7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
22oz bottle. Pours out brown with some ruby highlights topped with a tan head. Nose is toast malts vanilla cinnamon molasses and spice. Taste is more of the vanilla roast malts spice and a nice sweetness.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Aug 2016
at 21:54
7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle courtesy of altonbrownd, thanks! Hazy deep golden color, cream colored head with solid lacing. Bready floral aroma. Taste is bitter straw, dry finish. Decent.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Aug 2016
at 16:18
5.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Marshall Stack, NYC tap: pours golden with a white head. Aroma is grains, hops, and a somewhat sugary malt smell. Taste is lightly hoppy. A bit sweet. Not very exciting for a fiftieth anniversary beer.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Aug 2016
at 12:14
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled in 9/2013. Pours nearly opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger dense tan head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, toasted dark bread, nuttiness, raisin, prune, fig, date, licorice, wood, leather, tobacco, pepper, light smoke/char, and herbal/roasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malt, fruity yeast, and earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, toasted dark bread, nuttiness, raisin, prune, fig, date, licorice, wood, leather, tobacco, pepper, light smoke/char, and herbal/roasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy and roast/char bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, toasted dark bread, nuttiness, dark fruit, licorice, smoke, char, leather, tobacco, pepper, wood, and herbal/roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, fruity yeast, and earthy hop flavors; with a nice roast/hop malt/bitterness balance; and zero cloying sweetness or astringent hop flavors after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from bitterness; increasing through the glass. Light-medium carbonation and very full body; with a very creamy/slick and fairly sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with a light-moderate warmth lingering after the finish; with minimal booziness. Overall this is a great strong ale. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, fruity yeast, and earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the huge ABV. Still quite hoppy after 3 years of age, which provides great balance to the huge malt flavors. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Aug 2016
at 22:04
6.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
2015 batch. Pours deep mahogany into a shaker. Tan head with medium retention recedes to hug rim. Sweet dark pit fruit and caramel aromas. Sweet band aid and molasses upfront turning to warming turpentine before the lasting bitter hot root finish. Might have waited too long on this one...
Tried
on 26 Aug 2016
at 21:20
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Probably the best American made Belgian I've had. After a couple years the flavours have very noticeably become quite mild, but all around good. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone
Tried
from Can
on 20 Aug 2016
at 20:10
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled on 7/9/2016. Pours slightly hazy golden yellow color with a 2 finger dense and rocky white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice dense soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the head. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, light pepper/pine, wheat, bread, light honey, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and moderate pale malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, light pepper, pine, wheat, bread, light honey, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate pine/citrus rind/spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, mango, lemon/orange rind, pepper, pine, wheat, bread, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and moderate pale malt flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance, and minimal lingering hop astringency after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from bitterness, increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately crisp/sticky/resinous, and fairly creamy/grainy balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5%. Overall this is a very good hoppy blonde ale. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/earthy hops and moderate pale malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, and easy to drink. This was quite a bit hoppier than I expected for the style; but had really nice complexity of bright hops and bready malts. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Aug 2016
at 20:05
6.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 5
Texture 8
Overall 5.5
Sampled from a 750 ml brown bottle this beer poured a black color with a large creamy-soapy tan head that lingered and left very good lacing. The aroma was sweet with cherry, raisin, fig and molasses notes. The flavor was bitter, astringent and medicinal with some fig and raisin notes. Long finish. Moderately full bodied. Disappointing.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Aug 2016
at 19:50
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
bottle - Pours amber with a big, off-white head. It smells of citrusy hops and caramel malt. The flavor is similar along with some bready character, earthiness, and rye. Full bodied, it’s bitter but not as bitter as many IIPAs, probably because of the heavy malt bill. Very good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Aug 2016
at 14:22
6/10
Tried
on 13 Aug 2016
at 14:01