Smuttynose Smuttonator

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry & tupalev -- my bottle courtesy of Thaichile. Pours an almost clear dark ruby-brown with a large lasting creamy off-white head. Aroma of sweet malt, some chocolate, nuts and hints of dark fruit. Nice dark malty flavour with some alcohol but not too bad considering it’s 9.6%. Medium to full bodied. Good stuff, a nice version of the style.

Bottle sampled with Stegosaurus. Pours dark with a tan head. Aroma of fruit, citrus, hops, and caramel. Flavor is caramel, citrus, and overly bitter.

Bottle shared with Hogtown Harry and Blankboy, Paul’s bottle. Dark brown, lots of red, medium white head. Mild malt aroma, some alcohol. Wow, great taste. Rich dark malt, intense nutty sweetness, a hint of burning alcohol (but not 9.6%). Warming stuff, even in the middle of summer! A solid Dopplebock.

Bottle (650ml). Shared with blankboy and tupalev, blankboy’s bottle . Clear dark ruby-brown, small fizzy/creamy off-white head. Roast malt aroma, light chocolate, hints of yeast and cream, very mild hops - quite grainy on warming. Taste is a pleasant balance of sweetish roast malt and fresh sweet grain, I get a little cherry and plenty of booze - nice! Average at best body, not much carbonation, nice and syrupy - quite boozy in the finish.

After sampling quite a few different Smuttynose beers during a recent NJ/PA vacation I’ve become a big fan of this superb brewery . However, this offering left me a bit dissapointed. Pours a translucent brownish-ruby color with a thin, but lasting beige head. Aroma was pleasant revealing caramel candies, figs, dates, toasted malt and spices, but seemed a bit too reserved and faint. Mouthfeel was somewhat thin and watery I thought for a DB, probably as a result of the high alcohol level. Flavors mostly in line with the aromas but a bit more assertive; sweet caramel, dark fruits, toffee, toasted malts and a mild spiciness. Finish was sweet and warm, but quick. Wasn’t too thrilled with this one overall.

Again, not everything deserves to end in "ator" and not everything deserves to have a goat on the bottle. This was a disappointment. Pours dark reddish gold with a little head. Taste of sweet malts and toffee, liglhtly hopped, but with nasty overtones of too much alcohol insufficiently masked and the bubble gum overtones of an unbalanced barleywine.

I was all in the mood to be smuttonated, but as I sat waiting the sensation that I had expected to be overwhelming simply crept up, tapped me on the lips and slowly slanked away. This may be an unfair assessment as it was actually far above fair, but dang blast it I blame Smuttynose themselves for making other beers I like a lot. I do hope they play with the recipe a bit as it’s not all too far away from being a beer I would like a lot and they could do it in two divergent possibilities - either make mmore malty or head own the hop highway.

22 oz bottle: Looks good. A reddish-brown color with some nice lacing, good looking carbonation and a cappucino fulffy head. Smell is nice too, roasted malts, some grassy hops, nutty. Flavor doesn’t live up to the appearence and aroma, if you ask me. A little fruitier than I was expecting. Some figs, raisins, an almost bourbon like flavor. Also a grassier wheatish flavor than I was expecting.