3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Light brownish amber color with a foamy tan head. Has a strong caramel aroma with a hint of roasted grains. The flavor is crisp from the hops and the finish is dry from the grains giving it a nice balance. It’s nice that Alaskan broadened it’s distribution so the rest of us could finally see what all of the hype was about. It was well worth the wait.
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 14/20
Amber, brilliant, with dusty, thin, moderately-coarse head. Aroma is moderate amounts of light caramel with a less prominent infusion of grass, hay, grain. Body is medium, but flavor is lighter than the aroma might imply. A light touch of sweetness that tastes like raw turbinado sugar rather than the caramel I got in the nose. Thin hay-like grass, and a touch of bitterness. It’s almost like dark honey in there.
3.6 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
About as amber as it comes with an off-white head that thins and departs in due course. Quite obvious carbonation. Gorgeous colour. The aroma is hard to pin down. Turkish delight, cream caramel, it smells at once old and polished. Like rosewood and mahogany. It’s spicy and generous. The flavour is a little bit so so for about two seconds before those rosewood and tasty flavours of altbier rush forward and stay on the palate becoming more floral and tangy. It loses the sweetness and becomes (God, I’m going to say playful) playful. This is an excellent beer. One that leaves a very good impression.
3.5 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle from Sendiks Brookfield. Similar to the bottles I should have bought in that dive gas station in Wyoming 5 years ago and the one I did have in Vegas in ’07 on the fly. Pours reddish orange - brandy colored - without much carbonation, little head. Aroma is grape, caramel, herbs - very sweet. Taste is flat champagne. Grapes. Hint of alcohol. Very sweet caramel underneath. Vegetal. Bread dough. Not unpleasant. Finishes a bit thin. Overall was better than the individual pieces grade out as.
2.6 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 10/20
Bottle. Another beer I had in Vegas. Deep amber color. Caramel malt aroma. Taste was more toasted malts than hops. Rather liked this beer even though not great.
3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 12/20
Bottle. Amber with a light brown head that disappears. Aroma of caramel, vanilla, nuts. Quite carbonated and it doesn’t suit. Taste is sweet with caramel, some nuts. Spicy bitterness creeps up to balance. Some astringency and metal from the excessive carbonation.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Dark red/copper. Decent malt, caramel, and fruit in the nose. Malt forward flavor - caramel, toffee, light fruit, grain and some mild background hops. Clean, crisp finish. Solid.
2.8 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Bottle - Pours clear dark reddish amber with a thick foamy off-white head. Aroma of rich bready malt with a hint of nuttiness and a touch of milkiness. Minimal herbal hopping. Not very pungent. Taste is a little limp. Mildly bready/nutty malt that fades in the middle, then comes back in the end to finish with dark bread and wood notes. Mild herbal hops note, and that milky, lightly sour taste is there too. Smooth and creamy, with sharp carbonation that masks the flavor a bit. The sourness threw me off, and really masked the malt base. A bit of a disappointment.
|
