Double Diamond Original Burton Ale

Formerly brewed at Leeds (Carlsberg UK)
Style: Bitter
Leeds, England

Serve in English pint

Tap in Vermont: amber body, nice creamy head. After that it’s all downhill. Caramel aroma and flavor, hints of earth. Not very bitter or enjoyable. Hops almost smell stale, as is the overall impression of this beer. It started off in low 3/5 range and kept dropping. I only got a 9oz glass and chugged the last half so I could leave..

(draft) Clear amber body with off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, light earthy. Taste is medium sweet, caramel, light earthy. Light-medium body. Tastewise, it fits right in with all the Oktoberfests I am drinking this time of year.

Can (500ml "widget") Poured a freakishly foamy clear orange - head is two-layer creamy/foamy off-white. Aroma is sugary malt, some orange rind and nuttiness to balance, very light mild hops - gets soapy on warming. Taste is harshly metallic-bitter, some tart citrusy hops, some aritificial malt sweetness - soapiness continues. Mouthfeel is astringent and too thin. A slightly salty, bitter aftertaste which doesn’t encourage me to have another. Very average.

Draft @ berkley front. Pours a medium amber color with a small white head. Nose is light hopps with some slight fruitiness to it. Taste is kinda watery with some slight hopps and very little bitterness in the finish.

Draft @ Bobby Vans Manhattan. I enjoyed this beer, plenty of fruityness from the English yeast and a nice hop presence. I would have liked a bit more malt though.

UPDATED: DEC 12, 2008 [draft at MacGregors - Henrietta, NY] Orange-bronze pour with a thin and creamy tan head. Very light aroma of hops and some herbs and grass. The flavor is similar to a very light IPA with a slight hop hint at the beginning and mixed with some hops and malt near the end. Not much of an aftertaste. Not too bad.

On tap at BLB, Bryant & Lake, Minneapolis, poured by the expert, Dan the Man... a classic bronze color, nice layer of creamy foam capping it... aroma is malty most of all, herbal, nutty, not too much from hops... taste is very smooth, clean, but fully flavorful. Medium-bodied, with hops kicking up their presence on the palate at first sip, then falling back a bit, and returning with each renewed engagement on the lips. I didn’t know what to think of this one, as it was my first try. I’ve been long disappointed with Bass lately, though it was the first beer I ever liked, not to mention the first ale I ever had. DD does the Burton Ale well, much better than the watery Bass we get over here. I enjoyed this pint, though I wouldn’t normally choose it, with my preference for American-style IPAs and all. But for what it is, this is nice. Should replace Bass on so many taps throughout the land, if they only knew.

Light-brown in colour. Small creamy head. Some sweetnes in the earthy taste. I also sense som bitternes. Little disepointment...