DuClaw Pax Nemesis

Brewed by DuClaw Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Abingdon, Maryland USA

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

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Bomber. Pours a clear and dark brassy-copper color. A thin, wispy tan film shows at the head, leaving some marginal, sheety lacing on the glass. The nose is burdened with notes of heavy caramel, doughy sweet bread, tapioca pudding, and heavy cream. Floral hops lend zesty aromatics, but an intense wave of alcoholic heat also burns the nose. Flavors follow suit, massively saccharine, laden with caramel and sweet bread pudding. Peppery, floral hops succumb to the huge malts, adding just a bit of peppery bite in the background. Thick, syrupy, and hot with alcohol, the moderately carbonated body proves to be over the top and disagreeable. There is just no reason at all to take an alt to this extreme. Maybe they could make something decent out of the second runnings?

20110615 Bomber from State Line. hot mess of a beer, this belongs in the ASA category, for sure. Aroma is spicy with yeast, a dose of diacetyl, and dark bread dough. Coating, sweet, mildly spicy on palate. Sweet all around with little redeeming or cleansing bitterness. Sometimes I think DuClaw’s brews are just brewed for the label. Oh well.

Thanks to Mike for guilting us into opening this before we finished dinner...Pours a medium clear copper, hints of brown, semi clear. The head is off-white and very light, gone almost immediately...The aroma is god-awful, vanilla and grass mixed in with vomit, really harsh...The taste is more vomit, a little toffee and lots of alcohol. Really not drinkable at all. Skip this beer.

A good beer for what I was looking for at the time. It isn’t my favorite ale of all time, but it was crisp and refreshing. This is the type of ale I would drink with a decently heavy meal (steak or something) as it wasn’t overly malty.

This poured a mahogany color with an off white head. Aroma was lots of sweet malts, light toast, and lots of booze. Flavor was medicinal, cloying caramel sweetness, some roasted malt, and lots and lots of alcohol. Not good at all.

Pours copper with one finger ivory head; faint lace. Nose of apple, booze, caramel, bread and floral. Very hot taste; even at 11%. Taste of dark fruit and bitter hop. Yeast on the finish.

Coppery orange brown, with minimal head. Aroma is tangerines and caramel. Taste is the same, with an additional sweet, worty undertow that lasts to the finish. This really does seem like an impy alt, $8/22oz

Red-orange, beige cover. Plasticy, caramel and toast, cocoa aroma. Taste is more heavy malt, sweet caramel, just so plastic-y.

Tap. Pours clear copper with an average, frothy white head, low retention with light lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, caramel, toffee, toasted), average hops (floral, earthy), and average esters (apple/pear) with notes of dates and vanilla. Flavor is heavy malt (cookie, caramel, toasted), average hops (floral, earthy, spicy), and average esters (apple/pear) with notes of dates and toffee. Full body, medium warmth, carbonation, and creaminess with a medium sweet texture and then dry finish.

Sampled at Lithy’s Tennessee/Ole Miss tasting. Despite not getting very good reception at the gathering, I enjoyed it. Like a euro strong lager, but with some raisin and candi sugar belgian dubbel notes. Big alcohol, but not burning. Pretty good brew in my opinion.

on tap-pours an offwhite ring with amber color. Aroma is perfumy/spice, 2nd light/medium malt with a hint of cocoa. Taste is alcohol, perfumy/spice hops, 2nd medium malt-toffee.