6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Keg to pint growler from Beer Table Pantry in NYC. Drank on the train heading North. Pours lightly hazy gold with a creamy, off-white head. The nose has some Belgian yeast, esters, light apple, lightly toasted grains. Light to medium sweet flavor with some ripening berries, hints of earthy leather, toasted sugars, bread, laves. Medium bodied with average to lively carbonation. Moderate sweetness on the finish, some understated Belgian yeast, toasted bread, grain, aged berries, subtle wood. Interesting stuff but lacks cohesion.
Tried
from Growler
on 16 Sep 2015
at 18:58
7.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle shared at The Cad’s 10 year get together. 29/03/2015. Huge thanks to Leighton for this one. Viscous black / caramel coloured pour with a lasting mid tan head. Aroma is sweet vanilla notes, creme cramel, creme brule. Flavour is composed of charcoal, black malts, sweet vanilla, creme caramle, little toasted coconut, Palate is semi-sweet, sull and sticky body, lowish carbonation.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Sep 2015
at 14:07
5.3/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 6
Overall 7
Gravity cask @ Blind Tiger. Cloudy dark orange with very very small frothy white head, doughy aroma, very very low carbonation, sweetish taste with bitter ending, flat and warm with citrus peel bitterness. Not really enjoyable, now I know I should avoid gravity casks!
Tried
from Cask
on 26 Aug 2015
at 15:58
3.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 3
Texture 4
Overall 3.5
Draught at Hotel on North, 8/9/15.
First off, I love how the brewery dosent list this anywhere on their list of "here is all the beer we brew" list. I had the beer 3 days ago yet can find no sign of it on their website or facebook. I’ll never understand that. How hard is it to take even 60 seconds to post just the most minimal "This week/weekend we have these 6 beers on draught....." There, you’re done. If I owned a brewery, I’d sure as hell be proud enough of my beers to do a little bit of due diligence in the marketing category.
It comes as no surprise, then, that the beer, again, is pretty terrible. Underfermented and worty, which is about the worst flaw you can have. Soggy, sweet malts are stewed with fruity esters and there’s very little balancing bitterness or dryness coming from anywhere.
I tried to give the Red Nose Rye the benefit of the doubt, thinking, hey, all these spices and sugars can be sort of overlooked being that it’s a strong holiday ale. But no, this is just uninspired, poorly made beer.
First off, I love how the brewery dosent list this anywhere on their list of "here is all the beer we brew" list. I had the beer 3 days ago yet can find no sign of it on their website or facebook. I’ll never understand that. How hard is it to take even 60 seconds to post just the most minimal "This week/weekend we have these 6 beers on draught....." There, you’re done. If I owned a brewery, I’d sure as hell be proud enough of my beers to do a little bit of due diligence in the marketing category.
It comes as no surprise, then, that the beer, again, is pretty terrible. Underfermented and worty, which is about the worst flaw you can have. Soggy, sweet malts are stewed with fruity esters and there’s very little balancing bitterness or dryness coming from anywhere.
I tried to give the Red Nose Rye the benefit of the doubt, thinking, hey, all these spices and sugars can be sort of overlooked being that it’s a strong holiday ale. But no, this is just uninspired, poorly made beer.
Tried
from Can
on 12 Aug 2015
at 18:25
5.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Bottle, Winter ’14-’15, drunk 6/28/15
Deep ruby chestnut red pour is clear, with a small beige head that rapidly recedes to a ring.
Light cranberry tartness and dryness balances a sweet, buttercream/toffee-like maltiness that is well-integrated with light cinnamon and nutmeg hints (don’t get any ginger). Some crystal malt tea-like character and actual tea-like character from the cranberry and spice. It’s pretty christmasy/novel but not altogether unendearing. At least there’s no booze or flaw and the maltiness does balance nicely, if it itself is a bit syrupy/sweet.
The flavor is well-given over to said overly sweet maltiness (toffee, brown bread, caramel, buttercream) and displays the cranberry and cinnamon quite nicely with no astringency whatsoever. The cranberry flavor is authentic and fresh but I’ve got to wonder if this wasn’t a massive fruit/spice bomb when fresh seeing as how it’s still so dominant 5-6 months later.
It’s fine, I guess and does work for what they’re trying to do here (an English winter warmer of sorts). Still would like to try a "regular" beer from this brewery. I’ve looked for it in the town its brewed as well as 4 or 5 surrounding towns and can’t find a single bottle or draft line.
