6.6/10
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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
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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
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Dark brown color; thick creamy head. Nice aroma: coffee, nutty, hop. Quite balanced taste, with a strong roasted malt character and coffee, a lot of caramel, very light liquorice; unfortunately it’s also a bit metallic. Very strong final bitterness.
Tried
on 11 Mar 2005
at 10:56
5/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
I did not vibe off this at all. The pale lager appearance wasn’t appetizing in the slightest. There was a faint Norman cider aroma, the key being faint. Real Norman cider is fuller, better. The palate is bland, vaguely appley. For its size, the body was actually quite light, like they attenuated this beer down to the barest essentials. But that guts it, and I’m not into fruit beers that don’t bring a little something else to the table. Comes off like an imitation of Norman cider. I’ll stick with the real stuff, thanks. 3-1-2-2-3
Interesting - a re-rate of this beer proved a completely different experience. I found the second sampling (Apr 2008) to have an appley aroma with some malt and light wood and a pleasing vinous character. The body straddled between cider and champagne. Pears and peaches crept in there. It did not strike me as overattenuated. I scored a 7-3-7-4-15. The score above is a blend of my two experiences with this beer.
Interesting - a re-rate of this beer proved a completely different experience. I found the second sampling (Apr 2008) to have an appley aroma with some malt and light wood and a pleasing vinous character. The body straddled between cider and champagne. Pears and peaches crept in there. It did not strike me as overattenuated. I scored a 7-3-7-4-15. The score above is a blend of my two experiences with this beer.
Tried
on 10 Mar 2005
at 02:11
6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Large white head on a dark yellow body. Aroma of ginger and lemon. Lightly swet start to finish. The lively carbonation is conbined with a watery light body. Give me a German Wheat beer any day.
Tried
on 27 Feb 2005
at 06:40
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle: Pours a very dark ruby colour, almost black. Long lasting off-white head. Has a roasted malt aroma with hints of cofee and chocolate. A bit weak in the taste. But you have the roasted taste and some coffe flavor too. Has a little bitter aftertaste. This is an other good beer from NCBC.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Feb 2005
at 09:40
5.1/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 6
Overall 4.5
A clear brown beer with a small light brown head. The aroma is slightly sour. The flavor is dry and sweet but the background is slightly sour.
Tried
on 11 Feb 2005
at 17:59
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
2003 vintage bottle purchased 1/24/05. Clear medium brown color with just a blush of red at the edges. Average sized thick head for a Barleywine. Heavy, thick, sheets of lacing from this one too. Very little aroma from this one cold as might be expected, but as it warms it blossoms with fruits and caramel. The malty brew has a good amount of body and hides it’s alcohol well. Not a bad sipper.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Jan 2005
at 20:22
6.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Like an oatmeal stout. black with little head. Pleasant toasted herbal flavors. Medium body.
Tried
on 18 Jan 2005
at 01:30
6.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Mostly clear amber color with an average white head. Light caramel malt aroma. Lightly acidic and malty that comes into a bit of bittering at the finish. Nothing really exciting here, but certainly above average for the style.
Tried
on 13 Jan 2005
at 16:28