Heavy Seas Winter Storm (2005-) (Imperial ESB)

Brewed by Heavy Seas Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Baltimore, Maryland USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Pours a slightly hazy chestnut color with some ivory head. There is too much brown for me to call it an amber. Aroma is mainly caramel malt with some breadiness. Taste is malty and bready with a little spice and bitterness mixed in. Body is medium. Not a bad beer but not what I would consider an ESB. It is too sweet.

Bottle. Rich buttery caramel malt aroma with just a hint of hops. Chestnut with a moderate ivory head. Caramel malt, harsh weedy hops, a little alcohol flavor. Medium to full sticky body, moderate carbonation. The weedy hops ruined this one for me. It just wasn’t a pleasant type of hops flavor. I was a bit surprised at the bitterness considering I didn’t get much hops in the nose.

Draft. Poured a deep amber with a slightly thicker than thin tan head with good lacing. Aroma had a great balance between the malts and hops and the flavor was the same way. Nice bitterness on the back end. A great take on a winter warmer going the ESB route. Nicely done.

Bright, fresh aroma. Deep mahogany color. Hoppier than anticipated. Evergreen notes. Well rounded, medium bodied.

On draft at whole foods. Pours a cloudy caramel color with a creamy off white head. Malty aroma and flavor.

Draft at Tuskie’s. Pours brown with a thin khaki head. Slight malt sweetness on the nose. Taste is a bit more hop forward than I expected. Hides it’s alcohol we’ll. Solid but not a fave.

12oz bottle - worst pour ever or just the headiest beer ever. Pours amber with creamy off white head and great lacing. Metallic caramel and grass. Fairly malty but thin. Dangerous. I bet this gets better at room temp. Fairly balanced taste wise.

UPDATED: DEC 2, 2012 Draft at Khyber Pass and again at Sugars. Poured a slightly hazy red amber brown with a frothy white head. Bitter malts. Like a slightly sweet molasses tea made with a piece of burnt wood. Coffee notes as it warms. Higher ABV kicks in at the end. Pumped up ESB but seems lacking in character beyond a few notes.

It pours a clear amber with a thin white head that fades into lacing. The aroma is a soft blend of malt and hops. The taste is similar. There’s a nice malty character upfront followed by bitterness in the finish. It’s clean and fairly smooth for the 7.5%. The lingering bitterness makes it somewhat difficult to drink this beer fast or in mass quantity but it’s not bad overall.

tap. hazy amber, oily cream island with collar head. Extremely medicinal nose is bark, light bile and plum. Ultra sugary flavor burns throat, light spice and fruit. Sticky body. Too strong.