Full Sail Vesuvius

Brewed by Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Hood River, Oregon USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Bottle @ home. I just found this still on the shelf in Denver. I remember liking it two years ago- lets see how the sucker held up in fluorescent light the last two years. Somewhat cloudy, golden orange appearance with an off white head. Soapy floral, a touch earthy (?), bready, herbal, slight citrusy aroma. Herbal, soapy, floral hoppy, light orange citrusy, bready yeasty flavor. I thought I enjoyed this two years ago but maybe I was just a shithead. This is ok.

Bottle at the Funky 6. Pours gold with a moderate, white head. Strong malt aroma with yeast, spice and Belgian sugar. Sweet flavor, malty, with light yeast and fruit. Medium to full bodied with average carbonation. Finishes sweet with Belgian yeast notes. Good.

22oz bomber. Hazy, unfiltered golden-tan color. Thin, steady off white head. Sweet, sugary Belgified aroma. Doesn’t really do the style justice, very par to sub-par US version. A little bit thick, chewy, with some clove-like balance. Rich, with some alcohol laced fruit tones..banana, orange, tangerine. Lacks the effervescent mouthfeel and delicacy that can make the style great. Sort of goes for an Orval like thing, but doesn’t quite get there. OK.

Pours a nice gold color with too small a head for a Belgian-style ale. Smells like a hef - grains, light caramel malts, some honey... just a tad sweeter. Flavor adds a bit of tropical fruit - maybe even some banana - it’s definitely trying for the profile of a Belgian golden ale, but it’s falling short. It needs to be livelier, with some better yeasty depth. As is, for lack of a better term, it’s too macro.

Bomber. Pours golden with off-white clings. Lots of spice and bubblegum in the nose. Tastes of bananas and bubblegum--not a good combination to me, but makes an adequate golden Belgian.

Thing has a really nice nose of alcohol mixed with summer public pool and some astringent accents. What follows is a little messy, like someone tried to blend a perectly fine high alcohol tripple with a Belgian Brune or something similarly sour. Taste has some band-aid and alcohol mixed with what could be a great golden ale. Too funky for me.

2009 22 oz. bottle from Plaza Liquors - Pours a crystal clear golden color with a small off white head. No real lacing to speak of. Aroma is Belgian candy sugar, esters, and yeast. Flavor is much of the same with the addition of herbal hops. Medium body. A deceent beer.

22oz bottle purcahsed at Cedar City UT ST Liquor Store. Gold color pour with a medium white head and a little lacing. Very "Belgian" aroma: lots of yeast and spice. Slightly sweet and dry flavour with more spice and a little banana. okay.

Sampled February 7th, 2010
A solid, but not overly aggressive, pour into my 25cl tulip glas produces four fingers of pale tinged froth. The beer underneath is brilliantly clear and a rich gold hue that shines brightly when held up to the light. The aroma smells of ripe apples, pears, hay and cracker-like grain at the first. A deeper inspection of the nose yields melon notes, some honey-like muskat grape notes, a hint of orange zest, ample clove aromatics and more of a crushed grain husk dustiness in the deep finish.

Fairly dry tasting, though the fruity fermentation notes boost the sweetness that is here. Flavors of ripe pear, bright mellon, a hint of green apple, and some floral green grape notes are balanced in the finish by a light, but firm, bitterness, some spicy phenolic clove notes, a touch of spicy white ginger and maybe even a touch of white pepper. The body has a lightnes to it that makes it quaffable, but it does still have a certain viscous fullness to it.

This is not a bad interpretation of the style that is embodied by Duvel. I like that it has more fruitiness and spiciness than the standard. It does have more body and sweetness, but neither of these really detract. I wasn’t expecting much from this beer for some reason, but I find that it is quite enjoyable.

(bottle from Weber St Liquor in Colorado Springs, sampled 2/11/10). Clear golden color. Small off white head. Aroma of light fruit esters. Light sweet candy and light fruit flavors. Avg duration. Light alcohol finish. Slick texture. Soft to moderate carbonation. Spare lacing.