Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5
Very dark brown body with dark brown head. Nutty, sort of toasty aroma with a bit of chocolate and black patent. Fairly sweet overall.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 3 | Texture - 2 | Overall - 2.5
Light bronze colour. Very sweet, toasty character. The body is oily and underattenuated. Stuck fermentation? Whatever it is, this beer was not ready for sale but they sold it to me anyway.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Notes from August ’07 with Dave Woodward as brewmaster...can’t remember if that’s the same as before. Bright dark copper. Brown sugar malts on the nose with rich woody, grapefruity hops. On the palate, more toast comes through along with a slightly pithy grapefruit bitterness. Clean, tasty. In time the brewer’s intent is to get an IPA into the regular lineup and recraft this brew in a more English style. But for now it’s pretty good.
Notes from Jan ’06 with the same brewer as last August: Golden-amber colour. Toasty-earthy English hop aroma. A bit thin. Astringent roast background hints at mashing/sparging issue. Unpleasant. Ar 7 Ap 3 Fl 4 P 2 O 6 = 2.2
Notes from August ’05 with the new brewmaster. Slightly hazy dark brown. Earthy, spicy aroma with crystal malt and light foresty hop. Light bitterness. A little bit of stale hop character and punchy dark malts. It’s not huge, but it’s got character. It’s also very similar to the brews at Howe Sound - is that where they got their new brewmaster? I’ll have to find out. Ar 7, Ap 3, Fl 7, P 3, O 14 = 3.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 3 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 3.5
Dark brown colour. Fairy sweet with a hint of nuttiness, a bit of alcohol and harsh grainy astringency.