7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle - 2006 vintage. Aromas are weak for a barley wine, but the oak comes through nicely. A little bit of a honey-like sweetness is detectable, as well as some bourbon notes. Color is a lovely coppery brown with a pretty minimal head. Flavor is OK, but nothing spectacular. It has a bit of a tart edge to it that I didn’t see coming and it is fairly distracting. Also, the oaky notes are not in harmony with the sweet qualities and the tart edges and the whole thing just kind of seems like a symphony without a director or score. This disjointedness seemed to decrease as it warmed and breathed a bit. Mouthfeel is thinner than most and doesn’t have that lovely sticky syrupiness that I associate with barley wines. A
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Nov 2007
at 20:10
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Growler from xmarcnolanx; Nose pretty hoppy with floral, pine, and a hint of vanilla; clear orange with a medium, long-lasting, glass-lacing off-white head; flavor of mild hop bitterness, with lots of caramel malts and a little hops for the finish.
Tried
from Growler
on 16 Nov 2007
at 21:16
6.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Courtesy of Degarth. Pours a hazy golden orange with off white head. The aroma seems funky on the surface. Its earthy, sugary, a tad malty along with mild floral hops. The taste is sweet with malts and then grainy and pale malts. The hops are spice and floral and really aren’t taking center stage. Sort of an English style IPA.
Tried
on 05 Nov 2007
at 23:49
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Sample at Schlafly Bottleworks. We’re just suckers for the hoppy stuff, ain’t we? Bracing grapefruit and pine smell. This sample was actually from a bottle, and a thick pour it is. Big load of PNW hops. Grapefruit and pine taste supplementment by earth and lemon, plus some ale fruitiness. Despite this description, not an IBU bomb, but a great balance with some fine crystal malts.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Nov 2007
at 10:18
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Draft 10 oz. glass at Schlafly Bottleworks. Truly a coffee beer! Black & heartless dark coffee smell. Tick this highly if you like your java. Black color, tan stout head with some lacing. Tastes for all the world like a fizzy espresso. Oatmeal cuts back on stout astringency to let coffee bitterness take center stage.
Tried
from Draft
on 02 Nov 2007
at 10:15
6.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Draft sample at Schlafly Bottleworks. Light pale ale color. Quick draft pour leaves a big head in my li’l glass. Nice dry taste. A sharp note English hops. Agreed, it’s hard to think of superlatives for what should be a mild style. This is just a decent beer, too strong for a session beer, but with some conversational bitterness.
Tried
from Draft
on 02 Nov 2007
at 09:59
5.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 8
Overall 5.5
Draft sample at Schlafly Bottleworks. Orange like the pumpkin ale. Definite maple smell. Maple taste and sweetness puts it a tad too far to the sugary side. Definitely well-made, but it just doesn’t seem to be my particular cup of syrup. Perhaps it could ferment out a little longer?
Tried
from Draft
on 02 Nov 2007
at 09:32
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Draft sample at Schlafly Bottleworks. Deep garnet body, with a bit of off-white foam. Coffee and toffee smell. A bit of Guinness sourness over oatmeal smoothness. Taste has brought out the sausage in my brunch frittata. Finishes with toffee sweetness and light cherry.
Tried
from Draft
on 02 Nov 2007
at 09:27
5.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6
Draft sample at Schlafly Bottleworks. Aieeee! Pumpkin beer time again! This one is darker than the usual pumpkin color. Just a small edge of foam. Pie spices pretty clear in the nose and in the taste. Some sweetness here that does indeed suggest roast pumpkin in evidence.
Tried
from Draft
on 02 Nov 2007
at 09:22
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
Draft sample at Schlafly Bottleworks. Thick orange haze with a nice skin of lacy foam. Smell of lemon and spices, some of which may be from advertised Tettnang hops. Also hides some mutant hefe yeast among its amber malt. Finish suggests allspice and coriander, but stays low in esters.
Tried
from Draft
on 02 Nov 2007
at 09:17