Flatlanders Restaurant & Brewery Reviews

Treebs	1.6 Flatlanders Steinhoff Stout Served on nitro-tap at Flatlander’s. Had high hopes. A: Pours a dark brown with a mocha head. It already looks thin. S: Some decent coffee and toffee smells. Very light. T: Bitter old coffee and a very faint chocolate mocha. The taste just dies in your mouth. M: Super thin. Like dirty coffee water. No body what so ever. There is a slight bitterness that lingers. No carbonation. Flat. This is nitro?? O: Ouch. This was bad. It was like water. No body and the flavors didn’t mesh at all. I don’t know if they forgot to nitro-tap or something, but it was like it was just scooped it out of bucket. Serving type: nitro-tap Reviewed on: 10-09-2011 Friday, October 5, 2012
Treebs	3.2 Flatlanders Braydon's Red Served on-tap at Flatlander’s. A: Pours a dark amber with some brown hues. Very small light brown head. No real lace left on the glass. S: Nice malts with a subtle toffee and light fruit hoppiness. T: Sweet fruits, toffee, caramel and a nice true malt. M: Medium bodied, nicely carbonated with a subtle sugary sweetness left on the palate. O: This was the best offering by Flatlander’s and it was pretty true to style. A nice red. Serving type: on-tap Reviewed on: 10-09-2011 Friday, October 5, 2012
Treebs	2.5 Flatlanders Imperial IPA Served on-tap at Flatlander’s. A: Clear amber color, small off-white head. Subtle webbed lace down the glass. S: Starts off with a weird onion smell with a faint hint of caramel coffee. Finally pick up a malt bill with small citrus fruit at the end. T: There is a slight citrus up front with a more pine hop towards the finish. In between there is malt, some slight onion and some bitterness. M: Medium body with a nice carbonation. Bitter hops left on the palate. O: The onion quality of this was a big downer. Will not revisit. Serving type: on-tap Reviewed on: 10-09-2011 Friday, October 5, 2012
Treebs	2.9 Flatlanders Grandpa's Gold Wheat Served on-tap at Flatlander’s. Had has "Grandpa’s Golden Blonde" A: Clear dark straw. Minimal splotches of lace down the glass. S: Subtle sweetness with a wheat-like grass note and pure oaty malt. T: Clean oat and wheat. Little bit of citrus on the backend. M: Clean and crisp, light bodied. Slight citrus left on the palate. O: Pretty average. Nothing special. Serving type: on-tap Reviewed on: 10-09-2011 Friday, October 5, 2012
Treebs	2.8 Flatlanders Jackson Wit Served on-tap at Flatlander’s A: Hazy straw color with a small white head. Leaves some splotchy lace. S: Light citrus, some orange. Little bit of a spice kick with clove and pepper. T: Taste is faint compared to the nose. Light pepper and citrus peels that don’t linger long at all. M: Light bodied. Average mouth, but highly drinkable. O: An ok wit. The taste needs some work. Serving type: on-tap Reviewed on: 10-09-2011 Friday, October 5, 2012
JoePeesie	2.3 Flatlanders Jackson Wit a sub par witbier, pours a thin watery orange with about 2 finders of white head. Nose and taste is a bit weak and watery. Not much of a beer here. Tuesday, October 18, 2011
zebra	2.6 Flatlanders Belgian Tripel enjoyed plopping down with this on the sofa in the corner under that high high ceiling Friday, October 7, 2011
JoePeesie	2.6 Flatlanders Flatlander IPA Meh, its a fairly bland IPA, the hop profile was pretty muted and bland. not much going on with this beer. Wednesday, October 5, 2011
envane	2 Flatlanders Oktoberfest Wednesday, October 5, 2011
andyhwcinc	3.2 Flatlanders Belgian Tripel Enjoyed on tap at Flatlanders Brewery while eating some nachos with some soon-to-be former co-workers. Unfortunately I didn’t have my cell phone working at the time so I couldn’t take notes, but here’s what I remembered. Appearance a lightish yellow / hay with a prominent white head, served in a frosty cold pint glass which for the style I thought was a bit odd. Aroma of clove and banana. Taste also of clove and banana but also a bit more malty than other tripel’s I’ve imbibed. Not bad but forgettable. Friday, July 15, 2011
