nhorween (491), New York, New York, USA Mar 19, 2008 Updated: Aug 3, 2008 Bottle, batch E!006. Ruddy red-brown pour with a fine cream colored head. Great aroma, reminds me of the winter yulesmith right away. Great balance of sweetness and hops - really sticky with plenty of citrus, honey, light caramel and brown sugar. Alcohol comes through with some spices - really, really floral. Flavor is really similar. Nice round hops with just enough sweetness to balance. Smooth bitter finish, alcohol in the back of the tongue. Great body. Easily Ithaca’s best beer. Very well done. Rerate - Batch #E!009 - not as impressive as the previous batch that I tasted. I’m getting some rye which I didn’t taste any of the first time.
BigBeer45 (451), Troy, Michigan, USA Aug 7, 2008 Bottle from Wegmans in Canandaigua, NY, Batch# E!006, poured into a tulip and a Watou trappist glass, I like the trappist glass for a better presentation, pours a clear brown rust red with off-white and tan bubbles (pour turns cloudy as you get to the bottom of the bottle from sediment), nice varied bubbled head and creamy lacing on the glass, very efferevescent, this stuff just oozes a thick head, a generous amount of dark sediment covered the bottom of the bottle, so, I guess this stuff is not filtered, has a big caramel aroma, chocolate and this chocolate aroma reminds me of the Great Divide ‘Hibernation Ale’, roasted malt, citrus, floral and pine hop aromas, faint dark fruit fragrances, my oral cavaties were filled with flavors of roasted and toasted malt, caramel and citrus fruit biting hops, faint alcohol felt on the palate which mixes well with the hop bitterness, hop bite gains strength at the finish, alcohol grows some with warming but the hop bitterness is right there to parade along, and the mix is pretty good, hop bitterness lingers afterwards, mouth feel is pretty full and creamy, has a chewy feel to it on the palate, this is a big malt flavored and hoppy beer and you know it with each sip taken, I picked this up while visiting Canandaigua, glad I did, what a pick, if you like a big malt flavored, hoppy beers buy it, you will not be disappointed. mgumby10 (1584), West Palm Beach, Florida, USA Aug 5, 2008 Pours a darkish maroon, with a small off white head. Smells partyl sweet, big dark fruit presence right away, roast, and sugars also are in the mix here. The flavor was also a bit on the sweet side, however much more balanced than the nose. Lots of syrupy malts, and a much more noticeable hop presence that balances out some of that sweetnesswith a little bitterness. I thought this was pretty well done brew. Nothing overly complex about it, just tasty. gunhaver (603), Tampa, Florida, USA Aug 5, 2008 Bottle courtesy of tpd975. Pours a caramel color, with a thick frothy white head, and very thick filmy lacing. Very spicy nose. Malts are big and delicious, with vanilla and sweet brown sugar. Flavor is very malty, brown sugar, caramel, chocolate, rye, wheat. Unique. Bitter, yet balanced well, tasty, drinkable and filling. Could pound again. Walt (2262), Chicago, Illinois, USA Aug 3, 2008 Thanks Eric! Pour is clear and dark reddish amber with a big and tight off white head...smell is strongly hoppy with citrus and lots of resin and some pine...taste is sweet at first with some nice hard toffee candy like a Werther’s...then a citric and piney bitterness...the finished quickly turned amazingly dry with an astringent type quality...interesting how it turned my mouth into a desert like that...Thanks Eric! emacgee (991), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Aug 1, 2008 Poured a deep red orange with a creamy tan head. the nose was very citrusy, grapefruit rind, caramel sweetness, spicy hops. Very spicy hoppy flavor, bitter, grapefruit rind, thick, sweet. The palate was thick and waxy with a warming finish. Very enjoyable.
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