Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
I have had this beer a couple of times. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer pours a ruby-mahogany color with a very large tan head. The aroma is sweet and tangy with a hint of orange. The flavor is tangy and has a decent dark malty presence and a chocolate undertone. The finish is a bit on the bitter side.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
On draught at NEBF 10/29/2005. Pours a deep caramel-auburn colored body with deep earthy brown tones. Head is small and beige, rapidly disappearing, with light lacing left behind. Clarity is quite murky. Aroma has lots of earthy malt tones, with a dry roastedness and plenty of toffee. Not too sweet, in all, with a fair amount of yeast apparency of the brewery found in most of their beers. Light hops, but not citrusy or off-style. Gives a dry floral note. Some dry fruits (cherries, raisins and dates), but very faint. Lots of dry brown bread notes. Flavor is somewhat more malty sweet than the aroma would indicate, with a fair sweet caramel presence. Moderate roastiness dries it out, while there is an easygoing but noticeable hoppiness. Dry and bready on the end, with some dirty or earthy yeast notes that are pleasant. A real nice example of the style. No alcohol apparency. Mouthfeel is bready but has enough malt body to keep my interest all the way through. Not immensely complex, but well-done.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
[At RBSG 2005] An opaque brown beer with a small brown head. The aroma is sweet chocolaty with slight hints of alcohol. While the flavor is sweet roasted with notes of chocolate and coffee, leading to a very dry end.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
2005 bottle drank 8/20/2005. Pours a dull/drab olive-brown with some deep chartreuse tinges, giving it a slight orange tint in the sunlight. Bottle conditioned, with plenty of sediment, leading to a fluffy, light beige colored head, well-retained and providing plenty of lacing. Aroma is dry nutty, earthy dull notes, with musty yeast, milky chocolate like notes, lightly roasted grains, toasted brown bread and a touch of something lightly sour/astringent. Flavor is lightly woody, nutty, very dry raisins and a mix of milk and brown bread again. Medium body, with plenty of carbonation and not as much malt sweetness as I think it needs. Though it’s always better to go less sweet than too sweet. Dry brown sugar and plenty of yeasty, moderately sour notes. I really despise Northern Brown ales, but this one is well-done. Hops are not terribly flavorful, not very bitter either. Just sort of there. Nutty and rather dull. Drinkable though, and as the carbonation recedes, it feels pleasant and substantial on the palate.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
On draught at the brewery, 8/14/2005. Golden-amber-yellow with a white head that recedes to ring. Rather filtered and very clear. Smells of wheat, hay-like hoppiness, some floral notes. Orange-tea with honey. Flavor is warm biscuits and honey, fairly gritty/chewy wheatiness. Bready/doughy as well with a fairly strong yeastiness on the end. Dry, slight astringency in the middle with only a touch of caramel. Moderate carbonation, large bubbles. Light, farmy hops add a touch of bitterness on the end. Cornbread and milkiness from the malted wheat. Medium-light body.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
On draught, 8/14/2005 at the brewery. Chestnut-auburn with a deep yellowish-cream colored head that quickly recedes to a ring, but leaves a smattering of film on top. Yeasty and quite bitter/dry in the nose, but I don’t taste the smoke (which is odd, because it was quite apparent when they were giving samples of the peat-smoked malt they were supposedly using in it). Lots of lacing, and a good unfiltered appearance. I thought fuggles, but I see it’s northdown. Smells lightly sugary, worty you might say. Flavor begins with leafy, funky and quite bitter hops. Tons of lacing on the glass, as well. Toasty malt, no smokiness. Moderate carbonation. Acidic, bitter hops mix with the worty flavor. Gets rather sweet as it warms, maple syrup and caramel notes with a lingering bitterness. Retronasal is leafy, green, bitter, earthy hops. Low on the crystal malt, at least that does not dominate the malt profile. Having a bottle of this just recently, it just gets a little too one-sided with the hops. All of the dark, bitter, dry, acidic flavors need a bit more sweetness (so maybe some more crystal malt would be good afterall). Dry, resinous, oily mouthfeel. A well-made beer though, all told.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
2005 bottle consumed on 7/1/2005 with SuIIy. Deep pencil yellow/candied pineapple colored body. Thick and cloudy looking, completely opaque and unfiltered. Fizzy white head recedes quickly to ring, but tons of lacing is left on the glass. Aroma is full on ginger. Not a lot gets around the ginger, though the ginger smells fresh and juicy. Flavor of ginger and vanilla, up front, with a bit of wheat sour/dryness. Light banana chips notes. Low carbonation, lazy bubbles burst forth on to the surface and pleasure the tongue quite nicely. Some candied pineapple flavor on the end, sort of a mix of the ginger and sweet malt. Touches of sourness on the finish, as well. The mouthfeel is quite interesting, with a chewy or perhaps, gummy sort of texture. Well-malted, with ginger and vanilla beans lingering on.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
2005 bottle consumed 6/22/2005. Copper, hickory, glowing ruby-auburn layers. Mostly clear, though there is a coating of sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Thin, off-white head recedes to ring, with light lacing in small patches. Smells of coffee grinds foremost, lightly roasty and dry. Hazelnuts, walnuts, dirty carpet. Tastes like some severely hard mineral water, soily, leafy forest floor. Dry grains, very biscuity, with notes of hard pretzels, yeasty sourdough bread, nice and raw yeastiness. Even mouthfeel with natural carbonation. As it warms you get a little bit of light caramel/chocolate sweetness. Medium body, taste replicates a cask brown ale quite nicely, I think. No off-notes, a bit dry, but it’s not quite astringent. Definitely could drink a 6 pack of this in no time.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
2005 bomber from Downeast Beverage shared with Muzzlehatch on 5/22/2005 at the "Crappy Maine beers plust two random Belgians and a Cider" tasting. Dark chocolate brown, light fuscia hints on the edges when held to the light. Tons of sediment in the bottle, highly unfiltered. Tan head is initially medium-sized but recedes rather quickly to cover then nothing. Coating is left behind by the viscous liquid. Aroma of sweet prunes covered in chocolate, fresh roasted barley and plenty of java notes. Bit of vinousness, with more fat sweet malt sugars. Flavor is a mix of moderate roastiness and sweet chocolate to start, and being quite flavorful if perhaps somewhat overhyped, the beer could really go either way from the first notes that hit the palate. Fortunately, a substantial, thick, chewy malt providing a full body and unfiltered, chewy mouthfeel allow the flavors to seemlessly roll together in the mouth and some notes of soy and smoke, raisins and molasses all jump in to the mix. Quite rich and drinkable it is, and even more so for a style which can, at times, be watery and very cookie-cutter-like. Bit of thinning on the end, but it is minor. Some vinousness and bits of oily roast linger, giving way to the bittersweet baker’s chocolate seen throughout. High score from me because it is relative to style. This is still no Allagash, IMHO.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
This is the first time that I have ever encountered this beer or this brewer. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer pours a caramel color with a medium sized tan head. The aroma is strong with real blueberry scent. The flavor is strong with real blueberry notes and a moderate underlying malt presence. The beer gives you a real nice fruit flavor while avoiding being too sweet. There is a light brown sugar flavor in the finish.