3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
En bouteille. Verre de 12 oz dégusté directement à la brasserie lors du party 1er anniversaire. Arôme: Odeur d’agrumes. Apparence: La couleur est dorée légèrement voilée. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’agrumes avec une pointe boisée. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement onctueuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût houblonné. (Rating #4038)
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
In short: A smooth golden ale with floral/leafy hops and a very unusual personality. Good.
How: Bottle at brewpub, the day of the beer release (first anniversary pre-party)
The look: Clear golden topped by a small off-white head. Gets cloudy with the yeast deposit at the very bottom of the bottle
In long: Nose is delicate floral hops with a bit of wood and light papery notes. Taste is very smooth, soft biscuity cereals, some floral hops, smooth carbonation, fresh wood, fresh green tree leafs, some mineral notes, some paper. Something overall a bit rustic in the overall character. Low-medium bitterness level with a low sweetness sensation. Knowing the extreme conditioning this beer had been put through to simulate the England-India boat trip helped me understand what was going on here. The beer felt tired. Tired but not old. Unusual sensation. A fun beer because of its unusual character. Not bad, and I admired the work that went into trying to faithfully recreate the a 19th century beer in 2011, it’s not an easy task to mix the old and the new, like trying to send a text message with a rotary phone.
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
My Bottom Line :
This historical interpretation of an IPA surprises with its pungent green wood aroma and flavor profile, in a relatively dry mouthfeel sprinkled with citrusy hop leaves and alcohol heat.
Further Personal Perceptions :
-There were 3 versions of this beer available on the same day. This bottled version, aged in an oak cask at extreme temperatures, was a tad hazier (still nice to look at) than the cask and didn’t have the same head retention.
-This version offered prominent green wood aromas and flavors which were coherently aligned with herbal hops and their long bitterness. This version felt leaner as well, or at least not as creamy in the mouthfeel.
-Expressive hops try to hide the alcohol in the finish.
-Oxidation was also well concealed by the wood and hop combo.
-Bitterness was intense in all versions.
-The overtly citrusy hop character is impressive considering the fact there weren’t any American cultivars used.
-This oaked version was too woody for my tastes (a tad wild too), but was still lots of fun. Oak particularly dominated the aroma.
Bottle at the brewpub.
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