Eel River Triple Exultation

Umber color with a touch of rudy when held to the light. Moderate, lasting, dark beige head. Decent lace. Lightly alcohol soaked fruit aromas. Raisins and cherries with some caramel drizzled over the top as well. Sweet start with brown sugar, more fruit soaked in alcohol, and some hints of pale malt. In the middle things start to become a bit unwrapped. Some green and dried grass come in along with rye bread and treacle. A mild scorched malt flavor also seeps in. I do catch resin and rubber once and a while . Finish is lightly bitter and a bit woody. Linger continues on with the woody theme. A strong somewhat thin tasting strong ale.

Bottle. A dark amber beer with a big beige head. The aroma and taste is of caramel malt, rubber and smoke, some rye bread to. Medium body with a dry finish.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a very dark brown that does not allow light to pass through with a moderate off-white head that lasted until mid-glass and left partial lace. Very pleasant aroma of caramel, molasses, dates and raisins. The flavor starts out sweet and malty with caramel and molasses both present. This is follwed by a fairly strong alcohol flavor. This beer then finishes dry and hoppy, which is the one element I really did not care for and seemed very disharmonious with the rest of this beer. I enjoy the Old Ale style very much, and this beer had most of the elements dead on, its just the finish that I did not care for.

22 oz. bottle, no bottling/freshness date, sampled in a snifter glass. L: Cloudy in appearance, dark caramel brown in a color with a small beige head that settled into a thin bubbly skim. The sticking is pretty light, mainly just splotchy lace dots ringing the brim of the glass. S: Lightly roasted caramel, toffee, cocoa and nutty malt aromas with a soft currant and date fruitiness. Further whiffs reveal traces of caramelized sugar along with a touch of molasses. The hops are milder than what I expecting after talking to my local beer guy this afternoon, he lead me to believe this was going to be a hop bomb, which it is not, but still quite pleasant, citrus, leafy herbs and a mellow pipe tobacco. F&T: Medium bodied with a little malty chewiness, you can tell this is an ’American’ Old Ale by the resiny, sticky hoppiness in the finish. Crisp with a gassy creaminess, my only complaint with the mouthfeel is that the carbonation is a bit too fizzy for me, not the smooth firm feeling I like in a upper echelon Old Ale. Mildly roasted malt tastes of caramel toffee, light coffee and chocolaty nuts with some molasses sweetness towards the end. Soft fruity flavors of currants, figs and sugary dates in the middle. As I neared the finale the oily, resiny hop tastes became more pronounced, grapefruit peels, pine, woody herbs and a pinch of earth. A nice citric spicy bitterness lingers in the aftertaste, giving this an amiable drying cleanliness. The alcohol has a low fruity warmth in the palate, making this an easy sipper. I’m not yet a fan of organic beers, but this was quite enjoyable, an Old Ale that would make a proper night capper.

Deep ruby red with a strong beige head. Smells very sweet, with caramel, cardboard, spice, alcohol, bread, honey, cinnamon, bittersweet, and dark fruit notes. Very rich flavor, with tons of sweetness. Caramel, brown sugar, molasses, orange peel, bourbon, and spicy notes. The alcohol is strong but balanced out nicely. Full and creamy mouthfeel. A damn good, damn potent brew. I think of this as a real Old Ale, not a Barleywine wearing a malty mask.