8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
[rating adjustment - the last few vintages of this (2004-05) have been far more dry, tart, and cider-like, with distinct white wine characteristics - they’ve been good, but hardly worth my previous rating of 4.8] This beer is bloody brilliant - I must go along with Uglyradio and say this is the best american-made belgian I’ve ever had - yeasty, grassy, spicy aroma....very inviting - excellent lacing on the glass - the flavor is spicy to start, with the anise quite present, but then a subdued, wonderful, birthday cake-like sweetness rolls onto the tongue, striking a perfect balance with the spice and slight citrus qualities - sweetness stays on in the finish, but doesn’t over stay its welcome...it slowly melts away, making you long for another sip - another outstanding beer from Southampton.
Tried
from Can
on 22 Jul 2003
at 17:56
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Orange-amber. Still. Vibrant colour. Aroma is long on malts, plus vanilla, peach, pear, and a bit of alcohol. Smooth palate. Again with the long malts, toasted notes, peaches, hint of caramel. Quite sweet, with a little heat (the alcohol comes off a bit like alligator pepper). Unique and stylish.
Tried
on 11 Jul 2003
at 19:59
8.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
The appearance is of a lightly hazy amber. Grapey, yeasty aroma. Slightly pithy, astringent bitterness. Some decent fruity flavours. Like the Stille Nacht Reserva, I had a tough time putting my finger on this beer. I just know I liked it…
Tried
on 11 Jul 2003
at 12:41
8.4/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Pale gold with a slight copper tint - musty, cellared aroma, with earthy notes, and a slight alcohol presence - flavor is tart up front, with some mellow fruit flavor and sweetness making an appearance, mostly white grapes - this makes way for a slight alcohol flavor, tiny malt presence, and lots of earthy, grainy, grassy flavors leading into the crisp, slightly peppery finish, along with the reappearance of a slight tartness - quite a bit of hops in the finish as well - this is clean and quenching - great for a warm spring or summer evening.
Tried
on 13 Jun 2003
at 18:45
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
2003, 7 oz. bottle #52 of 100 - considering the nature of this beer, the Samichlaus and WWS comparisons are unavoidable - this beer is better than them in some respect, but worse in others - it has low carbonation and zero head as one would expect from such a high alcohol beer - the aroma is full of cinnimon, maple, caramel, toffee, and a sinus destroying alcohol burn - these elements seem to come back in the flavor in various stages - it begins mildly sweet, slight toffee, then the alcohol swells up on the tongue, along with a cinnimon flavor that mixes with the alcohol well - after that there is a caramel and long lingering maltiness that comes in to remind you that you are drinking a bock - this is sweet, but not to a cloying extent like many beers with such high alcohol - the alcohol is heavy, but not overly astringent, making this very much like a dessert liquor - some brandyish elements are noticible - this did, however, come off as underdeveloped, but it was, of course, a very young bottle - I think with some aging and mellowing this could be great.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 May 2003
at 19:08
8.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
2003 - 12oz bottle number 128 of 500 - MMM, very complex, even for a barleywine - chocolate, roasted oats, cherries, raisins, brown sugar, molassas, and somehow they all work together - a little astrigent at first, but mellows as it warms - very impressive for such a young example - Southampton does it again.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Apr 2003
at 11:27
8.6/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
22oz bottle, at publick house. Sweet Jesus this is good stuff! Perfect appearance, nice lacing. Aroma of chocolate, toffee and some woodiness. Full, creamy mouthfeel. Flavors are of coffee, chocolate and caramel - they explode on the tongue - late roastiness and a tongue coating of malts - very stout-like - if you told me this was an Imperial Stout, I’d believe you. Hours after I’ve had it and I’m still burping up the flavors, esp. chocolate, how great is that?! [re-rate] they are now contract brewing and distributing this beer commercially, and I think the quality has suffered a bit, and they may have actually changed the recipe a bit - it’s a bit thinner now, with some vinous qualities, and a market cookie/pastry flavor - not as good as it once was, but still great
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Mar 2003
at 22:37
8.1/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
This is a mighty fine IPA from a mighty fine brewpub. Excellent lacing coats the glass and sticks to the sides like cement. Perfectly hopped, leaving a lingering, near perfect hop bitterness in the finish. My only complaint is that I think it should have had a bit more of a malt presence.
Tried
on 21 Mar 2003
at 22:34
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Cask, at publick house - Cask conditioning made this the most yeasty beer I've ever had, and I'm still not sure if that was a good thing. Nice clarity and head. A good amount of hops for a mere pale ale. This tasted like a liquid loaf of bread...literally, only with some hops thrown in.
Tried
from Cask
on 21 Mar 2003
at 22:30
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
This was a bit on the uneventful side. Penny/copper color, spices in the nose. Slight hops and slight maltiness...slight everything actually. A beer that didn't try hard enough to get my attention.
Tried
on 21 Mar 2003
at 22:26