22 oz bottle coutesy of DrDogBeer as part of Secret Santa ’09. Thanks Tom.
The label says that this is an American take on an English Old Ale – should be interesting.
Pour is a very nice, chestnut body with some good clarity. Head, lace and retention are minimal, but largely as expected with the 8.00% ABV tag.
Nose and tastes give the same, slightly odd mixture. The beer starts with plenty of malts, and a really quite distinct nutty character but as it drinks the hop character comes more to the fore leading to a fairly dry finish. The finish also gives some more alcohol and a few dry sherry notes. Aftertaste is surprisingly bitter with some degree of metal. There’s a hint of brown ale base as well. Light vanilla.
Ultimately I’m really not sure about this. I winds up sort of in nomansland with a nice malty start and then a far-too-hoppy-for-the-old-ale-style ending. It never gets to American Strong territory either, and to me the beer is a touch unsatisfying in the way it’s not really being one thing or another.
I dunno, this just ends up in between too many flavor profiles to sit well with me. Too much of mish-mash.