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

12oz - Best before 04/07 - Aroma is perfumy hops followed by incense-like malt and sweet caramel. Pours transparent brown with a huge head and great lacing. Flavor matches aroma leaving a fresh flower aftertaste. Palate is creamy and tart. Very different and tasty. Don’t think I could drink very many in one sitting, but still worth a try.

Bottle. I got this a few months ago off the shelves so I sure hope it’s not from ’05 and that they simply released it again this year. Pours a clear amber with an average size lasting creamy off-white head. Nice floral and citrusy hop aroma, hoppier then I was expecting, along with spices and sweet malt. Flavour’s delicious, lots of the aforementioned hops nicely backed by bready malt, some spices and a nice bitter finish. Some alcohol there but for the most part it’s quite well hidden. Medium bodied. Imperial ESB eh? Maybe there’s something to that cause it was damn enjoyable. I’m starting to like this brewery.

reddish amber with a medium sized cream colored head. lots of bitter hops and bready malts. hoppy aroma.

Bottle. Clear rust/dark copper with a moderate cream colored head. Aroma of toffee and dark cakey malts with plenty of fruit-- plum, red apple, melon, cherry. Flavor of dark and sweet English strong ale malts (think Fullers) richly infused with sweet and slightly tangy dark fruits-- plums and mixed berries-- and balanced out by orange-rind hops on the finish, with some earth/leather notes at the very end. Nice rich and flavorful ale. A pleasant surprise.

Easily my favorite offering from Clipper City to date. I think this is the Imperial ESB of 2005, rather than the IIPA of years prior given the best by ’07. Then again, the style may have changed again, as I’m not sure what an imperial ESB would entail. Pours a deep reddish copper with a healthy white head, slowly shrinking. The nose is malty with strong floral American hops providing balance. The malt bill seems a bit out there for this style. Though it’s faint, I immediatelly pick up chocolate malts. Less evident is some caramel malt, alcohol, and herbal to minty notes. Subdued carbonation and a decent viscosity give this a fine mouthfeel with high drinkability. The flavors are in line with the aromas. Sweet malt balanced by liberal floral American hops. The malt bill doesn’t come across so heavy with the chocolate in the taste, though it’s there, as is the caramel. Creamy, hoppy, and slightly chocolately dry finish. Very dry hoppy aftertaste. A surprising brew from a brewery that goes big but disappoints often times.

(Re rate. My previous entry is below. Had it on cask at the World Beer Festival, and I enjoyed it much more. Great citrus flavor with a very nice palate. Upped the score a bit). Bottle poured a rich amber, with a minimal off white head. Aroma of citrus hops, caramel malt, and slight hint of some spice. Interesting flavors, some complexity, but didn’t come together as well as I would have liked. Main flavor was caramel malt, with a background flavor of citrus hops. Also hints of spice .

One of my favorite finds this winter season. This beer pours amber, with a small head, and very little lacing. The aroma is of spice and hops. It has a nice sweet/spice start finishing in a standard hop bitterness. It’s a little thinner in the palate then the beers I truly love, but overall, it’s a nice one to have sitting around.

Dark copper/amber color with a beige head. Mild citrus and pine hop aroma. Flavor of citrus hops and caramel malts.