Casco Bay Winter Ale (Old Port Ale)

Brewed by Casco Bay Brewing (Shipyard Brewing Co.)
Style: English Strong Ale
Portland, Maine USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Bottled@Bishops Arms Vasagatan, Stockholm. Deep amber colour, mediumsized beige head, some lace. Aroma is caramel, US hops and some dark berries. Flavour is hops, malts, caramel and some slight glueish notes.

Bottled. Clear ruby, small head. Roasty, raisiny grapefruit aroma. Sweet and very hoppy with clean, hard mouthfeel and notes of lychee. Hard, bitter finish. Simplistic, but fairly pleasant.

Dark copper. Aroma of toffee, brown sugar and earthy malts. Fairly light for its size. Like a big “amber ale” – caramel, toffee and earth. Fruity notes (kiwi, peach). Sweetish earthy finish. Good balance.

(Bottle, best by 4/25/05) Quite small tan head atop a clear nut brown body. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, nutty, some plum, tobacco, light metallic. Taste is medium sweet, tobacco, some caramel, light chocolate, dark fruit. Medium body, alcohol well hidden, light acidity, quite drinkable.

Bottle 12oz. Dark brown color with huge light brown head. Complex aroma of malt, hops and spices. Medium to full body with smooth texture. Full flavor with hoppy bitter finish. First brew from this brewery and it was very good.

Pleasing but never overpowering C-hop mists easing into an appeasing creamy malt body...Effectual grapefruit and resinous hops mutually join the perpetual dry berries and chocolate for a beautiful balance...Classy tobacco and sassy peaches underneath...Just a bit more of everything and you'd get a nice, typical American barley wine...

Maine Brewers Festival 2005. First beer of the festival! Light brown body with a medium white head (3+) Mild sweet malt and hops in the aroma. Pleasant hops in the flavour over toasty biscuity notes. Moderate bitterness. Alcohol was not at all apparent. Average to medium palate. Decent.

Pours copper with a thin white head. Smells of tea, roasted malt. Taste is roasty with some spicy elements.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good this winter seasonal was after being none too impressed with their summer seasonal. This beer is a dark amber color with a medium beige head. Some lacing is apparent. The aroma is nicely spiced with a pinch of malt and hops. Rich body with a pleasant mix of spices and warming alcohol, as well as malt and caramel. The finish is nicely spiced as well, making for a nice winter warmer in July.

Bottle: Coppery hue with small frothy head and very good lace. The aroma has notes of piney and grassy hops, caramel and biscuity malts, allspice and basil, and a hint of blackberry. The taste starts with a smooth malt entrance followed closely by some mild fruity twang and spice. The finish is much more akin to a British bitter with hop notes all about and I found the aftertaste to be quite hard with burton salt noticeable. The feel is initially lively and crisp but a metallic overtone makes it less than fully refreshing. Good beer but missing that something to stand out. What’s with the "Old Port" thing anyway, I was looking forward to some port character but alas it must be just a moniker.