Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Regatta Golden from Cambridge Brewing Company 21 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
2004 draught @ the brewery. Light golden, orange tinges, small white head, mostly clear. Aroma of hay, grass clippings, and a touch of hops on the end. Flavor starts out crisp, lightly bitter and has a good malt graininess. Finish has plenty of spicy hops and then it ends cleanly and quickly. Not much wateriness, and relative to the style, this is a big golden ale. Not too sweet, which was very enjoyable, and also not too bitter. Didnt find this bland in the least bit and quite the contrary it was perfectly refreshing and drinkable. Moderate, but not stinging, carbonation, medium-light body.
Update.
After drinking this stuff at almost every visit, it rarely disappoints with a bad batch. I have a little diacetyl in it, from time to time, but never is it not drinkable and satisfying. Also, if you get it right after it’s just been brewed, it’s nearly divine, with tons of fresh hop character, crisp, fresh malts and a beautiful, delicate yeast character. Really, really good stuff. I’d say on average it’s about a 3.6 or 3.7, but when at it’s peak, it’s easily a 4.4 or 4.5
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Tripel Threat from Cambridge Brewing Company 21 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5
2004 draught @ Redbones. Good rusty yellowish-orange, light haziness with no head. Aroma of peaches, oranges, sweet malt (almost caramelly) with a dry dusty yeast and alcohol. Don’t notice the oak in the nose, but it sure is apparent on the finish. It starts out big and pulpy, like plenty of fresh peaches, apricots and bananas mixed together with some strong belgian yeast. Sharp notes of alcohol and a bit of sourness as well from the yeast. It’s going well and then you get a big shot of oak on the finish, which I am not a big fan of in trippels. Allow me to elaborate. As this beer starts sweet up front you get accustomed to a nice amount of malt. Then it takes it away from you and dries out immensely. It’s not the drying out that bothers me, it’s the fact that oak is a strong flavor for a delicate style. It gives it a harsh tone, with very sharp and powerfully dominant notes. I will give them credit for only giving it enough oak to show up on the finish; that alone wouldnt be a problem, I suppose, just not my thing. But then, after the oak, is an intense sour, sharp and hugely alcoholic flavor which makes me cringe and shudder. WAY Too much alcohol apparency coming right after the powerfully dry oak. Having said all that, the Dulle Teve Reserva should be very interesting. . . . .
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Benevolence from Cambridge Brewing Company 21 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
2004 draught @ Cambridge Brewery. Dark magenta tones swirl throughout a murky brown body with dark blacks and a creamy yellow-tan head. Aroma is yeast, yeast, yeast. It’s got alcohol, prunes, figs, musty old wood, dry vinous notes and raisins. What is this stuff reminding me of???? I had to sit there and smell it for a while but then it hit me, this stuff smells almost exactly like Kuhnhenn Fourth Dementia Old Ale! Which is great. It’s full, pungent and wonderful. Flavor is a mix of sour fruits, dry wood, vanilla, sherry and dark malts. Finish has a big vinousness, a bit of bitter dark chocolate. The complexity is astounding. Wonderfully made stuff, though admittedly not as Belgian tasting as I would expect. More like a baltic porter mixed with a really strong English Old Ale and then aged on wood. Body is not thick and syrupy and though the flavor is full, it is much more loose than I expected.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Ninkasi from Cambridge Brewing Company 21 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
2004 draught @ the brewery. This is the most drab grey beer I’ve ever seen. In fact, I dont think I’ve ever seen a grayish beer before. No head, transluscent. Aroma of dry plums?sweet herbs? Rye in there too, maybe, something like that anyways. Has a peculiar sweet grainy, very fibrous smell akin to only what I can call, warm bran muffins. . . . Moving on. Flavor is lightly sweet, a touch of honey and molasses flavors with the faintest bit of figs, dates, or light prunes. Slightly dry, almost tobacco-like finish. Medium body, but a good deal of water in the flavor too. Light, tingly carbonation, no bitterness (probably because there are no hops). VERY UNIQUE. I love what Will is doing with all of these traditional ales. It’s very enjoyable to try something unlike anything you’ve tried.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
