 krisbierjaeger (844), dolores, Colorado, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 |
Dec 24, 2007
remember seeing this bizarre story in the news? a truck driver from a major candy factory crashed headlong into a nearby glue factory. the resulting inferno took up the century old oak beam structure. what a mess it was. but, after the blaze was extinguished, someone had the presence of mind to sop up some of the sticky, caramelized, phenolic ooze and bottle it. his name is samael, and while he’s under indictment for tampering with a crime scene, his beverage is now available to us, and this resinous, still dangerously flammable oak-butter bears his name. like a liquid candy cane, with caramel and strawberry, it is intensely sweet, with enough honey to fuel every indigent bumble bee from boston to berkeley. so dessert-like, i suggest enjoying samael with a double espresso-- but you’ll want to periodically monitor your heart rate just to be safe. the sheer gravity of samael will put a little extra bulge in your snifter. it drops innocently enough into a glass, showing a buttery baked pineapple bronze color-- and in spite of the roiling turbulence of alcohol--rising like a summer storm cell over texas-- it actually manages a tight little fellowship of foam. the beer has an admirably daring crudeness about it, one can imagine that it might have been based on a recipe found smudged on the wall in a sooty, pre-historic cave. it’s a formula that combines elements for a ceremonial bonfire: it weds volatility and sweetness, it’s a lumber-based lamp oil mixed with caramelized apricot syrup, grains, and for good measure, the gastric juices of a huge, obese honey badger that died of gout. full on the tongue, it etches perfectly configured and sinuous golden rivers of bitterness across the palate like micro-circuits on a memory chip. it’s a heavy fruit brandy, vulgar enough to fart some fusel alcohols in mixed company, refined enough to spin a rococo tapestry of toffee fibers, earthy enough to tell of bitter root tinctures, elevated enough to raise a rocket into space with it’s jet fuel potency. i awoke after dawn back at the scene of the accident-- having run out of bottled samaels-- i was found delirious and licking the curb where he’d long ago collected this hypnotic nectar. next time i may try simply injecting it into my arm-- that’s how much i crave that sweet oak, man.
punkrkr27 (616), Berkley, Michigan, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 |
Nov 23, 2009 Deep copper colored pour with a fizzy, 2-finger, off-white head. Heavy boozy dark fruit aroma with a healthy note of vanilla and sherry. There’s some bourbon and oak, but it blends in with the malt and alcohol so it doesn’t stand out quite as much as many other bourbon barrel beers. As the head fades i get a little leather, licorice, tobacco and anise. The flavor is extremely rich and a little cloying. Heavy caramel and dark fruit tones dominate the flavor at first sip. Again the bourbon character doesn’t really come out. The barrel aging lends much more vanilla, charred oak, and alcohol than bourbon character. There;s some more spice and tobacco notes in the flavor but not quite as much as in the nose. This is a nice winter warmer but the heavy sweetness and alcohol knock it down a few points from being a really great beer.
coldmeat23 (233), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 14/20 |
Nov 9, 2009 Pours a nice coppery/caramel color. Thick, creamy, 4-finger head that dpops down to a nice thin layer just covering the liquid in a solid fashion. Nice lacing on the glass. The only negative is that there is already quite a good amount of sediment.
Smells of sweet malty goodness, just begging to be tasted. Caramel, raisins and a touch of alcohol, not unlike a fine port.
Big sweet malts engulf the mouth. Very port-like in it’s taste. The alcohol is not quite as prominent as I expected, which is nice. Light caramel taste on the back-end with a hint of cinnamon(?) or perhaps that’s just the oak chips coming through.
Feels very smooth in the mouth with only a slight touch of alcohol burn. This breaks up the sweetness, so it works to it’s own advantage.
Overall this is quite nice, but one that is a bit too sweet for me to consume much at one time. A definite sipper.
DeadGirl (220), West Palm Beach, Florida, USA
| 3 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 4/5 | 6/10 | 2/5 | 12/20 |
Oct 26, 2009 Pours a rich, clear amber/orange from the 12oz. bottle (bottled in April 2009, batch 5): Syrupy sweet bombs of vanilla, maple, brown sugar, honey, raisins, and caramel. No noticable hops, extremely malty. Alcoholic presence for sure, but that’s to be expected for 16% abv. My stomach’s so warm. I wish Avery didn’t up the sweetness so much in attempt to "hide" the alcohol. Give me more of the burn. Drinkability: Alcoholic and sweet. Sipper. Rebuy: Eh.. #163 on 26102009, DG.
boFNjackson (1272), Portland, Oregon, USA
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 3/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 |
Oct 18, 2009 Bottle... Poured amber with a thin, tan head that dissipated quickly. Very boozy, with rich malt and oak flavors. The alcohol heat was very high, but there was a lasting sweetness that balanced it out in the end.
Prometheus (97), Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 |
Oct 17, 2009 Really enjoyed this one. Probably one of my favorites.
Brown appearance, decent head.
Very malty and caramely. Nice fruits and oak in the finish.
Awesome beer.
BigBeer45 (688), Troy, Michigan, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 5/5 | 15/20 |
Oct 16, 2009 Bottle from Holiday Market, the date on this bottle is April 2008, so, this has sat around a year and a half, has a hazy red pour with a one to two finger high yellow-beige-tan colored bubbled head, the head quickly recedes to make a ring and cover, some effervescence in this ale, it left some lacing on the glass, there are particles floating around in this beer, no sediment in the bottle, just a slight haze on the bottom of the bottle, swirling the glass made small bubbled lacing islands if that means anything to you, big aromas of caramel with caramel sweetness, honey and cake mix sweetness all intertwined in this brew, hints of chocolate, raisin, bread, bread crust, some dark candy sweetness,
flavors of caramel, bread, raisin, and faint chocolate, faint vanilla sweetness, a good dose of sweet alcohol on the palate,
there is some bitterness at the finish but I think it is all alcohol bite not hops,
alcohol is evident (the glass has warmed to almost room temperature) but it is not a nuisance,
I can feel the alcohol on the throat and while it is going down,
this ale has a pronounced alcohol bitterness on the tongue and gives a tingle in my nostrils,
thick mouth feel, this is a good Winter Warmer.
jumpjet2k (145), Austin, Texas, USA
| 3.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 4/5 | 5/10 | 3/5 | 13/20 |
Oct 14, 2009 12oz bottle, split with a friend. Brilliant red color with a tan head that doesn’t last long. Lots of floaties in this one. Big oak presence on the nose, along with cherries and boozy syrupy malt. Strong alcohol note all throughout the flavor (big surprise), along with sweet malt, syrup, and some more syrup. Thick syrupy palate. You can probably figure out where I’m going with this. I mean, there’s a fairly good depth in the flavor of this beer, but it’s just way too sweet.
redave (133), squaw valley, California, USA
| 3.6 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 3/5 | 6/10 | 3/5 | 18/20 |
Oct 13, 2009 Had this several months ago up in Sequoia National Park. Just found the notes....
Shared this with my Brother-in-Law.
Thanks Steve!
He got this at the wonderful Hollingshead in Orange.
Poured a brownish amber.
Light head that settles to a ring. Not much lace.
First sip, rather sweet. Not the hoppy kind of barley wine.. Lots of fruit here. spice. maybe a tich of the anchor barley wine? at least an old one i had some time ago....
Very sweet. I’d try this again, but only as a share. desert beer.
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