Back Road Autumn Ale 2008 (Belgian Dark)

Formerly brewed at Back Road Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
LaPorte, Indiana USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Slightly fuity nose. A cloudy deep red with a bit of a white head. Belgiany fruit flavors but a bit sour. I didnt refrigerate this and keep it for about a year so that may have influenced the tastes but I don’t care much for it.

Bomber. Pours dark brown with an off white head. Smells of dark fruit, some underlying tarteness, earthy. Tastes of dark fruit, tarte, some spicy touches on the finish.

22 oz. bottle shared by Tmoney99. Pours a hazy amber color with very little head. The aroma has an off sweetness, diacetyl, burnt bread and a strange fruitiness. The flavor is burnt malts, diacetyl, strongly acidic, sour, caramel and ripe grapes. This is a mess of a beer. Medium bodied and somewhat syrupy. This was a drain pour for the group. Shared 7/23/2009 (from notes)

In short: Phenols and plastic dominate this boozy yeast Belgian amber ale. A mess
How: Bottle 660ml, consumed when a little over one year of age. Sent to me as a bonus by Shawnm213, not you fault Shawn!!!
The look: Amber body with a enormously gross amount of medium size particles. Short lived off-white head
In long: Nose is very phenolic yeasty. Taste is higher alcohols, hospital gloves, forest floor, caramel, dirty, yeast, plastic, ripe bananas, fruit cake, dripping garbage bag juice, whatever. Body feels slim (at over 10% abv!!) and a bit lifeless. The few acceptable flavor elements are crushed by a strong overall phenols and polymer sensation. Hard to say anything good about this mess. With so many problems I wouldn’t be surprised if that beer was once on Doctor Phil show.

22oz, blue waxed, bottle acquired in trade with shawnm213. Poured a deeper amberish/brownish color, slightly hazy, and a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, fruity, and a little earthy. Tastes of caramel, some dark fruits, bananas, and grapes in the finish. Medium alcohol burn. Different.

Bottle from Kahn’s in Indy. Poured clear brown color with an average frothy brown head that was mostly lasting with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy toasted sweet malt aroma. Medium body with a thick texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. My expectations where not met and I hope this a single bad bottle.

7/23/2009: Back Road Autumn 2008 Belgian Dark is amber-colored with a foamy, ivory-colored crown. That is where the decent characteristics end. This beer smells like burnt toast topped with butter. It is sweet, but quickly tastes burnt and acidic with a weird grape flavor. This beer has a medium-full body and a syrupy texture that just doesn’t work at all. Not good! To me it seems like they scorched the malt and/or wort, added far too much candi sugar, and then had a problem with the yeast since it created more or less one big diacetyl bomb! This beer is a DRAIN POUR!

22 fl. oz. bottle shared by Tmoney99. Rating #11 for this beer.

Bottle shared by argo0 on 1/10/09: Slightly hazy copper amber pour has a thin, wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of sweet caramely German malts with some light fruity esters. Body starts with good sweetness and some noble hoppy balance with lots of light fruity character before a slightly warming finish. A unique and fairly authentic brew.

Blue wax capped bomber. Pours a dark and cloudy sienna color with a small, fading, cream colored head. A swirl of the glass leaves some relatively dense legging, but gives no lacing. The nose shows heaps of cherry, even some of the sour variety, with big caramel and doughy, yeasty bread. Candy syrup and boozy sherry serve as turnoffs. Flavors take a turn for the worse, boozy and hot, with heaps of sweet candy sugar and an odd, out of place, tart cherry component. Under carbonated, syrupy, and searingly hot, the mouthfeel matches the rest of this beast in terms of misplaced intensity. This brew is a mess, through and through.

What kind of style is this? There is a strong taste of cherry. Some Belgian Ale. Maybe some cola. Interesting spin on something or other. Not sure what to make of it.