2004 draught@BBF. Pours a typical belgian golden ale color (sparkling light golden, with some darker yellow tinges), white head. Aroma of pungent spices, seems like mint, coriander, and also a light berry note. Flavor is full of sweetness, mixed with abundant spicing and a big belgian yeast finish. Very strong sweet malt as the backbone, with little to no hops character. Alcohol well concealed. All around good stuff, but it’s funny, nothing really jumps out at me to call this beer spectacular. Maybe a bit too much spicing. Would age well I bet. Rerate 2004 draught @ the brewery. Too clear and pale an appearance for my liking, knocking appearance down a point. Aroma seems the same, but the through the body, and especially on the finish, there is a bit of sourness, that is unpleasant, it’s not sour yeast, but it’s more a sour/bitter alcohol/spoiled milk flavor that is just slightly present. A bit too much on the tart berry flavors as well. Good mouthfeel and body though.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Amber from Cambridge Brewing Company 21 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5
2004 draught @ the brewery. Amber appearance, white head, wavy appearance. Aroma of grain, very sweet malt, dusty earthiness. Flavor is pretty light and restrained, low if any hops apparency, honey, nuts, more honey and a hint of fruitiness on the end. Good smooth texture. Pleasant, easy drinking amber, but the flavor is not up to par with some of the better ambers I’ve had.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Red God IPA from Cambridge Brewing Company 21 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
2004 draught @ the brewery. Deep red with light brown and yellow tinges, light chill haze with a big yellow head. Aroma is faint but has lightly sweet caramel malt and a touch of spicy floral hops. This year’s release is a double IPA coming in at 8% abv and just tasting all around more hoppy, fuller bodied and more malty than a regular IPA. Flavor is sticky, sweet, bitter and spicy all rolled in to one. The hops are bitter but not unbalanced due to the huge caramel presence. Creamy, smooth, luxurious body, with low carbonation really adds to the big rich effect. Honey, toffee and nutty sweetness on the finish, with a fruity hops appeal and almost a candied/spice flavor. Not just malt, hops and a quick finish, but a lovely complexity of flavors on the end. Seems like a holiday brew, with lots of candied citrus and slight syrupy pine. What I suspect Yulesmith would taste like, if you toned down the hops (they’re both a double red holiday sort of ale). This one may be just a bit too sweet, caramelly and rich/creamy for my liking. Would actually benefit from more hops.
June 2005 draught at the brewery. As I said in my previous review, some more hops would do it good, and this year, they followed through on that! Quite dry and bitter now, with still a good caramel malt backbone, but not quite as flavorful. I really like the creamy, sticky caramel and just wanted more hops bitterness and flavor. This one certainly has the bitterness and drying balance, but seems to have stepped down a notch with the creamy, rich caramel body. Or maybe I’m just too damned picky . . .
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
2004 draught @ the brewery.
Great appearance, medium dark brown (earthy and rusty) with some lighter yellow and gold tinges throughout. Lightly effervescent and has a small off-white head on it.
Aroma is wonderfully herbal, lots of licorice and rosemary in the nose. Hints of malty sweetness.
Flavor begins with a mix of darker malty sweetness, and plenty of herbs. Spicy and varied, it’s quite enjoyable to try to pin down the different herbs used. Some astringency is immediately noticeable. Lightly watery on the finish, but has enough malt to hold up to the drying effect of the herbs. Medium bodied. The spices sit with you on the aftertaste, like a licorice/mint concoction that sticks to your palate. As this beer warmed, the flavors came forth better and it seemed to mix together better as well.
2006 draught July/August at the brewpub.
The nose carries a very strong licorice-like scent, heavy and almost astringent, were it not for the syrupy sweet caramel-chocolate sugars behind it. Not elegant as it was last batch.
If the aroma suggests problems, the flavor is just teeming with them. Syrupy, sweet, underattenuated sugars clog the palate, also due to undercarbonation. Spicing is overdone and rather crude, bombarding you with licorice-like notes again, and bitter root-like flavors/herbs. Don’t get much of the rosemary, unfortunately, as I think that is an important aspect. Poor head retention to-boot and just a mess. 6/2/5/2/8. Rating is an average of the two.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
2004 draught @ the brewery. Typical amber colored APA, with small white head. Aroma is a mix of sweet malt and lightly fruity, lightly floral hops. Flavor adds a good amount of bitterness, but there is still a fresh fruity hop bouquet adding to the malt. Quite a sweet malt backbone, which isnt a bad thing. Good hops flavor, but could actually benefit from more bitterness or less sweetness. Smooth palate, medium to medium full body.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
2004 draught @ the brewery. My thoughts are near motelpogo’s on this one. Solid and pretty good, if somewhat unoriginal and uninspiring. But hey, at least it’s drinkable. Toffee, some dark rooty/licorice and definitely a good dose of roasty/coffee flavored black malt. Dark brownish black, transluscent with a small light beige head. Lightly sweet, toasted malt and coffee nose. Medium to medium full body. Body lacks any real chewiness however and seems overly dry and a bit thin on the end as it warms.