7.5/10
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Dec 2017
at 17:32
5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 4
Texture 6
Overall 4
Sampled on nitro draft at Hugo's this beer poured a black color with an enormous creamy beige head that lingered forever and left no lacing. The aroma was bitter with sour brewed coffee. The flavor was bitter with wood, roasty malts and coffee. Medium length finish. Medium bodied and smooth. Meh
Tried
from Draft
on 17 Dec 2017
at 20:55
6.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Tap at Max's in Baltimore, pours a lightly hazy orange with a ring of white head. Nose is very standard, orange, grapefruit, pine, soap. Flavor has some honey and grist, bitter orange, pine, soap. Bitter finish. Very run of the mill.
Tried
from Draft
on 16 Dec 2017
at 21:42
Tried
on 16 Dec 2017
at 20:52
8/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
From Aug 2008
I got this bottle in a trade with nutbrown. Thanks Alan!
It pours a murky dark brown with a tiny amount of foam...by the time I set the glass down, there was only a ring around the glass and a tiny bit of lacing.
The smell has notes of fruit, chocolate, and oak. Very nice nose.
The taste is well, very tasty. I'm getting some fruity tones with cherries being number 1, some good chocolate, vanilla, and a very nice rye *and* nice oaky/bourbon overtone that seem to blend very well with the other flavours. Nice! Nice medium mouthfeel here and the carbonation is lightly done. Also, the alcohol is very nicely hidden and doesn't hurt the drinkability much for me at all.
The more I sip, the more I notice how complex this brew is...I guess that's because it's warming up since I opened it after I took it straight out of the fridge. ;^)
Man, what a great sipping brew this is...and yet another very impressive offering from the gang at Ithaca. If this is available locally to you, *Please* don't let the price tag scare you away($16.95 for the 750ml)...imnsho, it is worth every penny and was a super inclusion in this trade. Thanks again muchly, Alan!!
I got this bottle in a trade with nutbrown. Thanks Alan!
It pours a murky dark brown with a tiny amount of foam...by the time I set the glass down, there was only a ring around the glass and a tiny bit of lacing.
The smell has notes of fruit, chocolate, and oak. Very nice nose.
The taste is well, very tasty. I'm getting some fruity tones with cherries being number 1, some good chocolate, vanilla, and a very nice rye *and* nice oaky/bourbon overtone that seem to blend very well with the other flavours. Nice! Nice medium mouthfeel here and the carbonation is lightly done. Also, the alcohol is very nicely hidden and doesn't hurt the drinkability much for me at all.
The more I sip, the more I notice how complex this brew is...I guess that's because it's warming up since I opened it after I took it straight out of the fridge. ;^)
Man, what a great sipping brew this is...and yet another very impressive offering from the gang at Ithaca. If this is available locally to you, *Please* don't let the price tag scare you away($16.95 for the 750ml)...imnsho, it is worth every penny and was a super inclusion in this trade. Thanks again muchly, Alan!!
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Dec 2017
at 10:48
9.4/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 10
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
From Jul 2008
I got this bottle in a trade with nutbrown. Thanks Alan!
This pours from red foiled and capped 750ml bottle(batch E!006) a clear reddish amber with a 2 finger and growing head of billowy foam. Holding my glass up to the light, I can see that it's slightly hazy. Ha! This certainly is a looker in my glass and the head looks like it's not going anywhere soon.
The smell is a malt lover's delight! Loads of caramel malt hit my nosebuds right off the bat but there's also a fruitiness in the nose along with some toffee.
The taste starts off with big notes of sweet malt but then I get roasted malt, some bread, tofee, some fruit(mostly cherry when I swish it in my mouth), the complexity just never seems to stop! And....where *is* the 10abv?? You gotta be kidding me! Ok, by the end of the session, I guess that's where I'll notice it but dang, no sign of it in the taste and no sign of it after the swallow. Amazing.
