Rock Art A River Runs Gruit

Anytime I have a gruit, I always think that I need to have them more often. Let’s see how this one was.

ABV: 5.2%

Style: Scottish Gruit/Ancient Herbed Ale

Trivia: According to wikipedia.com, “Gruit (alternately grut or gruyt) is an herb mixture used for bittering and flavouring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops. Gruit or grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit. Historically, gruit is the term used in an area today covered by the Netherlands, Belgium and westernmost Germany. Today however, gruit is a colloquial term for any beer seasoned with gruit-like herbs. Gruit was a combination of herbs, commonly including sweet gale (Myrica gale), mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea), horehound (Marrubium vulgare), and Calluna heather (Calluna vulgaris). Gruit varied somewhat, each gruit producer including different herbs to produce unique flavors and effects. Other adjunct herbs included juniper berries, ginger, caraway seed, aniseed, nutmeg, cinnamon, and hops in variable proportions.”

Random: There was no information about this beer on the brewery website.

This beer poured with a half a finger of white head on top of a pink-orange body. There was moderate carbonation visible. The head dissipated almost instantly and left some lacing on the glass. The nose was very fragrant. There was a lot of lavender and chamomile along with some juniper. The taste started with a lot of herbal tea. Specifically, I picked up chamomile and some mint along with juniper. There was a floral note as well. The body was on the lighter side with moderate carbonation. It had a medium length finish with herbal tea. I’m not sure how much this beer was, since it was received as a gift, but either way, I enjoyed it.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Rock Art IPA

This is the last brew that I have from the Rock Art mixed twelve pack that I picked up. I haven’t read all that many reviews on Rock Art, but I really wasn’t floored by the ones that I reviewed from the twelve pack. My guess is their beers in bombers are a bit better. At least they have cute labels.

ABV: 5%

Style: American IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “A light copper body low bitterness with good hop flavor. This is my impression of what the English troops may have been drinking when they occupied India. The pale ale they drank had mellowed considerably. The wooden casks had spent many months traveling on ships and long inland journeys to the troops, where they were then tapped and enjoyed.”

Random: I’ve been watching the documentary, “Life.” It’s somewhat like Planet Earth. I have a bit of an obsession with these types of documentaries.

The brew poured a beautifully thick, two finger, cream-colored head that topped a cloudy, burnt orange body. There was medium carbonation visible with lots of floaties throughout. This beer looked like it had promise. The nose was pretty much a typical IPA. I got some citrus, specifically grapefruit and not much else. The taste was a bit different. I did get citrus, but I got pronounced lemon at first. After it warmed a bit, it became more of a grapefruit flavor. The malt came towards the end of the sip, but could have been more present to balance it out. After a few sips of the brew, I kept picking up this weird medicinal quality to it. I really didn’t know what that was about, but it lasted to the finish. The body was thick, but not overwhelming with appropriate carbonation. This was just an alright brew for me. Nothing to write home about.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0

Rock Art Ridge Runner

What a day. I hate Thursdays. I know, they’re the day before Friday which is great. But, I have my executive meetings on Thursdays…every Thursday at 1000. This week’s meeting went over the monthly numbers and these take forever. I have meeting induced ADD. Once a meeting goes over an hour, I completely zone out. I start thinking about what I need to buy at the food store (which is odd to begin with because Katie does the food shopping) and then I start thinking about how the only Acme’s I know of are by Katie. Then, I start thinking about the food store I went to as a kid, Associated, in Queens, which I’m pretty sure doesn’t exist anymore. Then, I start thinking about doing laundry…again, amusing because Katie does that too. Do you see my problem? Anyways, the meeting ended, I had a good workout at the gym and now it’s beer time.

ABV: 7.5%

Style: English Barleywine

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Mild Barley Wine (by today’s bigger beers). ‘Robust, Dark and Smooth, hold on to your hat cause you’ll lose your feet on this one!’ Brewed with pale, dark crystal, Munich, flaked barley, black and chocolate malts. Hops include Cascade, Crystal, Challenger and Perle.”

