7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Pours mahogany tinged black into a stem glass. Off-white head recedes to hug rim. Sweet chocolate and grape aromas. Sweet with upfront dark raisin turning dry in the lasting malted raisin finish. Dopplebock upfront and dubbel in the finish....
Tried
on 26 Nov 2010
at 14:39
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
2010 bottle (re visit). Pours with a black body and a large, off-white head. Aromas of rye, bread, raisins, brown sugar, oatmeal, dark fruits, estery, molasses. Flavors of oatmeal, raisins, molasses, pencil, dark fruits, dates, and tobacco. Very lively bubbles. Tons of cereal character. Okay, but not my favorite.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Nov 2010
at 22:33
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Pours dark, almost opaque, with a minimal tan head. Rich aroma of dark fruits, raisins, figs, dates and molasses. Sweet and as rich as the aroma. Full bodied. Let this one warm up a bit and it really blooms nicely.
Tried
on 15 Nov 2010
at 15:40
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle (Batch 001 of 230 cases, bottled on 10/4/2010). Pours with a deep brown, near black body with a khaki tan head that fades much quicker than any of the other (non-barrel aged) Jewbelations. Aromas of dry rye whiskey, tons of dark fruit, tobacco, oak, vanilla, dusty and spicy. Caramel and molasses. (Side thought...this thing has 77 "different" malts in it, not including the malt in the rye whiskey...hmm...). (on another note, shouldn’t this be at least 11%, if not more? If it is a straight blend of the beers it should be 11% before any barrel aging. Apparently there is a heavy reliance on 8 and 9 in this blend). There is some familiar smell (not altogether pleasant) that I am picking up. I cannot place it though. Popcorn maybe? Flavors of rye whiskey, oak, and dark fruit. Beyond that I cannot pick out much else. A sheer melee of flavors. Some cotton candy and cola notes. Creamy carbonation. Big mouthfeel, lingering tannins. An interesting concept, but the actual beer ends up a bit muddled. The reason why I rate it highly is that there is nothing technically wrong with the flavors, and I am a sucker for barrel aged beers.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Nov 2010
at 21:15
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle. Pours thick and viscous with a large brown head and a black body. Aromas of vanilla, cocoa, fruity yeast esters, brandy, dates, banana, marshmallow, light earthy notes, fig cookies, rye and raisins. Surprising lack of alcohol on the nose. Flavors are strongly vinous with a lot of alcohol and strong lack of attenuation. Tons of crystal with a somewhat muddy malt profile. Boozy, lightly metallic, and pretty harsh. Yeast and dark fruits. Creamy, carbonation. This is big. I like the concept of a big anniversary beer, and I love big beers...but this is getting a bit out of hand. 14 hops and 14 malts do not a good beer make. Perhaps just engineer a good beer that changes each year instead of making one that just follows numbers.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Nov 2010
at 20:21
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 5
Texture 8
Overall 7
12oz bottle from the Vertical Jewbelation pack. Pours with a deep brown, near black body and a thick khaki head. Aromas of alcohol, raisins, almonds, chocolate, brandy, rye and dates. Flavors are bitter, malty, roast astringency, cocoa, nuts, raw grain, tobacco, and alcohol. Lively bubbles. Low drinkability as the flavors do not mesh well.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Nov 2010
at 19:51
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
12oz bottle from the Vertical Pack. Pours with a black body and a large khaki colored head. Aromas of wood, caramel, earth, spice, raisins (special b?), toffee, vinous, brandy, dates, curacao orange. Flavor is roasty, a bit of chocolate, vinous, dust, brandy. Earthy. Light orange notes. Creamy carbonation. Not bad.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Nov 2010
at 18:23
8.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Bomber from Whole Foods Market, Charlottesville, VA. Pours pitch black with a medium creamy, frothy tan head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of toffee, caramel, citrus and resiny hop notes. The taste is big huge malty notes.... toffee, caramel, brown sugar, maple, vanilla, bitter leafy hops, cotton candy, candied fruits, some spice alcohol notes. Wow. Complex. Full bodied, smooth and with a subtle but strong and lingering bitterness. Nice beer.
Tried
from Can
on 09 Nov 2010
at 17:00
6.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
22 oz. bottle, pours dark reddish brown with a small beige head. Aroma of grapes, caramel malts, dates, figs, some brown sugar and molasses. Flavour is a hybrid of a grapes / Doppelbock / Abbey Dubbel, with the grapes on the initial flavour, with the darker fruits, molasses and burnt caramel filling out the middle and finish. Quite nice, though the 2009 special was superior.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Nov 2010
at 19:54
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
22 ounce bottle. Pours a dark brown color with a thin brown head that sticks around on the surface of the beer. Good lacing. Big, complex aroma with notes of chocolate, toffee, wood, cherries, caramel, almonds, sherry, coconut and a bitter hoppiness. The taste is citrus, resiny hop notes. Pretty bitter. Lots of caramel and toffee, notes of chocolate, wood, cherries. Full bodied. Slightly boozy finish. Nice beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Oct 2010
at 14:09