Ipswich Winter Ale

Brewed by Ipswich Ale Brewery
Style: English Strong Ale
Ipswich, Massachusetts USA

Serve in English pint, Trappist glass

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12oz bottle. Pours a cloudy brown with a light tan head. Decent malt taste with a nice balance of hops. No crazy spices like many other so called winter ales. Very drinkable though somewhat boring overall.

Aroma of currants and chocolate malt. Soupy light brown appearance. It has the overall character of an English old ale, but is more bitter than most examples. Chalky, rough consistency that reveals the malt backbone of the beer. A solid entry.

Faint malty fruit aroma.Deep clear ruby color.Foamy one and half finger head with a tinge of red. Dark fruit and spice aroma. Smooth malty dry taste.Mild woodsy feel. Has an almost chalky feel. Tastes darker than it looks if that makes sense to anyone.Leaves lots of lacing on glass. Leaves a dry sourness on your tongue. Good but not great.

12oz Bottle, purchased at Downtown Wine & Spirits - Somerville, MA. A warm, settled, strongly nutty aroma with a relaxed perfume of hazlenuts and gentle caramelization. This is a cozy beer, but it has some rough edges. There’s a harsh bitter edge mid-palate, that’s surprising and jarring. The brown flavors have a little too much of that proto-umami soy sauce burn to them. Otherwise, this sailor appreciates a little warmth and beefiness after a long day of wind and waves.

Bottle. Hazy brown with off white head. Aromas of caramel, raisin, yeast, apple. Flavors of molasses, raisin, roasted nuts, and lemon peel. Medium-thin body with creamy mouthfeel and moderate, soft carbonation.

Opaque-brown, thin-tan-head, med-body, med-co2.

Aroma: Dark-fruit alchl §roast-malt.

Taste:
T1: caramel-malt bright-hops.
T2:earthy sweet-mlss-malt pungent-kettle-hops.
T3:stale-hop-bitter mineral.
Tf: §charcoal.

Seems like an english brown ale with a balancing amount of kettle hops   but no noticeable aroma hops.

deep brown hue with thin brown head, it has a small malty aroma and a well balanced body. a solid winter ale.

THOUGHTS: They call it a Scottish ale, Ratebeer calls it a British strong ale, but it really seemed like a brown ale. Fairly British. Very enjoyable beer. Not very wintry, except for its maltiness. Too hoppy to be a Scottish. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a murky to muddy, medium to dark, amber brown with amber highlights and a small, off-white head that mostly diminished. There were also small to medium particles of a thick density in the body. The aroma was moderate, cookie, cereal, nuts roasted malt and shortbread cookies; hints of chocolate and coffee; light herbal hops; ever so slight funky yeast; and toffee that increased as it warmed. The initial flavor was moderately sweet; while the finish was rather sweet and rather bitter with and average to long duration. There was nutty and caramel malts, a little coffee, hints of cocoa, herbal hops, a little sour fruit, toasted malt, slight toffee, citrus, toffee, tea and perfumy hops. The medium body was a little syrupy and then dry with lightly fizzy carbonation and a lightly metallic finish.

12 oz bottle. A dark dirty brown color with a small tannish head. Nose is light chocolate notes and some dark fruits with a light tobacco hop note. Palate is a little thin but is crisp. Flavors of light resiny hops, some light raisins, and a bitter finish that stings the tongue. Lacing left sporadic on the glass.

My Bottom Line:
Distinct caramel malts and plum fruitiness ride this Old Ale’s lean body, ending up in delicate earthy hop bitterness.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam tops the reddish brown.
-The flavor profile is balanced throughout, and nicely drinkable.
-The effervescence remains soft, making it easy to discern most flavors.
-The malts are also a tad toasty.
-The plum-like flavors are very lengthy.

Bottle.