RAM Brewery's Pale Ale a Big Hit

I sat down with an old friend at the RAM Brewery in Rosemont this week, and it proved itself to be as lively and fun as always. There was a pretty big crowd, so we took a table in the corner, and we had a good meal and only tasted two of the offerings. But the beer club will need to visit, so we can sample a flight of all the beer, most of which I haven't tried in a couple years.

Ram's offerings include their standards: Buttface Amber Ale, Total Disorder Porter, Big Horn Blonde and Big Horn Hefeweizen. In addition, they offered two choices I hadn't tried before, The Big Red IPA and the 71 Pale. They usually have a seasonal that they make in a small batch and this was described as a Irish Stout but with "fruity and light characteristics" that didn't sound appealing to me at all.

As I am a big fan of IPAs and other heavily hopped beer, I chose the Big Red IPA first, and the description on the menu was appropriate:

Big Red I.P.A An American style IPA, our Big Red combines the distinctive and assertive citrus flavor and aroma of Amarillo hops with a crisp, pleasantly bitter finish.

This was a heavy hopped beer, but I have to say that the bitterness at the end was quite dominant, so I didn't experience quite the citrus flavor. It had a really strong and pleasant aroma and its reddish brown color I prefer.

I thought it was a good beer to start with, because I was able to discern its differences with those I tried later. It had a nice color and weight, and it wasn't a truly bad beer, but the choice for my second one was much better, as it turned out.

This next choice was the 71 Pale, and this was the one I liked the most. I had to have another to make sure. It was worth the second pour.

Their description:

71 Pale Ale A distinctly drinkable Pale Ale brewed with a touch of rye and a blend of 5 hops. Deep copper in color with a subtle spicy rye character and an enjoyable hoppy flavor.

Maybe it was the rye but it had a sweet flavor and very little bitterness, plus it was a lot darker in color than the IPA. I enjoyed it the most.

But I think it will be necessary to taste them all again, so a better estimation can be made by all of us. There are 3 locations near here, in Schaumburg and Wheeling also, so it will be convenient too. They also have a complete food menu and I really haven't had anything that wasn't top rate. A good accompaniment to the beer can be the homemade potato chips they serve.