Trafalgar Oak-Aged Rye

650 ml bottle from the LCBO. Deep amber colour with a thick beige head. Arom ais a bit grainy and fruity. A kiss of light berryish sweetness. As it warms I get a bit of cherry and a light graininess. Lightly citrusy with a little bit of grassy character. I do get some rye spiciness in here, although I don’t get any oak to speak of. It’s quite a decent brew, but not a great one.

A nice amber ale with a thick light moka head. A pleasant vanilla aroma, with little acid points. In mouth, rye malt with light oaken wood notes, dry, medium bodied. A good beer for Trafalgar. Bought at LCBO, Ottawa.

Copper and metallic undertone to the sickly sweet butterscotch aroma. Clear, viscous and oily-looking deep golden body topped by a decent off white head that recedes rapidly to ring and slight partial cover. Grains and spices are not quite overwhelmed by the butterscotch in the flavour but it is still quite overpowering. Moderate bitterness and some pleasant toasted malt character in the aftertaste. Medium body with moderate carbonation and somewhat slick texture. Snifter. Cellar temperature. Bottle (BB Aug-08, LCBO at Lynden Park Mall in Brantford, May-08).

Bomber. Poured vibrant, fiery orange with only a swirly dusting of whitish head (when swirled). The aroma picked up sweet honey accented by grainy fresh oak and mild peppery spices (must’ve been the rye).. if a beer can smell dry, this one did it. The flavor had honey, pale malt, and buttercream at the core, laced with rye and oak.. sweet-ish finish with more of the same accents. Light-bodied and very dry on the palate.. nothing all that interesting here, but it was drinkable.

Some gold in the light body, with a detergent soapy vine crown. Not great smell a little cheesy.On the thin side, the rye has attitude and for 5% it’s got mouthburn. A weak lager but there is something to drink on a hot night.

Draught. At BeerBistro, 2007 Golden Tap Awards. Clear, light amber-gold with a small white head. Aroma of oak, vanilla, bourbon (probably all the same thing, so sue me), and sweet malt, faint grassy hops. Tastes the same, a little cloying in the finish. Slick, flat, mildly alcoholic mouthfeel .... not all that memorable, but the oak aging isn’t OTT and it does a good job of covering up the normal Trafalgar tendency toward cheap, boozy and sugary.

On Tap at Beer Bistro
Appearance :Amber gold with creamy smallish top.
Nose :Plenty of vanilla nose placed together with vegetable like touches.
Flavour/Palate:
Initial harshness due to its carbonation. Sallow bodied, grainy base with off drying harsh finish. Weak attempt.

2007 Golden Tap Awards. Labeled "Oak Villain" on the tasting list, but described as Oak-Aged Rye by the pourers. Golden amber body with a small off white head. Nice aroma of vanilla blended with lightly alcoholic grains and something unidentified. (7+) Flavour has more of the vanilla notes, lots of grainy notes to the malt (perhaps enhanced by the wood notes?) and light floral notes, moderate bitterness throughout. Vanilla lingers into the finish. Average palate. I actually found this quite drinkable, but the strength of the vanilla might become a bit much in larger portions. An interesting experiment.