Eel River Triple Exultation

Brewed by Eel River Brewing Company
Style: Old Ale
Fortuna, California USA

Bomber into Unibroue chalice. Dark brown with small head. Roasty and dark sugary aroma. Roasted, sweet malt, and chocolate flavors. And then the bitterness shows up in a big way and maintains a presence. The alcohol is there as well, but I expected it. The body was not as heavy as you might think. The finish is mainly a lingering bitterness fighting with sweetness. Some strong flavors in this one that are somewhat disjointed and need to be toned (bitterness) or made more cohesive.

22 oz bottle. Coffee brown pour with a thick tan head. Sweet, alcohol smell with fruity, spicy, caramel notes. Strong alcohol taste mixes with a syrupy maltyness. A good beer, but not the best of its kind.

22 oz bottle purchased at Pennington Super Saver. Pours a thick bodied clear amber with a frothy off white head that lasts and lasts. Aroma is very syrupy and sweet with notes of molassess, cereal, and alcohol. Full body with a syrupy mouthfeel and a god touch of alcohol warming as this one came up in temp a bit. Flavor is sweet and malty with lots of syrup and grain going on. All in all I enjoyed this one but the nonbeergeeks that gave it a shot just weren’t ready for the 9.7% and couldn’t handle it.

Dark brown pour with tan head.. Sweet malts and booze on the nose. Hops, fruit and an overwhelming alcoholic punch.

OK, Eel River is definitely the best organic brewer I’ve yet encountered, and the only one making really interesting beer styles (their Raven Eye is a RIS and this is an old ale). This beer had a nice presentation, and a very alchol-y and sweet cerealness that suited the style and I enjoyed. I feel with other organic beers I’ve tried, concessions are made...they’re organic but just not up for comparison versus their non-organic counterparts. This beer pours a brilliant copper color, with nice head formation. Aroma and flavor are sweet, a bit grainy, and boozy. Mouthfeel is dry and astringent, which you might expect from a 9.7% ABV. All-in-all, pretty good. I would recommend this beer. I bought this bottle at 3 Cellars in Franklin, WI.

A thick dark brown color with a tan head. It looks thick but is suprisingly smooth. It tastes a little bitter but not overly so.

Pours a dark copper ruby brown with a one finger creamy tan head. The nose is sweet, fruity, fig, fusel alcohol, malty. The flavor is malty, sharp dry fusel alcohol, fruity, astringent hop bitterness at the back of the mouth. In the end the bitterness at the back of the throat killed this one for me.

The color was amber. The head was thin, creamy, and off-white. The aroma was sweet, alcohol, and spice. The flavor was heavy spice, harsh alcohol, and hops. The palate was well carbonated. The finish was warm.