About
The reason Jamie Emmerson and Irene Firmat started Full Sail in the first place was to build a company that was completely different from the ones where we’d previously worked. It wasn’t about business as usual. It was about finding our calling in life — about truly appreciating our “human resources,” and balancing work, life, family and friends in a way that makes life truly worth living.
Determined to make world-class beer in our own backyard, one of our first, and perhaps best, decisions was to invest in new, state-of-the-art brewing equipment. So we bit the bullet, laid down our borrowed cash, and spent the better part of 1987 installing the new system. Our love for the environment is what drives our sustainable practices, so pure water, local ingredients and responsible processes are poured into each and every tasty pint.
Determined to make world-class beer in our own backyard, one of our first, and perhaps best, decisions was to invest in new, state-of-the-art brewing equipment. So we bit the bullet, laid down our borrowed cash, and spent the better part of 1987 installing the new system. Our love for the environment is what drives our sustainable practices, so pure water, local ingredients and responsible processes are poured into each and every tasty pint.
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Most reviews of this seem to be right on the money - moderate acidity, some phenolic qualities, both of which destroy whatever malt balance it attempts - a touch of apricot - looks, smells and tastes like a watered-down combination of Celebration Ale and Hop Devil - inspires more of a ho-hum than a ho-ho-ho.
Tried
on 26 Feb 2004
at 20:10
4.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
Re rate Dec 05: This gets worse every year.Hazy amber,small lasting beige head.Cat pissy hop nose and taste,absolutely no balance. Thin, and fades to a wateriness at the end
Tried
on 01 Jan 2004
at 19:15
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
2007: Hazy dark brown. Piney, spicy herbal, chocolatey...nice complex nose. Creamy body with a herbal/minty signature and a nice chocolate note. Malty, but sessionable.
2003: Dark burgundy colour with a rich, frothy, light brown head. Aroma and palate of chocolate, spruce, cinnamon, mint. Creamy body. Well-balanced. Like a spiced old ale. Thanks TTB! 7 4 7 4 14 = 3.6
2003: Dark burgundy colour with a rich, frothy, light brown head. Aroma and palate of chocolate, spruce, cinnamon, mint. Creamy body. Well-balanced. Like a spiced old ale. Thanks TTB! 7 4 7 4 14 = 3.6
Tried
on 21 Dec 2003
at 00:20
6.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Aromas of hops, malt, and alcohol. Dark brown with some red. no head. appears thin. Flavor of medium bodied hops with a sweet malt finish. Has a very "full sail" taste.
Tried
on 13 Dec 2003
at 21:25
4.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 4
Dark tan, hazy. Pear, grape, wheat and gooseberry in the light aroma. Light, wheaty body. Some pear/apple notes. Slightly tart finish.
Tried
on 04 Sep 2003
at 14:01
5.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottle. This is a well balanced amber beer - there is actualy a decent hop flavor to it. The malts win out, but at least the hops get your attention. I was really surprised at how decent this was (don't normally like ambers).
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 Aug 2003
at 18:26
4.1/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 4
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 3.5
Golden colour with a thin white head. Subtle hop aroma mixed with a bit of malt. Bitter hops in the aroma. Light-bodied; Strong metallic twang with a bit of citrus (grapefruit) and a subtle taste of hops. Aftertaste very bittering from the offensive tastes of metal and stale hops. Palate filled with some malt and very minimal hops. Not a great APA, I was expecting much more from this one, but Full Sail wasn't up for it! This one is not recommended, there are much better APA's available from the Northwest! I bought my 12 ounce bottle from Liqour Mart in Boulder, Colorado.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Aug 2003
at 14:53
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Orange tint to a golden body with a fairly small off-white head. Subtle hoppy aroma, which is almost barren of malt or any other characteristics. The taste is mostly piney from the hops, while some citrus hoppiness is noticeable. The hop bitterness lingers for quite a while after you have the last sip. The beer's taste was very balanced with hops and malt throughout the taste and palate. Not as hoppy as I had expected for a West Coast brewery, but it was pretty good anyways. I thought this was more of an APA more than an IPA, but maybe it was just this keg!? I had this on tap at the Falling Rock Tap House on 11-August-2003 in Denver, Colorado.
Tried
from Draft
on 16 Aug 2003
at 13:11
8.6/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 10
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
2002 Vintage-Bottled 22-May-2002 (650 mL bottle): Perfect amber colour with ruby highlights. Thin light tan head with larger bubbles and trillions of tiny bubbles rising from the bottom. Sweet smells of grapes, peaches, cherries, vanilla and oak. Full-bodied; definate alcohol taste. Strong oakiness and fruit taste with hoppiness and subtle maltiness finishing the palate. Overall, a great colour and fantastic smell, but the taste was a bit disapointing because the alcohol dominated the taste. I do reccomend this to everyone though, as it is a pretty good barley wine! I bought this 650 mL bottle from Total Beverage in Thornton (Denver), Colorado.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Aug 2003
at 13:10
7.6/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Very dark brown colour, completely opaque with a dense frothy brown head. Chocolate and roasted malt are very noticeable in the aroma. The sweetness comes from the top of the beer and is very strong and powerful. Roasted malt flavours dominate the taste with coffee flavours adding to the strong flavours as well. The palate is filled with dark chocolate and coffee bitterness for a long period of time. A pretty good beer, somewhat close to an imperial stout, but obviously more related with a baltic porter. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that should be tried if available! I bought this 650 mL bottle from Total Beverage in Thornton (Denver), Colorado.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Aug 2003
at 13:09