Berghoff Famous Red Ale
This copper-reddish beer belongs to the category of the American pale ales, which are of medium bitterness with a slightly malty character still present. Berghoff Amber is made with Brewer’s Two-Row Malt, Caramel 40 Malt, Carapils Malt and domestic hops.
2.8
182 reviews
Chicago, United States
Community reviews
12 oz, "Rock River Red Ale" version. Amber with a small lasting head. Nose is gunmetal, caramel, grain, a hint of toasted nut. Flavor is a mild version of the aroma. Light-medium body is to the sweet side and has quite a bit of carbonation.
12 ounce bottle from Woodmans West Madison with the Rock River Red label. Pours a clear copper color with a medium sized creamy white head. Decent head retention and lacing. Aroma of caramel malts and earthy notes. The taste is caramel, berries, nutty notes and leafy hops. Medium bodied.
12oz bottle from Woodman’s poured into a shaker. Labeled as Rock River Red Ale. Pours a burnt amber color with almost zero head. Aroma is slightly hoppy...herbal if anything. Not much there in the way of malt. Taste is lighlty bitter and medium sweet. Kinda gross. Almost reminds me of a flat Blue Moon. Definitly not what I would call an APA. Medium bodied with a thick, creamy texture. Lively carbonation and not much to speak of by way of finish. There is a very mild hop bitterness at the very tail end of the finish. Overall, this one is pretty gross. Way too sweet for my palate. Gonna give it to my girlfriend to finish because I honestly couldn’t. I have a feeling they used water from the Rock River and forgot to filter it first...
This beer is really pretty decent, but still nothing much to it. I like some more complexity.
Aroma is mildly artificial caramel, almost soda-like. The flavor is caramel malts, fruit and a smooth finish.
Smell is dirty, but in a good way. Taste is just about the same as the smell. An APA that reminds me of a memory I forgot about a long time ago.
12oz bottle 2/17/11 (Binny’s Downers Grove singles rack)-48° in Lager glass-Pours a light amber with a small off white head. Aroma of hops and malt. Taste of hops and malt. This medium bodied brew is IMO a light amber instead of APA. More malt than hops. Pretty basic beer.
This is an American Pale Ale that was pretty par for the course and their one departure from "German" style beers among the samples I had. While nothing special, it’s certainly much better than it had been a few years before.
The Ale is light red in color and was relatively clean the first time around with a medium body and a crisp, hoppy bite. The balance was nice. Unfortunately, I catch a hint of DMS and some fruity notes as I progressed through my pint, but it was still a decent, average effort and not worthy of demotion on that alone.
Red-orange, beige cover. Aroma is some sweet, some metal and harsh malt. Taste is sweet, metallic, harsh candy.
Sampled at Berghoff brewery on Adams St. downtown Chicago. Dark amber, brown, hoppy, crispy, highly carbonated, tingly palate feel. Okay for style, but no session brew. One of these would be good for me. Reminds me of an irish red brew from Ireland.
Been sitting on this for a couple years, shouldn’t have. The aroma is stale, slight hints of malt. The color is copper, clear with a mostly diminishing off white head, godd lacing. The taste is a touch sweet a little bitter, not much happening. The body is light, the texture thin, watery, the carbonation soft, not much to the finish. Not one to age.
Now awful, but hardly a top notch beer (especially among APAs). Pours a light, on-the-yellow-side copper, with an off which head. Nose isn’t much like the oft hoppy APA style, instead being more reminiscent of a Pils or perhaps Helles lager. Flavors are mildly hopped, with decent malt characteristics and a little bit of sweetness.
Pours clear amber with a 1 finger eggshell head that fades to a skim and ring after a couple of minutes. Aroma is toasted nuts, sweet grains, white bread, apple cider, hints of banana bread and sweet kinda fruity floral notes. Flavor is apple juice, toasted nuts, lots of sweet, vaguely fruity notes, buttered bread and light cereal notes. Palate is light bodied and has a high and fairly sharp carbonation from beginning to finish. Not really doing it for me.
Bottled. Clear amber color, short off-white head. Aroma of some hop, corn, malt. Slight bitter, sweet, caramel malt.
12oz bottle from Berghoff sampler pack. Pours clear reddish brown with small beige head. Aromas of toasted malts and caramel. Flavors of toasted malts, caramel, and some very faint hops. Mouthfeel is thin and water. Tasted light a macro red. Meh.
