sweet nor bitter. Lighter end of medium bodied, lively carbonation. Nice beer. Friday, September 22, 2023
oh6gdx	3.4 Urban Chestnut Zwickel Bottled (from Systembolaget Umeå). Yellow colour, small white head. Aroma is grassy, floral, bready and some sweet malty tones. Flavour is bready, some herbal, grassy and mild earthy notes. Smooth amd refreshing. Friday, September 8, 2023
Bitterbill	3 Urban Chestnut Big Shark Tangerine Radler From City Brew Tours, canned May 25th. It pours a pretty clear straw yellow with a tiny head of foam, gone in seconds and no lacing. Smells of tangerines, peel and maybe the pit as it's rather a pungent aroma. Taste is the same. Not much to expound on with a Radler. Maybe some notes of lemon. Light bodied, not watery. Tuesday, September 5, 2023
sinfull	3.6 Urban Chestnut Schnickelfritz Hazy, yellow color.Big, white head. Banana, clove, malt in the aroma. Yeasty, malty taste. Moderately sweet. Tuesday, September 5, 2023
Ernest	3.7 Urban Chestnut Dorfbier Can (Apr 6, 2023 canning). Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white to light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is dark amber to light brown. Aroma is moderately malty (toasted bread, roasted nuts, caramel), lightly hoppy (herbs, flowers), with a note of honey. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately bitter. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation. Quite enjoyable...rich malt makes for a beautiful nose, but maybe results in it being just a tad too sweet. A clean and delightful sipper (which really should be a quaffer, but at least it isn't fatiguing). Thursday, August 31, 2023
wlajwl	4.1 Urban Chestnut Balkan Lager Aroma is husky/grainy/slightly nutty malts. The flavor is fruit, mild citrus and a big beery malt/hoppy finish. Monday, August 21, 2023
Ernest	3.5 Urban Chestnut Oachkatzlschwoaf (O-Katz) Can (Jul 19, 2023 canning). Head is initially average sized, frothy, white, mostly lasting. Body is dark yellow. Aroma is moderately malty (toasted grain/bread, cookie), lightly to moderately hoppy (flowers, apricot). Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery/velvety/syrupy texture, lively carbonation. Pleasant all around, but just a bit too sweet. Sunday, August 20, 2023
jandd1983	3.6 Urban Chestnut Hallertau Haze Can. It poured a dark golden color with a white head. The aroma was of hops, citrus and tropical fruits. The taste was similar to the aroma with more hops, citrus, tropical fruits, wheat, grapes with medium carbonation and a nice semi bitter aftertaste. Tasty. Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Bif	3.6 Urban Chestnut Prickly Pear Ku'damm On tap. Pours a hazy orange color and small head. Aroma of fruit, citrus and grain. taste of tart fruit and bit of grain. Has an acidic tartness that lingers into the finish. Light body, quite crisp and tart. Interesting. Thursday, August 10, 2023
Bif	3.6 Urban Chestnut Big Shark Grapefruit Radler On tap. Pours a hazy copperish color with a fair head. Aroma of grapefruit and bit of grain. Taste of grapefruit and trace of malt sweetness. Slight tartness that lingers into the finish. Fairly light body, flavorful and refreshing. Wednesday, August 9, 2023
felsenpils	1.5 Urban Chestnut Winter Black Lager 16 ounce can. Pours black/deep ruby red with a long lasting off-white head. The aroma is of roasted malts. The flavor leans towards black licorice. The mouthfeel is very chewy with a high viscosity. OK, but at 7% ABC a bit too much of a good thing. It says "German style Porter" on the label. Not sure what that is, but I am sure that this is not it. Saturday, August 5, 2023
ryecatcher	3.5 Urban Chestnut Dorfbier 16(ish) oz bottle from Binny's in Willowbrook. Medium brown pour, medium off-white head with decent retention. Toast, caramel, date sugar, puffed wheat in the nose. Mouth is light bodied , mild malt sweet, dried fruit, pumpernickel, dried grass. Super crushable (although it's still 88° at 6pm on an August early evening in Chicago... Probably be even better in late October) Urban Chestnut never disappoints. Friday, August 4, 2023
p0rkch0p	3.4 Urban Chestnut Balkan Lager Pour from can is dull straw with thin white head. Crisp and bitter with a quick finish. Light bodied and crushable. Low ABV. Mild grass and lemon. Nice fizzy carbonation. Friday, July 28, 2023
felsenpils	1.8 Urban Chestnut Zwickel 16 oz. can. Pours a hazy yellow with nice foam. The aroma is of malt. The flavor is rather watery without a lot of malt backbone. No hop aroma and very low hop bitterness. OK, but not great and there are a lot better versions out there. Thursday, July 27, 2023
unclefrito62	3.3 Urban Chestnut Zwickel 19.2 ounce can bought in Illinois. Smell the grain. Yellow in color with foamy white head. Taste the grain. Smooth and light. Grain aftertaste. Nice basic beer with flavor. Cheers! Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Ernest	3.9 Urban Chestnut Stammtisch Can (Mar 28, 2023 canning). Head is initially average sized, frothy, white, mostly diminishing. Body is light to medium yellow. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain, cracker), moderately hoppy (honeysuckle flowers, herbs). Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation. Surprisingly good given the poor track record I've had with this brewery so far. Very fragrant and attractive hops, and wonderfully balanced...just the right amount of lip-smacking residual sugar and loads of finishing bitterness to clean it up. Top notch stuff and this can isn't even super fresh. Hopefully I can try a fresher one someday, because this would no doubt score even higher then. Tuesday, July 4, 2023
ttoadee	3.8 Urban Chestnut Schnickelfritz Gold pour, some haze, no head. Nose is banana and spice. Middle uis banana, wheat bread, clove, nutmeg, light malt, little woodiness. Finish is more the same, nice beer. Thursday, June 29, 2023