Lakefront Riverwest Stein

The aroma is something between nuts and stale feet. This beer is brown with no head. The tongue and taste buds are walloped with a leathery taste.

(02.18.06) Sampled at FebFest ’06, Libertyville, IL. Clear amber hued ale with small white head. No discernable carbonation. Light sweet malt aroma. Medium bodied ale that starts with moderate malt sweetness and caramel flavor. Finishes with light malt fade. Very malty with barely perceptible hop presence. A good session beer

Bottle from Santa. Richly copper colored with a nice off-white head that is moderately lived. Fair lacing. Aroma of earthy hops and some fruity esters. Medium bodied. Bitterness becomes a bit harsh at times, perhaps some husky/tannic notes mixed in. Modest malt background IMO which seems much different than the description given. A fair beer.

One of the first Lakefront beers that really piqued my attention, was their Riverwest Stein Beer. The reason I was so interested was I initially believed this beer was an actual stein bier or stone beer. What is stein bier? It is a unique German beer style where hot rocks(stones) are submerged in the brew kettle while the beer is brewing. The sugars of the malt caramelize and coat the hot rocks. These hot rocks are then allowed to cool, and are put in the lagering tanks where they add caramel/toffee flavors to the brew. As it turns out Riverwest Stein Beer is NOT a stone beer, stein in this case just refers to the drinking vessel. While I was a bit disappointed that this was not a stone beer, Lakefront more than made up for it with this beer. This beer is absolutely delicious. It is a malty/toasty amber lager with fantastic malt character, and a wonderful hop presence that balances out this beer. This beer is a Milwaukee favorite, and it is easy to see why. Riverwest Stein Beer pours to a beautiful deep amber color with a thick off white head, and a good bit of carbonation. The nose is just packed with sweet and toasty malt aromas with a subtle back drop of hop aromatics. The body is firm with lots of good sweet malt, caramel malt, and toasty flavor. A portion of unmalted barley is used in the brewing of this beer really making the malt flavors shine in this beer. Riverwest Stien beer finishes with more great malt flavor then is balanced with a nice, dry hop bitterness making this beer quite balanced at the end. This is a fantastic amber lager with really great malt flavors. This beer is the perfect foil for grilled meats such as bratwurt, or a nice juicy burger. This would also match up extremely well with pizza. If ever in the Cream City of Milwaukee, seek this beer out.

I don’t know what to say. I thought this beer was mediocre at best. Now I find out it’s Lakefront’s second best rated beer. No way is it a 3.6+. Let me let you in on a secret. This beer is the exact same as the Cream City Pale Ale. Only difference is this one is dominated by the malt. They used the exact same hops just steeped in more grain and used lager yeast. Too full bodied to enjoy for such a lame tasting beer.

12z bottle. Hazy and golden brown. Vanilla nose, along with a biscuit, bready, yeast note. Sweet, vanilla, malty flavors. Citrus and caramel. This one capped off a long night o’ boozin!

Pours amber color with tan head that fades quickly. Aroma of malt with some hops. Taste follows aroma nicely. Overall not a bad brew.

Bottle: Courtesy of MrFacto via trade. Aroma of caramel, fruit, and grassy hops. Pours a hazy amber with a small off-white head. Quick caramel is quickly followed by moderate citrus sourness. Finish has some grassy hops that lightly mingle with the sourness. Something is really off.