Cooperstown Pride of Milford Special Ale

Brewed by Cooperstown Brewing Co.
Style: English Strong Ale
Milford, New York USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Had this one bottled at the brewery in Milford, New York. Bright, medium yellow pour with an unusual banana and strawberry nose, citrusy, with pineapple, cherry, citrusy hops, spectacularly complex, excellent.

An interesting offering as a unique beer of their brewery. I liked the complexity of the malts, the alcohol is hidden well, but it didn’t make me want to drink more of it (seems like that is the theme over at Cooperstown Brewery)

Cherry, fruity, yeast nose. Ruby amber hue. Sticky off-white head. Very sweet, smooth and light texture/body. Start is all malt, flows very smooth over palate. Yeast provides nice fruitiness. Very drinkable, alcohol is not evident at all. Finishes with a light bitter lingering finish.

UPDATED: AUG 21, 2008 Rerate:
Sampled August 2008 - 12oz bottle, from a variety pack. Pours orange-amber, topped with a large off-white head. Biscuity aroma, with notes of caramel malt, peach, apple, and mild citric hops. Flavor began with caramel malt, complimented by apricot and mild hops. Long sweet malt finish.

Original rating, 4/22/07 12oz bottle. Dark Amber color with a thin tan head. Strong malt aroma with undertones of driet fruit and a bit of peat. Strong roasted malt flavor with prunes and honey and spice in the background. Long lasting sweet malt finish with some alcohol.

Bottle. Pours deep copper with red hints and a small bubbly tan head. Aromas of caramel malts, red fruit, berry, and grass. Flavor is sweet malt, caramel, berry, and cherry. Pleasantly sweet with a little sour cherry and bitter sappy pine in the finish. Medium carbonation and a little sticky and creamy. Pretty good.

Aroma is sweet and buttery full of ringwood yeast character. Dark amber apperance. Sweet malty taste with some hops for balance, slight smoke flavor and a fruity finish with pear and apples coming through.

UPDATED: DEC 16, 2010 Pours a nice frothy head over a rich, cloudy, dark orange/ruby red. Thousands of little bubbles slowly and deliberately rise to the surface. Gorgeous. The head actually stays atop the beer as I drink it, right down to the bottom. Has a malty aroma with a mild sweetness. However the sweetness is the overwhelming characteristic of the smell. A slight bitter hint of malt at the end. Seems to have all the characteristics of an English Ale. Some butterscotch from the (I’m guessing) Ringwood yeast; sharp and sugary. Has a very strong pungent flavor. Heavy malt and some sweetness, but overall has a strong, somewhat sour taste. Any hops that might be in this beer are completely overpowered. But the malt is pleasant with the perfect sweet/sour mix. Lots of yeast, a sugary finish: plums, grapes, dates. Minor alcohol burn on the way down. Density is very thick and chunky. Remains on the palate for a little while, but has a smooth aftertaste. Fizzy; the fact that the carbonation is slight on the tongue is a bonus. As strong as this is, it is surprisingly easy to drink. Has a good combination of malts, thickness, sweetness, fizzyness and drinkability.

Brown clear with thick long lasting tan frothy head. The nose is incredibly faint with just a hint of caramel. The taste is again some caramel and malts but the butter is very present but is weak and watter compared to other good beers out there.

UPDATED: OCT 9, 2006 Re-rate 10-8-06. I don’t know what happened. Its almost like they re-worked this beer. Its way too high on the malt side and somewhat syrupy, lacking a hoppy balance to settle things out. I used to love this one as indicated below. ********** I am extremely biased as I love this beer. It has a coppery caramelly bubble gum finish which makes me want more. The only thing that works against it in my opinion is that it has a bit of a grainy finish which you find on the other CB beers. Maybe I’m a Ringwood or a malt fan. This particular bottle I got from Half Time seemed more on the caramel side than the bottles I’ve purchased directly from the site in the past. I wonder if they have enhanced this brew since it first came out.

Very enjoyable ale! Rich flavor with a nice bitterness. Great Upstate NY beer.