Monkey Knife Fight - Rubicon Brewing Company

ffejherb

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

On cask at Rubicon on 7/25/09.

A - Clear golden body with half inch of creamy white head that retained well and yielded thick, sticky paper-thin lace.

S - Citrus hops suggesting grapefruit and orange rind. Actually, the aroma reminds me of orange pulp. Fresh citrus dominates the aroma, with some sweet malts joining in for good measure. Pretty one-dimensional aroma, but pleasant nonetheless.

T - Again, the fresh orange dominates the flavor with citrus hop overtones and sweet malts to balance. There is also a touch of dry hopped character, but not too obvious.

M - Light bodied with a very thin, watery texture. Kind of flat even for a cask conditioned ale. Finishes bittersweet with a dry, very faint lingering bitterness on the palate.

D - To paraphrase James Brown on crack, "I look good, I smell good..." but I don't feel good. Mouthfeel is lacking on this cask offering, and the hops could be a bit more pronounced. However, the aroma was nice and overall it was pretty drinkable.

Serving type: cask

08-04-2009 02:26:04 | More by ffejherb

chrisd73

Arizona

3.29/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Light amber/orange. Half-inch head quickly dissipates to film with some bubbles.

Mild smell of citrus and hops. Flavor is similar, but with less citrus and more hops. Slight bitter bite on the finish. mouth feel is okay.

Slightly above average. Not something I would drink a bunch of, but not interesting enough to be a sipper, either. I'd like to try it again with a meal rather than on it's own, as I can see it working well for that.

Serving type: growler

03-03-2013 05:06:51 | More by chrisd73

Fatehunter

Oregon

3.8/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Off the tap at the brew pub. Thin head with medium straw colored body.
The aroma is great: grapefruit and lemon.
The taste is smooth with a good dose of malt and moderate bitterness.
The texture is crisper with moderate carbonation and medium body.
It's a nice, easy drinking ale and flavorful.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2013 05:15:35 | More by Fatehunter

womencantsail

California

3.25/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Pizza Port Carlsbad

The beer is almost amber in color with a white head. Mild grass aroma followed by citrus peel and floral hops. A strong toffee and toasted bread smell to it as well. Just decent on the nose, sort of bland. The flavor is somewhat sweet, but still a bit bland. Light hop flavors of citrus peel, grass and pine. A light bitterness on the finish.

Serving type: on-tap

10-24-2012 19:37:31 | More by womencantsail

TheRealBigC

Nevada

3.18/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Had on tap at Rubicon brewing. This one pours an orangish body with a medium head. Hops are pretty potent and it also has a sort of herbal quality to it. Can't quite put my finger on it, but it's definitely spiced to a point. I didn't particularly like the balance of it, but my girlfriend loved it.

Serving type: on-tap

08-05-2012 19:00:43 | More by TheRealBigC

UCLABrewN84

California

3.1/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

On tap at Tony's Darts Away in Burbank, CA.

Pours a clear honey gold with a foamy beige head that settles to a film on top of the beer. A foamy curtain of lace coats the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, grain, slight herbal hop aromas, and alcohol. Taste is much the same with some toasted malt flavors and a very mild hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty average beer that has no real pale ale characteristics.

Serving type: on-tap

07-08-2012 03:59:33 | More by UCLABrewN84

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.03/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A darker yellow pale ale, about 1/2" head on it, poured at beer revolution. Aroma was just a soft meld of hops and mild malt tones. Pedestrian.

Sessionable pale ale, really seems to be something that is made to be plenty easy to drink. Not a hop heads dream. Adequate bitterness, not much in the way of a specific hop flavor though.

Rubicon can make some assertive stuff, this isn't one of them, this is the beer I order for people who don't like beer. Or for myself if its like, 102 degrees outside.

Serving type: on-tap

05-11-2012 00:11:30 | More by Beerandraiderfan

DoubleJ

California

4.03/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at the Yardhouse. Huh....how did that happen? On to the beer:

This has an orangish copper color with good fommration of the head, leaving a quality dose of lacing around the glass. The nose is fruity, and also offers some crisp hops. To taste, pale malts hit first, then comes a rush of sweet citurs and orange. Good biting action of hops. It's crisp, nearly medium bodied, and is an easy one to drink.

