Lakefront Fat Abbey Strong Ale

Pours to a hazy ruby red color with lively carbonation and a thick creamy beige head. Aroma is caramel, nutty and doughy. The flavor is very hoppy with a combination of American citrus and English hops, rich malt, Toffee and brown sugar. Medium bodied, average carbonation. Somewhat long finish.

On tap at Birreria Paradiso in Georgetown, DC. Cloudy ruby, off whitehead. Aroma is hops, carmel, pine. Flavor is caramel, hops, dried fruit, vanilla.

The appearance of this beer is a hazy dark orange. It had great tightly-wound head formation. I thought this beer was beautiful. This beer had very little aroma. The beer itself tastes a bit like a tripel to me. It is slightly sour and a bit like a cabernet in both its mouthfeel (very full) and flavor. The taste is bold with notes of grape sourness and alcohol. The hop character of the beer becomes evident later, and is quite pleasant. As I mentioned, mouthfeel is substantial, but appropriate for the style. This beer is a mouthful, and is not exceedingly easy to drink. Nonetheless, it is definitely worthwhile.

One of Lakefront’s better beers..........................but. Dark Reddish body and a decent head which sends smells of caramel and tart fruit to my nose. Definate Cascade profile I’m getting, but stands out too much amoungst the malty tapastry that was laid down. A bit cloying on the sugars. Decent job on bringing out some of the esters, but not near what a good Belgian Strong should have. This is one of the most challenging aspects for these styles, but you can tell they were just shooting for something in the ball-park of where this style should be. Decent attempt, but falls short.

This is definetly a fine choice to make at the brewerey. Nicely balanced and deliciously strong. Pours a dark amber and has a hoppy/malt interplay that really hits the spot. Oily and sweet.