Bottle courtesy of Hogtownharry: Poured a dark brown color ale with a small foamy head with average retention. Aroma of big sweet malt with a very subtle note of peat malt. Taste of rich sweet caramel malt with some peat notes and some warming alcohol. Body is a bit thin for the style and less filtration would have benefited this beer IMHO. Alcohol is present and warming but really does fit well and it didn’t bother me.

Malty, whiskey like aroma. Nose of roasted malt, coffee and maple. Poured a dark brown with maple colored hues around the edges with very little white watery head. Very malty flavor, nutty, maple and sweet. Caramel and coffee notes. Syrupy and slightly soapy on the palate.

Bottle from HogTownHarry! Thanks Harry! Nose of caramel malts and some butterscotch with only a tiny hint of hops! Dark copper with a medium tan head; flavor is a mix of hop bitterness and caramel maltiness and a little citrus, and it ended with a mildly bitter hop finish!

So this beer, this brewery and I have a little history now. About a year ago I had an Impaled Ale at the Ginger Man on tap. At that time Middle Ages were kind of scarce in NYC (why? beats me). I really enjoyed it, which was surprising b/c I was even more of an anti-hop guy at the time. Never rated it but it definitely peaked my interest in their other products. Over the past year I have been able to try a few of their offerings. Unfortunately, they have all been disappointments that peaked at the Imp Stout, which I found to be the antichrist to all Imp Stouts. But there was a saving grace when it came to their Wea Heavy, basically b/c it reminded me of my own Scotch. And obviously, I couldnt really dislike them after that. But I am sort of ending the chapter on this brewery with the beer that started it all for me.

12 oz bottle poured into a Tripel Karmeliet glass. Pours dark copper with a small but frothy head. Aroma is strong and very original. Not like most IPAs (both west coast and British) that I have hade. Its hop dominant but its like a very lactose like hop. Creamy lactose orange is the aroma. I am guessing a great interplay of malt and hop thus adding to the strength. Taste is also orange dominated but less of that creaminess. While I love cascade its really not that dominate here, more of as a background player. Present bitterness. Full and soft mouthfeel. And while I am sure this wont be my last Middle Ages beer, I wont seek them out with as much vigor. Thanks for the adventures.

2006 bomber, drunk on 8/23/06.
Sweet, it’s unfiltered. That is usually a great indicator of good things to come from Middle Ages, as these guys are fantastic brewers (they just filter and pasteurize most everything). Plenty of sediment lies on the bottom, while a moderately hazy, bronzed-straw colored body with almost a lemon-lime tint, sits below a large, mostly-well retained head that produces moderate lacing as it recedes (though it does recede fairly quickly to cover).
Simcoe hops in the nose are bitter, dry and very crisp, working well with the dry wheat and pale malts. Lots of lime zest, light lychee, white grapefruit and of course, sticky pine. But the wheat in the background, along with some very honeyish barley, is able to balance, though does not diminish the crispness of the aroma. Simcoe fades, somewhat, on the finish, allowing something of a lighter hop (noble hop variety??) to grant a lightly herbal, flowery note. Lime and lemon notes lie in the background throughout the course of the aroma.
Simcoe again, in the flavor, but not brash and dominating from the start. Rather, a honey and lightly grainy malt character is established, with smooth, chewy wheat and the simcoe gradually making a crescendo, climaxing towards the end, with a lip-smacking, slightly tongue curling bitterness. Almost a bit of tartness even, with citrus fruits being thrown in to cut the pine. Soft, frothy texture, supportive from the wheat and ample malt. Wonderful attenuation level, dry, but leaving enough sugar to balance. Moderate, tight carbonation. Some definite mineral influence from the yeast, but no diacetyl. The more it warms, the more the hop bouquet varies, with herbal-flowery notes adding a refreshing acidity and flavor.
I’m really glad TAR kept harping on the merits of this brewery, else I wouldn’t have experienced some true gems they produce (such as this).

Bottle courtesy of Hogtownharry: Poured a hazy medium dark beige color beer with a small slightly off white head with average retention. Aroma of wheat is interesting but doesn’t mix well with the hops variety that is used in this beer. Taste is covered up by some weird hops and wheat is not dominant. I think I just don’t get this one – I would rather have a nice German hefeweizen over this.

Draft at Burp Castle poured into a pint glass. Color is opaque black with a tan head. Aroma is present - mildly roasty with that coffe bitterness. Some slight hop presence as well. A pretty light tasting stout. Mainly all I get is a roasty coffee aftertaste, one demonsional.

A year old. Cloudy copper pour with white head. Strong aroma of citrusy hops — grapefruit and orange. The flavor was sweet and bitter, but mostly bitter grapefruit with a hint of sweet orange and toffee. Fully body and a long, bitter and alcohol peppery finish. Certainly above average, but not spectacular.

Golden ale wih a thin off white head. Aroma of floral hops, perfumey. Honey hops in mouth with light citrus, spices, hops lingering in mouth, with light alcohol Good, but what is a double wheat??? Bottle bought at Party Source Syracuse, 5.99$, July 2006.