6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Very dark brown. Straightforward porter – toast, coffee, molasses…a tad wet body. Decent malt development but not nearly as interesting as other historical re-creations like Flag Porter.
Tried
on 11 Jul 2003
at 12:39
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 6.5
Very dark brown. Creamy roast aroma - quite nutty, with light toast. Body borders on being too thin, which combined with overprickly carbonation and lack of head makes me wonder if the bottle conditioning was such a good idea. Roast barley acidity starts off, leading to a bitter middle - more toast than nut. Finish is quite dry, a little butter note and the everpresent nuts. Lingering roast but still seems thin.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 May 2003
at 20:43
6.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Thanks to dberger624 for sending me this. Blurry amber color with a thin off-white head. Very thin lacing. Mostly hops aroma with some malt. Flavor consists of hops, citrus and some malt. Actually there was more malt in the flavor than in any IPA in recent memory. It didn't hurt the flavor at all though, and actually made the finish more subdued than in most IPAs. The jury is out as to whether that makes it more complex or more boring. Maybe both. Either way this was decent.
Tried
on 09 Feb 2003
at 20:23
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Thanks to dberger624 for this fine ESB. This one has all of the good attributes any decent ESB should have. Pours a rich amber color with a somewhat foamy off-white head. Thin lacing. Sharp hops aroma. Nicely austere flavor that is both crisp and gratifying. Bitterness is not too harsh but it is definitely there. More complex that a lot of ESBs and I appreciated that.
Tried
on 09 Feb 2003
at 20:17
7.6/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Thanks to urbnhautebourg for providing this beer. I tried it after Victory Storm King, and while not on the same level it was still a decent brew. Pours a deep dark brown with a medium dark beige head. Earthy coffee/chocolate aroma. Not sure what oysters brought to the table but I am always for something different. Had a bottle-conditioned texture, with coffee, chocolate and prunes (?) in the flavor. Rather sharp finish. Not too bad.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Nov 2002
at 20:51
8.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Dark amber w/a finger of foam; Aromatic elements: currants, nutmeg, flowers, caramel apples, hops - northdowns maybe?); similar palate, great yeast notes; complex, flavourful, lovely stuff.
Tried
on 16 Mar 2002
at 12:08
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
While rather uneventful under normal conditions, Yards Saison improves BIG TIME after a year in the cellar. So much complexity, yeastiness, peppery-malty flavours and barnyardy acidity, it's hard to believe that it's the same beer. Give it a year and see what I'm talking about.
Tried
on 09 Jun 2001
at 23:48
7.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Basically a light barleywine. I was lucky to taste a 2 year old (1999 version) keg of it - and its held up nicely. Alot of malt, of course, but its heavily hopped enough to keep it balanced. Very smooth.
Tried
on 14 Apr 2001
at 22:40
7.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Definitely funky in a Belgian way. Has plenty of the malt sweetness of a dubbel, yet without the complexity of the best ones. It also has the dry finish, spiciness, and strength of a tripel.
Tried
on 02 Apr 2001
at 20:14
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Not what I expected. Not sure what flavor elements the oysters add, but this is nicely sweet, strong and full flavored and exceptionally smooth going down.
Tried
on 31 Mar 2001
at 23:27