Ithaca Excelsior! Ten

Brewed by Ithaca Beer Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Ithaca, New York USA

Another bottle from NY drank in San Fran thanks to my buddy. Dark brown pour with a huge white head and very nice filigreed lacing. Nice hop aroma, both floral and citrus heavy. Alcohol is fairly well masked with just a bit nipping at you towards the end of your sip. Well balanced between a caramel malt sweetness and a pine/citrus hop bite. I desperately want to try more Ithaca brews!

Bottle into red wine glass. Batch E!014 - this one’s fresh. Pours a dark, mahogany brown, with a nice, thick fluffy bone-white head head, that lingers with some nice lacing. Aroma is resiny pine, almost minty and cool, alongside lots of sweet citrus (grapefruit rind), with a spicy alcohol note underneath. Hops come through very green. Syrupy sweet caramel malt comes through as well, just a bit toasty. Simply fantastic, even if a bit hot. Starts off with a molasses-like restrained sweetness, dark and spicy and a bit roasty, pinned down by a big, muscular layer of spicy, resiny hops. Prickly, both from the hops and the alcohol. Finish is long and richly bitter, with the bitterness sitting heavy on the palate along with the echoes of the rich, slightly roasty malt body. Taste is a bit more muddled than the aroma. Definitely a beer to savor over a cold winter day with the snow falling outside. Mouthfeel is a sharp, active but light carbonation over a sticky, syrupy body. The two aspects make for a well-balanced feel. Drinkability - not much problem knocking the bottle out, but the heat and the freshness of the beer certainly kept me from craving another bottle right away.

soapy big bubble cream head ... lots of piney hops and maple ... very drinkable, the abv is hidden well, but be careful, has a big bold presence that shows its girth ... funny, feels like an anniversary bier .. oh that dog of mine! ... "Ale on Lees" on the side of the bottle, i think so, a big red ale from the US with a nice touch of aged yeast, specail .. i know it is easy to drink, but maybe the thin body helps out to much in this brew, quite a big brew.. the label doesn’t lie when it says rich, hard to drink gulp wise, not that you would do that but it is a sipper... very boozy, thick in fullness, thick in gravity but not exactly in the mouth, a tough beernut to crack, i am having trouble finishing the last 16oz ... i enjoyed this beer but at the same time, detest it.. i poured out the remeaining 15oz, to much for me, and for anyone who remotely knows me, thats saying something... damn, a $16 mistake..." ... like when you take mushrooms, it starts out fun but then you trip out and %#$^@ !!!!

bottle batch E!009. poured amber brown with abundant creamy head. left lots of lace as the glass emptied. floral hoppy aroma. nice piney citrusy spicy hop taste... nothing overwhelming. balanced well with the caramel chocolate malt flavor... slightly fruity, nice amount of alcohol. tastes like you’d expect from the smell. definitely something to age if you can resist to help smooth out the flavor profile. pretty darn nice

Bottle at home Batch E!009... Thanks to Beer Bill and My Secret Santa for this one ... copper off white bubbly head ... big bright american hop nose with a little spice ... big sweet fruityness ... toffee and vanilla ... light spice ... medium heavy body ... bitter linger ... definitly a bit boozy

Had at Georgapalozza, with George Eagleson. nice amber pour some nice white foam. nose is hoppy but not overpowering. flavor is good malts with a nice hops balance... good beer. really full and creamy mouthfeel

750mL bottle, Batch E!006. Poured slightly murky medium orange with a short-lived cap of beige head (subsequent pours left more head, so I’m bumping it up a notch). The aroma was strong with floral notes, peppery spices, and some citrus over a bed of pizza dough, caramel, and redder fruits.. definite alcohol amplification. The flavor was similar in terms of stuff going on, but it lost some of its luster.. caramel and fruity notes at the core with pine, citrus, and spicy bitterness around.. something was breaking down in there, leaving strong, boozy, cardboardey notes in places.. muddled with too much going on. Heavier-bodied on the palate with enough carbonation to keep it moving.. sticky and messy in terms of flow, but it did leave a satisfying feel on the finish.

Hand bottle thanks to Goldtwins. Pours a dark amber with tan head. Hoppy nose from the start with good amount of toasted sugar. Flavor has a decent hop punch, but that is pushed aside with great sweetness from the malt followed up by a nice roasted finish. Thick mouthfeel, you can tell it has a good bit of alcohol with all that sugar.