Website
Rating: 4.50
Location: St Charles, IL
Founded: 2019
Last visited: August 2024
Located in an industrial park in St Charles, IL, Riverlands has a cozy and spacious taproom, with high-top and regular tables. The patio area has basic picnic tables and is quite nice. They had 16 beers on tap when we visited.
BEER:
Acid Rainbow: Strawberry Rhubarb Fruited Sour (4.25) – Hazy, amber ale. Packed with a variety of flavors, such as sweet, sour, and strawberry. Beer is not excessively sour. Vanilla notes come through significantly.
Biergarden Symphony Vienna Lager (3.75) – Sweet, malty amber lager. Hop bitterness appropriate for style. Needs a bigger dose of malt to achieve greatness.
Bionic Bill Saison (4.50) – Golden pale appearance. Head lingers nicely after several sips. Bouquet somewhat neutral, light fruity aspects. Medium to high malt character, balanced adeptly with hop character.
Book of Mark Zoigl Lager (4.00) – Crisp, light-bodied lager. The right dose of hop bitterness creates a very nice balance. Bitterness lingers into aftertaste. High level of drinkability.
Cooler Gargoyle Imperial Stout (4.50) – Big, bold, malty, savory stout. Coffee character evident in bouquet and first sip. Smooth as silk, 10% ABV concealed well. Malty sweetness a big flavor component.
Cosmic Garage Party Hazy IPA (3.50) – Citrusy and refreshing beer. Citrus notes also evident in bouquet. Not overly bitter and properly balanced. A decent, but unremarkable Hazy IPA.
Cottage Cellar Kellerbier (5.00) – Straw yellow lager. Delightful malty character dominates. Hoppy aspects linger into aftertaste. Robust mouthfeel, lacks refinement, as appropriate.
Doc’s Irish Stout (4.50) – Very dark amber appearance. Malty character stands out. Roasted aspects appropriate for style. Dry aftertaste on target. Low level of hop bitterness.
Dukes of Bavaria Hefeweizen (5.00) – Light, refreshing Hefeweizen. Clove character comes right to the front. Hits the bullseye as the classic Hefeweizen.
Embers and Ashes Grätzer Smoked Wheat Ale (4.00) – Smoky character evident but not overpowering. Medium body, well balanced ale.
Fortifier Doppelbock (5.00) – Massively malty bock beer. Roasted flavors dominate, as expected. 7.7% ABV hardly noticeable. Tremendous example of style.
Gravity Void Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (4.75) – Creamy texture. Complex mixture of flavors, dominated by hazelnut. Chocolate character shines through. Somewhat boozy, but 14.5% ABV in check.
Juleøl Winter Ale (4.00) – Big and dark Norwegian-style ale. Melange of spices, dominated by ginger. Cinnamon and orange not evident. Hearty beer for winter warming.
Kiwi Burrow Keller Pils (4.75) – Straw colored, slightly hazy pilsner. Well rounded flavor profile. Mouthfeel is malty, which lingers throughout. Tinge of hop bitterness.
Kayak Pils (4.75) – Crisp, refreshing, malty lager. Nice bite of hop bitterness. Well balanced all around. Super crisp lager made for kicking your feet up and drinking. Strong malt character front and center. Tinge of hop bitterness in the finish.
Knights of Bavaria Dunkelweizen (5.00) – Hazy, amber Weizenbier. Malty character evident, along with classic Hefeweizen aspects of banana and clove. The balance between these components is outstanding and is rarely found in American brewed Dunkelweizen.
Lazy Fox Pale Wheat Ale (4.50) – Hazy, light amber appearance. Nice, malty mouthfeel. Hop bitterness starts out in the background and lingers further in tantalizing fashion. Bouquet full of floral notes, similar to a New England IPA. Proper balance in this beer front to back.
Midnight Silence Schwarzbier (5.00) – Huge, rich, sweet, malty character. Powerful roasted aspects. Minimal level of hop bitterness. Ticks every box for the elements of a top Schwarzbier. As good as any Schwarzbier brewed in Germany.
