Pitchfork Rebellious Bitter - RCH Brewery

Todd

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had this at Redbones a while back, this is from notes ...

Pale yellow, bright and clear in appearance. Topped with a massive, creamy head that's meringue-like with excellent retention.

Aroma is a bit nutty, with grain and must. Flavor is quite bitter (grassy and sharp-ish), with more nuttiness, a smooth feel on the palate and a coarse hop leaf edge towards the end, along with a noticeable yeast finish.

Lovely stuff. A decent session bitter in my books.

Serving type: cask

10-12-2003 16:52:31 | More by Todd

mrfrancis

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%

06-18-2013 23:00:13 | More by mrfrancis

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%

05-16-2013 21:53:17 | More by Slatetank

plowe70

New York

4/5  rDev +7.5%

03-31-2013 00:43:46 | More by plowe70

DilisioYCBC

Colorado

4.25/5  rDev +14.2%

01-20-2013 06:25:42 | More by DilisioYCBC

LJWalker

Alabama

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%

06-30-2012 04:10:43 | More by LJWalker

PopnLoads

Illinois

1.5/5  rDev -59.7%

06-06-2012 21:16:01 | More by PopnLoads

FriedGold2112

4.75/5  rDev +27.7%

04-24-2012 04:48:35 | More by FriedGold2112

GreyGhost4

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%

04-22-2012 02:10:39 | More by GreyGhost4

leinie13

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%

04-22-2012 01:04:39 | More by leinie13

metter98

New York

3.65/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: The beer is hazy pale yellow in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation along with some miniscule particles floating in suspension. It poured with a finger high foamy white head that has excellent retention properties and consistently left a thin head covering the surface.
S: There are aromas of floral hops along with some citrus in the nose.
T: A moderately strong amount of bitterness stands out in the overall taste along with subtle notes of fruity yeast and hints of sweetness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. The finish leaves your mouth with a hint of dryness.
O: This beer is very sessionable and goes down quite easily; I would have no problem drinking several of these in a sitting. The bitterness isn’t overly strong.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2012 04:25:20 | More by metter98

weaselchew

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7.5%

12-20-2011 19:51:26 | More by weaselchew

Rochefort10nh

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +7.5%

11-26-2011 23:57:40 | More by Rochefort10nh

imperialking

Illinois

4/5  rDev +7.5%

11-22-2011 19:04:06 | More by imperialking

Offa

California

4.38/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dark gold, lightly cloudy, with a very big creamy off-white head slowly shrinking to a puffy, rocky smaller head and foamy lace. It’s beautiful

Aroma is clean, full character of lightly toasty bread, herb, hay, grass, and a hint of lemon, with caramelized bread, yeasty and spicy hints, and a hint of sulphur.

Taste is zesty, minerally bread, bread crust, bitter herb and lemon, peppery, leafy, zesty. A light, bright, juicy yeastiness and hoppiness thoroughly dominate and it leans firmly, but gently, to the bitter side with plenty of well-rounded character, yeasty-hoppy-juicy-leafy-herbal, to support the bitterness. It is a great, light session bitter.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2011 05:08:59 | More by Offa

rarbring

Sweden

3.9/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer is clear, and rather modest amber, a firm off-white head leaving some lacing.

Smelling of sweet malts, some fruits, pears, and hay.

The taste is freshly baked sweet bread, some lemon and pears, then a tad lime peel.

Low carbonation, a very refreshing feeling, nice body and a slightly dry finish.

A really nice thirst quenching real ale.

Serving type: cask

04-05-2011 20:39:28 | More by rarbring

largadeer

Kentucky

3.85/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

500ml bottle from K&L, no freshness date. Into a nonic, the beer pours a slightly hazy pale gold. The head is voluminous, long-lasting, almost mousse-like.

There's a great floral hop character to the nose, bordering on herbal. Malt is dry, subdued, a bit crackery. It's somewhat mineral, especially when it warms, and there's faint green apple fruitiness.

Very flavorful, hop-forward and quite bitter. Hop flavors take on a more earthy and herbal quality on the tongue. The malt foundation is bready and dry, quite crisp. There's a mineral backbone that seems to enhance the dryness, adding a bit of astringency that doesn't go too far. It's a light bodied beer, but not as thin as some bitters can be - there's just enough heft. Apple-like fruitiness appears mid-palate, but the strong bitterness in the finish quickly washes it away. Bitterness could stand to be dialed down a bit, I feel like it covers up some of the complexity. Nonetheless, this was a very enjoyable beer, one I'd definitely buy again.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2011 00:26:35 | More by largadeer

glid02

Georgia

4.1/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Cask at the Brick Store.

Pours a clear golden color with a two-finger white head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of light and crisp pale malts with mild amounts of earthy and slightly grassy hops. Also present are very small amounts of indistinct medium fruits.

Tastes good. Smooth pale malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by hints of breadiness. Midway through the sip the flavor profile dries out a bit with the addition of light citrus and earthy hops. The hops carry through to a moderately bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with soft carbonation.

