5.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 4.5
2004 draught. Good thick brown appearance with some dark black hues. Big creamy off-white to tan head. Aroma is lightly salty, a touch of bitterness and some sweet malt as well. Flavor is moderately roasty, lots of fresh barley flavor and has a hint of hops on the finish, but the finish is quite unspectacular and thins out too much. Very watery mouthfeel, which dilutes the flavor. Medium body, low carbonation.
Tried
on 25 Apr 2004
at 10:44
5.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 4.5
2004 draught. Pours a mildly hazy medium earthy brown. Small off-white head. Aroma has a bit of malt in it and some very dry smelling hops. Flavor is very wet, lots of brown malts, moderately sugary with some out of place bitterness. The alpha hops do not go too well with this brown style ale, and the wateriness does not help the situation. Not sure what they were aiming for with this one. Low carbonation, medium to medium light body, very watery texture.
Tried
on 21 Apr 2004
at 09:22
5.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
2004 draught. Darker than traditionally is, this one is a rich gold-maize with some light brown hints. Big foamy white head, and a wet, wheaty aroma along with some bubble gum and light clove hints. Flavor has plenty of fresh wheat taste, and there is ample clove and light banana, but instead of finishing crisp, this one finishes a bit too watery. Has a moderately sweet body, but seems a bit too thin. The banana and clove could stand to be more pronounced and even could use some more carbonation.
Tried
on 16 Apr 2004
at 13:58
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
A nice reddish-amber with some bright orange tints. Large white head, foamy and lasting. Aroma is light yellow fruits (tangerines, peaches) with a definite belgian yeast appeal, good and strong. This one is right on the border between a belgian ale and belgian strong, but as the alcohol is not dominant at all, the yeast is not huge, nor does it taste of candi sugar, it really reminded me more of a belgian ale. Apricot like flavors, lots of grainy yeast and a touch of spiciness. Finish has a bit of wateriness on it and dries out quite a bit.
Tried
from Can
on 16 Apr 2004
at 13:37
8.2/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 6
Overall 9
2004 draft. Oh boy. Starts out with a deep blackish-brown color, almost purplish. Small off white head. Aroma is sweet, brown sugar, rich caramel malt, light hints of bourbon, a bit of alcohol detectable and plenty of raisins and dark chocolate. Flavor begins with a huge powerful body that sticks to the palate and is quite creamy. The bourbon barrel aging adds a bittersweet element in the background that is subtle yet detectable enough to taste quite pleasant. Lots of vanilla flavors, caramel and what hit me as a coconut flavor, weird but that’s what I thought I tasted. Warming on the finish, but never would I think this is 12.5. Smooth and creamy, but perhaps a bit of a soy sauce (acidity from the barrel, combined with huge caramel malt dominance). The mouthfeel, as far as its velvety, rich texture is concerned, deserves a 5, but the balance is way off. It’s sour, then sweet, then alcoholic. It’s not terribly cohesive. A bit fatiguing at the end of the glass.
Tried
from Draft
on 16 Apr 2004
at 13:23
9.1/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9.5
On draught in 2004, brewed in 2003. Pours a murky brown very dark with some dark orange and even some auburn hues. Muddy looking, very hazy with a huge yellowish/creamy head. Very appealing. The aroma is magnificent as well, big dark fruit (raspberries, prunes, black cherries). Chocolate and some lovely english style hops. Light brown sugar hints. Flavor tastes much like the aroma, starts out soft, warm, velvety and has a lovely rich sweet brown sugar tasting malt. This develops in to some ripe fruit complemented by some lightly bitter hops. Chocolate, cherries, prunes, caramel all come to mind. Full body, very low carbonation. Finish has a touch of dry barley flavor and though the brewer thought this was more like a barleywine, I actually thought this was a tremendously done old ale, just bigger and more flavorful than say Old Peculiar or Goose Island X-Mas. What really ties it to this category is that bittersweet taste right as it finishes; a fruity, yet dry yeastiness, just slightly sour. Perfect! An Imperial Old Ale?? Haha, perhaps.
Tried
on 16 Apr 2004
at 13:17
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 6
2004 batch. Light yellow with some pale golds and coppery hues. Good white head and lots of lacing. Quite hazy. Smells strong, sharp and highly alcoholic, lots of wheat smell, obviously, quite pungent and almost sour smelling. Flavor starts out with a huge wheat kick, but it is quite sugary, huge amount of alcohol apparency and a medium to medium full body. Strong pear juice flavor and almost an herbal/vanilla-liqueur like flavor. Extremely warming, moderately carbonated.
Tried
on 16 Apr 2004
at 13:11
7.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Deep orange-brown, quite dark and moderately clouded. Big beige, orange-tinged head. Smells of enormous amounts of pumpkin pie spices, sweet brown sugar and cinnamon; overpoweringly sweet. Flavor begins lightly spicey, but quickly develops a huge pumpkin meat flavor. This tastes like eating pumpkin pie, very earthy pumpkin, lighter on the spices, though very sweet. Light thinning occurs on the finish, which dosent go well with the overly sweet flavor, but other than that, no complaints. The pumpkin meat flavor is so good and fresh, very good take on this style.
Tried
on 01 Mar 2004
at 08:13
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Very soft amber color, medium hazey, some red and oragnes in there. Off white head that sits around. Disarming appearance with a bittersweet aroma of fruit fruit and more fruit. Alcohol esters in there, with some medium sweet candied peaches, some spiciness and sweet sugar. Flavor is big and sweet, with some yeasty goodness on the finish reminescent of belgian christmas ales. Hops are not hugely bitter, low citrus flavors, but quite present. Orange zest and lots of intense honey/malt flavors. Mouthfeel is soft and fluffy. Great stuff.
Tried
from Can
on 28 Feb 2004
at 17:41
6.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Deep golden amber, moderately hazy, with a thick white head on it. Smells of bitter, citric hops, fresh and crisp. This is hops to the max and is very intensely bitter. Flavor is a bit one-sided with the cascades dominating everything. Malt is there, but only lightly present on the finish and medium sweet at best. Almost lagerish in its crispness. Dry, papery mouthfeel exacerbated by the pale malt. I'm not making it sound very good, but it's not that bad, especially as this style generally makes little attempt at balance.
Tried
on 24 Feb 2004
at 15:25