Christian Moerlein Over The Rhine Ale

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

pours a hazed copper color with a small beige head that had good retention and left a good amount of lacing on the glass. The aroms is fruity with citrus hops and a lot of brown sugar sweetness. The taste is a pretty sweet pale ale with more of a brown sugar flavor as opposed to a caramel one, but it's sweet. The hops provide both citrus notes along with some tea like bitterness. The mouthfeel is smooth and medium bodied with carbonation on the high side.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

A cross between a pale ale and a mild amber, it's a very solid beer in an unassuming way. Amber-copper pour with a noticeable head and good lacing. Caramel sweetness with a grassy, citrus hop character. Mild and somewhat subdued, would be a good ballgame or gateway brew.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Nice little amber/copper colored beer with a head that was a tad off white. Yellow and burnt orange highlights around the bottom and sides. A few bubbles working toward the top. A touch cloudy. Head retetnion and lacing were mostly average. Nice bit of fresh, floral hops in the nose. Grapefruit citrus is in the mix also. A touch of toasty bread finishes the aroma. Seems very well balanced and clean. As the brew warmed, I started detecting hints of caramel malt. Decent hop bitterness is apparent from the beginning. As expected, a prominent grapefruit citrus flavor. Orange flavoring also works its way through. A dry biscuit taste in there to boot. Medium, dry mouthfeel. Some alcohol bite on the palate and in the aftertaste. Hangs around in the throat for a good while. This was a nice little beer!!! I was pleasantly surprised. Wasn't sure what to expect, but I came out satisfied. To me this was closer to an IPA than a regular Pale Ale. It was enjoyable and worth a try. I would be happy to pick this up again.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

I confess, I'm a little partial to the old Cincinnati brewers, and the modern Christian Moerlein brand has been around since its '81 introduction by Hudepohl. (The original Christian Moerlein brewery closed in 1920) 12 oz bottle, poured into a pint glass. About 3/4 inch head, which faded pretty quickly (maybe the glass could've been cleaner) Copper color, a bit cloudy. Nose is a little flowery with a hint of citrus. Mouth feel is a little thin, but I don't necessarily equate viscosity with quality. Hops are evident, to be sure, the bite is nicely balanced by the malt, Very quaffable; in fact, my favorite session brew! I think I'll have another!

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 7

I should stop being surprised when I find something new at Albertsons. The supermarket chain is the first of the supermarts in South Florida to offer craft brews. I’ve picked up a few unique ales and lagers on the whim of stepping into the store. This one is my first from Ohio. In appearance, upon pour this one is a beautiful brew. A orange tinge-copper colored ale. Decent foamy white head with staying power. A lot of lacing as the head eventually settles. I detect grassy hops, but it’s not intense. The body is full and creamy. The taste of woodsy, pine-like hop are, again evident though not intense. Somewhat disconcert is the toffee/candy in the malt taate. Otherwise this really good drink.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Fruity caramel, sweet malt in the nose. Solid amber color with a thick off-white head. Flurry of bubbles. Superb blend of flavors. The malty caramel backbone is there but what an unexpected hop rush! Silky smooth mouthfeel and a nice, long fruit-filled bitter-tinged finish. Delightful; kudos to bluesandbarbq for the bottle. MUSIC: 'Drunkard's Prayer' by Over the Rhine

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Pours a clear amber with a nice white head leaving nice lacing. Good carbonation. Aromas of sweet and toasted malts and quite noticeable hops. Taste is balanced and rather rich with a great malty backbone and a good hops finish.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Quite a mix of hops and fruit are noticeable in the nose as I pour this beer. It starts out with a two-finger thick, lightly amber tinged, tan colored head. The beer shows a brilliantly clear, plum-amber color as it sits in my 25cl tulip glass. Bright berry aromatics, a zesty bergamot aroma, some light herbal notes all over a backdrop of biscuit-like malt and lightly browned whole-grain crackers. This has an enjoyable nose, I like, and wasn't expecting, the vibrant hop character.

Sweetish tasting and quite thick and chewy for a beer of this strength. There is a soft tartness to this beer, that lightly accents a lemon & orange zest flavor. Thick malt flavors of concentrated wort, and ample crystal malts make this a bit unbalanced. This is definitely quite a bit thicker than I like in a beer of this strength, though it is not nearly as sweet as a beer of this body might suggest. The hop character provides more of a pine-like flavor than the zesty fruit notes noticed in the aroma. The beer finishes with a herbal, slightly astringent hop bitterness that does a fair job of scrubbing away the over-bearing malt (though not quite completely).

The flavor is a complete surprise after the fresh, vibrant, hoppy nose. I wish the balance of up front hop and supporting malt had been carried through to the flavor. Instead the flavor is just way unbalanced with this way under-attenuated malt character.