Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
FIrst beer of my "Stay @ Home b/c of Snow Rating-Extravaganza." 12 oz bottle poured into a small curved tulip glass. Pours black with a small brown head that quickly fades into the thinnest halo brown lacing. Aroma is strong with roasted coffee, which is followed by sweetness akin to chocolate milk. Indeed a very nice and sweet aroma. Taste is similarly roasted coffee and a dry chocolate sweetness. The one fault I see is the mouthfeel is a bit overcarbonated and fizzy on the tongue. Aftertaste is a dry slightly bittered coffee. Medium bitterness and a hint of bitterness.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle #2, this one from jah noth. Let’s see if my original rating is indeed an "off" bottle. Nothing new appearance-wise. Aroma? Yeah, big time. Roasty with plenty of chocolate and burnt sugars. Creamy, soft body dominated by milk chocolate, roasted malts, and a touch of licorice. Nice firm, bitter finish. I believe this is what was intended by the brewers. Vindication roasts me.
Bottle from goldtwins. Opaque charcoal-brown body, thin brown head. I’m not even close to the consensus on this beer; the roasted malt and chocolate notes were weak and watered-down, and diacetyl dominated the aroma and body. Rating: 5-3-4-2-9 (2.3).
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 7.5
Bottled. A pitch black beer with no head. The aroma is sweet malty with strong notes of coffee, chocolate, and prunes. The flavor is sweet with notes of cocoa beans, coffee, cappuchino, and chocolate as well as light notes of roasted malt, leading to a dry cocoa end. Surprisingly the body is a bit thin.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 3 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6.5
Mendocino, some interesting brews. How about this thing were many brewers send out a one timer for the year? I just got done with a Schell that is of the same thinking. Brown 12 oz bottle, pours opaque brown black into my clear steeler stein. The head is composed of large and medium sized bubble that make it look like a bunch of pearls against the side of the glass. Very nice lacing down the side of the glass as the brownish head fades. Hints of a roastyness aroma in there but nothing else. Stronger but not overwhelming alky in the initial flavor. This fades slightly to a medium bitter background. Not really bitter and it is mild compared to many imperial stouts but is bitter compared to the sweet stouts. I thought that sweet stouts swerved towards unbitterness. This beer is on the slightly bitter side of a sweet stout style. Has some beechnut qualities about it but it cannot hide the astringentness of itself. Did you every smell the freshly peeled bark of a beech tree? Not as offensive as an imperial stout but is not very gentlemanlike. Not quite as good as other oatmeal stouts I’ve tasted, but definitely very interesting. Better try some before it’s gone.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle from Beer_Hawk; almost was going to trade it off until i realized there were diffefent Winter Ales and i had the IIPA! Almost sent it to footbalm! Nose of coffee and chocolate; opaque walnut with a tiny tan head with a lasting nickle size ring that stays in the center for a while; flavor of coffee, rosatiness, and faint hop notes. Must of been awesome with the hops when it was fresh!
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
(Bottle 35,5 cl) Pours a slightly hazy amber golden with a small, off-white head. Somewhat fat aroma of caramel malt and aroma hops. Fairly solid body with plenty of caramel and some potent if slightly perfumy aroma hoppiness. A dose of bitterness rounds this off. Decent but far from outstanding. Courtesy of Degarth. 191206
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle. A hazy amber beer with a fine off-white head. The aroma is very sweet with strong notes of hops and caramel. The flavor is sweet with lots of hops and grapefruit, and an alcohol presence, that bites the tongue, leading to a very bitter end.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
12 oz bottle 2005-06 Nose of hops and a little fruit, deep amber with a small beige head. Flavor had lots of hop bitterness, with a light citrus twist. Good but not close to my favorites Hopsicle and Double Simcoe!
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Clear copper color with a small frothy off-white head. Sweet floral hops aroma with a caramel background. Sweet hoppy flavor, hides the alcohol well.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5
Bottle: Poured a medium copper color ale with a huge slightly off-white head with average retention. Aroma of sweet fruity malt with some discreet bitter hops. Taste is very light overall with some sweet malt and a light bitter finish. I’ve seen worse amber but still, this one won’t go down in history.