Update on the appearance: Ring after ring of lacing after every sip and the head is still a solid 1". Also, it goes cloudy after the second pour.(I use mini pours to refill my glass)
I want to say that this is full bodied because of how silky smooth it is so, I'll say it, it's full bodied with a nice lightish amount of carbonation.
I haven't mentioned any hop presence thus far but it *is* there...some nice notes of grapefruit that kick in some bitterness in between the luscious layers of malty goodness.
Wow. Is this a fine American Strong Ale or what?!
Ok, bottom line time. I'm really having a hard time finding *any* faults with this beer. In fact, I'm going to ask nutbrown if he can get/save me another bottle. Ithaca has proven to me, time after time, that they have some real masters of the brewing art in their fold and this one literally is off the charts. So *damn* highly recommended! 'nuff said.
I got this bottle in a trade with nutbrown. Thanks Alan!
This pours from red foiled and capped 750ml bottle(batch E!006) a clear reddish amber with a 2 finger and growing head of billowy foam. Holding my glass up to the light, I can see that it's slightly hazy. Ha! This certainly is a looker in my glass and the head looks like it's not going anywhere soon.
The smell is a malt lover's delight! Loads of caramel malt hit my nosebuds right off the bat but there's also a fruitiness in the nose along with some toffee.
The taste starts off with big notes of sweet malt but then I get roasted malt, some bread, tofee, some fruit(mostly cherry when I swish it in my mouth), the complexity just never seems to stop! And....where *is* the 10abv?? You gotta be kidding me! Ok, by the end of the session, I guess that's where I'll notice it but dang, no sign of it in the taste and no sign of it after the swallow. Amazing.
Update on the appearance: Ring after ring of lacing after every sip and the head is still a solid 1". Also, it goes cloudy after the second pour.(I use mini pours to refill my glass)
I want to say that this is full bodied because of how silky smooth it is so, I'll say it, it's full bodied with a nice lightish amount of carbonation.
I haven't mentioned any hop presence thus far but it *is* there...some nice notes of grapefruit that kick in some bitterness in between the luscious layers of malty goodness.
Wow. Is this a fine American Strong Ale or what?!
Ok, bottom line time. I'm really having a hard time finding *any* faults with this beer. In fact, I'm going to ask nutbrown if he can get/save me another bottle. Ithaca has proven to me, time after time, that they have some real masters of the brewing art in their fold and this one literally is off the charts. So *damn* highly recommended! 'nuff said.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Nov 2017
at 14:06
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Older bottle shared by AdamC on 7/29/17.
Darker auburn-amber with a small, off-white head. High clarity.
Big red fruits, juicy and spicy orange, cherry and marmalade all provide plentiful flavor without any aggressivity. Lots of malt behind it, but it's not oxidized and it's not cloyingly sweet. Good balance, with no booziness and only a touch of pine lingering.
In the mouth it shows a mix of specialty malt and base malt for texture coming in moderately-soft, the low carbonation helping concentrate the sweetness and highlight the softness. Tons of cherry, orange, light pine and red grapefruit. Clean, on the sweeter side, but not offensively so, with juicy, fruity hops still readily apparent.
Darker auburn-amber with a small, off-white head. High clarity.
Big red fruits, juicy and spicy orange, cherry and marmalade all provide plentiful flavor without any aggressivity. Lots of malt behind it, but it's not oxidized and it's not cloyingly sweet. Good balance, with no booziness and only a touch of pine lingering.
In the mouth it shows a mix of specialty malt and base malt for texture coming in moderately-soft, the low carbonation helping concentrate the sweetness and highlight the softness. Tons of cherry, orange, light pine and red grapefruit. Clean, on the sweeter side, but not offensively so, with juicy, fruity hops still readily apparent.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Nov 2017
at 18:09
8/10
Tried
from Can
on 19 Nov 2017
at 19:38
7/10
Tried
from Can
on 19 Nov 2017
at 17:17
7/10
Tried
from Can
on 19 Nov 2017
at 15:10