Rock Bottom Yorktown Hogshead Bitter

Draught at brewpub. Bartender Ryan hooked me up with samples of the Nitro and cask versions, although this rating is for the standard pushed CO2 version. Faint aroma. Served a little too warm. Lasting head. Good lace on the Nitro, which incidentally is a beautiful beer to look at. This brew frankly isn’t all that great. It’s a little harsh and is missing something.

On tap at RB – Yorktown, rating is from cask, with notes from CO2 and nitro treatments. Poured clear medium amber with a short, well-retained creamy off-white head (nitro pour was even creamier (4); CO2 had the same color, but a looser head (3)). The aroma picked up dry and dusty toffee and floral notes with a hit of pear-like fruitage.. syrupy, artificial sweetness took it down a notch (nitro had a more muted nose (5); CO2 nose was quite sweet with fruits and caramel, but no ugly artificial-ness.. nice! (7)). The flavor was more fruit-focused at the core with some caramel notes.. still sweetened-up and syrupy, accented by floral bitterness.. again a bit artificial, and it didn’t flow so well (nitro found some mild garbage water and vegetal notes  (4); CO2 had a nice balance with fruits, caramel, and toffee.. slightly artificial, but good (7)). That ugly sweetness lasted far too long on the finish.. light-medium bodied and tacky (nitro was creamier on the palate, but still didn’t work too well (3); CO2 was medium-bodied with nice carbonation and a decent feel (3)).

Had a mug of the draft version (nitro-pull was also available) at the brewpub. It pours a slightly hazy orange/amber body with a tall off-white head. Plenty of lacing going on. The aroma is dominated by the hops - earthy, floral, piney - with just a hint of the malty sweetness eking its way through. The flavor began with an old caramel sweetness, but that was once more supplanted by a floral/earthy bitterness that lasted way long into the finish. Nice and sessionable despite its strength.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=6780>Rock Bottom Yorktown, Lombard, IL<font size=-1>

Mug Club draft, plus nitro and cask samples. Draft: Dark copper to brown color, hazy, with a short white head. English hop smell. Taste shows nice dry malts. Maybe not as strong as described. A bit of pine, but mostly a good earthy and slightly amped English hop bitterness. Good brown caramel malts. A full mug is quite filling.
Nitro:Even in a sampler glass, there’s a little Guinness style bubble cascade going. Lighter color, nice creamy foam. Smoother, with less hop bite. Carbonation level is almost still. Lots of thick lace left in the glass.
Cask: Foam is a little more bubbly than the draft pour. Body is much clearer. Tasted a little warmer, perhaps, than even English cask style. Compared to the nitro, this still has some pinpricks of bubbly.