7.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Bottle. 2005 vintage. Amber beer with no head. Apple, sweet malt, and oak aroma. Rich flavor with malt, brown sugar, light fruit (apple), dates, and molasses. Alcohol warming. Rich and full bodied. Very satisfying. Finishes warm with some apple.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Aug 2006
at 14:50
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
I’m a huge Lagavulin fan so when I saw this beer at Knightly it was a no brainer. Brewed in 2004. Murky-cloudy amber color. Coaxed out off white head. Nice lacing. Huge sweet fruity (cherries and dates) Barleywine like nose. I can also smell the peat and smokiness from the Lagavulin casks. There is also some hoppiness. My sight and smell senses are telling me this is going to be one full flavored aggressive tasting beer. Just what I like. OK. The taste. Instantly I get hit by the fruit sweetness and in lesser amounts I taste the peat, vanilla, smokiness and then some slight hop notes. Then midway this beer evens out into silky smoothness and finishes very light as compared to how it started. Sure that was only the first sip. As the experience progressed the fruit flavors become more apparent. I taste cherries, plum and dates. This beer is very much like Avery’s Samael except for the added peatiness. Excellent tasting beer that leaves a lingering smoky peaty flavor behind. A bit too sweet for my taste. Might need another year or two to peak.
Tried
from Can
on 11 Aug 2006
at 21:51
6.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
(Cask at Rain Bar, Manchester, 28 July) Colour is amber/orange with off-white head. Nose is fruity with notes of mandarin, canned apricots and some dusty hops. Taste is malty and nutty (almond, walnut?) with notes of orange. Some sweetness. Moderate bitterness and some dusty hops in the finish. Well balanced and ok, but on the dull side.
Tried
from Cask
on 09 Aug 2006
at 12:16
4.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 3
Flavor 3
Texture 6
Overall 4
Bottle 0,5l. Pale golden (lager) colour. A white good-looking head. A balanced beer without distinction. Quite dull, actually. Some fruity notes.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Jul 2006
at 12:43
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Cask handpump at the Hobgoblin, Cowley Rd, Oxford Sat 3rd June. I thought this was a really good summer beer, Golden in colour, aroma a touch sweet but some floral notes and a very decent taste much better than I expected to be honest, some hops some malt. my one criticism was that it was slightly over sweet but that didn’t spoil what was otherwise a corking beer.
Tried
from Cask
on 06 Jun 2006
at 15:19
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
On tap at Capital Ale House - Innsbrook on 08/30/2008. Mostly clear dark amber body with a small white head and thick legs. Huge raisin aroma, some molassas, caramel and rum soaked fruit. Big sweet flavor, lots of raisin, caramel, molassas. Full body with nearly no carbonation and a huge sticky sweet finish. 8/4/8/3/16 - 3.9 Bottle on 06/05/2006. Clear amber, almost orange color with a thin frothy head. Sweet caramel aroma with some hints of raisins and butterscotch. Strong raisin flavor with some butterscotch and light caramel.
Tried
from Draft
on 05 Jun 2006
at 20:58
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Bottle Pours a deep amber with very little head and traces of lacing. Nice full sweet malty aroma like the other harvest ales. Very think and syrupy like the others as well. Nive deep full flavors of caramel, nutty brown sugar. Hard to get past the sweetness.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 May 2006
at 23:42
7.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle Poured a slightly hazy deep amber with a small head and only slight lacing. Similar heavy deep malty sweetness as its other Harves brethren. Lots of brown sugar and caramel sweetness and a nice alcohol warming feel that make you want to just sip it. Thanks to Chad for this one.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 May 2006
at 23:39
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle Pours a deep clear amber. Very viscous and heavy. Small traces of lacing. Very rich heavy sweet carmel and brown sugar flavors. The Calvados is I suppose what I sence in a bitter woody hint. The ABV is apparent but is complemented by the bold up front sweet maltiness. Nice flavors but a bit over the top for me.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 May 2006
at 23:35
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
3 year anniversary and 200th rating. Blind vertical of vintages 1998, 2001, 2002.
2001 dark copper, lots of sediment, slightly translucent at the bottom. Very strong malt aroma as well as baked cookies/burnt brownies. Taste is very sweet and very malty. A very rich beer with a heavy body. No bitterness.
2002 same color, aroma just a bit more subdued. Every aspect is just a bit more subdued. Leaves less aftertaste and a bit less complex.
1998 a bit darker/a bit less translucent. Similar aroma, body a bit lighter. A bit more alcohol in the taste and a bit more oily mouthfeel.
Overall all the vintages were pretty much that same. That pasteurization really does the trick. All beer was split in two and poured into small pilsner tasting glasses.
Rerate: 6/14/06 - small sample of a 1989 bottle. The biggest thing to pass on this is the body just went to crap. it became watery and weak. Really lost its malt appeal as well.
7/12/06 - Rerate again, 1988 bottle. Had the whole bottle not a small sample like the 89. Better actually, the aroma was freaking amazing, chocolate dominated with alcohol presence and licorice. The body again was weaker than I like, with some oxidation present. But did age better than I expected.
Rerate: 5/21/10, 1998 bottle, that is 12 years old. Not as good as the even older batches but it seems this beer gets better with age. Somehow less sweet, not sure if the oxidation changes the sweetness a bit but its just gets less sweet and a bit more drinkable.
Final though: So it still seems with over 15 years this beer is best.
2001 dark copper, lots of sediment, slightly translucent at the bottom. Very strong malt aroma as well as baked cookies/burnt brownies. Taste is very sweet and very malty. A very rich beer with a heavy body. No bitterness.
2002 same color, aroma just a bit more subdued. Every aspect is just a bit more subdued. Leaves less aftertaste and a bit less complex.
1998 a bit darker/a bit less translucent. Similar aroma, body a bit lighter. A bit more alcohol in the taste and a bit more oily mouthfeel.
Overall all the vintages were pretty much that same. That pasteurization really does the trick. All beer was split in two and poured into small pilsner tasting glasses.
Rerate: 6/14/06 - small sample of a 1989 bottle. The biggest thing to pass on this is the body just went to crap. it became watery and weak. Really lost its malt appeal as well.
7/12/06 - Rerate again, 1988 bottle. Had the whole bottle not a small sample like the 89. Better actually, the aroma was freaking amazing, chocolate dominated with alcohol presence and licorice. The body again was weaker than I like, with some oxidation present. But did age better than I expected.
Rerate: 5/21/10, 1998 bottle, that is 12 years old. Not as good as the even older batches but it seems this beer gets better with age. Somehow less sweet, not sure if the oxidation changes the sweetness a bit but its just gets less sweet and a bit more drinkable.
Final though: So it still seems with over 15 years this beer is best.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 May 2006
at 09:45