Pours a light amber color. Aromas of mild malt and citrus hops. Minor hop flavor is balanced with a smooth light malt taste. Watery finish with some hop finish and aftertaste.
Draft passing through O’Hare. Poured a dark amber colour with a nice, firm off-white head and a little lacing. Aroma and flavour were fairly light but notes of honey and caramel malt plus only a light hopping. Strange sour note in the finish though. Average but seems weird in the APA category.
Pours amber red. Aroma is caramel malts and light hopping. Decent caramel malt notes. Some toasted malts. Light, wandering hop taste. A bit of plastic. Aftertaste is slightly dry and sour. Medium mouthfeel.
Bottled. Labelled as Berghoff Rock River Red Ale. The aroma has hay, some malts, soap. Clear, red coloured beer with an off-white lace. The taste is a bit grassy, malty and sugary.
Amber pour with a white head. Aroma of malt and hops. Taste is like the aroma, only weak. To give a positive note about this beer- it is ok for its price. More flavorful than mass produced swill.
Minhas Berghoff Famous Red Ale -- 2/17/2010 from 12 oz. bottle . . .
Aroma: Weak; Cooked vegetables; Banana (artificial Popsicle Banana, not the actual fruit.)
Appearance: Clear, Medium yellow color with a very off-putting greenish tinge; Almost no head and no retention; No lacing.
Taste: Medium sweet; Caramel; Candy; A bit of malt; No hops noticeable.
Palate: Light; Medium carbonation; Dull finish with just a slight sense of hops.
Overall: We didn’t like this beer at all. K said it reminded her of Miller High Life. There’s more to this beer than that, but it’s a hard description to vigorously argue. We wouldn’t buy again.
On draft at the airport
Light amber color with gold inflections. Head is thin and disappears quickly.
Great sweet malt scent. I get too much banana on the end, which is a surprise.
Tastes a little off with the malts less pronounced than expected. Taste drops off quickly at the finish with some tingly carbonation.
12 oz bottle. Pours a copper red color with a small white head that did not last long. Aroma is very candy sugar, kind of candy corn and circus peanuts. Pretty cloyingly sweet. Flavor is the same way, so sweet and caramel toffee candy flavored. Finishes with a slight metallic bitterness and a bleck grainy aftertaste. Light to medium body and a fizzy carbonation. Not good stuff, so sweet and candyish, I dont know how its even called a pale ale???
Gift from my Wisconsin hook up. Thanks Jamie. Reddish brown pour thin head. Thin tasting with not alot of charecter. I was not too thrilled with this one. But not horrible.
Appearance: Pours a clear, reddish-brown body with a thin, whitish head.
Smell: Faint, lightly toasty malts with lone drop of apple juice and nothing more. Yawn.
Taste: Mild, middling malts with light touches of breadiness and caramel sweetness. Touch of apple skin fruitiness. Vague, indistinct hops character with no more than a low hint of bitterness. Finishes dry and particularly abrupt, though that’s probably for the best.
Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium-low carbonation.
Drinkability: A sad, sad underperforming red ale, but, unfortunately, I would say that about pretty much their entire line-up. Not recommended.
Name: Berghoff Rock River Red Ale
Date: August 08, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Ticker
Appearance: clear amber, wispy off white head
Aroma: sweet caramel aroma, light bready character, light earthy hops
Flavor: sweet candy caramel flavor, light bready character, just a hint of balancing earthyness
Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.7/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4
12oz twist-off bottle. Berghoff Rock River Red Ale. Deep amber color. Aroma of caramelized sugars. Some woody hops. Tastes like a fresh baked pretzel. Light bodied, light flavored.
Pours a clear amber color with a white head. Aroma is caramel, toast, a hint of green apple, and some sugary notes. Flavor is green apple, sugary, caramel, toast, and a bitter earthy finish.
Hazy, light amber pour, modest off white head, nice lacing. Aroma is faint, hints of cider, slightly nutty. Up front malt flavor, cider and caramel, something of a resinous hazelnut element, lightly bready finish. Medium bodied, quite refreshing. A pleasant surprise from a brand I find generally underwhelming.
copper pour with a med white head, this is a nice example of the American pale ale style, great hops flavor!