Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
(Bottle 18 cl) Courtesy of aspidites. Very unclear, reddish amber golden with a small, creamy, off-white head. Lightly tart, apply notes. Medium body, very dry and alcoholic - almost vodka-like! Notes of apples and an earthy, fusty edge - before the dry alcohol resurfaces in the finish also. Not overly thrilling. 280507
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
(Bottle 18 cl) Courtesy of Degarth. Pours a cloudy, muddy light brown with a small, rough, off-white head dissipating in no time. Distinct, sweetish bourbon aroma. Very rich body, a bit flat with lots of sweetish caramel and then all the characteristic bourbon notes of oak and vanilla. This is almost like drinking a shot of bourbon - and I love bourbon! If all European strongs were like this it would be my favourite style... 280507
Ungstrup (52239) reviewed Amber Ale from Drake’s Brewing Company 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Bottled. A hazy amber beer with a lazing orange head. The aroma is sweet malty combined with notes of caramel and a light touch of dusty hops. The flavor is sweet malty with strong notes of caramel and lighter notes of hops and alcohol - a bit like caramel ice cream topping.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottled. A hazy amber beer with a lazing tan head. The aroma is sweet with very strong notes of hops, but also quite malty and with some notes of alcohol. The flavor is sweet malty with light notes of alcohol, which also leaves a slight burn on the sides of the tongue, leading to a powerfully hoppy end, where the hops leaves traces in the throat. A bit simple, but very nice.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Deep black stout with a thick dark moka head. Aroma of chocolate covered cherries, dark roasted coffee and molasses. In mouth, a dairy chocolate, with notes of cocnuts, dates, roasted coffee beans and burned toast bitterness. Warming alcohol soothes you, and rich and complex bodied. Bought in Sacremento, Sept. 2005. Enjoyed Jan 2007, with probstk.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 10 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottled, thanks cquiroga! Hazy dark brown, creamy beige head. Oaky raisin aroma. Sweet and very malty with extrenmely full body. Thick and grainy with concentrated vinous flavours oak, vanilla and coriander. Powerful and compact. Very good!
notalush (7362) reviewed IPA from Drake’s Brewing Company 18 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Thanks to IrishBoy for this bottle - cloudy copper pour, with a clingy, cask-ale-looking lace - crisp, toasted, biscuity malt aroma, with some fruity esters (cherry, mostly) and a grapefruit, fresh hop smell - semi-dry, biscuity malt flavor, with light roasted aspects - copious hops lend themselves well some light woody qualities - agressive, but not overpowering - it finishes with some bready, yeasty flavors that linger a while, but don’t overstay their welcome - pretty nicely balanced.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
2006 swing-top bottle from Hollingshead Deli, drunk on 3/29/07
One finger of tan/beige head recedes to cover, being held there well. Very minimal, blotchy lacing. Medium-low clarity, though I don’t find much, if any, sediment on the bottom. Deep black with a slight chartreuse tint on the edges.
Dark berries show off the roasted barley, nicely vinous without being overdone/astringent. Some light fusels initially noted, but it seems to fully pass with some breathing. Malt is lightly sweet but very reserved overall. Lots of vinousness returns on the finish, highlighted by plum and prune. Medium strength of aroma, takes a little work to unlock, but the quality is certainly there.
Very vinous up front with lots of bitter chocolate. Perfect body is lightly chewy, but also has a slipperiness on the end. Thus it starts out quite hearty, but glides down the back of teh throat with very light carbonation adding a pleasing tingle. Dark coffee and a fair amount of bitterness/vinousness sit on the finish. Trails off in to anise and heavy bitterness, remaining very dry with some light fusel alcohols apparent.
This embodies so much of where Imperial stouts should be headed; very dry, with a good charge of vinousness and coffee. Lots of bitterness from the dark malts with both a nice oily feel and chewy consistency. It seems to be lightly filtered and I dont believe bottle conditioned, as evinced by some of the fusels showing through and a bit of loosening to the mouthfeel as it breathes. But the flavors are spot on, almost exactly what I want from an Imperial. Very much in the vein of Harveys Imperial. Not all the thick, underattenuated chocolate and caramel and obnoxious dose of PNW hops that you see in most American versions.
I didnt find this to be overhopped in the least, and in fact didnt find much of a impact from the hops at all.
bhensonb (22726) reviewed Expedition Ale from Drake’s Brewing Company 18 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Aroma of piney, resiny hop. Way hoppy. Reddish amber color with a beige head that fills the glass. This stuff seems to be alive. Starts a bit thin with resin hop, followed by some bittersweet malt. That evergreen aspect just won’t leave. This is an amber? There is a lot of dark malt flavor, but the hop tends to overbalance. Hop wins. Finish is grutchy memories of malt and a good hoppy bitterness. Huah! Memorably good.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Just when I thought I was done drinking beer last night, beastiefan2k breaks this stuff out - remembering how complex the brandy barrel barleywine was, I was a litte afraid that my palate wouldn’t be up to the challenge - suprisingly, it was - this stuff lacked the complexity I was expecting, but was still somewhat enjoyable - semi-cloudy, mahogony color, with a compact head - very earthy, musty, and, yes, slightly moldy aroma, with lots of damp earth/wood - lightly acidic flavor, probably from the apple brandy - mild sourness - woody, and even a bit bitter - not nearly as sweet as I expected, as the wood makes it a little dry - slight oxidation makes the beer taste a bit stale - I didn’t pick up any apple brandy in this - an interesting variation, but nothing all that special.