Rio Salado Brewing Company Reviews

PotjeBier	3.6 Rio Salado Thunderhead Schwarz Dark Lager Backlog, from notes. On tap @ the brewery, 2 June 2001. Aroma’s: caramel, roasted malts. Flavor is lightly sweet, roasted. Long finish, but no new flavor. Very true to the style. Monday, November 4, 2013
Headbanger	3.1 Rio Salado Hurricane Hefeweizen Wheat Ale 12oz bottle(10/02)- A cloudy yellow with an aroma of banana, clove, and some lemon. Taste was the same with the typical hefe flavors. A pretty decent hefe from ann american brewer. Friday, December 7, 2007
Headbanger	3.2 Rio Salado Cold Front Kolsch Style Ale 12oz bottle(10/02)-A slightly hazy golden body with a nice hwit ehead which has an aroma of malt and hops. Taste of the same with some sweetness ocming in the back end on this light bodied brew. Not my favorite style but decent tasting. Friday, December 7, 2007
Headbanger	2.6 Rio Salado Lightning Bolt Pilsner Blond Lager 12oz bottle(10/02)-A yellow golden body with a huge white head and an aroma of hops, citrus(lemon), and some grass like aromas. Taste of the same with some bitterness on the back end on this fairly light beer. A decent tasting lager. Friday, December 7, 2007
Headbanger	3.2 Rio Salado Tornado Helles Bock Pale Lager 12oz bottle(10/02)-A golden body with a decent head and an aroma of malts. Taste the same with some sweetness. The alcohol was hidden very well. Nice tasting brew. Friday, December 7, 2007
Headbanger	3.3 Rio Salado Monsoon Maerzen Amber Lager 12oz bottle(10/02)-A light amber body with a decent white head and a lot of floaties and an aroma of malt and slight hops. Taste of the same with some caramel and sweetness. Not bad. Friday, December 7, 2007
kdc	4.3 Rio Salado Thunderhead Schwarz Dark Lager this week i visited wisconsin and sampled the sprecher black bavarian and the calumet eclipse. as subjective as the beer world is, i must say that rio salado’s schwarz is my favorite. the sprecher product has a hop component that is attractive and r.s.’s opts to minimize the hop. r.s.’s schwarz is focused on a rich malt. the last half barrel keg ot tim’s schwarz is on tap at my house in casa grande. update, 24 september, 2006 the last of the schwarz is gone. the final keg passed away in the company of three old friends, requiescat in pace. Thursday, August 3, 2006
azmtnbiker	3.4 Rio Salado Hurricane Hefeweizen Wheat Ale Hazy straw color. Great citrus aroma. A nice refreshing hefe with a little tartness at the end. Wednesday, May 10, 2006
azmtnbiker	3.7 Rio Salado RS7 Seventh Anniversary Ale On tap at brewery. A light carmel color with banana and other fruit aromas. great mouthfeel and carbonated perfectly. Wednesday, May 10, 2006
azmtnbiker	3.9 Rio Salado Defibrillator Doppelbock Amber in color with an off-white head. Strong carmel aroma with a hint of alcohol. Big malt backbone with very little hop flavor or aroma. This one will kick you in the butt. Wednesday, May 10, 2006
NYHarvey	3.4 Rio Salado Summer Typhoon Cherry Weisse Ale Courtesy of Bockyhorsey. <P> Strong aroma of cherries with a touch of sour twang. Red with a two finger head. looks like a raspberry lambic in the glass. Sour cherries in the fore. Light bodied with a bit of a lager crispness. Tart, sour and dry in the finish. Sunday, October 23, 2005
NYHarvey	3.7 Rio Salado Tornado Helles Bock Pale Lager Courtesy of Boackyhorsey. <P> Huge sourdough bread aroma. Cloudy orange with a big two ginger head that stays firm as you drink it. Sour fore with some sweetness in the middle, orange citrus, and a crisp abrupt finish. Alcohol is well hidden as it does not feel at all like 8% Tuesday, October 11, 2005
NYHarvey	3.6 Rio Salado Thunderhead Schwarz Dark Lager Courtesy of Bockyhorsey. <P> Burnt and roasty aroma that approaches a stout more than a schwarz. BEAUTIFUL looking beer. Deep black with a two finger thick head that is so dark mocha it is almost black. Slightly sour in the fore then roasty with coffee and chocolate notes fromt he middle to finish. Not really to style the malt profile is lost in there. Monday, October 10, 2005
