City Steam Careless Love

Brewed by City Steam Brewery Cafe
Style: Bière de Garde
Hartford, Connecticut USA

Amber in coloration with a medium head relative to the size of the sample pour. Overall watered down and lacking something. Sweet yet lacks the complecity of a beer with such an alcohol content.

on tap-pours a thin white head and hazy gold color. Aroma is spicy, fermented fruit, alcohol. Taste is light malt, peppery/spicy, fermented fruit, alcohol. Some kolsch/Boone’s farm character, not my taste.

Pours amber with a thin white head. Smells malty with some dough and molasses. Tastes malty with a peppery finish. Middle of the road attempt.

On tap at the brewpub. Brilliant amber with a small white head. Sweet malt and brown sugar nose. Mildly sweet, light body. Brown sugar flavors. Mild, bittersweet finish.

Served in a flute at the brewpub. I think it was 12 or 14 ounces worth. Aroma is sweet, mildly funky with some sourish notes as well. Not overly aromatic, but there is plenty of interesting funk going on here. Mildly hazy copper-amber color with a small off-white head. Seems kinda dark for a Biere de Garde. Sour, funky, peppery start, that turns a bit sweet. Plenty of funkiness in this guy with some sour notes. Pretty good.

Draught @ Brewpub: This was quite the nice brew. The color was a slightly reddish shade of copper, and was fairly clear. The head was small and tan. The aroma was interesting: There was a lot going on there, but I got some notes of floral, vanilla, oak, caramel, and many other unidentified aromas. The taste was quite good. It was sweet, with some caramel, vanilla, fruits, all coming together to make a really good brew.

I was pretty excited to try this one, and it didn’t let me down. Served in a pilsner glass, pours a bright golden with 2 fingers of thick foamy head. Aroma is sweet, floral, lightly fruity of pears and apples, and a little oaky. Flavor starts with a complex, yet subtle sweetness. Oak, pears, and caramel, then turns to some more light fruits and floral notes. I’m glad I got the opportunity to try this, the brewmaster did a great job with this one.

On draught, 4/13/05 at the brewpub. Served in a tall pilsener glass, this beer appeared a deep copper-amber color, lightly hazy, with no head and large bubbles sitting on the sides of the glass. Aroma is strong and lasting, of sweet caramel and wonderfully fresh almonds, lightly dry wood, very aromatic and fresh vanilla beans with no hops. A little light on the yeast notes in the nose, is my only complaint thus far. Flavor is initially malty sweet, with caramel and almond flavored vanilla pudding. Lightly sticky toffee notes mix with a dry, and very sublime oakiness. Lack of a big Belgian yeast kick somewhat dampens the experience, but you could, perhaps, pass it off as just a low-yeast apparency version of the style. What did impress me, was the controlled use of barrel aging (well, chip aging actually). Subtle, but just noticeable enough to add a pleasant woodiness. I applaud the brewer for not getting carried away. On the finish, with the wood and almonds are notes of vanilla and perhaps nutmeg or cardamon or rye. A bit of a fruitiness on the finish as well, darker fruits though. Mouthfeel is a touch watery and the carbonation tickles the tongue. No alcohol or hops apparency. Fantastic effort. WIth a good deal more yeast, this stuff could attract a lot of attention.