War
Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House

WarWar
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From:
Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House
 
Ohio, United States
Style:
Smoked Beer
ABV:
6.2%
Score:
79
Avg:
3.3 | pDev: 22.73%
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
26
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Mar 09, 2014
Added:
Jul 25, 2012
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  1
War is a smoked Irish-style red ale brewed with cherry wood smoked barley and traditional UK amber malt.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.75 by Buckeye_Bill from Ohio

Mar 09, 2014
Photo of Brenden
Reviewed by Brenden from Ohio

3.93/5  rDev +19.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
War is dark, almost brown-red, with lots of ruby flaring in the light. The head takes some work to keep down; the fat brown pillow takes several minutes before it levels out at two fingers. Once there, it's massively dense and practically solid, leaving webby lace that drops to patching about 1/3 of the way through.
While seemingly one-dimensional, the nose really does have fantastic smoke to it. It's campfire, all wood with no charcoal but just a little char and only the slightest tang in it.
With warming, I get a little black pepper sort of spiciness with a little bit of something bready and a ghost of a soapy note to the hops.
The taste carries the smoke over well but with a little more tang, char and bitterness, particularly into the finish. There's some bread to the malts, including leaf, grass, and the aforementioned soapiness.
The body is simulataneously crisp and fluffy but not too heavy in a medium body.
Feb 12, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by tommy5 from Michigan

Jan 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by fellowrs from Ohio

Dec 18, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by C_Roetting from Kentucky

Sep 30, 2013
Photo of Jason
Reviewed by Jason from Massachusetts

3.72/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
12oz brown bottle with no freshness date.

Great head retention, deep rusty reddish amber hue. Deep smokiness, bread malt, mild spice, hint of alcohol, toasted grain and a mild nuttiness show a pretty complex nose. Superb smoothness, medium bodied. Lots of smoke but no cloying, woody, toasted bread, faint dried fruit, spice, balancing hop character, dried grass, clean, smoky toasty drying finish.

While the deep smokiness may take away from the drinkability a bit it does entice me to still sip ... just not quaff. Either way, pretty damn good.
Aug 21, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by NW2285 from Ohio

Jul 29, 2013
Photo of BeerNotes
Reviewed by BeerNotes from Ohio

3.81/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A: Ruby brown color, fairly cloudy. Pours with a very thin, off-white head that maintains throughout. Little to no lacing.

S: Extremely smoky. The aroma reminds me a lot of the Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale, only without the maple sweetness. Lots of malt and woody notes come through here.

T: The best part of the beer is the first taste, when you experience all the smokiness from the nose. The flavors fall off pretty drastically as you swallow, leaving you with a pretty standar, red ale finish. Maybe slightly more robust.

M: Medium body, more in the front than the back.

O: The taste never lives up to the scent. The nose of the beer promises a rich, complex experience that the flavor never delivers on. And despite that very brief, initial smokiness, this beer lacks any truly distinct qualities. The malt profile could be a bit fuller, and the smoky wood notes needs to linger throughout more.
Apr 21, 2013
Photo of buschbeer
Reviewed by buschbeer from Ohio

3.82/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
12 ounce bottle
Served in a nonic pint glass

A - It is dark amber with lighter amber highlights. A normal pour yielded a large, creamy, tan head that lingers for a while.

S - The obvious first impression is smoke. At first I thought it reminded me of liquid smoke, but it transformed to more of a campfire smell. Some sweet caramel malt is in there too if you look hard emough.

T - My initial impression was that it was too smoky. After it warms, it is an enjoyable beer. The smokiness mellows and allows the characteristics of the Irish ale to come through.

M - It is medium bodied with a creamy texture.

O - I thought this beer was going to be a smoky turd. It turned out to be satisfying. I think the key is to let it warm. It was definitely better up around cellar temperature.
Mar 26, 2013
Photo of ColdPoncho
Reviewed by ColdPoncho from Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +25.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
A - Really nice deep crimson body, ample tan head. But the head goes away.

S - Smoky, meaty, earthy...It's a really nice smoke profile, and I like smoke, so I like this smell.

T - Lots of smoke, the same biting sweetness that is in famine, somewhat fruity, but this is subdued, and the moderately complex smoky profile really dominates. If you like smoke, this is good. A bitterness helps too.

M - A nice hearty mouthfeel. It doesn't feel war-like, but perhaps more like the beer you'd want while taking a break from war...I dunno.

O - this is a legitimately solid smoked beer, in my opinion. But you have to like smoke.
Feb 01, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by crytion from Ohio

Jan 29, 2013
Photo of Beejay
Reviewed by Beejay from Virginia

3.44/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Thanks Richard and Alanna, for bringing me this brew!

A: Light tan as it pours, in the glass the color is a nice dark cherry brown, with a tan head. Looks nice.

S: Nice smoked scent. Slightly sweet, with a good dose of campfire, and smoked meat. There is a nice baked bread smell coming through as well. Sometimes I think cherry smoked malt can come off a little cloying, but that is not the case here.

T: Some good toasted malt and bread notes.. The smoked malt adds a nice nuance to the flavor, and doesn't overpower the brew. There is a slight spice note from the rye, with a crisp bitterness lingering in the background. I like all the flavors this has going, but I wish it had just a little more behind it. The smokiness is good, but the beer as a whole comes off a little watery.

M: Soft feel, high carbonation level, and fine in size.

O: Overall decent, but for a beer named war, I thought it would have a little more backing it up. Nice flavor, I just wish it was amped up a bit. This is more of a skirmish, not a war.
Jan 19, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by Lukass from Ohio

Jan 05, 2013
 
Rated: 1 by Lipsntoes from Ohio

Jan 01, 2013
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

3.65/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A: The beer is clear very dark amber in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high beige head that died down a bit, leaving only a small hole in the center of the layer of bubbles covering the surface.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of smoky malts in the nose; these get a little stronger as the beer warms up.
T: Like the smell, the taste has smoky flavors along with notes of the red ale. Hints of tea are noticeable in the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer has a nice amount of smoky flavors in the taste but these are quite balanced and don't overpower the beer.
Dec 24, 2012
 
Rated: 2 by meanmutt from Ohio

Dec 22, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by rheimbro from Ohio

Dec 09, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by SDG1070 from Ohio

Dec 08, 2012
 
Rated: 2.5 by jaidenjb from Ohio

Oct 13, 2012
 
Rated: 2 by Caterwaul from Ohio

Sep 25, 2012
War from Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House
Beer rating: 79 out of 100 with 26 ratings