andyhwcinc	3.1 Flatlanders Flatlander IPA Enjoyed on tap at Flatlanders Brewery while eating nachos with some soon-to-be former co-workers. Unfortunately I didn’t take tasting notes while consuming, but here’s what I remember. Appearance dark for an IPA, looked more like an amber ale with a dark amber hue and a thin white head. Aroma of grassy hops, more prominent than the malts for sure but not as hoppy as other IPA’s I’ve smelled. Taste also more like a malty IPA, in the taste they were of the piney/grapefruit variety. Not a bad IPA per se but compared to others, not especially good. Friday, July 15, 2011
andyhwcinc	3 Flatlanders Lincolnshire Lager Enjoyed on tap at Flatlanders Brewery while waiting for some soon-to-be former co-workers (2 weeks left!). Appearance like miller lite, clear pale yellow with small white head. Aroma like miller lite, smells of straw hay, somewhat like an old man’s basement but not as succinct as ml, no hop presence whatsoever. Taste is surprisingly good! Actually has a piney hop flavor that adds to the smoothness, slightly crisp in the flnish, not too malty, actually more hoppy than malty but not an ipa or pale ale by any means. Pleasant surprise and would definitely recommend to any continual lager consumers. Friday, July 15, 2011
envane	2 Flatlanders Lincolnshire Lager Hazy gold with a white head. Diacetyl aroma. Taste is malt with diacetyl and some light hops. Tuesday, June 7, 2011
andyhwcinc	3.6 Flatlanders Chocolate Bock Enjoyed with co-workers after work on an early Friday evening. Appearance dark brown, almost black with thin tan head. Aroma of chocolate and soft malts, subtle but relatively rich. Taste somewhat creamy, a little sweet, with chocolate notes. Not bad at all. Saturday, April 9, 2011
andyhwcinc	3.4 Flatlanders Buster's Brown Ale Enjoyed with co-workers on an early Friday evening after work. Appearance very cloudy dark brown with an apparent off white head that laces to the glass. Aroma of carbonation and soft malts, not too apparent. Taste mostly malty with high carbonation and a hint of roasted chocolate malts. Kinda grows on you after a while but predominantly thin. Saturday, April 9, 2011
andyhwcinc	3.2 Flatlanders Imperial IPA Enjoyed with co-workers on an early Friday evening after work. Aroma mostly caramel, not really much with hops, alcohol also apparent. Appearance a somewhat clearish copper / caramel with not much head. Taste definite alcohol presence with caramel in the mix, slightly creamy, not bad, just OK. Saturday, April 9, 2011
andyhwcinc	3.1 Flatlanders Jackson Wit Enjoyed with co-workers after work at the brewery. Appearance a very light hazy yellow with a thin white head. Aroma of thin orange peel, somewhat syrupy. Taste relatively thin, definite orange presence, somewhat crisp, not bad, just not too good. Saturday, April 9, 2011
NobleSquirrel	3.8 Flatlanders Grandpa's Golden Blonde Draft at Flatlanders. Pours a very clear and bright pale gold with a dissipating white head. Nose is bread and doughy malts, slightly yeast driven with some American C-hop aromatics as well. Very fresh and clean overall. On taste, nice soft bitterness and some fruity hop notes that really work well together. Very refreshing and clean and new school. Very solid beer. Monday, February 28, 2011
NobleSquirrel	2.5 Flatlanders Steinhoff Amber Lager Draft at Flatlanders. Pours a reddish copper with an offwhite head. Nose is bready malts, toast and some light hoppy notes. Slightly fruity. On taste, starts off pretty solid. Mostly dry and bready, minimal caramel character. Some light aromatic hopping but the finish is bad. Like dead flowers steeped in it bad. I can’t for the life of me figure out what happened, but it doesn’t taste right. Blech. Monday, February 28, 2011
rubbishystuff	2.5 Flatlanders Flatlander IPA I think when this first came out it was called 8-2-1 IPA. It is an OK IPA but not super, maybe I need to try it again as perhaps the recipe has changed a bit with the name change. Serving: Tap Thursday, October 21, 2010
rubbishystuff	3.5 Flatlanders Abes Honest Ale Amber color ale. One of the better of the Flatlander’s beers. Nice hop level. Serving: Tap and Cask (back when they had cask, sadly no more) Tuesday, October 19, 2010
rubbishystuff	2.5 Flatlanders Harvest Amber Ale An OK beer from these guys. Nothing too offensive but not very interesting. Serving: Tap Monday, September 20, 2010
