3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
12oz bottle.
Reddish brown pour with a decent amount of off-white head. Diggin’ the aroma - nice balance of citrus/pine hops and caramel malt. Flavor is balanced as well but a bit disappointing - slightly sweet and bitter.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Dark amber color, nice tan head. Lovely floral hop essence and bready malts in the nose. The hops give a resiny coating to the tongue followed by a malt sweetness cut by a mellow bitterness. Really a quite unique beer, perfect for the cold Utah Winter nights.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Sampled on tap @ 1702 Tucson, AZ; March 2011
This arrives from the tap with a creamy textured, amber tinged, tan colored half-finger thick head that leaves lots of lacing on the sides of my glass. The beer is a dark, burnt amber color that shows a clear, ruby-amber hue when held up to the light. The up front aroma is dominated by herbal, citrusy hop notes and even some berry like notes. Specific notes of tangelo, ruby red grapefruit and a back drop of pine play nicely with subtler notes of biscuit-like maltiness and a solid cracker like character towards the finish. A nice appetizing aroma for any hop head, but there is a fair amount of malt character to this brew’s aroma too.
As the beer first hits my palate it tastes bitter, with a caramelized sweetness, a herbaceous quality and lots of fruity hop notes. The bitterness is present from start to lingering finish and there is also a herbal / menthol like hop character that is along for the ride as well. The beer has a medium body with some viscous heft to it through the middle of each sip, but the herbal / bitter hop character scrubs the palate clean of the residual malt in the finish. Flavors of buttery toffee and rich caramelized grain intermingle with fruit notes of tangelo, candied citrus zest, sweet-tart berry notes as well as some touches of hemp and pine needles too.
This is quite nice, I would be quite happy sipping a few pints of this over an afternoon / evening. The malt character is richer and darker leaning than the Sierra Nevada Celebration that inspired this brew, but it is definitely quite appropriate for a Winter beer.
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle. Nose is citrus and lavender. Pours a dark amber-gold with little head. Flavor isn’t as sweet as a winter warmer; a definite fresh hop bitterness reminds me of Sierra’s Celebration. Good, but nothing particularly ’wintry’ about it.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle; poured a dark auburn/brown with a light brownish head. Aroma of fruit, caramel, earth, tobacco, leather and dark fruit. Flavorful; hops shine through with some caramel and fruity depth.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Poured deeper garnet with a sticky beige head. The aroma picked up molasses, licorice, and nutty notes with light earth and vanilla accenting. The flavor found more licorice and molasses, along with assertive piney bitterness.. spicy and bitterness on the finsh. Medium-bodied and more bitter than expected on the palate.. decent feel and flow.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle:clear auburn color, nice big creamy head. Nose of big caramel and brash bitter hops, lots of pine and citrus with caramel spicyness. Flavor is like a candy cane with the sweet malts and complex fruity notes. Finishes on the hoppy side. Nice strong winter warmer for the ut.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
12oz bottle from the state wine store
Appearance: Dark clear copper/brown with a nice sized beige head and lots of sticky lacing
Aroma: Grapefruit and floral
Taste: Caramel malts, grapefruit with some bitter pine in the finish
A nice Winter beer.
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