<b>21-Jan-08</b> <i>&#40;12-oz bottle: Purchased 22-Jul-05 for $4.00 at the Silver Gulch Brewery in Fox, AK&#41;</i> I visit my buddy Jim up in Alaska every year or two, and we bought several bottles of the Grand Reserve at the brewery on one of my past trips. To my delight, he still has a bottle in the back of the fridge and he needs help making some space, so I’m volunteering my assistance. Excitedly, I reach for a bottle opener, but there’s absolutely no noise when prying off the cap, so this beer is pretty much flat. Pouring the beer confirms the lack of carbonation: no head whatsoever. The beer is dark ruddy-brown and very cloudy. Aromas of concentrated dark fruits, soy sauce, tawny port, and rich earth. The first impression when drinking this beer is of an extreme version of a well-aged Samichlaus, though it’s more intense than that. It’s sharply earthy with sweet, dark fruits like prunes and raisins, and soy sauce, but an interesting tartness and a modest bitterness offset the sweetness. In fact, for all the sweet, dark, fruity flavor, the full-bodied, heavy, almost syrupy beer is remarkably dry on the palate, especially in the finish. While carbonation is gone, there is enough sharpness from the strong earthiness to keep the beer from seeming like flat Coke. Almost certainly, this beer won’t improve with age, so I’ll drink my last bottle back home very soon. It’s probably not a beer that most would enjoy at this point, but I love cellared beers and this one is damn fine.

<b>Date:</b> 07/17/2005<br /> <b>Mode:</b> Bottle<br /> <b>Source:</b> Trade<br /> <b>Vintage:</b> 2002<br /> <br /> tiny pfft upon opening the bottle, rich fruity reaches the nose before the cap is even removed, pours rich and thick with a layer of muddy sediment in the bottom of the bottle, opaque dark brown, whispy head, rich syrupy sweet aroma with lots of rich ripe fruit, the body is initally thin but gets thicker towards the end of the sip, rich malt flavor, brown sugar sweetness, gets a bit cloying at times, a touch of tartness early on but never seen again, warming, an even bitterness in the finish, needs a few more years to fully develop<br /> <br /> <b>Aroma:</b> 9/10; <b>Appearance:</b> 7/10; <b>Flavor:</b> 7/10; <b>Palate:</b> 5/10; <b>Overall:</b> 16/20<br /> <b>Rating:</b> 3.9/5.0<br /><b>Score:</b> **4<br /> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /> <i>The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.</i><br />

The Silver Gulch Brewing Company is located in Fairbanks, Alaska and produces some very good beers that rival those of the Midnight Sun Brewing Company and the Alaskan Brewing Company. This one is no exception.

Thanks to hopdog for the ’02 vintage. Appears a dark brown with black and red notes. The small off white head quickly fades out. There are tiny specks of lacing left around the glass but they slide back down into the fizzled out head. Smell is of caramel, toffee, molasses, and light soy. I actually like the aroma though. Complex and different. Taste is of the aromas with a syrupy richness that teeters on being enjoyable. Mouthfeel is of coffee bitterness, light cocoa, and molasses with maple syrup. Drinks much like a sherry, or port.

12oz bottle acquired in trade with DarkElf &#40;thanks!&#41;. 2002 Vintage. Poured a dark and cloudy brown color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of toffee, caramel, nutty, roast, smoke, and some soy sauce. Tastes of toffee, molasses, light soy sauce, roast and smoke. Syrupy body with some alcohol in the finish. Sweet and bordering on cloying.