rubbishystuff	3 Flatlanders Maibock Not a bad Maibock. Smooth and malty. Amber color. Fruityness Serving: Tap Thursday, September 16, 2010
rubbishystuff	2.5 Flatlanders Locomotive Stout Strong roasted aroma. At bit thin. The flavor was both strong and week at the same time. Not great or balanced. Serving: Tap Sunday, September 12, 2010
rubbishystuff	2 Flatlanders Dark Lager Something was not right with this. There was a very off flavor. I haven’t seen this in a while at Flatlanders which is good. Serving: Tap Sunday, September 12, 2010
rubbishystuff	3 Flatlanders 80 Shilling Ale Flatlanders: Such unpredictability in quality. Anyway, this is very smokey and peaty. Not as strong as I would expect. Decent beer. Serving: Tap Monday, September 6, 2010
rubbishystuff	2 Flatlanders Jackson Wit Flatlanders has the hardest time deciding rather they are going to be a good brewery or a not so good brewery. This unfortunately is not a fantastic beer. Water and low on flavor. Serving: Tap Thursday, August 19, 2010
jcwattsrugger	3.1 Flatlanders Steinhoff Amber Lager @CBC–on tap-pours a white ring for a head and amber color. Aroma is sweet medium malt-caramel, secondary herbal. Taste is sweet medium malt-caramel, secondary herbal. OK carbonation. Saturday, June 12, 2010
jcwattsrugger	3.1 Flatlanders Dopplebock @CBC–on tap-pours a tan head and mahogany color. Aroma is dark fruit, secondary earthy hops. Taste is dark fruit, biting earthy hops, medium/dark malt. Saturday, June 12, 2010
Vir4030	2.9 Flatlanders Jackson Wit Light white cloudy beer with a decent head. Mild citrus aroma, but kind of a watery flavor, pretty decent. Friday, June 4, 2010
Vir4030	3.3 Flatlanders Flatlander IPA Pours a light brown with a thin head, and a quite spicy aroma. Not quite as strong as I thought it would be. Friday, June 4, 2010
esjaygee	2.6 Flatlanders Oktoberfest On tap at the Great Lakes Brewfest 2009. Caramel colored with a thin beige head. Aroma of mild toffee and nuts, not much else. Taste of mild toffee and caramel along with light grains and fruit. Friday, October 9, 2009
esjaygee	3.2 Flatlanders Flatlander IPA On tap through and amarillo hop infuser at the Great Lakes Brewfest 2009. Amber with a medium off-white head. Sticky aroma of fresh amarillo hops, citrus and caramel. The aroma doesn’t translate over to the flavor very well though as it comes across vinous and vegetal with some citrus and caramel thrown in. Moderately bitter on the finish. Friday, October 9, 2009
Dogbrick	3.1 Flatlanders Locomotive Stout Sample at the brewpub. The beer pours black with a medium tan head that recedes steadily. Small patches of lacing on the glass. Sweet roasted malt aroma along with a touch of chocolate. Medium, smooth body with flavors of malt, cocoa and mild coffee. The finish is short and roasty with a slight malty aftertaste. Just average overall. Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Dogbrick	3.1 Flatlanders Oktoberfest Sample at the brewpub. This brew is a clear amber-orange color with a thin beige head that recedes quickly. Swiss cheese lacing on the glass. Caramel malt aroma with notes of fruit and nuts. Medium body with flavors of malt, caramel and roasted nuts. The finish is roasted malt with a slightly off fruit aftertaste. Average overall. Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Dogbrick	2.9 Flatlanders Steinhoff Amber Lager Sample at the brewpub. The beer is a clear amber color with a thin off-white head that dissipates steadily. Stringy lacing on the glass. The aroma is is malty with a touch of hops. Medium, mellow body with flavors of sweet caramel malt, fruit and mild hops. The finish is malty with a short and sweet aftertaste. Barely average overall. Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Dogbrick	3.1 Flatlanders Grandpa's Gold Wheat Sample at the brewpub. The beer is a hazy yellow-gold color with a medium thin white head that diminishes to an outer ring quickly. Partial rings of lacing on the glass. Wheat and malt in the nose. Light, smooth body with flavors of wheat, pale malt and a touch of hops. The finish is wheaty with a citrus aftertaste. Average overall. Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Dogbrick	3.2 Flatlanders Flatlander IPA Sample at the brewpub. The beer pours a clear orange-amber color with a medium thin off-white head that recedes steadily. Stringy lacing on the glass. Citrusy hops aroma with a bit of malt in the background. Medium body with a moderately bitter hops flavor with notes of sweet caramel malt in the background. The finish is short and hoppy. Slightly above average IPA overall. Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Dogbrick	3 Flatlanders Lincolnshire Lager Sample at the brewpub. This beer is a clear orange-gold color with a thin and creamy white head that recedes to a film eventually. Half rings of lacing on the glass. Mildly spiced hops aroma with notes of bready malt. Light body with flavors of mildly floral hops, grainy malt and a bit of corn. The finish is lightly bitter with a hoppy aftertaste. Okay overall. Tuesday, September 29, 2009
xnoxhatex	3 Flatlanders Locomotive Stout On nitro at the BP. Almost opaque black with creamy tan head. Aroma is smoke and roasted malt. Off-dry smokey, roasted malt, bitter bakers chocolate, a little spicey. Light body and watery. Like a watery porter and a little chalky. Thursday, April 23, 2009
xnoxhatex	3 Flatlanders Harvest Amber Ale On tap at the BP. Almost clear amber with red tint and small beige head. Citrus hop aroma with caramel sweetness, slightly tropical, not bad. Citrus flavor as well with sweeter caramel malt, slight pine bitterness, weird aftertaste, like grain and resin combined. Medium to loght body that is a little watery. Its nive but kind of throws me off at the same time. Thursday, April 23, 2009
xnoxhatex	3.2 Flatlanders Maibock On tap at BP. Clear amber color with beige head. Aroma is light spicey hop with dry caramel malt. Flavor is sweet biscuit malt with some fruitiness, graininess and floral hops. Medium body with active carbonation. Solid maibock. Thursday, April 23, 2009
gws57	4 Flatlanders Abes Honest Ale Had this one on draught (growler) in Aurora, Illinois, thanks Christ! This is exactly how a good APA is supposed to be. Nice, hazy light orange pour with a great sweet citrus hoppy nose, caramel fades into a nice piney hoppiness. Not too bitter, and a soft finish. I am liking this style more and more all the time. Friday, May 30, 2008
HonkeyBra	2.6 Flatlanders Harvest Amber Ale Pours, obviously, amber with a little head. Smell is toasted sweet malt. Weak caramel flavor with a bit of hops at the end. Mouthfeel is a bit thin. Nothing incredible, but pretty comparable to (maybe even better than) Fat Tire. Thursday, May 1, 2008
HonkeyBra	3.1 Flatlanders Abes Honest Ale On tap, pours a darkish amber. The smell is very hoppy, with citrus and pine. The flavor is a good amount of critrusy hops with a decent caramel malt backing. Nice mouthfeel, and overall all pretty good. Thursday, May 1, 2008
HonkeyBra	3.3 Flatlanders 80 Shilling Ale On tap. This is the best beer I had there. Deep red color, thin tan head. Smokey, scotch aroma. Taste is scotch, caramel and peat. If you like scotch, this beer is a real treat. Mouthfeel is a bit thinner than I would have hoped, but the overall taste is very good. Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Walt	1.9 Flatlanders Dark Lager Pour is clearish dark amber with a thin tan head...aroma is caramel sweet and strange....the taste is off somehow...I swear to god I tasted broiled fish or actually mackerel sashimi...like old mayo...blech... Thursday, April 24, 2008
Walt	3.4 Flatlanders Porter Pour is dark brownish black with a thin tan head...smell is roaty chocolate, toffee, and some coffee...taste is fairly sweet wiht a nice balance of chocolate and coffee bitterenesss...this would be a great beer if it was a smidge more full bodied...a little thin, even for a porter... Thursday, April 24, 2008
Walt	2.6 Flatlanders Prairie Wheat Ale Pour is clear yellow with a thin white head...faintly sweet nose...taset is lightly herbal and sweet... Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Walt	3.6 Flatlanders 80 Shilling Ale Pour is coppery amber with a thin tan head...smell is faintly toasty and malty...strange herbal flavors probably the most peaty beer I have ever had...it is so much like a scotch in terms of flavor it is unreal! Tuesday, April 22, 2008