7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6.5
Texture 7
Overall 7
Medium brown colour, not much head. Smells sort of gloppy, bubblegum, light smoke. On the palate, the same. The smoke is nice, but it is basically fighting against the somewhat sloppy execution of the base. It finishes a bit tart, too.
Now, I'll say this. Tartness in the finish and questionable execution is absolutely par for the course if you're being honest about historical representation. There would have been a tavern brewing adambier on every block in town, and lord knows they would have been variable.
BUT.
The first time I had Adambier from HotD, that was batch 8 in the mid-90s at Archer Ale House in Bellingham, one of the all-time great old money beer bars. It was afternoon and I was playing darts in the back. That was one of my peak, formative beer experiences. That's what this beer is up against.