Cuvée Series 1

Bottle from Captain Cougar. Thanks Tom! Dark copper color with a decent beige or off-white head. Aromas of light stone fruit and wood. Full bodied with creamy carbonation. Flavor is sweetish, light stone fruit over caramel and oak. It’s a bit earthy and has a multitude of hop notes. Heat is present, but not distracting. Finish is dry and flavors suggest peach juice and oak. There’s a bit of oaky astringency. Not spectacular, but a really tasty and solid ale.

Bottled. Orange color. Canned peach and oak in the aroma. Full bodied. oaky and alcoholic. Dried fruit and peach. Malty, some flowery, earthy and peppery hops, lingering on in the aftertaste. Nice beer, maybe lacking some balance.

This is the kind of beer where economics and taste collide. For the record, I think I paid $16 for this bomber at Chevy Chase Wine and Spirits here in Washington D.C. Chevy Chase tends not to be horribly overpriced. 22oz bomber pours a translucent light brown, gold with a thin, ringing white head. Fizzy, visible carbonation. Aroma is... well... not there? Slightly spicy, slightly sweet in the nose, but not a whole lot that’s distinguishable. Flavor is almost the same, sweet and a little Belgian-y with some light mandarin orange, a touch of coriander, and more sweetness. Medium bodied and sweet on the palate. When you buy an oaked beer that’s 11% ABV you expect to get something, ANYTHING. This is completely forgettable, no oak, no alcohol, no hops, nothing complex, totally bland. Is it drinkable, sure, but at the price you pay it’s not worth it one bit. Skip it when you see it. Makes me wonder about the rest of this series as well.

ambrato scarico note legnose miele frutta tosta buon corpo legno etilico tostature leggero solvente

(Bottle at Pikkulintu, Helsinki, on 2009-03-24 -- shared with Finwe, thanks!) Copper red and bit hazy. Very small white head. Malts, raisin and wood in aroma. Full bodied and dry palate with medium carbonation. Malts, wood, bit of sourness, little bit of raisin and hint of sweetness in taste, Dry and malty aftertaste.

Bottle. Pours a hazy copperish orange with a minimal head that quickly settles down to a thin film of bubbles. Aromas are fairly mild, with quite a bit of light sweetness. I’m picking up pears, maybe a little honey and some light malt/biscuit. Alcohol comes through a little bit too strong in the flavor (and the burn as it goes down is enough for some second thoughts). I’ll agree that maybe there is a bit of almond and coconut, but it seems more to me like the main draw is pear and honey with a whole mess of ABV. Boy, at the price (and from this brewer) I would expect a much more enticing offering.

Strong cloudy golden amber coloured body with a thinnish off-white head. Aroma of oak, vanilla, malt and alcohol - very nice. Medium to Full-bodied; Strong assertive malt and oak coming through with a pungent alcohol body and a bit of scotch in the nose. Aftertaste shows plentiful sweetness with a bit of honey, showing mostly malt, oak and vanilla, in addition to the yeast and alcohol. Overall, a good beer - perhaps a bit strong, but showing well and I will enjoy to sampled the other two batches! I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased on 13-February-2009 at Whole Foods in Falls Church (Tyson’s Corner), Virginia on 28-February-2009 on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

66cl bottle at home. clear amber, small thick white head. looks very nice. aroma of hops, wood, faint sugar, faint flowers. well balanced,soft. flavor is sweet, hoppy, wood, faint pine, dry flavor, powdered sugar, very faint fruity not e(green sweet grapes).

Bottle 65 cl. Courtesy of yespr. Slightly hazy amber golden with a creamy, off-white head. Sweetish, caramellish aroma. Quite full-bodied, sweetish spicy with some woody accents. Very sweet with a subdued bitterness. Unusual but interesting. 090209

Deep orange body that pours thickly into the glass raising a small, fleeting, white head. Fruity aroma with honey and tea. Sweet and smooth Just a small touch of hops in the flavor but not much bitterness. The small amount of dryness is quickly overcome by the malty sweetness. The alcohol is well hidden.