Twentieth Anniversary Ale

Otter Creek Brewery: Pours a darkish amber color with very little head. Aroma is of sugary malts and a bunch of dark fruitiness. Body is pretty thick and syrupy. Beer is pretty damn sweet, but I could still manage it. Belgian feel to it in some ways. Mostly just a lot of sugar and fruitiness. Kind of like a Barley Wine, but a bit different. Alcohol was very well-covered actually, which is a good thing for a high ABV monster like this. I liked it, but admittedly this wasn’t the best beer ever.

12 oz bottle from Bert’s Better Beers, normally sold in a limited 4 pack. Used a snifter. Copper color. Small, light head. Tons of sweet malt, almost too sweet on the nose. Well, the taste is complex. Caramel, dark fruit, molasses, with hops toward the backend. Mouthfeel is sticky, syrupy. Big alcohol shows up in the finish. This would do well to age. At 12% it’s killing the flavors that are here. Grab some and cellar it.

12oz bottle pours a translucent, copper amber, almost a neon copper with a thin, creamy slight off white head. Nose is a little odd, cinnamon, cough drops, cupcake icing, almost a carrot cake like nose, very sugary, a little orange. Flavor is a little better, still a lot of carrot cake, sweet, some ginger, some nutmeg, cake icing, malty, brown sugar, caramel, raisins, oranges, dates. Full bodied, sweet finish. This needs some time. This could be awesome in 2 years, but right now, it’s like drinking carrot cake.

Pour clear deep amber into a shaker. Off-white head recedes leaving scant sheets. Roasted malt aromas. Sweet toasted raisin bread upfront turning to bitter resin in the lasting finish.

5oz pour at Pizzeria Paradiso in Alexandria VA. Poured a dark copper color, small off-white head. Aroma is malty, touch of earthy hops. Flavor is mostly sweet malts, toasted notes. Alcohol is so well masked I was really surprised to see it listed as "12%" - wow!

Bottle from Beer Run. Pours a hazy dark red color with a thin brown head. Aroma of toffee, plum, cherry chap stick and faint hops in the finish. The taste is big toffee notes, fairly strong hops, fruits including plum and cherry, anise, bitter hops in the finish and a bit of booze. Medium-full bodied. Decent.

Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark caramel-brown color with a large foamy tan head that lingered and left no lacing. The aroma was sweet caramel, honey, sugar and ripe golden fruits. The flavor was sweet and tangy with strong notes of butterscotch and toasted caramel and light notes of pineapple, grapefruit, whiskey, pine and molasses. The finish was very long with toasted caramel, honey and whiskey lingering. Fairly full bodied. Intensely boozy and in a way that detracted significantly. Interesting.

9/28/2011 Pours a deep reddish copper color with a stingy beige head that dissipates almost instantly. Very lackluster aroma. Smells like caramel, brown sugar, butter, and rubbing alcohol. This is going to be harsh. Wow, yeah, this one tastes just like it smells. Caramel dark sugar and a hint of dark fruit hit up front then the ethanol comes at you in spades. I can feel the alcohol start to burn on my tongue then I can trace it’s route into my stomach. Surprisingly light body and carbonation level with a sweet paint thinner mouthfeel. This one is harsh like someone spiked a beer with vodka, I wish I hadn’t bought the 4 pack. 10/08/2013 Reddish copper color with a quickly disappearing head. Aromas of caramel brown and burnt sugars, lots of apricots and cherries with a faint alcoholic nose. The flavor is sweet with lots of fruity sugars and a present warming alcohol note. Medium body light level of carbonation and a sweet almost sticky mouthfeel. Aged has done this beer some good, the alcohol is not nearly as overpowering and now simply provides a nice warming. The beer feels like a triple with some caramelized sugars added, its an odd beer that I enjoyed a little tonight.