Murky Waters Hazy IPA (4.75) – Many floral aspects in bouquet. Hearty, full-bodied, rich IPA. Malt sweetness and hop bitterness well balanced. Grapefruit notes evident.
Orbital Velocity Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (4.75) – Complex flavor profile, including peanut butter. Chocolate aspects in bouquet and in first sip. Thick, creamy, milkshake consistency. Sweet character in aftertaste. 14.5% ABV noticeable but not overpowering.
Piano Bridge Baltic Porter (5.00) – Collaboration with Art History Brewing in Geneva, IL. Dark brown, nearly opaque appearance. Huge, malty sweetness dominates. Roasted character prominent, reminiscent of a Schwarzbier. Low level of hop bitterness, barely detectable.
Pastry Power Apple Crisp Sour (4.50) – Apple flavor at the start, followed by maple, cinnamon and nuts. Sweet and sour character evident. The flavors are finely layered, rather than a mish-mash of different impressions.
Pastry Power Cherry Cheesecake Sour (4.00) – Presence of lactose provides creamy texture reminiscent of cake. Highly complex combination of flavors. Tremendously well balanced.
Peace & Quiet Porter (5.00) – Dark brown appearance. Malty sweetness prevails. Roasted aspects in evidence. Smooth and highly drinkable. Complex flavor profile, with chocolate sneaking in the background. Hop bitterness balances everything.
Premium Lager (5.00) – Crisp Helles style beer. Medium body, lightly and appropriately hopped. Very, very drinkable.
Reindeer Diesel Oatmeal Stout (5.00) – Very dark, opaque appearance. Full-bodied stout with loads of sweetness and roasted flavors. Chocolate and coffee notes apparent. Very low hop bitterness, as appropriate. Well balanced and properly constructed beer.
Rio de Vaso Mexican Dark Lager (4.50) – Amber appearance. Medium-bodied lager, sweet and malty. Caramel notes are in the forefront. Roasted character evident. Very reminiscent of the Vienna style, totally appropriate. Collaboration with Iron & Glass in Minooka, IL.
Salty Fox Cherry Lime Gose (4.50) – Light, fruity, and refreshing. Cherry hits your palate initially, lime flavor comes in at the finish. All flavors well balanced. Low level of bitterness, as appropriate.
Scarecrows in Lederhosen Festbier (4.50) – Big, malty Märzen beer. Malt sweetness a dominant player. Caramel notes provide a complex flavor profile.
Spring Rejuvenation Maibock (5.00) – Sweet and powerful Helles Bock. 6.8% ABV deceptively hidden, drinks smooth as silk. Worthy of any German Brauhaus.
Stolba Czech Pilsner (4.50) – Pale, straw colored, slightly hazy appearance. Medium-bodied pilsner, pleasant mouthfeel. Hop bitterness prominent, but not overpowering. Balance is quite good. Highly drinkable.
Stolba Dark Czech Lager (5.00) – Dark brown, nearly opaque appearance. Big beer, roasted character dominates and lingers into aftertaste. Full bodied malty sweetness. Low hop bitterness, as expected.
Terpyslurpy Fruited Sour (4.75) – Hazy, reddish appearance. Medium-bodied ale, complex flavor profile. Blackberry and strawberry come to the forefront. Tart and sweet at the same time. Hop bitterness a minor player here.
Three Chocolatiers Milk Stout, Barrell Aged (4.50) – Big, dark, nearly opaque appearance. Chocolate character evident in bouquet and throughout the first sip. Smooth and very easy to drink. Low level of hop bitterness, appropriate for style. Aged 20 months in bourbon barrels, flavor well integrated with normal stout characteristics. 12% ABV extremely well hidden.
Wolfssegen Dunkel (5.00) – Dark, powerful lager. Roasted character front and center. Outstanding example of style. Reminiscent of top German dark lagers.