Pyramid Snow Cap Ale

Brewed by Pyramid Breweries
Style: English Strong Ale
Seattle, Washington USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Malty with a bit of hops. Call me a hophead but it seems rather mild to me.

Very malty with a little bit of hops thrown in. This is really good stuff.

Dark, almost deep brown with a reddish hue to it. Real smooth. Not a lot of hops, but the label says they’re using East Kent Goldings...no extra hoppy harshness, that’s for sure. Just enough balance to make this brew very warming, almost like wine. Kind of a hybrid between alt ale and barley wine. I’m not tasting added spices in this one, all of the complex flavors seem to be coming from the various malts and hops used in the process. I like it and I’ll bet it’ll cellar very well over a year’s time.

Cola tang and aroma, whisky and wood. Much better as it warms. The tannins aren’t soft yet as this is still very young. A solid and pleasant though not punishing bitter finish. Doesn’t have the dextrin softness of the best English brews. I can re-taste when this ages but this brew in front of me is nowhere close to holiday brews from Boonville, Sierra, Deschutes and Full Sail.

Definately more of an Old Ale than a barleywine. A lot of malt with a licorice like finish. Pretty good winter brew.

UPDATED: DEC 11, 2003 Better after a few years. This will cellar well. UPDATE- I just had a bottle of 2000 in Decemebr of 2003 and it was VERY nice. Very mellow and smooth. No sharp edges and I am sure that it gained some alcohol. Yummy.

I would call this an Old Ale, not a barleywine. In any case, it is very tasty, with a nice dark, sweet malt ground emphasized by whiskyish flavors. One of the best winter warmers out there.

UPDATED: MAY 11, 2006 Draught: This one pours a very dark brown, and is topped with a small tan head. It leaves lots of lacing down the glass. The aroma is somewhat spicy and malty. Perhaps a touch of cinnamon in there. The body is a little on the richer side, with a caramel malt sweetness balanced nicely with some hop spiciness. Maybe just a hint of roastiness. I don’t know if you would want to call a 7% beer a session beer, but this goes down really easy. Now I know why my friends in the northwest put this stuff away for later!

What a great beer this is! Talk about a mouthful! You almost have to chew this stuff! Very malty with moderate hops. Maintains an intense dark roasted, semi-burnt malt flavor. Extremely rich and very smooth texture. Alcohol level is evident just at the right amount. Late palate is somewhat of a biscuity taste, followed by a very long bittersweet finish. This would never sell here in FL. It has too much flavor.

the dark amber reddish color was awsome, it was worth the buy just to look at it, quality