Adnams Broadside Strong Original

Bottle printed Best Before Date – 23 Nov,’04. I’m consuming it today (July 3rd, ’06). Didn’t know I was buying a vintage brew. Pours brown to amber in color with tan head. Malty aroma. Rich and varied malt flavor with caramel, molasses and toffee sweetness combined with a more grainy malt. The hop influence is very light, could be the age. There is also a bit of fruitiness from the yeast.

Rich mahogany copper color with a big frothy white head and decent lacing. Lightly doughie malt aroma, not too strong, but good. Starts malty with tones of nutieness, a sweeter doughie middle that is fairly creamy with a lightly bitter finish. Smooth and tasty, turns slightly sour as it warms or it could be quite good.

Bottle 6.3 %... Beautiful Hazy dark amber color with okay head. Fresh fruity malt and hops in a brillant mix. Not quite strong enough and maybe the finish is a bit too bitter. But a great beer compared to the prince hear in Denmark.

Bottle said 6.0% ABV. Ah, I wasn’t impressed. Dark brown color with a nice head and decent lacing. Aroma was somewhat buttery, as with many an English Ale. This one tasted of caramel and toffee with a buttery type flavor. There was a little bit of hops in the finish, but nothing overwhelming. Mouthfeel was the highlight, nice and creamy. Otherwise, just another beverage.

Bottle. Small head with short duration. Color is dark ruby. Aroma is caramel and hops. Taste is rich and full with a hoppy finish.

(12 oz bottle: $2.49 at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido, CA) Lot Number 5069 14:56. I had Adnams Broadside on cask a couple years ago and was mightily underwhelmed by what seemed to be the ultimate lunch beer (meaning, go back to work with no buzz!). I was fully expecting Broadside Original to be the same beer in a bottle, but I’ve never been so mistaken. This beer is awesome! The sweet, caramely and toasty malts, the plentiful toffee, and natural molasses are rich and very delicious, and the hoppy bitterness adds much-appreciated balance. The flavor is reinforced by the sweet, caramely, malty and buttery nose, and the round, full-bodied mouthfeel. Based on the flavor and mouthfeel as well as the lot number, I’ll hazard a guess that this beer is over a year old, and if so, it’s aged beautifully. Carbonation is light to moderate, but there is still a nice zing on the palate. Moderate bite in the finish keeps the palate alive and interesting too. Supposedly pasteurized, there is a fair amount of muddy sediment in the bottom of the bottle. The clear, deep, ruby-colored body, the sizeable, creamy, beige head, and the partial curtain of lace complete what is one all-around terrific beer.

Tasted 03/06/2006. 500ml bottle, discounted, from Rumble’s in Wellington. Ruby with golden tints in the light. Light-tan head is airy but takes quite sometime to diminish. Leaves a thick creamy lace. Plums, port and toasty malt dominate the nose, with a hint of caramel in the background. Medium sweetness, verg big grassy bitterness through the middle. Strong toasty malt and more of the big bitterness, this time with wood notes, finish it off. Bitterness and esters linger forever. Good medium weight with just a touch of prickly carbonation that I’d prefer not to have. Lovely drop - bottle-conditioned it could be a stunner.

Dark ruby colour, off-white head, bubbly, and fades given time. Aroma of very strong malts, and syrupy. Alcohol, maybe some chocolate. Tastes strong, bitter. Aftertaste of strong liquorice. Very thin pallate, watery in the mouth. Leaves a syrupy coating in the mouth.