718. Greenbush Brewing – Remnant of Dragon

Posted By kkozlen on Aug 8, 2014 | 0 comments

We’re in St. Joseph, Michigan for an extended weekend, and looked around to see what breweries might be in the area. We discovered that Greenbush Brewing was just a short drive away, and the menu looked pretty good, so we thought we’d try it for dinner. We spent most of the day at Silver Beach, so the kids were worn out and didn’t appreciate the hour-long wait to get in. They were a bit crabby, so I was happy to order this big beer – an Imperial Red IPA. The atmosphere was nice, but the brewpub was packed, and the food was a little fancy for our kids’ taste.

Location: On tap and served in a snifter glass at Greenbush Brewing in Sawyer, MI.

Numbers: 9% ABV, ~280 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: The color is a dark brown/dark rusty-reddish color and fairly hazy. There was no head, just a thing ring of creamy bubbles around the edge of the glass. There was a distinct citrusy hop aroma to it.

Taste & Feel: The body is medium and the mouthfeel is fairly crisp from the hops. There’s a sweet caramel maltiness up front, which grows in the middle. There’s a big hop bitterness that also come in middle, and is joined by a citrusy hop flavor in the finish. The finish is slightly dry with citrusy hop flavor and bitterness, but it’s the bitterness that sticks around in the aftertaste.

Food Pairing: I had this with the roast beef sandwich, which was on the menu at the brewpub. However, I think it would have gone much better with one of the BBQ dishes on the menu, as the caramel maltiness would have matched nicely with the BBQ, and it would have provided some heartiness to match up to the bitterness.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed the caramel maltiness up front, which provided a nice backbone to display the citrusy hop flavors and bitterness. The hop flavors were pretty good, but I would have preferred more of the flavors and slightly less bitterness in the aftertaste. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good beer, I just wish the brewpub would have been less crowded so I could have enjoyed another beer or two while there.

My Rating: