Big River Grille California Common

Brewed by Big River Grille & Brewing Works Chattanooga (Gordon Biersch)
Style: California Common
Chattanooga, Tennessee USA

Serve in Lager glass

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3/12/11. On tap. Clear amber pour with a small ring of white head. Mild, caramel, malty aroma with a hint of medicine. Sweet caramel malt flavor with a hint of graininess and not much else.

As Chattanooga Steamer. Dark brownish, yellow. Foamy white head. Aroma is sweet, malty, light corn and spiciness. Taste is biting malt spiciness, light grassy bitter.

Name: Choo Choo Steamer
Date: January 24, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub, Chattanooga
Appearance: clear dark copper, fine beige head
Aroma: big sweet bready malt aroma, light earthy hops
Flavor: flavor starts off sweet and malty but quickly dries out with an earthyness, light caramel sweetness, hint of fruityness, traditional woodsy character, light tartness in the finish
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Served up as the Choo Choo Steamer. Appearance: Clear, medium brown body with a thin ring of white bubbles on top. Smell: Aroma of middling pale maltiness with hints of tree limbs and a distant, curious note of muscadines. Taste: Pale malts with a very faintly toasted grain hint. Lightly sweet. Slight fruity esters. Spicy, woody (stems included) hop character with a medium bitterness. Finishes dry, reasonably crisp, and with a touch of lingering bitterness. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Like raccoons on the interstate, it’s never everyday you run into one of these Steam Beers. This one was comfortably average.

A one day old growler. The whole growler. Pours dark copper with a frothy, though quickly disappearing white head. The aroma is fairly hoppy, but only in the way of Euro hops. Wood, hay, and an interesting fruity character are noted. The mouthfeel is medium. This is pretty crisp, but not overly vegetal or doughy like a lager may be. The fruit notes are more like berries and less like apples. Hops are approachable but assertive, given the style. This is a basic beer that reminds me of the cheap crap in cans at the grocery store, but without any of the flaws. This is smooth, clean, and very drinkable without any surprises or super deep complexity.

Draught in Chattanooga. Brewed for UTC’s homecoming. Pours copper with a medium frothy off-white head and spotty lacing. Malt (grain, meal) and yeast (sweat, horse blanket) aromas with citrus hop notes. Yeast and hoppy malt flavor. Medium bodied and crisp, clean palate.

Pretty cloudy orange, slight copper color going on, not like any usual california commons I"ve had that were yellow. Not too much going on here, hoppy and good.

Had this with Wunder and Shag at the Big River. A copper color with some mild hops and a slight malty caramel presence. Nothing special really but an ok session beer.

Orangish appearance medium head. Flavor was malty but very good. Shag is right though the people walking above us were quite annoying and it was hard to concentrate!

Dark orange appearance with a moderate head. The aroma was faint malt and candy. Flavor was malty and a little on the light side. This favored a lager more than an ale. The aftertaste was slightly bitter. Although I have to admit I had a hard time concentrating on the flavor with all the people looking down at me from the elevated walkway directly above my head. Overall a refreshing beer for the summer months but nothing outstanding. Perhaps we will see this one at the upcoming Georgia Beer Festival??