6.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
Winter 2002/2003 Bottle: Dark ruby/amber with a medium light beige head. Aroma is lightly spiced and malty. Flavor is not as spicy as many holiday brews. This brew is mostly on the malt side with some hops and spice, but neither in great quantity. On the scale of most holiday brews I have tried this is on the mild side but it was better than average.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Feb 2003
at 07:56
5.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 3
Texture 4
Overall 4
Dark copper in colour, slightly off-white head. Very floral smell with some detectable pepper. Nothing in the taste at all. Very band contrary to the smell. This must have something to do with Stoudt's....their beer seems very bland. Too bad that the beer doesn't taste as good as it looks and smells!
Tried
on 19 Jan 2003
at 18:53
5.1/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
2004 Batch at new bottling line:
Amber coloured body with light red highlights and a frothy, large bubbled tan head. Aroma of raisins, figs, hops, malt, caramel and toffee. Strong caramel and malt flavour up front showing off a lot of hops. Medium-bodied; Strong lingering hoppiness with a good pit fruit background and a pleasant malt overture. Aftertaste leaves nothing behind, the hops, sugars and malt come out to play. Overall, better than the first batch I had, but still not versatile and complex enough to be an excellent seasonal. Rating for this sample: 7,2,7,3,13
2002 Batch:
Brown in colour, standard ’aley’ smell! No depth to the taste...and no aftertaste! Rating for this sample: 3,2,4,2,7
Amber coloured body with light red highlights and a frothy, large bubbled tan head. Aroma of raisins, figs, hops, malt, caramel and toffee. Strong caramel and malt flavour up front showing off a lot of hops. Medium-bodied; Strong lingering hoppiness with a good pit fruit background and a pleasant malt overture. Aftertaste leaves nothing behind, the hops, sugars and malt come out to play. Overall, better than the first batch I had, but still not versatile and complex enough to be an excellent seasonal. Rating for this sample: 7,2,7,3,13
2002 Batch:
Brown in colour, standard ’aley’ smell! No depth to the taste...and no aftertaste! Rating for this sample: 3,2,4,2,7
Tried
on 10 Jan 2003
at 18:56
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Orangey brown in colour, fruity-hoppy smell. Great flavourful beer...smooth at the finish, but hoppy in the beginning. A very well done lighter pale ale, but definately one to enjoy drinking! This is the second time i've sampled this beer, from a different source and a location about 400 miles difference. The beer was almost the same taste both times (which is a good thing!).
Tried
on 10 Jan 2003
at 18:54
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Pretty amber color with a thin off-white head and minimal lace. Mildly bitter aroma. Not as bitter as some but does have a nicely sweet malt presence. An interesting ESB to say the least.
Tried
on 08 Dec 2002
at 12:50
8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
A very nice IPA. Aroma was strong of fresh hops: citric, piney/resiny and spicy. Flavor was well-balanced with a full malt presence, deep and dark, with a complex hop profile: mainly spicy and resiny. Finish was near-puckering bitter. Outstanding creamy mouthfeel. Dark amber color, with a large creamy thick head, and heavy lacing. A beer that demands to be drunk at around 55-60 deg F. Bottle was only about a month old (August 2002 vintage dating) when sampled - amazingly fresh.
Earlier Rating: 12/14/2000 Total Score: 4.5
From a brewery that specializes in excellent German lagers, they sure know how to make an IPA. I don't know for sure what hops they used, but this beer has a whopping nose of fresh Fuggles hops (I just happened to have an unused portion of Fuggles in my fridge, and the aroma is identical). I assume this beer must be almost 1 year old by now, but the hop aroma says nothing but fresh hops. (vintage date: 2000 Cuvee 2 0817) personally - I find it somewhat funny they used the term vintage on the bottle, since thats a vintner's term. The hop flavor is intense and the same as the aroma. Full malty body balances it out, but still a good choice for hophead geeks. It comes in 765mL bottles, and while it is drinkable enough to finish that much alone, it sure leaves you feeling it. whew
Earlier Rating: 12/14/2000 Total Score: 4.5
From a brewery that specializes in excellent German lagers, they sure know how to make an IPA. I don't know for sure what hops they used, but this beer has a whopping nose of fresh Fuggles hops (I just happened to have an unused portion of Fuggles in my fridge, and the aroma is identical). I assume this beer must be almost 1 year old by now, but the hop aroma says nothing but fresh hops. (vintage date: 2000 Cuvee 2 0817) personally - I find it somewhat funny they used the term vintage on the bottle, since thats a vintner's term. The hop flavor is intense and the same as the aroma. Full malty body balances it out, but still a good choice for hophead geeks. It comes in 765mL bottles, and while it is drinkable enough to finish that much alone, it sure leaves you feeling it. whew
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Sep 2002
at 08:55
8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 10
Texture 10
Overall 9
(Reworded review, but not changed) The U.S. needs more lagers like this (very much in the Munich Helles style). I was amazed I was drinking a lager - thats a bit of an exaggeration but here's why - its so complex! A soft tingling of hops, and gentle ale-fruit flavors were almost noticeable. Maltiness was soft and sweet. In all other respects its a world-class lager: bright golden color and light but lasting head, clean refreshing flavor and beery aroma. An outstanding alternative to any American Standard, if thats what you like.
Tried
from Can
on 12 Sep 2002
at 08:21
7.5/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Vintage Jun 2002: Big, big bottle, and like the Pale I like the cool label. Dark mahogany color and a medium milk chocolate brown head. Some lacing was also evident. Strong roasted coffee/chocolate aroma. Flavor was rich in coffee and malt with a chocolatey finish. There was a slightly metallic, tinny aftertaste that I think was a result of the stout being bottle-conditioned, but who knows. I think a stronger hops presence may have helped in that regard. It made the beer seem thinner than it should have, but overall this is a good Stout.
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Sep 2002
at 07:53
6.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Got a HUGE bottle of this which necessitated getting out my Gordon Biersch 'viking mug'. Amber colored with a rather thick head and some lacing was evident. Light hops in the aroma but nothing very aggressive. Flavor was a little light on the hops too but not too bad, and was slightly sweet in the finish. Cool patriotic label.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Aug 2002
at 15:52
8.5/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 8
Mahogany coloured. Nutty aroma with notes of camembert cheese. Malty, rather sweet and complex with soft mouthfeel. Nice toffee flavour. A full flavoured, but dangerously drinkable abbey double. Thanks jca_lbi for sending me this and many other excellent beers!!
Tried
on 23 Apr 2002
at 10:24