Clipper City Heavy Seas Winter Storm (2005+ -- Imperial ESB)

Brewed by Clipper City Brewing Co.
Style: American Strong Ale
Baltimore, Maryland USA

This one poured a darker ruby red color with an off white head. Aroma was light plums, toffee and some caramel malt. Flavor was toasted, medium maltiness but not much else going on.

Freshly tapped cask @ redlight redlight. Whoo, the hops on the nose of this were super fresh, grassy fresh, hints of citrus. Some malt and a bit of British-style fruity yeast esters. Sheets of lacing all down the glass, coppery body. Flavor is malt some caramel, grassy hops nice bitterness. Light mouthfeel, drinks like a smaller beer, probably from the cask? I must never get Clipper City beers fresh, cause fresh this was great.

355mL into Sam Adams mad awesome glass. Nothing gives me more pleasure than enjoying almost every beer save for Sam Adams in their kick-ass glass. Pours a deep, orange-tinted amber with a thin, tan head that has little retention and leaves no lacing. Aroma is blueberries, apple pie, peach cobbler. Taste is malty, biscuity, with lots of berries. Major resiny hop bitterness in the finish. Alcohol is nicely hidden. Yum.

cask @ redlight redlight. Solid malt nose with good hop flavor, caramel notes and citrusy hops. Pours caramelly red amber with a very thick fluffy white head. Caramelly malts with spicy citrus hops, super fresh tasting. A wonderful cask session beer!

Cask at redlight. Cloudy amber. Nice hoppy aroma. Drinks real nice and smooth. I like this brew, dude.

Pours reddish amber with thick, off-white head. Light aroma of yeast, caramel, roasted nuts and molasses. Light sweetness, malty, balanced with medium bitterness and sourness; long finish of roasted nuts; oily/creamy mouthfeel.

21oz Bottle from TW. Reddish hue with a thin lacing. Light roasted malt in aroma along with English hops. Nice body, medium and a bit creamy. Bitter aftertaste and the English malt flavor stays with you. Nice in this respect. A bit sweeter and a bit fruity half way through. This is a pretty decent brew.

Enjoyed on tap in a nonic glass. The beer pours a deep dark amber to medium-dark brown color, with a slightly off-white head. The aroma is of American hops initially, before fading to some caramelly malt notes. The palate is accentuated by medium-low carbonation, and shows a nice bitterness at first, followed by a malt character that is at once sweet and toffee-like. The finish is slightly fruity, evidencing a slight ester profile of English yeast. The beer is easily quaffable, and belies its mid-high alcohol content. Overall, a nicely crafted and executed winter warmer.