6.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Bottled. Original rating: 2.6 on 5/9/05. Pours slightly cloudy and straw colored. Head filled with thin bubbles. Malty smell, basic lager taste. Good enough, I suppose.
New rating, 9/3/06. My first rating was a sample from the bottle during a pilsener tasting, so let me open a full bottle and give it my undivided attention: Pours a slightly rocky head that settles down to about a quarter inch in my shaker. Good "beer" smell. Clear golden yellow color. Prickly bubbles sting my lips while I sip. More solid pils taste than I spotted before. Hops paint a nice portrait of European brewing, making this a solid example of the style. Worth knocking up another few notches.
New rating, 9/3/06. My first rating was a sample from the bottle during a pilsener tasting, so let me open a full bottle and give it my undivided attention: Pours a slightly rocky head that settles down to about a quarter inch in my shaker. Good "beer" smell. Clear golden yellow color. Prickly bubbles sting my lips while I sip. More solid pils taste than I spotted before. Hops paint a nice portrait of European brewing, making this a solid example of the style. Worth knocking up another few notches.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 May 2005
at 21:39
5.2/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 6
Bottle: Poured a fuzzy orangey/amber color ale with medium head with poor retention. Nose of light spices, fruit and some malt, though a tad too discrete. Taste is quite mild with the fruit aspect quite evident; yeast is almost undetectable. Body is average and carbonation is way too low. Overall, this is a below average Belgian ale.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 May 2005
at 10:07
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 5
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Outstanding aroma. Calvados, light hops, white wine. Red. The beer is highly carbonated, and there is a large head that is gone in seconds. Strange flavor. Very dry for a barleywine. There is some underlying sweetness, dirt, some hops, and lots of bread. It seemed like something was off with this 2003 bottle, but I purchased it at a fine store, and stored in a cool basement for a few months; and the cap was on tightly, so I don’t know what went wrong. Heavy and a serious alcohol kick. I will try a fresher bottle, but even with some flaws it is a fine beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Apr 2005
at 23:08
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle pours a dark cloudy caramel amber with a thick dense light tan head. Terrific smells of caramel toffee, butterscotch, apples and alcohol. Flavor is sharp, green even. Woody and earthy. Quite strong alcohol taste. So much that it puts me off a bit. Malty and not much hops. A finish of sediment or unfiltered. I may get a couple and cellar them for a while and compare notes then.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Apr 2005
at 20:17
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle Pourr a slightly hazy orange amber with a decent white head. Letting this settle down leaves thin clingy lacing. Aroma is malty and not as much hops as I was expecting from the style. Flavor redeems itself though. Rich maltiness and I think a nicely balanced hop bite. Feels quite smooth and rich. fairly heavy and yes the ABV is up there a tad. It al works and I find this to be quite good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Mar 2005
at 21:34
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle Pours a clear deep redish brown. Very nice thick dense light tan head. Thick sticky lacing. Sweet malty aromas with some fruity notes as weel. Possibly cherry or grape. Flavor is mainly a straight forward woody, malty theme. Plain and pleasant. A slightly bitter trailer and pretty light on the hops as well. Quite soft carbonation and a smooth but not very heavy feel. About what I expected a decent middle of the road, drinkable brown ale.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Mar 2005
at 16:30
5.8/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottle Pours a slightly hazy light amber. Fluffy off white head Sweet light malts mostly in the aroma. Flavor is similar. Light, pale and fairly sweet. I suppose it is quite drinkable, esp for those who are not ken of bitter hoppy ales. Lacking substance though esp considering it’s nearly complete absence of a decent hops componant.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Mar 2005
at 22:40
7.1/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Pours an amber colour into the glass. Not a very big tan head. Has a strong hoppy aroma, with hints of citrus. Has a flowery flavor, with a crisp and bitter aftertaste. Has a long bitter aftertaste.
Tried
on 14 Mar 2005
at 13:56
6.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
2004 bottle at the Downtown liquors Stout tasting, 3/10/05. Dark brown colored body, nearly opaque and low carbonation to boot. Lightly creamy head is an ashen-beige color, low retention. Smells of sticky, salty toffee and caramel, light peanuts and chocolate as well. Flavor shows off more caramel and chocolate, with a good chewy malt texture, no carbonation interuption. But the body is a bit thin, even for a dry stout (and this isn’t all that dry). Hops are quite apparent, though not overdone, and impart a floral, almost minty bitterness (mint flavored hot chocolate anyone?), with a light, sticky resin note as well. A tinge of sourness coming from somewhere and I’m not getting all the intense coffee that everyone else mentions.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Mar 2005
at 22:33
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Nice amber color. Interesting aroma, shows some good hopping, nutty before fruity. Caramel taste, smooth; a generous amount of hops gives to it a pleasant character.
Tried
on 11 Mar 2005
at 10:59