Chestnut Hill - Lift Bridge Brewery

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.63/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Lift Bridge. Chestnut Hill. Ale brewed with Cinnamon and Allspice. (Is that barber really giving the photographer the finger, or is it merely an illusion?)

"A rich brown ale with scant amounts of spices for unique layers of flavor. A gentlemanly salute to the pioneering days of yesteryear." So they say.

Dark brown body, crimson at edges, nice toasted tan head. Lookin' good. (Said Freddie Prinze.)

Aroma: soft, nutty, lightly fruity, and yeah, there's that spice just below. Nice stuff.

On the tongue and in the mouth, the spices loom larger. good an malty, bits of cocoa and caramel. Medium bodied, light and good drinkability. Great sessional ale, for those seeking bigger satisfaction. Mmm, nice.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2010 02:15:39 | More by feloniousmonk

jjanega08

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A= Deep brown color with hazy amber highlights coming through on the sides. The head is a tan color rising to about a finger but looking thick and steady sitting on top of the beer. Nice lacing and retention.

S= Toasty and bready for sure. A nice malty doughyness to it. Cinnamon is in there but I get none of the allspice mentioned on the bottle. Sort of resembles a more pungent spicier fat tire to me with the amount of breadyness to it.

T= The taste is excellent. Sort of pushes on the porter teritorry with the roast flavor. The breadiness starts to ooze away a bit but is still there and the cinnamon comes through a little more. The all spice is still undetected.

M= A nice spikey carbonation to it. Zippy.

D= This is the best beer I've had from these guys I think. Everything I try from them gets a little better and with their own brewery I'm excited to see what they can produce. The profile on this beer enters the porter area a little more than brown ale I think but I'm not complaining it's great no matter what you call it.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2010 02:42:58 | More by jjanega08

jera1350

Minnesota

3.85/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Very dark amber brown color with a frothy tan head that leaves some lacing.

A small amount of sweet malt, but overall, very faint smelling.

Rich and toasty malts. Light chocolate, caramel, roasted nuts and a hint of allspice and cinnamon. Moderately bitter hops present as well.

Chewy and creamy mouthfeel. Medium body.

A really nice brown that I could drink several of. Makes a nice fall beer as well.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2010 21:39:49 | More by jera1350

morimech

Minnesota

4.03/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark brown color with two fingers of dense head that had very good retention before settling to a thick cap. Moderate amount of lacing is left on the glass. An attractive enough looking brown ale. Nice malty aroma with hints of nuts, graham crackers, and molassas. I do pick up on some cinnamon but it is subdued. Solid brown ale flavor as well. Good malt flavor with hints of nuts again. Hops make an appearance giving some grassy elements. The added spices are detectable in the finish but let the malt and hops do most of the playing. Surprising amount of alcohol is also detectaed. Quite dry overall. Not the largest body for a brown but has good carbonation and texture. A humble brown ale turned out to be my favorite Lift Bridge beer to date.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2010 21:30:41 | More by morimech

Chaz

Minnesota

3.23/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This one arrived a deep-amber in color, or perhaps a "cola brown", topped with a minimal off-white head and very minimal lacing.

Nose is cold and wet, but apart from that I am not picking anything up, here.

The taste is bitter/bittersweet on the first sip.VERY bitter for the style, obliterating, palate-annihilating bitterness. Aside from this bitterness, there's a nuttiness that emerges, alongside a hazelnut/vanilla/cocoa melange. Extract, or raw beans and nuts? Alcohol is warming . . .

This one is somewhat interesting I guess, but I am not really diggin' it *cold*. Might have to give it ten minutes to warm up . . . Yep, warm it is certainly a more interesting brew, but this strikes me as an "edgy" homebrew recipe made on a bigger scale, and it's not one I'd go out of my way for.

Still, points for effort and all

Serving type: on-tap

10-20-2010 04:03:46 | More by Chaz

bsp77

Minnesota

4.1/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Serving glass: Poured from bottle into Nonic Imperial Pint.

Appearance: Murky orangish-brown with thin off-white head.

Smell: Sweet caramel and fruity malts, some coffee accented roasted malts, English hops and a touch of cinnamon.

Taste: Caramel and fruity malts at the forefront, but fairly dried out compared to the aroma. Some nut flavors underneath. Becomes bitter and spicy toward the end, with nice English hops augmented by the cinnamon and allspice. The spices are a nice subtle addition.

Feel: Moderate carbonation, medium body, pretty dry finish for a Brown Ale.

Drinkability: Great traditional Brown Ale with a nice addition of spices to add to the complexity of the finish. Very nice job overall. Lift Bridge does well with adding spices and other flavors to traditional beers to make them their own.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2010 02:07:51 | More by bsp77

Buebie

Minnesota

3.8/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz brown bottle, producing a solid whipped top inch of off white head. Taking its time to recede, really sitting there for a long time actually. Leaving a solid cap with stick rings.
Color is a very murky non transparent unfiltered looking brown with a bit of red when held to light.

This was poured a bit colder then desired, so aroma seems muted. But some mild chocolate is present, with roasty grains and a dallop of malt.
Hops make a great appearance bittering well and throughout, lingering long on the swallow. Chocolate is modest, but bitters nicely along with hops. Its not a sweet hop either, pairing nicely with the other bitterness in flavor.

Mouthfeel is slick and creamy.

I cant really say I've had a beer like it. Very good, not at all what I expected.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2010 22:21:41 | More by Buebie

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had this at Lift Bridge night in Edina.

Served in a pint glass.

1 finger of fizzy tan head. Color is a hazy amber copper dark brown. Head fades down quickly. Leaves splatted lace.

Aroma: nut and caramel flavors with some sharp earthy hops and toffee.

Taste: Dry taste to it. Caramel with a bunch of roasted nuts. Bready malts and toffee as well.

Mouthfeel: Dry and crisp. A little bitter. Medium bodied with a lower amount of carbonation. Ends a little dry with roasted malt aftertaste.

Overall, a decent seasonal beer. For the abv it is fairly drinkable. However, this was a one and done for me.

Serving type: cask

12-18-2009 09:01:25 | More by mothman