 jca_lbi (378), New Jersey, USA
Aug 11, 2002 Very rich pouring out of the bottle. Rust to brown body with a thick tan head. Raisins, carmel, alcohol (oh so slightly) with some roasted aromas as well. Incredibly smooth mouthfeel with espresso flavors. Wildly bitter throughout the entire beer. I would have swore that this wasn’t 12.5% abv at the start. I stand (barely) corrected.
Eyedrinkale (3102), Beer Town, New York, USA
Jul 25, 2004 Murky brown color with smallish head. Aroma of light roasted malt and mellow hops but thats all thats mellow about this magic elixar. Why would they possibly discontinue something this good? Tastes of over ripe oranges, brown sugar and espresso round it out. Magic on the lips.
raindog (525), Evansville, Indiana, USA
Jul 17, 2002 Transpearent mahogany. You would expect the head to be served to you in a bowl with a spoon.Beautiful appearence. High carbonation at work. Aroma of hops(suprisingly) and sweet fruits. Mouthfeel similar to WWStout in that the palate is very flavorful but extremely soft.Alcohol is well masked by sweet,creamy,malts and a distinct hop presence.Not what I was expecting being this was my first eisbock.This is definately something I would lay down for a year or so before retrying.The flavors did not seem to mesh as well as I think they can.Excellent though.
TAR (1996), Boulder Co., Colorado, USA
Jun 15, 2002 Huge mirangue-like patchy foam which leaves spectacular lacework. The surprising aroma, for such a big beer, is rather subtle: dominant hops, prunes, styrofoam, apples, and gaseous (which seems to provide cleanliness). I am talking super clean. Mouthfeel is heavily carbonated with the tiniest of bubbles of dryness; semi-full, creamy, and fluffy. Prunes, fruity malt, coffee/cream, and toffee. Finish is bitter. Green grapes also emerge in the long finish, as it warms. I would love to know if the abv is really what it says it is. Doppelbock/barleywine/extra pale hybrid? Needless to say, this was loads of fun!
VENOM (941), Connecticut, USA
May 7, 2002 Luminous copper with a fat and foamy 1/2’ thick sticky tan head. Light but steady carbonation. Aroma of hops, caramelized sugar and spicy alcohol. Whoo mama this is gonna be a good one. Medium body, lighter than expected. Loaded with hops and a light sweetness. The alcohol flavor is melded with the sweetness and hop flavor and this takes on a serious Eisbock quality. Body starts to expand as you sip, filling your mouth with a juicy hoppiness coated in alcohol. Very clean tasting and dry despite its obvious heft. Tastes slightly young and not quite integrated yet but this is a fine evening sipper as of right now. Finishes with a little fruitiness riding the wave of spicy alcohol and turns immensely dry (OG is 1.070). This is the smoothest and cleverly cloaked high ABV brew I’ve had in a while. It will be interesting to see what flavors develop after cellaring this monster.
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