3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/2022oz bottle. nice ruddy/rusty copper color, with a medium tan head that is moderately creamy. aroma is sweet, malty, and spicy - the demerera and brown sugar apparent. coriander and cinnamon also represent. The sweetnes plays with the hoppy aroma to make it juicy, like fresh grapefruit peels mashed with earthy pine needles. flavor threw me off at the start - I did not read the label and was expecting a traditional european yule ale. began with tangy-malt and went right to leafy hop bitterness. the spices are there in the middle, then they transition to toffee/caramel malt, demerera sugar, and back to hoppy bitterness. finish is fading hoppy bitterness. On a blind taste-test I would have guessed this as a limited release Lagunitas brew. very funny but accurately categorized as an American Strong Ale, aces for whoever did that!
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Smak och doft av malt, humle, nötter, mandel, torkad frukt, russin. Rostad och vinös karaktär. Bra efterbeska.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Whole Foods, Bowery 650ml ($12, but marked down to $6): Pours cloudy brown with a nice looking beige head. Aroma is spices, slightly roasted malt, caramel, a bit of booze, and a teenth of hops. Taste is slightly sweet and consistently spicy. Leaves some sugar and spice aftertaste. The cinnamon and coriander just seem to blend into the overall taste. Body is not particularly heavy. This is good, but not great.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Appearance: Cloudy amber color with a fine tan white head. Ok lacing.
Aroma: Slightly sweet fruity and spicy.
Palate: Full body. A bit sweet and a fine bitterness. Average carbonation.
Taste: Spicy and fruity on a sold malt background. Warming, not disturbing alcohol.
Overall impression: Solid winter warmer.
Personal stats: Bottle from workmate Gundersen.
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Vintage swingtop bottle from barley wine, best before aug.1.2007
cloudy amber, smooth light brown head.
Barley wineish (english style) aroma has developed, hops are gone. Left is a quite delicate old hops and spices aroma, the spices are dominated by cloves, also a dried fruity note to it. Flavor is quite bitter with a dried fruity and spicy base. I get cloves, bitter fruit peel, bitter caramel, overripe banana without the sweetness, Quite a bitterspicy experience. Not the best english style barleywine i’ve tasted, but it was never intended to be aged for this long. No obvious signs of infection or oxidation, but tastes a lot like "old beer".
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle: Deep caramel, moderate to large rocky white head, fairly nice lacing. Spicy nose, seems to be a bit like Necco wafers. Has that powerdy sugar nose. Otherwise some minor dark pitted fruit and alcohol. Muted and dull hop character up front. A little musty, muted spices. Again with the Necco wafer like candy. Its a flavor that is common with Anchor Our Special Ale. This example is has more of an earthy aspect to it. Not very bright overall, dull hop and dull spices. Body and mouthfeel are moderate to full. Decent winter offering, but not very bright. Could be that its an aged bottle? Its similar to Anchor Our Special Ale, but in a light version. Wished it had more of a malty backbone to it.
3.9 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle. Murky brown color, scant head. Aroma of spiced hot chocolate and coffee. Taste is similar, with cinnamon and nutmeg. Decent.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Fresh nose with aromas of chocolate, orange and brown sugar. Sweet malty taste with spicy hop notes, that somewhat reminds me of swedish julmust. Aftertaste is long, slighthly burnt and bitter. Full bodied with good taste!
4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle (from the november 2005 RB-tasting at Dixens place - notes have been damaged by flooding of my basement, but this was such an insane tasting for me as I was new to such massive tastings, so I gave up on the detailed notes quite early). Delicious, hoppy aroma of flowers. Hoppy and bitter flavour. Nice!
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle, best before 16.09.10, bottled 18 months earlier.
Slightly hazy amber, porous tan head, some lacing.
Aroma: toffee, fruit.
Taste: toffee, dried fruits, almonds?, syrup or brown sugar, some spices.
Just above medium-bodied, smooth.
Heavily hopped according to the bottle, but that has faded now. Instead more of a sweet and malty ale. Rating what I have here, and it is really good.
2.6 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 10/20
Dezent hopfiger und etwas kräuterartiger Antrunk. Dieser bleibt bestehen, der Hopfen wird etwas schwächer, eine röstige und überaus milde Malznote rückt nach. Süffig, wenig würzig. Zum Ende aber dann doch malziger, dern Hopfen wirkt weiter in seiner weichen milden Art. 10/8/9/7/8/8
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