Aurelius	2.7 Rio Salado Monsoon Maerzen Amber Lager Tart and tangy, a bit like pickled peaches. Substantial mouth. Odd vanilla-tinged aroma. Think my sample may have been a bit old. Good orane coloring, lasting head. Clean label. Friday, September 30, 2005
PorterPounder	2.1 Rio Salado Monsoon Maerzen Amber Lager Shared with Aurelius who brought it back from Arizona - light orange pour, spongy white head. Ripening vegetable aroma with a hint of vinegar. Hint of olive oil in the flavor with some caramel and a dusty back end wih some wet paper accents. Mouthfeel, slightly thin. Misses the mark. Friday, September 30, 2005
Bockyhorsey	3.3 Rio Salado Hurricane Hefeweizen Wheat Ale Bold banana aroma along with vanilla. Cloudy yellow body with small white head that disipated quickly. Flavor had banana and lemon at first. Toward the middle beer got a sour pear flavor with the bubble gum at the end. Good refreshing beer. Saturday, August 6, 2005
OlivierMTL	3.3 Rio Salado Oak Aged Redzilla Couleur cuivrée aux reflets orangés parsemés d’une faible mousse beige pale. Sucre, caramel et cendres sont intimidés par la vive puissance de l’alcool. Boisée style chêne, sucrée et toujours très alcoolique en bouche, une part de houblon à tendance floral est aussi présente. Impression vineuse, corps semi mince, grand réchauffement occasionné par l’alcool. Intriguant mais pas très bien équilibrée pour l’instant. Saturday, July 30, 2005
Rastacouere	3.4 Rio Salado Oak Aged Redzilla Orangey deep ruby-copper. Very light fading off-white head. Caramel and tree bark nose match the oak barrel in an abvious big arms alcohol showdown. Chocolatey, dry and woody. The carbonation is very light, oily slick palate, medium bodied. The aftertaste is long with alcoholic licorice nuances, vinous oakiness through the dry hops is vegetal in nature. I dug the aroma a bit more frankly, but this is interesting certainly. Thanks you cquiroga. Friday, July 29, 2005
tiggmtl	3.2 Rio Salado Oak Aged Redzilla Thick, boozy, caramle aroma with woody vanilla prominent. Opaque amber-brown with low, off-white head that recedes to ring. Thick chewy, nutty malts, strong marzipan sweetness, alcohol, woody notes and fair finishing bitterness with lasting citrus aftertaste. Full body with moderate carbonation. Hand-bottled from a growler and enjoyed with bibi, beerbuzzmontreal, MartinT, Olivier_MTL and Rastacouere. Friday, July 22, 2005
beerbuzzmontreal	3 Rio Salado Oak Aged Redzilla Dark red pour with a ring of offwhite lace. Aroma of oak, strong alcohol and caramel. Flavor of oak,malt, caramel and strong alcohol. Light to medium body, creamy texture, soft carbonation. The alcohol is way to dominant, it feels boozey. Monday, July 18, 2005
MartinT	3.2 Rio Salado Oak Aged Redzilla The Lure: Shining barrel weaponry at first scares the nostrils. Upon closer look though, portentous sweetness resides beneath the hot alcohol and barrel identity, as caramel and maple syrup run rampant, and I admit, quite seductively. Citrusy hops are somewhat overwhelmed by the purgative activity above, and remain low key. A little too boozy to be excellent imho. The Festivities: Slow-moving caramel malt and almond-y sweetness don’t get along with the nearby fruit salad. Citrusy hops are perhaps emulated by the tart fruitiness, and thus never show their true identity. Body feels somewhat tired with the low carbonation, and inefficient blend of flavors. Transcendence: A torch’s fire brings light when needed, but burns if mishandled. Friday, July 15, 2005
PullMeABeer	3.4 Rio Salado Lightning Bolt Pilsner Blond Lager Draught @ brewery. Pours pale yellow, thin bubbly head, nothing really amazing to look at. Very fresh aroma, lemon like hop notes, just about the most appealing light grainy nose that I’ve smelled on a beer. The beer went down very easily with a fresh zesty hopy zing, very light on the tongue but very tasty. I thought it was quite outstanding for a pilsner/pale lager. Thursday, July 14, 2005
