Since the fall, I have been following and waiting for Skyroc Brewery to open in Attleboro. I first discovered them on Facebook from a post to their Kickstarter. I began to wonder recently, when is Skyroc Brewery opening? Just in time, I found they were opening in only a few days. Scheduled to open this past Saturday (March 4th), I planned to stop by what is now the closest brewery. Here is a full review of Skyroc Brewery.
Set just a block down from the city center, Skyroc has a great location. Set between a crossfit gym and the river bank, they occupy a industrial brick building that was a former jewelry manufacturer. There is an ample sized parking lot that they share with the crossfit gym, which is a big plus for downtown Attleboro. As for the inside, I’m no interior designer, but they did a good job with the decor.
On opening day, they had four beers on tap: an amber ale, a golden ale, an IPA, and a coffee stout. While it was quite busy, I was able to open up a tab in a reasonable amount of time. Initially, I was going to opt for the flight. However, their self described “straightforward, fast speed, in your face” I-95 IPA sounded too good to pass up.
It struck me as very hazy and opaque, with a fair amount of hoppy aroma. The first sip came across with a great mouthfeel, and not overly carbonated like many other IPAs I’ve had. With a noticeable malt backbone, I could definitely still taste, what I assume to be, simcoe hops. Now for the bad. There was an extremely unpleasant smoke taste. At first I thought it was just a burnt malt aftertaste, but subsequent sips confirmed it was smokey throughout. The amber ale listed on the menu does note a smokey taste, but no such designation on the IPA. After talking to some others at the bar, my initial thought of a mix up seems to be fleeting.
I followed up with their 10 Mile River Coffee Stout, which was equally meh. Almost no coffee taste or aroma. Also, very watery tasting for a 7% ABV stout. I would call it average, but definitely not the strong coffee stout advertised.
While I would hardly call this trip a success, I will definitely be back to see if they can improve. They have a DIPA coming out soon, which I hope fares better than the IPA.
See more of my recent blog posts here, including my recent beer-cation to Burlington, Vermont.