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

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

Sampled @ GDBTF. Dark amber color, little head to speak of. Rather spicy on the palate, clean caramel malts, nice bitter finish;a bit of a surprise really.

Not much aroma and looks okay. Flavor lets the alcohol come through a bit much. Caramel flavor with hoppy bitter finish. Not bad stuff.

Sample was barrel aged. Dark mahoganey with foamy head and lace. Estery fruit aroma. sweet up front with the perfect amount of bitter on the finish.

A deep red almost brown pour with a light off white foamed lace. A hop nose. A semi sweet flavor that is rich and smooth. A good finishing bitter. Just a solid palate that has good carbonation and mouthfeel. A beer I like.

Brown colour, candy aromawth a hoppy flavour including a nice fruity finish, very nice!

Name: Heavy Seas Winter Storm
Date: 12/03/2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Strong Ale fest, 2005

clear amber, faint sweet spiced aroma, dry malt flavor, touch of spicy hops, nice bitterness,
-------- /> Name: Heavy Seas Winter Storm
Date: 12/12/2006
Mode: draft
Source: taco mac

fine tan head with lots of lace, draft aroma and flavor follows last years bottle, some nice caramel sweetness to balance the light spices, a biscuit character comes out with warmth to give it a nice spice cake essence, bitter finish is very light

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

This beer had a very strong aroma, and a lot of flavor, it had a beautiful brown color.

Bottle, a couple months old, drunk on 6/15/07
I guess they dose this with fresh yeast, at least it says so on the bottle. The head looks good anyways, cascading in to a dark beige, three-finger-sized giant and showing strong retention atop a mostly clear, mahogany-chocolate colored body. Light lacing.
Warm and endearing crystal malts are fully backed by pale malts and even a smidgeon of chocolate. Green, leafy, lightly juicy and even somewhat herbal hops help add balance to the sweetness, though the malt dries out considerably towards the end, with some dry, rather earthy yeast that takes away some brightness. Sweet vanilla emerges with warming, as does a light hint of alcohol. Medium to medium-high strength of aroma with no flaws.
Both bitter and yet oddly sweet at the same time, as citrus (grapefruit and orange, very straightforward) attack the palate, and choco-caramel sweetness rushes to balance. Some breadiness/ a slight overabundance of hard, medium malts builds up while a definite sourish/tacky yeastiness sits on the end. Pine breaks through and acidifies the palate somewhat, as well, on the finish, but the base malt sugars are notably soft and keep the beer drinkable. These "Imperial ESBs" are just inherently flawed, in my book, the harder, breadier, more dry and earthy malts dont match the hops and the drinkability from the amped up alcohol suffers greatly. But for what the brewer aimed to accomplish, it’s done quite well. Still should tone down the hop acidity though. Carbonation is light, yet fairly engaging.