Imperial Brown Ale

Brown bottle, 50 cl, lot 82, best before 2 2010, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, savoured on April 6 2009; eye: bronze with reddish reflections, clear, average effervescence, tiny ring of beige head, no lacing; nose: nuts, roasted malt, dusty, light hops, light chocolate milk, cocoa; mouth: roasted malt closing in on roasted coffee, dusty, light hops, molasses, finale is lightly acrid, medium body, a bit thin, average carbonation, rather lactic, lightly foamy, light acidity; overall: probably slightly infected FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 50 cl, lot 82, meilleure avant 12 2009, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, savourée le 5 avril 2009; œil : bronze avec des reflets rougeâtres, claire, effervescence moyenne, petit anneau de mousse beige, pas de dentelle; nez : noix, malt rôti, poussière, léger houblon, léger chocolat au lait, cacao; bouche : malt rôti s’approchant du café torréfié, poussière, léger houblon, mélasse, finale légèrement âcre, corps moyen, un peu mince, carbonatation moyenne, plutôt lactique, légèrement mousseuse, légère acidité; en résumé : probablement légèrement infectée

Bottle: Poured a deep clear brown color ale with a medium foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of toffee and caramel malt with some medium bitter hops with a more or less well balanced. Taste is also a averagely balance mix between some sweet caramel malt with a weird grain aftertaste with a mix of bitter hops with no citrus notes. Average body with OK carbonation and no alcohol was detected. OK at best but not something that is worth the price tag.

(6/29/08) Bottle sample at RBESG08 grand tasting in Plzen. Brown-colored. Aroma of some roasted malt and alcohol. Sweet malty flavor with some nutty notes and light fruitiness and a bit of roastiness, alcohol and some hop notes in the finish. Quite nice.

Bottle at ÅBF08. Weak brown ale aroma, nice and sweet, slightly roasted. Clear dark brown colour. Small light brown head. The flavour is quite acidic. Strange acidity, not to style, I guess.

Bottle at Ølfestival 2008, Århus
Dark amber to brown color. It has a suspicious aroma, mixing some nuts to the sourness. It has a medium strong body, with caramel flavor, chocolatey; but again, I think there has been a fermentation or bottling problem.

Bottle. Brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is alcohol, hop, caramel, malt. flavour is alcohol, apple, fruit, hop, caramel, malt. medium body. OK beer.

Bottle, thx to Storm. It pours a hazy, brown body with a decent beige head on top. There’s a little sourness in the aroma, else it’s malty and has some fruityness. A bit strange flavor, yet nice, malty and fruity, but I didn’t nail it. Medium to full body. Sure needs a rerate. Rating: 6-4-6-3-12-3.1. (080314)

Bottle. It pours a slightly hazy, ruby-brown body under a small beige head. Quite low on carbonation. Dried fruits dominates the aroma at first sniff, then it’s followed by dark sugar, chocolate, some coffee and a hoppy touch. I’m thinking maybe there’s too much sugar in it, perhaps the addition of dark sugar should have been toned down a bit, letting the roasted notes and caramel malt do more of the work. It’s sweet in the mouth too, but in a more pleasant way, leaving more room for the roasted and caramel flavors. Chocolate and coffee are preasant too, as well as dried fruits and a hoppy flavor. Quite low on hoppy bitterness flavor, also in the finish. Sweetness and roasted malt is doing most of the work there. The alcohol is also present towards the finish, but only in a pleasing way, giving some relaxing warmth. I would like more carbonation in the mouth too, the beer feels a bit dead. Some sourness is also present, almost like when a bonfire is dying out because of lack of oxygen, but not more than that it’s appropriate. From the malt? Sure, it’s a nice beer, but it doesn’t stand out in any way. Brown ale isn’t my prefered style, and this imperial brown ale is too much of a brown ale in many aspects. (081026)

Bottled. Very deep murky ruby colour with mediumsized beige head. Aroma is quite sour along with some malts, wood and old coffee. Flavour is sour coffee, wet wood and also has some berries. Once it gets warmer some tart fruityness also become present.

Bottled, batch #82 (BB 02/2010)
Dark ruby brown color, small off-white head. Sour, glueish nose with hints of coffee, herbs and chocolate. Slightly sour, but not overly. Harsh alcoholic flavors with dark chocolate. Hoppyness in the aftertaste. Propably not totally what brewer has meant to it be, slightly infected? To be rerated.

Bottle. Nice creamy head with good duration. Color is dark brown - almost black. Aroma and taste are rich with roast malt, notes of chocolate and coffee too. Bitter finish.