Unified Theory - River North Brewery

TheBrewo

Michigan

4.06/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Big, big thanks to StonedTrippin for supplying this wildly unique offering. We crack the top and pour a brew of glowing pale straw coloring into our Founders snifters, per the bottle’s suggestion. It holds a one and half finger tall head of foamy off white bubbles, showing decent retention. Specks of lacing are left around the glass as it goes. A mild haze is noted, with no sediment to be found. Both come out fully with the dregs of the bottle. Carbonation appears to be light. The nose is very much to style, with big wheaty malts, bright coriander and black pepper spiciness, orange rind bitterness, and light plastic and medicinal phenols. Mixing in are notes of white wine grape, chardonnay woodiness, coconut husk, lemon juiciness, golden delicious apples, licorice, drying muskiness, and sweaty saltiness. With warmth comes a light smoky ham quality, with wood more like chicory rather than oak. Our first impression is that the flavoring is much more hearty than would be suggested by the nose, great depth to the aging, and welcomed balancing sweetness. As we sip, the taste opens with surprisingly warm woodiness, biting soapy hoppiness, spicy booze, fresh orange and lemon flesh, soured lactics, white grape, red apple sugars, and sweet vegetal and mossy greens. Pushing to the peak is bittered wheat, spicy clove, coriander, parsnip rind, lemon zest, light toasty pales, strawberry fruitiness, and straight orange fruitiness. The finishing wash comes with bright vanilla woodiness, warming ethanol, light grassy hoppiness, black peppercorn spiciness, dirty wheat, clay-heavy water, white grape sugars, chalked walnut, faint soapy hops, and continued citric juiciness. The aftertaste breathes of grassy hops, brass, drying wheat, spicy black pepper, green grassiness, soft smokiness, booziness, sweat, dust, and old oakiness. The body is light to medium, but with a good syrupy quality, while carbonation is on the lighter side. Each sip gives nice slurp, smack, and pop, with decent cream and frothiness. The mouth is thickly coated at first, but gives way to a quick and pervasive astringent chalkiness across the hard palate. The abv is appropriate, and the beer sips slowly, but drinks well.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this beer was its flavoring. Compared to the nose, the buds got a much better dose of the oak-agedness, adding warmth, smoothness, robustness, depth, and general drinkability. The aroma did come out more with warmth, giving more sweetness than expected for the style, with more punch all around. The feel was equally contributory, giving a nice syrupy smack to an otherwise light and fluffy sip. This beer represents an interesting, new idea, and we believe that they executed it well, leaving the drinker both happy and contemplative. Hopefully StoneTrippin will be able to grace us with more beers from River North in the future.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 00:47:08 | More by TheBrewo

katan

Colorado

3.8/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz into a goblet

A- Pours an orange, opaque color. Bubbly effervescent. White head formation, frothy at about a 1/4". Breaks down quickly, little lacing.

S - Fruity and spicy, citrusy and quite a bit of coriander. Not getting any oaking from the nose.

T - Starts off dry, smooth with a few hints of belgian yeast. Mid-stream gets more balanced, with a quick hit of some sour and earthy astringency notes from the oak. Finishes a little more balanced with some citrus notes and some oak biting flavors.

M - Moderate body, medium to strong carbonation. Dry to the tongue, but with some retained bite from the oak.

O / D - Worth a try - somewhat easy drinking, abv is pretty potent and somewhat filling. The only part I don't quite get here is the oaking - this would be an excellent beer of that harsh bite was a little more subdued. Otherwise I feel this a solid but not great offering.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2012 01:27:52 | More by katan

GilGarp

Colorado

3.73/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served cold on tap at the brewery.

Unified Theory is a slightly hazy pale golden ale with thin white head.

Aroma is sweet and slightly spicy.

Flavor has that now familiar oaked vanilla character. It still seems a little under-attenuated with a lingering sweetness but I think it works better in an oaked beer. Sweet, floral, herbal, and spicy, in that order.

Mouthfeel is medium-light in body and nicely carbonated.

Overall a solid strong wit but a little too sweet for my tastes.

Serving type: on-tap

11-29-2012 23:39:44 | More by GilGarp

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

What an interesting witbier. Almost a kind of herbal lavender thing going on. The barrel is definitely doing something intereting things that you don't really get on a typical wit. I highly suggest this one. But again, like the Marie, this is a heavy interpretation. Somehow though, it all gets pulled off in high fashion. Imagine that: a barrel aged witbier.

Serving type: on-tap

10-15-2012 03:05:10 | More by RblWthACoz

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

4.3/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

huge thanks to daniloknezic for trading me this bottle! Thanks Don!

poured into tulip glass.

reviewed from notes taken 8/14/12.

Appearance: clear yellow bodied beer with a 1 finger white head.

Smell: Its got an interesting stink to it. never smelled anything like that before. Hay, grass, spicy, earthy.

Taste: This is a really busy beer with nice complexity! Hay, lemons, oak, grassy, herbal, spicy yeast, clove, honey, and mushrooms. Has a menthol finish that really makes this beer different.

Mouthfeel: low end of a medium bodied beer with moderate carbonation. A touch of syrup in the mouthfeel. No ABV is even hinted at; even when this beer clock in at 8.5%!

Overall: River North brewery is really doing some inventive and creative beers. A fairly new brewery that not many people have heard of or know about. I like what they are doing and how brave they are tring some really advanced beer right out of the gates. I cant say I that I have ever heard of an oaked witbier before, much less tried one until now. Really cool beer, its worth a try! BA's give this new brewery a shot. They make good beer!

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 16:40:02 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT

Duff27

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Short white head on a golden body. Collar plus some lacing left.

Stanky! Lemongrassy.

Funk up front. I get a methol/mint At the tail end, oaky. Loving that finish. Very complex, unusual.

Medium mouthfeel, mid-low carbonation.

I get some methol in the smell after I taste it for the first time. Enjoyed more as I drank. Thanks 4DAloveofSTOUT!

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2012 02:04:08 | More by Duff27

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

oak aged imperial wit. pours hazy and radiant golden to yellow with a lasting one inch pure white head. smells like new american oak, belgian yeast, and orchard fruit. flavor is surprisingly oaky, i guess they use those oak sirals for this. also some mild sweet notes, maybe honey, and a floral but not quite perfumy essence as well. mouthfeel is great, lively carbonation and a medium body, dry in the finish with the wood being the last flavor to fade out. overall this is an excellent brew, and an ambitious undertaking for a brand new brewery. i was more than impressed with this one.

Serving type: on-tap

05-27-2012 18:37:13 | More by StonedTrippin