Valley Brew Old Headbanger Ale

Brewed by Valley Brewing Company
Style: Old Ale
Stockton, California USA

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Poured dark amber brown, caramel, dark fruits, little roasted malts, little wood, slightly vegital.

Bottle sampled at Noog Four-0 5/31/08 courtesy of beerguy101: Pours a hazy copper mahogany with a thin, wispy-lacing off-white head. Aroma of sweet caramel, ginger, honey and cinnamon with a touch of doughy yeast. Body starts with decent fullness and fresh piny resiny hops with good semi-sweet caramel and spice balance before a drier bittersweet finish. An interesting and enjoyable old ale.

From growler. A brown beer with a tan head. The aroma is sweet malty combined with note of caramel. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of caramel and a bit of spices.

Pours a muddy brown color with a small brown head. Sweet aroma. Tastes of raisins, toffee, and brandy with a slightly bitter finish. It was served a little too cold for my liking. It might have been better warmer, but still a nice brew.

Bomber thanks to KrausenJockey!! Poured very deep brown with a thick, well-retained, creamy cap of tan head. The aroma was all about the toasty darker malts with brown sugar, caramel, chocolate, and molasses present.. light herbal accents.. great balance. The flavor found baker’s chocolate, molasses, and brown sugar at the core with vanilla, graham, and peaty sweetness snaking outward.. bitterness was mild and herbal again.. finished dry and warm. Medium-plus bodied with rolling carbonation on the palate.. drier, spicy, and oaky on the back and through the finish.. lightly sour, which helped rather than hurt. Very good stuff!

(10/29/08) Draught at the brewery in Stockton (thanks a lot Steve and Mike!). 8.5%. Muddy dark brown color. Aroma full of malt, dark fruits (a lot of raisins) and caramel. Sweet malty flavor with dark fruits, caramel, some wood and chocolate notes. Medium to full-bodied. Quite nice.

Draft, courtesy of KrausenJockey. Thanks!! Pours a murky brown color; patchy, fine-bubbled lacing. Sweet wet malts and toasty malts in the aroma; light cinnamon and breadiness. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: loads of sweet maltiness, wet malts, and chewy caramel and dense sugar; lively, dense, intense maltiness; layered sweetness; chewy malts and brown sugar. Lengthy finish: chewy sugar, wet malts, and lengthy sweetness.

On tap at Stone. Cloudy brown with no head. Deep earthy aroma and taste with nome spicy notes.

On Tap @ Stone today. Pours orange with a tan head. Nose is indistinct and slightly sweet. Taste was great, sweet with big raisin character.and a full bodied feel with a bite.

Sample at Stone Brewing; i don’t really remember other than what alexanderj wrote down. I thought it was sugary but roasted; as well as being grassy and yeasty.