Bockyhorsey	3.1 Rio Salado Summer Typhoon Cherry Weisse Ale Bottle found at a liquer store that had some dust on it. Aroma was of a fermentented cherry and malt. Dark cherry color body and big pink head. Head diminished to a small one but stayed with drink till finish. Flavor was light on the cherry side. Some tartness and seem to have a malt backbone. Dry aftertaste on the palate. Need more cherry for me, but dencent drink none the less. Monday, July 11, 2005
FlacoAlto	3.4 Rio Salado Traditional Bock This beer sits a rich, black, opaque color with a light brown head. Chocolate aromas dominate the nose of the beer, but there are also notes of raisin, and concentrated cherry. This has an interesting aroma, sort of a spicy kick to it that I can’t quite place. This beer is well carbonated with a prickly sensation as it rolls across my tongue. The beer is sweet, though not heavily so. It is quite malty with notes of chocolate, toasted malt and a hint of roast astringency in the finish. This beer is fairly clean and actually a bit on the dry side for a bock, I think that it actually loses a bit of maltiness because it is on the drier side. There is a bit of spiciness in the finish that seems to be a combination of hops and carbonation. There is a bit of hop bitterness in the finish as well. This has soft, subtle fruity notes to it that remind me of cherry and burnt raisins. Friday, July 8, 2005
Bockyhorsey	3.6 Rio Salado Defibrillator Doppelbock Swwet candy and alcohol aroma come from this one. Dark red color with tan head. Sweet malts seem to dominate the flavor so count on some sweet flavor if that is what you like. Easy drinkable beer. Bottle from Rio Salado brew pub. Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Bockyhorsey	3.5 Rio Salado Traditional Bock Tap : Sweet malty licoice aroma. That was also the flavor of this beer. Malty enough to add richness to it. Black body with large tan head and good lacing. A good beer to have. Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Bockyhorsey	3.6 Rio Salado Squid Ink Stout Tap: Aroma was like opening a can of maxwell house coffee. Coffee grounds for aroma. Black with tan creamy head. Light chocolate flavor not as rich for my tastse buds, little wattery. Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Bockyhorsey	3.7 Rio Salado RS7 Seventh Anniversary Ale Tap : Had strong aromas of banana and apricot. Hazy somewhat caramel color and white head that left lot of lacing on glass. Fruity flavors of apricot and lemons and had a richness to it. Not tart and I liked it. Refreshing beer. Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Bockyhorsey	3.2 Rio Salado Jack Swilling Pale Ale Tap : Had a somewhat grainy aroma. Gold body with white head and some lacing. Flavor had a tangy slight bitter flavor. Was clean on the palate. Good for a hot summer day. Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Bockyhorsey	2.9 Rio Salado Blizzard Bock Winter Wheat Ale Must afge in the bottle. Burnt coffee aroma. Dark ruby red color when held to light. Head was tan and was gone quickly. Flavor was of sweet and sour candy. Acidic finsh that I really didn’t care for. Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Bockyhorsey	3.6 Rio Salado Cold Front Kolsch Style Ale Sweet malty aroma. Hazy yellow with medium white head, head disipated to a thin layer on top of beer. Some lacing. Flavor was bitter at first but by the middle and end sweet pear and apple flavors were present. Good belch after drinking this one so it must be a good beer. Wednesday, July 6, 2005
turbo	3.7 Rio Salado Traditional Bock On tap Black with a huge head and heavy lacing. Aroma was fruity with a slight scent of alcohol. Flavor is sweet malts and chocolate with a light sweet roast malt and spice finish. Light to medium body. Good refreshing beer. Monday, July 4, 2005
turbo	3.8 Rio Salado Defibrillator Doppelbock Bottle poured dark red amber with a nice white fizzy head. Aroma is sweet malt with a touch of alcohol. Flavor is sweet malts and caramel with a cotton candy like flavor in the background. Body is a bit watery. Tthis is a good easy drinking beer with a sweet but not too sweet finish. Monday, July 4, 2005
