On draught, 9/10/2005 at Sunset Grille. Pours a lovely, highly unfiltered, drab to olive brown, with slight hints of dark beige and copper and a substantial, well-retained, foamy white head with plenty of lacing. The aroma is fresh, hoppy and green. Yep, it’s a harvest ale. Light grains, unpasteurized nature brings forth the yeast, musty, soily and fresh. I live for Ipswich beers, I must admit. Flavor is very bitter up front, light floral notes, bits of very dry grapefruit, but no resin/pine or fuelic hops, no high alcohol. All the fresh hops of a Double IPA without the syrupy, sweet caramel and overboard hops acidity. Nutty, dry, more soily, earthy notes, a grainy, substantial, unfiltered mouthfeel, plenty of yeastiness and a light, biscuity malt finish, low sweetness. Hops linger long and are very flavorful. Not as much body as I would like, as it’s still a bit too unbalanced towards the hoppy side of the spectrum, but it’s refreshingly bitter and dry and probably a treat for someone who enjoys hops more than me. Yum.

Deep amber color with a bit of haze under a thick, dense, off-white head that rises high into the top of the glass. Some orange citrus hop int he nose, but the thick head is really blocking the aromas on this! The flavor starts with a fruity apple sweetness with the bittering of hops coming in quickly behind. Well blanced with a good body. Well done and a very respectable IPA.

2004 bottle. Pours a lightly hazed, yet still bright-golden-yellow body, with a large, foamy white head and plenty of lacing as it slowly recedes. Aroma of grassy, soily hops, with some light lemons and nectarines. Hints of pils malt and white bread dough. Flavor explodes with a full malt body, sweet and lasting on the palate. Lightly zesty hops add good balance, while there are notes of light citrus, vanilla and lemon-merengue pie. No wateriness in this, whatsoever and has a strong medium body, with a lightly creamy mouthfeel. As it warms, yeast notes, lightly musty/sweaty are apparent and add a good amount of complexity. I love when American beers have clear signs of unpasteurisation.

2004 bottle. Seems odd to me that this one is rated a full half point higher than the blonde, which appeared a much better beer, IMO. Pour is fantastic though, as usual from Mercury. Deep copper-auburn color, low filtration, unpasteurised with a large off-white, creamy head that lasts and laces. Lots of caramel and diacetyl in the nose, with hints of spiced holiday bread (that’s rather vague, I know). An old, soft, floral hoppiness is lightly present in the nose, as well. Flavor begins with a large amount of buttercream, some light toffee and brown bread dough. Hints of English hops give a moderate bitterness but then the diacetyl-like buttercream flavors make an encore on the finish. Lightly creamy body and though the commercial description claims this as an ESB, after drinking it, it has such a low bitterness that I would have to agree with the bitter classification. A little bit more body than most bottled English bitters, but a well-done if somewhat "too-much-diacetyl-for-my-tastes" effect.

Dark brown body, big puffy brown head. Rich predominantly chocolate aroma with roasted malts and a touch of coffee. Stronger roast comes through in the flavor in addition to chocolate and coffee, the overall effect giving the beer a creamy middle before subsiding to a long, notable bitter finish. Quite enjoyable. Thanks Tom (OldGrowth)!

Hazy orange body, medium cream/off-white head. Tangy, bready aroma with a touch of caramel in addition to grassy, earthy hops. Big bready/yeasty flavor with grassy hops and a hint of caramel. Yeah, pretty much what I expected from the aroma. Medium-bodied. This was a good beer, but not too different from many others of this style that don’t rate as highly. Thanks Tom (OldGrowth) for the bottle!

On draught at Redbones, Feb/Mar 2005. Chestnut brown/auburn colored body with a light beige head, lasting retention. Lightly transluscent in the glass, as are most of this brewery’s beers. It’s been a while since I’ve had a Mercury beer on draught and this was a treat. Aroma was a bit light, but there was some barley and toasted malt. Quite grainy. Unpasteurised and unfiltered, I’ve always enjoyed the mouthfeel of their beers. This one has a low carbonation, just enough for a refreshing lager, with a good yeast bite on the finish. Lightly metallic/earthy flavors are not out of place for the style, and there is ample toasted malt flavor playing with lightly dry hops. No out of place citrusy hops, almost a creamy consistency as it warms. Lightly chewy texture and a medium body, with low attenuation relative to the style. Perhaps more alt-like than vienna-like.

2004 bottle. Deep, dark brown appearance, with a huge tan head, creamy and lasting. Filtered. Aroma of rich espresso, dark chocolate, rich cream and ground up coffee beans. Ligth hints of hops in there as well. Flavor is thick dark chocolate, black coffee with a dab of cream. Roasty and nutty with light citric hops lingering in the background. Velvety, silky body with the consistency of chocolate milk. Lightly oily on the finish. Medium-full body, luxuriously rich coffee and chocolate linger on the palate. I really like the use of hops here. Just ever so slightly present. Little to no astringency from the roast, which is impressive. No alcohol apparent. This was my breakfast saturday morning.

With this, I complete my conquest of all Stone Cat beers. 2003 bottle. Hmm, they say filtered but there is some sediment at the bottom. Vibrant orange color, light copper, big white head. Aroma of sour yeast, bitter plasticy, piney hops? It smells like their IPA, and I cant quite place that aroma. It is sour, it’s almost sweet and plasticy. Soured milk perhaps? Is that their secret? Just kidding. Flavor starts out with a good amount of honey and pilsner like malts. Smooth body, low, pleasing carbonation. Medium, but not thin. Finishes with some very light fruit esters, more of that funky sour/bitterness. After drinking this, I want to just mail it out to everyone just because I believe it is so remarkable how strange it is. Not bad though, not bad at all. Where I have found this love for cream ales is beyond me.
Earlier Rating: 10/18/2004 Total Score: 3.1
2004 draught. Golden with a light orange tint, mildly hazy and a large white head. Aroma of light grains, hay, spicy german hops and a hint of honey and almonds. Flavor is both sweet and sour, mixing well with the hops providing a good fresh spiciness. Touch of yeast apparency, and a good medium body. Not terribly crisp on the finish and a bit too sweet even with a even smooth body, but I’d actually prefer it be more crisp and light to get in a bit more of the hops bite. Ends dry, earthy and yeasty.

2004 bottle. Pours a dark orange with some light auburn highlights and hints of brown. Small beige head, filtered body. Aroma of fruity hops (candied apples, strawberries, plums) some light caramel malt and yeast. Flavor starts out intensely fruity, especially for a marzen. Grain notes through the middle with bitter hops on the finish and an almost syrupy shot of caramel or sweet toffee. The finish has a fruity bouquet reminiscent of ale yeast, but there is a hint of spicy lager yeast lingering around. Reminds me much of Weyerbacher Autumnfes, not very true to a traditional German marzen, but much hoppier and fruitier. Would like much more dry malt. Body is medium.