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

Bottle courtesy of moejuck. Pours clear amber with an average fizzy light-brown head, somewhat lasting, fair lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (caramel, nutty, roasted), heavy hops (fruit, perfume, flowers), average yeast (sweat, dough) with notes of light alcohol, peach and honey. Medium bodied, lively carbonation, sticky texture and a bitter finish. Long duration, light sweetness, moderate acidity and heavy bitterness.

Ho hum poured an orange color with good head and good lacing. Aroma was unimpressive pine hops and some citrus to it. Flavor was muc hthe same, needed a little more malt balance. Not bad not amazing.

Pours a dark brown with amber highlight. The head is about a 1/4 inch in height, an fades quickly to a thin cap and ring, leaving behind a nice webbing of lace. Smell; very nice spicy and citric hops are very dominant, but this also has a nice biscuity malt aroma in the background. Taste; citric and floral hops are upfront, but do not come off as overpowering. The toasted/biscuity malts do a very good job of balancing out the hop bitterness. Very nice, this is a beer that is good to savor, but would also be good to have a few of in a night. Mouthfeel/Drinkability; mouthfeel is medium bodied with a moderate carbonation, and a great drinkability. If this were available near me, I would make it a regular in the beer fridge for the winter months.

Ouch, friends. Somehow this beer manages to cause a hangover at first taste. "Headache in a bottle" is an approriate phrase I’ve heard. That said, it is still actually delicious. Beautifully clear pour with a thin, creamy head. Weak aroma to my senses, but a perfect mix of maltiness and tart... and hints of lots of other subtle flavors very well blended. Finishes with a pleasing dry citric zing-- and with a painful throbbing of the brain as expected of the finish from most "strong" beers. Otherwise a lovely drink.

Pours out a nice deep amber color with a small off white head. Aroma was malty and had a nice balance of hops to it. Flavor was as all of thier beers are, nice at first and has no finish. was a bit disappointed in this brew. american strongs are beers that i am becoming very fond of.

2006 Vintage... Heavy Seas Winter Storm "Category 5" Ale pours a beautiful clear, deep orange copper color. It has a small frothy beige head at first which doesn’t last very long, but the residual ring crown around the glass lasts the whole time and leaves some scant lacing marks. The aroma is slightly sweet with toasted malt, caramel, and lots of citrus, pine, and floral hoppiness. The flavor is malty up front and then an enjoyable hop flavor (citrus, pine, resin) and moderate bitterness slowly surfaces. The finish is a nice blend of modestly sweet malt and floral hoppiness. There is a moderate amound of lively carbonation, but the bubbles are quite small/fine and look like little golden balls floating up to the surface and then out the the edges. The body is medium to full and has a little heft on the palate. The end result is a very smooth and creamy beer that is both full flavored and quite enjoyable to drink. Winter Storm is one of the better Winter/Christmas beers I’ve had this season and I look forward to having it again next year. Now, if I could only track down a bottle of the Clipper City Heavy Seas Winter Storm (2003-2004 -- IIPA) to try... 12 oz bottle, Purchase before MAR 07.

12oz bottle. pours amber/brown with nice tan head. very hoppy smells. medium body, malty and super hoppy. finishes slightly sweet. a rich beer, very worthy of the cool label and apt name.

Pours an amber color with an off-white head. Aroma is citrus and floral hops, and caramel. Flavor starts of malty with caramel and then finishes decently bitter with the floral and citrus hops, mostly on the floral end. Much better then I expected. I’ll be looking forward to this brew next winter.