turbo	3.2 Rio Salado Cold Front Kolsch Style Ale On tap. Dark copper color with a light head and lacing. Sweet, fruity aroma with hint of banana and spice. Flavor is fruity with a touch of hops and yeast on the finish. Monday, July 4, 2005
turbo	3.9 Rio Salado Squid Ink Stout On tap. Black with a heavy chocolate head. Roasted coffee aroma with a rich coffee and chocolate flavor. Body is a bit watery with a smooth coffee like finish. Monday, July 4, 2005
turbo	3.3 Rio Salado RS7 Seventh Anniversary Ale On tap. Cloudy caramel color with light head and lacing. Strong aroma of fruit, banana,yeast. Flavor is lemons and fruit with a yeasty finish. A bit too sweet for my taste. Monday, July 4, 2005
turbo	3.6 Rio Salado Jack Swilling Pale Ale On tap. Copper color with a small white head. Thick lacing that hangs on the inside of the glass. Aroma and flavor are hops and citrus. A light, easy drinking IPA Monday, July 4, 2005
FlacoAlto	3.2 Rio Salado Cold Front Kolsch Style Ale This beer is ever so lightly hazy, it shows a full gold color and is topped by a frothy pale white head. The aroma is yeasty with a hint of spiciness that is a combination of malt and hops, I also pick up a hint of lemon. The taste is dry up front, and actually it is fairly dry throughout. It has been served quite cold, which actually makes this even a bit more refreshing. There is a soft fruitiness that reminds me a bit of banana, though not in the way that a Hefeweizen does. The finish is spritzy from a healthy dose of carbonation and it is bitter from an ample (for a Kolsch) amount of bittering hops. Over all this is light and crisp, just like a Kolsch should be, it also has the characteristic soft fruitiness that one would expect. I do wish that the malt was more evident. This beer is nice and clean, it just needs a bit more malt to balance the carbonation and hop bitterness. Thursday, June 30, 2005
Terminus	2.7 Rio Salado Cold Front Kolsch Style Ale bottle- man, its too bad that this bottle of beer was very old. looking from the ratings, this bottle could be over 3 years old and its still on the shelf. When i found it, i was all excited to try it. I was let down badly. pours light orange with a small fizzy whiteh ead. spicy, citrus aroma with some sourness and actually, the aroma held up farily well. some notes of grapes come to mind in the aroma. The flavors however, were terribly oxidized to the point of overbearing sourness. From the few "good" flavors i get from this beer, i can tell that this would have been a fantastic kolsh (wlel its listed as an ale here, but this is definately a kolsh). I hope this brewery brews this beer again! Monday, June 27, 2005
Dogbrick	2.3 Rio Salado Blizzard Bock Winter Wheat Ale Thanks for the trade, TannerTavernboys! This one rubbed me the wrong way from the start for some reason. Maybe it was the seemingly random mashing of words/styles (Wheat! Bock! Winter! Applesauce!) but unfortunately this didn’t seem to gel for me. Pours dark brown with a thin light tan head and little lacing. Aroma of sour fruit and toasted malt. Medium-bodied with a sourness that permeates, making me wonder if this might have been a bad bottle. Malt, wheat and clove flavors are dominated by the sourness. The finish is dry and fruity. I’d like to try this again to determine if there are problems with the beer in general or if is what the it is supposed to be like. Sunday, June 19, 2005
FlacoAlto	3.2 Rio Salado Squid Ink Stout This beer has a creamy brown head that sits atop a dark, almost black beer. The aroma has notes of roasted coffee and chocolate. This has a smooth creamy taste, with a sharp burnt malt bitterness in the finish. The dark malt notes also contribute a certain acidity to this beer. This is pretty dry and light bodied, but pretty good too. Friday, June 17, 2005
