Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 10 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9.5
(Handbottled 35,5 cl) Pours completely black and opaque with a pretty much absent head. Also the carbonation pretty much got lost in the handbottling process. Fat aroma of roasted malt and dried fruit - very vinous, sort of like the Amarone of the beer world. Extremely full-bodied, pours thick like tar. Wonderfully complex woth lots of raisins, sweet roasted malt, oak, vanilla, bourbon and a burning alcohol. Even without the carbonation this is a grand beer indeed. Wauw. 191206
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Draft at Barleys in OP, KS. Copper red in color. Not much head by the time I got it at the table. No memorable aroma, though a nice full malted barley taste. Decent bitter finish.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
RE-RATE. Pint from a growler purchased same day as consumed. This was much fuller and more expressive than I originally thought. Nice full tan head, great settling. Aroma of soft roast, sweet caramel malt and a nice tobacco. Taste was also much better, the roast is coffee and smoke, with nice bright pine hop to the finish. Palate nice and full without being heavy. Really completely different and better than I had remembered. (7,4,8,4,15 - 3.8)
I originally had this on draft at Draft at Barleys in OP, KS Nov 5, 2006. Deep brown, though could see through a bit. By the time it got to the table, no head whatsoever. For an oatmeal stout, I was expecting a lit more body. I actually thought this one was thin, lacking a bit of taste. I would love to try this one closer to the source. (6,2,6,3,16 - 3.3)
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6.5
My thanks to Wawood for this treat. I did not think there were freshness issues with the growler. The aroma is grassy hops. A black barleywine? Yes. Yes it is. Still. There is some malt sweetness and a sour, grassy flavor. Palate is a little thin for a barleywine. The alcohol is hidden very well. More of a bitter hops rather than sweet barleywine. Pleasant.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Hand-bottled by Csbosox and generously delivered to myself. A 2005 growler of an early 2005 or late 2004 brewing? Consumed 9/7/2005. HUGE head, tan, thick, dense with very fine bubbles rising on the edges. Good and creamy. Great retention and provides tons of lacing as it recedes. This stuff was bottled from a growler, about 3 months ago and then sent to me, held for 3 more weeks and here it is, pouring a huge, well-retained head. That’s just incredible.
Smells of raisins, slight vinousness/grapeskins, rich roasted barley and dark berries. Faint coffee and very modest hops, just lightly floral and fresh. Thick and English-like, with prunes, raisins and dark chocolate galore! And all this while the head is still concealing much of the aroma! Ultra-opaque body, can’t even see red or violet tinges on the edges, though I know they must be there. Smells a lot like a rich Oatmeal stout, moreso than what you would think an American Imperial to be, but then, this is no cookie-cutter American Imperial, as I see from the description.
First sip introduces sweet caramel and toffee, with lightly bitter molasses in the back, to balance. Very English. Prunes, butter toffee, light coffeeish roast. Not as thick as I was expecting and quite dry on the end with some oily vinousness and roast, combining with lightly bitter, tastefully done hops. Almost like an English Barleywine, it’s rich, dark fruits and low hops apparency make it tremendously drinkable. Tiny bubbles have lost some steam, no doubt, but how this must have been fresh, I only dare to dream. The more it warms, the more a pleasing bitterness grows in the back of the mouth. Mouthfeel is silky, not oily or chewy, just luscious and lightly tickling as it goes down. One drawback is that right upon drinking, there is a bit of a gap in the flavor. Complexity dosent explode on the palate. Oh but that finish! The chocolate dipped prunes and green, leafy, juicy hops just come alive and stick in the back of your throat. An incredible IS, and so unique and elegant. Free State knows what’s up! Thanks so much Chris!
Ungstrup (52110) reviewed Ad Astra Ale from Free State Brewing Company 20 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
[At GABF 2004] A copper colored beer with a beutiful orange head. The aroma is sweet and sour with notes of berries. The flavor is sweet nutty with a dry hoppy end.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
An unclear copper colored beer with no head. The aroma is very sweet and very strong of overripe fruits and prunes. The flavor contains notes of alcohol, overripe fruit, grapes, and prunes, leading to a dry hoppy end. Great flavor.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
[GABF 2004 first beer!!!!] A pitch black beer with no head. The aroma is sweet roasty with notes of alcohol, chocolate, and coffee. The flavor is also very sweet with notes of prunes, alcohol, coffee, and chocolate, leading to a very dry, woody finish.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Releases a modest honeyed aroma at pour. Becomes more bock like, with toasty caramelized malts. Quite attractive too, a glowing copperish amber. Whoa! First taste gives a dry crackly smokines, leafy earthiness, but a sweetish, borderline cloying palate soon appears. Thinnish mouthfeel, if soft, feels naturally carbonated, with a velveteen head. Warming alcohol in the chest arises after about 4 oz.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Does the Emperor wear clothes? That was the question we (well, some of us...) asked as we opened the growler that JCapriotti brought to MrFacto’s ’Tosa tasting. I can state with confidence the Emperor does indeed wear clothes, though he is without the regal robes we thought he might possess. Deep murky brown body, thin/medium light cream head. Lots and lots of coffee in the aroma as well as chocolate, light touches of licorice, butterscotch, and the dull influence of oak and vanilla. Oak was definitely more evident in the flavor than it was in their barleywine, playing off the oily, silky body with its chocolate, coffee, and molasses. Salty and somewhat leathery. Light toasty notes peeked through the morass every now and then. Just a touch of dark fruit and a hint of vanilla. The woody flavors tended to dominate the innate beer nature, but the sum of the parts wasn’t complex enough to blow me away. Still, this was a treat to sample, and still definitely worth seeking out.