3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Pours a burnt orange color with almost no head. The aroma is full of sweet berry fruit. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc.... One dementional, but nice. The flavor is pretty sweet with lots of fruit and caramel. Very strong alcohol presence with a mild bitter finish. There’s something a bit artificial/medicinal about this that puts me off a bit. A little doughy, but sweet. Like a jelly doughnut, I guess.
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Rather soft aroma- some sweet simple sugars, vanilla, light orange, and soft boozy twang. Beautiful fully filtered bright reddish orange with thin beige ring of head. Sweet notes of vanilla and caramel, sweetness/spicyness that I can’t quite put my finger on - cinamon sugary in a sense. Slight hoppy bite is earthy and dry. Touch of alcohol twang, medium carbonation, almost seems lighter in body/over atenuated to me, but the drinkability is high and the beer is well put together.
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
on tap at brouwers for hard liver 2010. clear red color with a very smooth palate but lacked much in flavor.
3.5 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
On tap at Hard Liver 2010. I was hoping for a cinderella story in this one, and it was good, but didn’t do everything I wanted it to. Pretty pour - very red, with a bigger, denser head than a lot of the others at the fest. Lots of fruit in the nose - some darker fruits, but I’m really almost getting raspberries in it. The flavor is more astringent - still fairly mellow, but there’s a bitterness the aroma was lacking. Something odd in here - it’s both sweet and bitter... like an orange rind with some honey. Ruined when I realized it smelled exactly like a public restroom air freshener.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
On tap at Blue Palms. I’m the 2nd rating? Nice job, BP! Slightly hazy copper orange with a one finger beige head, good retention. Lots of sweet caramel/toffee and toasted malts in the nose with a bit of raisins and vanilla. Without checking I’m reminded of AVBC’s Horn Beer or whatever it’s called. Flavor is much the same--big malty tooffee and caramel beast--with light to moderate alcohol presence. Tiny hints of chocolate also show up. Yes, it is sweet, but somehow manages not to be too cloying. Bitterness peaked at a 2-3. Medium full body with light prickly carbonation.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
UPDATED: APR 10, 2010 Lost Coast Fog Cutter Barley Wine, weighing in at 9.5% alcohol is a new brew from this Eureka brewery. This was from a growler, that I had to do battle with the brewpub to get, I poured this into my Chimay glass where the garnet colored brew raised a small white head and light lacing rings. The nose is mostly caramel malts. The body is full and the mouthfeel very smooth and slick. The flavor is malty and moderately sweet, and the finish has a slight bitterness. This a a very nice barley wine and if bottled might age into something pretty special. But for a Barley Wine fresh from the tanks this is simply excellent. I know my score seems high, but then you have to root for the home team.
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