I can dig this. Keep 'em coming Rubicon.

Serving type: on-tap

05-10-2012 16:32:11 | More by DoubleJ

jeffjeff1

California

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had this yesterday at Pete's Brass Rail and Car Wash.

Appearance- copper color, thin head, nice lacing

Smell- slight aroma of hops

Taste- bitter hop flavor, probably did a lot of dry hopping

Mouthfeel- medium bodied

Drinkability- I thought it was pretty good. From the lack of hops that I smelled, the timing could have been off on the aroma hops but maybe they wanted it that way. Either way it was still good and I did enjoy it. I would definitely drink it again.

Serving type: on-tap

04-02-2012 19:46:51 | More by jeffjeff1

Klym

California

3.08/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured into a surly nonic.

I haven't been disappointed by rubicon yet but this might be a first. APAs are usually done with mediocrity and this isn't necessarily with exception. The wheat/grains ide of the beer dominate both in the initial and after taste, with only a small hop bite and little to no complexity. Mouthfeel is full for an APA but doesn't compensate for the simple taste. Not a total disappointment, but a small bit of a let down.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2011 01:06:38 | More by Klym

scottfrie

California

3.23/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

On-tap at a restaurant an hour south of Rubicon.

A: Poured a light orange-amber with a thin tan head that left decent spots of lacing down the glass.
S: Faint hint of caramel but overall this beer is pretty light smelling.
T: Malt forward but there’s a good dose of earthy hops. They aren’t super grassy, but there’s an herbal quality to them. The malt isn’t overly sweet or caramely which is good, and it has a nice roasted, bready flavor to it. I get a bit of pepper in the finish.
M: Tingly, medium carbonation with a light and highly drinkable body. Mouthfeel is clean.
O: Good drinking and refreshing enough. Flavors are crisp and clean, but it could have used more hops.

Serving type: on-tap

07-23-2011 16:14:40 | More by scottfrie

JTahoe

California

3.48/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the brewpub.

A - glowing amber, head is minimal, but clinging ring and patchy lace persists. Not overly impressed.

S - nice bready base with fragrant hops...hopes rising.

T - solid for an APA, nice flavor of grain, malt, and hops with citrus and light pine. Reminds me a bit of Saranc's pale...that to say, not quite as Weat Coast in flavor profile as I exepected.

M - crisp for sure, nice moderate-high carbonation. Feels good on a warm Sacramento night.

O - this is a well made pale ale. Enjoyable to be sure...perhaps not special, but worthy, no doubt.

Serving type: on-tap

07-21-2011 04:11:33 | More by JTahoe

mactrail

California

3.05/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Undistinguished ale wanting to be an IPA.

Plain looking amber with modest head and not much carbonation in the mouth. Sprightly sharp flavors. Resiny hops in the forefront. Quite bitter but some fruit in the nose. Not very aromatic otherwise. Not interesting hops. Malt seems to sink without much trace. To me, it's too bitter to call a Pale Ale, but I don't know where the line is on the way to IPA.

Tasted in Ocean Beach (SD) at the Pizza Port. Served in a standard pint glass.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2011 06:36:26 | More by mactrail

Floydster

California

3.73/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Pint at Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach for $5.50

Color was a light golden orange with a 3/4 inch silky white head that mellowed quickly, left small amounts of lacing for a few minutes

Smell was full of mellow hops, some lemon aromas, roasted malt, and grainy yeast

Taste was chewy and bready, extremely hoppy, and more noticeably refreshing than most beers I have had, most comparable to Firestone's Pale Ale but just a little darker appearance, no citrus taste like the smell made me think originally, nicely balanced with malts and hops, dry finish but still very smooth and highly drinkable

Average amounts of carbonation and a pretty full body, decent mouthfeel

Could have drink three or four of these as well, goes down very easy and smooth, good to drink with barbeque food, especially because it is not heavy at all, unsure about the ABV but did not seem very high

Second Rubicon brew of the night and tasted good as well, glad to see their beers starting to show up more around my neck of the woods

Serving type: on-tap

11-19-2007 16:57:06 | More by Floydster