FlacoAlto	2.8 Rio Salado Jack Swilling Pale Ale This beer is a clear copper color and is topped by a fairly frothy pale, off-white head. The aroma is very faint, I get a hint of grapefruit, perhaps a tangerine note or two. The taste is lightly bitter, almost nondescriptly so. This is fairly bland over all. There is no real hop character, other than the hint of bitterness and the malt character is pretty weak as well. Friday, June 17, 2005
FlacoAlto	3.2 Rio Salado RS7 Seventh Anniversary Ale Brewed with Apricot puree. A soft aroma of wheat, cloves and bananas wafts from my glass, not really much in the way of Apricots, but this is to be expected in a beer that did not resort to using Apricot Flavoring in the beer. The beer is a very hazy straw color and it has a pale white head. The taste has a slight acidity in the finish plus a hint of fruitiness as well. The mouthfeel on this one is nice and smooth. I get notes of lemon, a bit of banana and clove. Basically this is a well made Hefeweizen with hints around the edges (acidity and an increased fruitiness) of the apricots that were added. As a fruit beer this is fairly non descript, certainly in no way bad, but not quite enough fruit character to it. Friday, June 17, 2005
Bockyhorsey	3.1 Rio Salado Autumn Deluge Alt Bier Amber Ale Aroma was like walking into a musty old bar. You can smell the fermantation. Beer held to light has a dark red tint to it. Decent head to the beer. Sweet malts gave it a licorice gave it a licorice flavor. Hops came though to. At the end I thought this beer was simular to a port wine. Thursday, June 16, 2005
TAR	3.4 Rio Salado Oak Aged Redzilla Draft: Blurry crimson. Dirty-white head collapses to a tight ring. Buttery malt, vanillin, and perfumey whiskey aromas. Miniscule alcohol detected. Low carbonation, but washy and fuzzy. Lush frame of bready malt quells the immediate tannic acidity and alcohol which buckle the cheeks. Quite soft and almondy. Soured-fruit acidity soon follows to override the woody tannins. Assertive oak-derived vanillin with a butter-toffee kiss. Overly buttery, though, with meaty, diacetyl-laden malt notes. Oversweet, buttery finish of sticky toffee pudding and husky malts. Nice job concealing the alcohol, but this wreaks of diacetyl and uncleanliness, and the husky malts only compound this. Thursday, June 2, 2005
Terminus	3.3 Rio Salado Lightning Bolt Pilsner Blond Lager 12 oz bottle-pours pale yellow with a big sudsy white head. very agressive carbonation. spicy, grassy aroma with some funky lager character-pepper detected. flavors are very grassy, slighly sour and some spicy notes with a touch of lemon. The grainyness is slighly abrasive. A pretty straight forward lager that i thought wasn’t that bad. I didn’t get any diacytl here and if it was there, it was very slight and didnt detract from this beer. underrated! Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Bockyhorsey	3 Rio Salado Monsoon Maerzen Amber Lager Aroma of dried fruits and some what malty. Light amber color with white head and some lacing. Flavor is balanced for this one. Malts seem to hold back the hops, otherwise this one would be too bitter for me. Smooth on palate. Monday, May 23, 2005
Bockyhorsey	1.9 Rio Salado Lightning Bolt Pilsner Blond Lager Aroma was of just after you watered your grass. Cloudy gold with small head some lacing. Some lemon flavor but also some bitterness that left it feeling and tasting like starch. Sorry not for me. Monday, May 23, 2005
Bockyhorsey	2.8 Rio Salado Tornado Helles Bock Pale Lager Bottle. Had an almost stale malty aroma. Gold color with decent head that dimmished to a thin layer on top of beer. With thin dimmishing heads on beer seems to bring a lot of lacing, this one didn’t. Sweet hop flavor that went down good on the palate. Decent beer. Sunday, May 8, 2005
Bockyhorsey	3.1 Rio Salado Oak Aged Redzilla On tap at papago. Seamed to be all about the alcohol at first. Alcohol aroma and taste. Dark amber color body with thin head tha disipated quickly. At the end of beer had a roasted, burnt wood taste that wasn’t bad. A decent beer. Thursday, May 5, 2005