9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 10
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Red-brown, bitter, vinuos and complex. Typical American style barleywine. Delicious.
Tried
from Can
on 03 Jan 2002
at 17:42
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
VENOM is giving this one away like it was Big Daddy IPA, but I don't see anyone complaining. It's been a while I had the opportunity to catapult a beer into the Top Ten, but I'm afraid it won't happen today. Very nice beer, though - cloudy chestnut appearance; lovely aroma of banana, soft malt (biscuits, soft caramel tones) and pears. The palate is a little less complex, but brings wheat, pears and rounded malt flavours to the table. It is fairly acidic, and that helps balance out the malts, leaving the brew far more drinkable than one would prefer an 8.7%'er to be.
Tried
from Draft
on 16 Nov 2001
at 00:43
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Rerate for 2010: This is back to form it seems. Strong grassy and floral hops in the nose and flavor but still a nice biscuity malt presence, not overly grassy or resiny or bitter. As hoppy a pilsner as I’ve ever had. Aroma is curious and fun with spicy and grassy notes, with a tinge of orange rind. Flavor is dominated by hops (spicy, hints of resin begin to appear) with a strongly bitter finish. Malt is hard to detect. At this low gravity, this beer is almost as puckeringly bitter as some 100+ IBU hop monsters, and probably explains some of this beer’s appeal. To me, its unbalanced. Cutting the hops back even just a little bit would greatly improve its drinkability while retaining its bold character.
Tried
on 16 Oct 2001
at 16:01
9.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 10
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Fan-freakin-tastic. I've never had such a hoppy pils and its just a wonderful thing. The aroma is herbal/spicy/grassy and just full of Hallertauer aroma - and what a fine hop it is. The beer isn't real bitter though: it has a nice round malt base, and a generally sweet profile, complemented with a good dose of hop flavor (similar notes as in the aroma). Light yellow gold with a bit of a chill haze, good foamy head and long lingering lace. I loved it so much I brought some home in one of their big German-style 68oz growlers.
Tried
from Growler
on 27 Jul 2001
at 13:42
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
I love this strong malty bock, available only recently in bottles. A spring seasonal from Victory. Its a lightish caramel color, a bit ambery. Malty clean aroma. Strong malt flavor. Hints at toffee. Alcohol presence is just detectable. Maybe a wee bit on the heavy side on the whole, making it hard to drink alot of these, but it sure is fun to try.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Jul 2001
at 13:35
7.6/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
First the bad news: this beer just doesn't look like a classic Bavarian weissbier - its only slightly cloudy and lacks that giant rocky head. But if thats the bad news... Aroma is outstanding: classic clovey and lemony, spicy. Flavor is similar: more cloves and lemons, mildly sweet, clean background bitterness keeps it balanced . No bananaish flavors that I could tell, but thats alright, I enjoyed it anyway. In the end, tangy and quite refreshing.
Tried
on 04 Jul 2001
at 18:26
8.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Hazy yellow colour. Aroma of orange yoghurt, with fluffy maltiness and sublte coriander. Soft, smooth malty palate, kind of marshmallowy. Spices remain subdued. This is a subtle and stylish brew.
Tried
on 23 Apr 2001
at 18:45
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Nicely malty and clean, with a very moderate hop balance. Above average....
Tried
on 31 Mar 2001
at 23:21
7.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Interesting, yeasty spiciness. Has some characteristics of both a dubbel (dark and very malty) and a tripel (spicy, yeast and a dry finish). A good and very interesting creation.
Tried
on 31 Mar 2001
at 23:20
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 8.5
This is now called the Moonglow Weizenbock, and what a great beer it is. It contains all the best traits of both a bock and a weizen. Aroma is full of the yeasty/spicy notes of banana, clove and lemon zest - yet also sweetly malty. Flavor is more of the same, without the lemon zest. Medium bodied, giving it the kick of a bock and the refreshing quaffability of a weizen. Very nice. Update: less of the weizeny esters are present and this beer is dominated by a sweet melanoidin palate and a strong alcoholic finish. A notable acidity, I think, plays a role in diminishing the esters. Enjoyed the cloudy blood-orange glow in the glass, though - a nice treat on Halloween night.
Tried
on 03 Mar 2001
at 11:48