Eel River Triple Exultation

Fantastic looking ale, the colour is so neat. Its dark,smoky brown with a hint of purple through it, its hard to describe, but beautiful, lovelly medium sized tan head.. Aromas of dark maltiness, prunes, figs, demerara sugar, dark 70% chocolate. Taste is thick and bitter smooth malts, toffee, ,extra strong black coffee, pipe tobacco , ashy and a hint of marzipan, all finished off by noticable ,yet pleasing alcohol. Great palate on this one, I relished the feel of every sip. Over all a very nice ale. Good one ,Eel River!

Bomber thanks to SamuraiArtist! Poured a lovely, deeper shade of plummy brown with a tall, creamy cap of yellowy-beige head. The aroma was centered around grainy darker fruits, drawn caramel, and chocolate.. floral hoppage, tobacco, and a pinch of grapefruity-citrus surrounded along with overt, but welcome alcohol.. I thought that this blended quite well. The flavor had aged caramel, tobacco, and smoke at the core, with pine, floral, and grapefruity bitterness surrounding.. dark fruits were laced throughout, leaving an enjoyable impression on the finish.. alcohol shows a bit, but it’s a strong beer.. toasty sweeter chocolates join in at the finish. Heavier-bodied with moderate carbonation on the palate.. OK balance, but a bit too sharp right at the end. I’d gladly have another (but I’ll share that one;).

bottle, from Cary Whole Foods. Ok aroma, not strong, Cocoa, wet leather, hint of peach or maybe more like a peach candle type scent. Clean dark orangy brown color, good head and ok lacing. Sweet flavor, mmm a very nice flavor rich malty with a little smoke. Thick body, creamy viscous mouthfeel, bittersweet finish. Wow, such a difference to me between aroma & flavor. Flavor is where it really at with this one

bomber. Good looking dark ale w/ sweet nose of malts & yeast. Taste is similar, w/ more yeast than I expected. Def biscuit/bready flavor w/ an odd flop at the end, just falls a little short.

Overripe dark fruit with an almost moldy character and a bit of Diacetyl, caramel and toffee. Biscuity and caramelized on the palate with some nuts, plums and raisins. Trainwreck of a finish.

Hazy dull red with a creamy head. Toffee and hop aroma with some milk and nutmeg. Fruitcake flavor, caramel and nuts, with strong alcohol. Silky palate. This is one of those beers that I think would benefit by reducing the alcohol significantly. If it was 6.7%, but with the same grain and hop ratios, it would be a nicer ale. Maybe a few cellar years would help out. Still a good beer though.

22 ounce bottle. I purchased this at some little ghetto-mart type liquor store located on Howe Ave. in Sacramento. Unfortunately, I do not remember the name of the place, but it is about half a mile south of Arden Way on Howe. Their good beer is actually in a cold-cut cooler that can only be opened by the person behind the register. I also scored an 07 Old Guardian, too. Aroma has a fair amount of sweet toffee, along with some significant doses of caramel with a touch of buttery diacetyl. A bit of floral is also in there with some ethanol retronasally. Smells pretty good, but the ethanol is a bit too apparent. Mildly hazy rusty-amber body with a relatively frothy manilla colored head. Below average lacing present. Some lightly sweet sugary malts initially present themselves, before tons of caramel maltiness, roasted, burnt, hazelnut malty flavors come through in the middle. A little buttery diacetyl is also present, but it is not overbearing. Warming finish with some ethanol and some dry, bitter, grapefruity hops. This is pretty good. It’s not overly balanced for my tastes, though. The finish just doesn’t jive with the pleasant start and middle.

22oz - Aroma is loaded with caramel and chocolate followed by black licorice, tobacco and alcohol. Pours dark brown with a small head and good lacing. Flavor matches aroma. Palate is sticky, syrupy and sweet. A very tasty brew.