Pike Tandem Double Ale

Brewed by Pike Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Seattle, Washington USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Nice brown coloured body with a copper and lighter bronze glow and a thick, three centimetre tall just off-white head. Aroma of nuts, earth, caramel and a hint of light hops. Medium-bodied; Strong toasted malt flavour with some lighter sugars, a bit of nuts and some metallic and bittering flavours. Aftertaste shows a good malt punch, but less so on the balance and little other flavours. Overall, a decent beer that shows well and is a decent representation of the style. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Total Wine in McLean, Virginia in Shenandoah National Park on 25-September-2010.

Poured a clear but deep amber/mahogany color with a very thin white head that went away quickly. Aroma is raisin, caramel, floral, grass, citrus, clove, and spice (very complex aromas that are different almost every time I inhale). Taste is tobacco, raisin, floral, honey, molasses, and a nice lemony bitter and tart finish. Quite interesting.

Sample at Fredericton Craft Beer Festival. Caramel brown colour, little head. Strong aroma of sweet molasses and alcohol, like a light barley wine. Taste is mostly caramel, hops went a bit more American than English earthy tasting. Overall, good for a strong brown, but nothing amazing.

22oz bomber poured into a chimay goblet. Pour is dark brown with tiny head. Nose is sweet malt and brown sugar and molasses. Taste is not nearly as sweet and has nice hop undertones and balance with roasted malt. Flavor is similar to other belgian dubbels. Mouthfeel is medium and nice. This is a nice complex beer ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

I must have a crazy palate, because I liked this better than Westmalle Dubbel. Pours deep, hazy amber with a diminishing off-white head. Aroma is of caramel, chocolate, vanilla, and raspberry. That chocolate and raspberry combination is something special to my nose. The taste is sweet, with caramel and slight roasty notes, followed by a lasting finish bookended by light citrus-herbal hops. Medium-full bodied and warming. Great beer, I think.

22 oz bomber. Dark brown pour with a medium tan head. Aroma of sweet malt and molasses with some hints of smoke. Medium to full bodied taste that hides the higher ABV. Nice brew.

Bottle. Pours a hazy dark brown with fairly little head. Eerily sweet in the nose, which is a bit odd for me. Taste is also a tad sweet, but with some bitter undertones. Not sure what to think of this...

Bomber. Pours deep brown/redish with a fizzy light brown head. Aromas of cola, spiced rum, caramel, booze, and a bit of pepper. Flavor is mild and somewhat strange. Fizzy carbonation, light chocolate, caramel, and some warming alcohol. Not sure whats going on here, but I enjoyed this just enough to not feed the drain......

May 2nd, 2010 - The American Strong Ale is a style I’ve never really grasped. It doesn’t have the garish flavor equivalent of a sour ale, or the caustic bite of a very hoppy brew. Still, it has something solid to it, like an amber, and always some kind of flavor hook that makes me glad I put scarce dollars into it. Pike Brewing’s Tandem Double Ale fits this categorization quite well. With a velvety soft smell, smooth and inviting, I’m coaxed in with the aromas of chocolate, but a bit rounder, like Reese’s peanut butter chocolate. I also catch a touch of sweet apple. Sipping on the dark, mahogany body I taste more of that rounded, divine peanut butter chocolate and apple, but seasoned with clove and cinnamon. I also catch some pumpkin pie spices. Conversely, deep notes of brown sugar and molasses take some of the spiky edge off the spice flavors The mouthfeel slightly dry and dusty, and is ill-suited for the kinds of flavor the Tandem is delivering. Strangely, I get the impression I’m drinking a spicy, herbal mixture with rich clay added in for body. There’s a lot here to recommend the Tandem ale, but some strange flaws as well. That seems to be this style for me.

pours almost black yet brown, small head, smallish micro CO2, some visible slow-moving CO2 streams. Sweet medium caramel malts on the nose. Bright fizziness up front, followed by a medium sweet (5/10) malted caramel mid, coriander in the background, creamy fizzy mouthfeel, light chocolate, finishes with mild hops, light oak, and a medium soft and lingering bitter finish (6/10). Medium complexity, medium depth, good transitions, good carry, nice drinkability. Solid though nothing exceptional.