Deep ruby chestnut red pour is clear, with a small beige head that rapidly recedes to a ring.
Light cranberry tartness and dryness balances a sweet, buttercream/toffee-like maltiness that is well-integrated with light cinnamon and nutmeg hints (don’t get any ginger). Some crystal malt tea-like character and actual tea-like character from the cranberry and spice. It’s pretty christmasy/novel but not altogether unendearing. At least there’s no booze or flaw and the maltiness does balance nicely, if it itself is a bit syrupy/sweet.
The flavor is well-given over to said overly sweet maltiness (toffee, brown bread, caramel, buttercream) and displays the cranberry and cinnamon quite nicely with no astringency whatsoever. The cranberry flavor is authentic and fresh but I’ve got to wonder if this wasn’t a massive fruit/spice bomb when fresh seeing as how it’s still so dominant 5-6 months later.
It’s fine, I guess and does work for what they’re trying to do here (an English winter warmer of sorts). Still would like to try a "regular" beer from this brewery. I’ve looked for it in the town its brewed as well as 4 or 5 surrounding towns and can’t find a single bottle or draft line.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Jun 2015
at 11:48
5.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 7
Draught @ Albion. Cloudy bright orange with very small frothy white head, grassy hops aroma, low carbonation, flat sweetish taste with little hops influence, abrupt finish. It’s a wonder how they managed to give the flavor but not the taste of hops!
Tried
on 02 Jun 2015
at 17:48
8.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Bottle shared at the Cad’s 10th Anniversary Tasting - CBC Clerkenwell, London. Picked up in Great Barrington, MA at the Plaza Package store. Pours rich black-brown with a creamy, tan head. The nose holds rich chocolate, vanilla, moderate roast. Medium to big sweet flavor with nice and gooey chocolate, good roast, some figs. Full bodied with fine to average carbonation. Finishes sweet with notes of brownies, oily chocolate, roasted malts, some earthy bitterness. Great balance overall, wonderful depth. Super drinkable for the style. I loved it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Apr 2015
at 15:39
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle at the Cads 10th Anniversary bash, thanks to Leighton, 29/03/15. Pitch black topped with a dirty tan covering. Nose is chocolate, toffee, light spice, rich malt, sweet notes. Taste comprises chocolate pudding, vanilla, subtle bourbon, marshmallow tea cakes, dark fruit rinds. Full bodied, oily feel, soft carbonation, semi drying close. Solid BA impy, all subtle barrel notes, great balance - easy drinking number.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Apr 2015
at 15:13
7.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle @ The Cad’s 10yr Shindig. Pours a black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty woody chocolate aroma. Roasted malty woody vanilla bourbon and chocolate flavor. Has a roasted malty woody vanilla and chocolate finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Apr 2015
at 04:11
3.9/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 3.5
On draught at Deep Ellum a long time ago (Summer 2011, I believe).
Makes me mad that I think I rate these things and then realize I never did. Sigh.
I remember this one quite vividly as it poured an absolute dirty orange-copper with a thin off-white head that receded rapidly.
Bland yeast and hop particles dull the nose, leaving light kiwi, mango and watermelon. What’s there is pleasant, yet it’s just awfully muted.
No difference in the flavor and add to that a low, loose carbonation leading to a watery, washed out texture. Dirty hop particulate notes, very dry and underextracted malt. Hop bitterness is strong, but there just isn’t enough of any flavor to go with it.
Could have perhaps chalked this up to a shaken up keg, but Deep Ellum is very precise about letting beer settle and not serving beers in less-than-proper states.
Makes me mad that I think I rate these things and then realize I never did. Sigh.
I remember this one quite vividly as it poured an absolute dirty orange-copper with a thin off-white head that receded rapidly.
Bland yeast and hop particles dull the nose, leaving light kiwi, mango and watermelon. What’s there is pleasant, yet it’s just awfully muted.
No difference in the flavor and add to that a low, loose carbonation leading to a watery, washed out texture. Dirty hop particulate notes, very dry and underextracted malt. Hop bitterness is strong, but there just isn’t enough of any flavor to go with it.
Could have perhaps chalked this up to a shaken up keg, but Deep Ellum is very precise about letting beer settle and not serving beers in less-than-proper states.
Tried
on 09 Apr 2015
at 13:52