Drinkability is very good. I finished my glass quickly and could easily have a few more.

Overall there wasn't much about this beer that stood out but it was absurdly easy to drink. Worth a shot.

Serving type: cask

02-17-2011 01:20:16 | More by glid02

StJamesGate

New York

3.95/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a bright pale peach with pure white head that fades to patches and sheets. Grain, canteloupe, and Juicyfruit on the nose. Light bready malts and sweet lemon barley hops with birch sting. Tightens to grapefruit pith. Thin, light to medium.

Nothing overly assertive. Hops are there but not OTT.

*from notes

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2010 19:55:47 | More by StJamesGate

claspada

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a nice clear copper colour with a very nice amount of head that leaves an attractive lace.

Aromas are the typical bready biscuity malts with a hint of earthy hops.

The taste has the typical bitter flavors, bready malts, earthly/woody hops; but overall the brew seems watered down to me. Like a diluted Fuller's ESB. I wonder if quality is an issue.

Fairly drinkable if you want an average bitter but overall nothing remarkable here, no need to search out or pay the inflated export price.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2010 15:38:30 | More by claspada

mdfb79

New York

3.63/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

From 6/19/10 notes. Had on cask in London at the Wellington.

a - Pours a golden color with no head or carbonation.

s - Smells of sour bready malts and grain.

t - Taste is light bready malts, earthy malts, and caramel malts. Some nice bitterness in the taste.

m - Medium body and no carbonation. Very smooth and insanely easy to drink.

d - Overall, a pretty nice ESB. Very easy to drink and a great session beer. Would try again.

Serving type: cask

07-18-2010 19:56:10 | More by mdfb79

tempest

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I had a bottle at Tap and Table last week (review is from notes) and was actually blown away by how good a bitter could be from a bottle. The beer had a light multi-grain malt flavor with hints of cocoa and coffee. As I continued to drink, more character opened up with big grassy and lemon hops and a peppery tobacco finish. Heck of a beer, I recommend it.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2010 13:11:30 | More by tempest

Durge

Connecticut

3.88/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Yet another nice find at My Place in Newtown, CT this cask ale presents a pale clear amber color with a fair, big-bubbled head that dies pretty quickly with no lacing. The aroma is dank wheat with a slight herbal hop highlight. Not thrilling but there's hope. The taste offers a creamy citrus bite, nothing harsh but reasonable in typical English style. Very modest carbonation. It's a very nice blend of citrus and floral bread. A near full feel, very smooth and quite drinkable. The hops seem to build as you go. A very decent brew!

Serving type: on-tap

03-03-2010 05:03:52 | More by Durge

bryanbrick

California

4.58/5  rDev +23.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Pitchfork Bitter, where have you been my whole life. All that time wasting beer space on Boddingtons, the only half real English bitter you can find with any regularity, could have been spent searching out this gem of a beer.

From a 1pt 9fl oz bottle with no freshness dating. This pours a thick creamy head, but it doesn't need a damn widget to do so. The head domes over the beer creating a fluffy cloud pocked by bubbles. Golden orange beer sits protected and happy underneath Lacing is everywhere sticking like wheat paste to some damn hippie's reggae show flyer. Golden orange beer sits protected and happy underneath

The smell of this is pure English pub, slightly musty from the mild hops, somewhat biscuity from the malt and with just a touch of citrus to give lift and dimension.

The flavors are off the charts, in a non-extreme beer sort of way. This is never going to crush ones palate. Instead it refreshes and livens with the drying butter cracker malt and lingering orange flesh and lemongrass flavors. This is wildly complex but is not something that is going to blow your mind, unless you pay close attention. The earthy, mushroom-y character here is incredibly pleasing and plays nicely into is mild bitterness.

I love the carbonated yet creamy mouthfeel of English bitters, especially when you can get it without the cheating widget. I don't need my beer to taste like it came from a cask, unless it actually does. This is like a mousse, a delicious bitter mousse, substantial but airy, never feeling heavy on the palate.

At 4.30% this is something I can drink a lot of. The flavors are spot on for the style, and the style is one of my favorites. Hot, cold, wet, dry it really does not matter, I'd happily drink this anytime of the year and at 5.99 a bottle I think it is reasonable, I've paid a lot more for bottles and been much less satisfied.

Search this out you'd be happy you did!

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2009 03:58:05 | More by bryanbrick

BedetheVenerable

Missouri

3.28/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Presentation: 16.9oz brown pop top bottle, nice little ditty about the beer

Appearance: Nice slightly hazy dark golden beer with amazing fluffy/rocky dark cream head, amazing retention

Smell: Super mild caramel malts, fresh grain, just a touch of earthy hops

Taste: Light malt and hops; flavorful, simple, and quaffable

Mouthfeel: Crisp and light; quite nice

Drinkability: Pretty good

Conclusion: This is a pretty decent English Bitter...light, smooth, tasty; but a little bit over simple

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2009 16:17:24 | More by BedetheVenerable