3.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Clear dull red, decent head. Fruity, vanilla and toffee aroma with some floral notes. A bit thin in body and more bitter than expected. Not nearly as complex in flavor as the aroma suggests but clean.
3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 11/20
First thought to my mind is the spices. The trappist glass is a good way to present. I thought that the head could be more robust. Perhaps a bit over spiced, but that may be why some would enjoy it.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Name: Winter Vintage
Date: 08/03/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Ale Atlanta
hazy yellow, whispy white head, lightly spiced malt aroma with a hint of sweetness, sweet fruity malt flavor, light bitterness,
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
(Draft) Tasty caramel and fruitiness...Pours dark amber with one finger of biscuit head. Aroma of caramel, vanilla, yeast, fruity hops and perhaps nutmeg. Medium-bodied, lightly fizzy. Nice light rings of lacing. Tastes lightly spicy, nutmeg perhaps with light bitterness overlaying and carrying a light-medium bite through finish. Nice yeasty freshness. As it warms a nice caramel maltiness emerges and merges with the hop fruitiness. Pretty solid.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
12oz bottle from Florian’s. Reddish brown translucent body with a quarter inch of off-white head. Aroma is dominated by a slightly roasty, caramel malt character. Flavor is nutty, caramelly, and roasty, with a hint of diacetyl. Medium in body, but a little lighter than expected. Fairly drinkable. An okay beer. Not the best I’ve had from them (either Carrabassett or Casco), but a decent beer anyways.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Tastey strong ale that doesn’t impress or offend. Caramel and malt dominated taste. Small head and lacing, pretty much a slightly better than middle of the road Strong Ale.
3.1 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Pours a translucent cherry-wood color with a thin white head. Smells of caramel and lightly fruity with just hints of spice.
Taste is fruity and spicy. Some initial bitterness up front followd by a caramel sweetness. Smooth. No fizz in this beer at all but that’s not really a bad thing. Almost flat but lightly sticky on the palate.
This is a very drinkable winter ale but really nothing special here. Good for the price but Casco Bay makes a much better winter ale with a similiar price.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle: pours caramel brown with a thin off white head. Big caramel, malty aroma. Flavor is malty with mild hops and bg caramel. NIce. Finish is moderately bitter. Enjoyable.
2.7 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Clear, dark amber brew with a tight tan head. It looked grea! A bit bitter, a taste that lingered. More hoppy than malty. I missed the promised "creamy, malty base" and found the hops dominated. It lacked the balance I anticipated.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
OK ... everyone has his or her own extremely differentiated preferences. My expectations for this were quite low, since I have not much cared for the small New England brewers other than Allagash. This one is great. Rich copper color, like a Fullers 1845, small head but great lacing (I know, not what the other reviewers saw). Lots of malt, enough bitterness, and enough spicy bite that I wondered if it had clove or ginger added. Strong sweet malt, caramel toffee, floral, fruit, and bitter hops, all in balance. Makes me think of a Fullers 1845 in taste as well.
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