Random: Katie and I watched “Four Weddings” on TLC. It’s really helpful in showing us what we don’t want…like a buffet dinner.

A barleywine in July? Odd, I know. I didn’t even remember bringing this one to Katie’s house. Anyway, this brew poured with a half a finger of pure white head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a clear chestnut color with lots of active carbonation. It was lighter than I was used to for the style. The nose was also a little tame for the style. I got some sweet nuttiness with maple and raisin notes. The taste was like barleywine junior. I got nuttiness, candi sugar and a dose of raisin and plum. But, the body was very light for the style and I got none of the booze warming on the end that I’ve become accustomed to from the style. The finish was quick as well. This brew didn’t do much for me. It was definitely drinkable and had some flavor, but if you’re craving a barleywine, this wouldn’t be one I’d grab for.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0

Rock Art American Red

So, yesterday I started the couch to 5k running program. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate running. But, it’s something that I’ve wanted to get into for awhile and I thought that this program would be the best way to do it. So, I went home and took care of some stuff there, did my run and then it was off to Katie’s for the night. The fun thing about splitting my time between two places is that I really don’t know which beers I have in which place. This could also explain why I haven’t updated my beers on hand in forever. Anyways, I picked up a mixed twelve pack from Rock Art at a new liquor store on Route 9 that advertised they had a lot of craft beer. It was alright…not great. So, onto the brew…

ABV: 4.8%

Style: American Amber/Red Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “The unofficial name for this beer is ‘Super Glide.’ Malty rich with a hint of spicy hops and roasted grains. This beer is one smooth ride with a clean finish! We brewed this one with American Pale, oats, flaked barley, black, chocolate, red malt, melandolin malt. American hops include Magnum, Centennial, Liberty and Crystal. Enjoy!”

Random: I have a certain affinity for Rock Art brews since they use a kokopelli on the label. I have a kokopelli tattoo on my right ankle.

This one poured with half a finger of white head that dissipated almost instantly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a clear chestnut color with a decent amount of active carbonation. The nose was a lot of nutty malt with some sweetness as well. The taste was a lot like the nose and this wasn’t a good thing. It was pretty much all nutty malt and nothing else. I would have liked to see the sweetness from the nose come through or something else to balance this brew out, but I came up empty-handed. After a few sips, the beer got monotonous and boring. The body was on the thicker side with generous carbonation. The finish was long and nutty. For me, I couldn’t find a lot to say about this beer because it was boring. There also wasn’t a lot to like about the brew. There are so many better options out there to try than this one.

Untappd Rating: 2.0/5.0

Rock Art Midnight Madness Smoked Porter

What a busy Saturday. I did a bunch of errands around the house and then headed to the gym from a few hours. I kicked my own ass. I’m seriously sore now. After the gym, I ran some more errands and ran to the bank and did my food shopping for the week. Since I got home, I’ve been doing some updates to the blog and reading some other blogger’s beer reviews. I definitely think a brew is in order for this task.

ABV: 6%

Style: American Porter

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “‘Grab your darts and let’s go!’ This is a dark ruby red porter with a medium body. A slight hint of smoke is detected from a small portion of grains used that are smoked with beechwood. Pale, chocolate, black and crystal grains are also used with Norther Brewer and East Kent Golding hops.”

Random: The logo of Rock Art brewery is a kokopelli, which is a tattoo that I have on my right ankle.

This brew poured with a half a finger of tan head that dissipated really quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a clear, dark brown with light carbonation. The nose was really fragrant. It had some roasted malts coupled with wood and smoke. Coffee was also in the nose as well, albeit towards the back. The taste was a bit disappointing given the nose. The sip started with smoke and ashes, which overwhelmed the subtle bit of roasted malts towards the back. It was almost as if you decided to dump an ashtray into a porter. The body was towards the thinner side with medium carbonation. The finish was long and smoky and unpleasant. This brew was a huge letdown. I definitely would avoid this one.

Untappd Rating: 2.0/5.0