Rhoobarb
Well-Known Member
Well, the fiancée and I sampled these last Saturday and I finally got around to transposing my notes last night. Even though I am not a BJCP certified judge, I'm going to give these an overall point rating using the BJCP scale of 1-50, as shown at the bottom of this sheet - just for the hell of it! I'm just wingin' it here with the numbers, so take it with a grain of salt.
Per your suggestion, I am holding off trying your Brown Ring of Fire Pale Ale until it ages a bit longer. I'll try it weekend after next and post my review then.
Hop Beatdown Double IPA
Appearance: Nice, quick pffft sound when uncapped. Nice 1-1/2 finger off-white head dissipates after about a minute. Nice amber color, right to style.
Aroma: Very slight hop - I really had to sniff hard to pick it up. Malt aroma is there, but this is a lot like my IPAs and DIPAs. It seems malt aroma diminishes on a daily basis as the beer ages!
Flavor: Wow! This is a nearly perfect balance of malt to hops. My fiancée called it "dead on"! The malt is up front, then the hops soon hit mid-taste and hang on in the finish, but soon yield to a non-cloying, slightly sweet finish. Perfect to style! Very well done!
Mouthfeel: Nice, medium-heavy, full mouthful. Just what you'd expect from a DIPA!
Overall Impression: I want another! If you can somehow kick up the hop aroma, this could win some awards, IMHO. Excellent job - very well done!
Rating: 37
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Smoked Porter
Appearance: Nice pffft sound when uncapped. Pours a nice two-finger tan head which dissipates after ~2 minutes and linger thinly on top the whole time. The color is as black as night!
Aroma: Mild, roasty aroma is evident. No hop aroma is discernable, which is correct to style, but there was no smoke aroma, either.
Flavor: Nice malt flavor with a slight bitterness from, I'm guessing, some black malt. Not as much burnt/coffee flavor as I'd expect this style, nor did I detect any smoke flavor. To be fair, my fiancée proclaimed it to have a "very slight, almost imperceptible smoke flavor". To be honest, this reminded me more of an export stout than a porter! With that in mind, I really enjoyed this beer a helluva lot!
Mouthfeel: Nice, smooth, creamy mouthfeel - again, very stout-like!
Overall Impression: I really liked this beer and could easily drink nothing else all day on a cozy evening! I'm no expert, but I think if you were to enter this 'as is' into competition as an Export Stout, you might take away some hardware! Excellent job - very well done!
Rating: to style: 28; as a stout: 36
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Vanilla Bourbon Winter Ale
Appearance: Nice pffft sound when uncapped. Pours a nice one-finger off-white head which soon dissipates to a thin layer. The color is nearly black in the center and deep brown along the sides of the glass.
Aroma: A subtle, yet definite vanilla aroma stands out! Malt in the background with no hop aroma, which is correct to style.
Flavor: A slightly fruity/bourbon taste hits immediately, then the malt with a plum/raisin profile in the back. Finishes with a warm, slightly 'hot' alcohol finish, but nothing overpowering - actually very nice, IMO. Surprisingly, no vanilla flavor that we could detect - which is fine with me; I'm not a fan of strong vanilla flavors in beer.
Mouthfeel: Medium mouthfeel, very nice.
Overall Impression: There is no roast or burnt flavor noticeable, so this definitely specialty ale and not a porter or a stout. That said, if there were a bit of roast character, this would make for an excellent bourbon porter! Still, this was a well made beer and I'd have no problem ordering another. Well done!
Rating: As a specialty ale: 29
Thanks so very much for giving me the opportunity to try your beers. I only wish I had more!
Per your suggestion, I am holding off trying your Brown Ring of Fire Pale Ale until it ages a bit longer. I'll try it weekend after next and post my review then.
Hop Beatdown Double IPA
Appearance: Nice, quick pffft sound when uncapped. Nice 1-1/2 finger off-white head dissipates after about a minute. Nice amber color, right to style.
Aroma: Very slight hop - I really had to sniff hard to pick it up. Malt aroma is there, but this is a lot like my IPAs and DIPAs. It seems malt aroma diminishes on a daily basis as the beer ages!
Flavor: Wow! This is a nearly perfect balance of malt to hops. My fiancée called it "dead on"! The malt is up front, then the hops soon hit mid-taste and hang on in the finish, but soon yield to a non-cloying, slightly sweet finish. Perfect to style! Very well done!
Mouthfeel: Nice, medium-heavy, full mouthful. Just what you'd expect from a DIPA!
Overall Impression: I want another! If you can somehow kick up the hop aroma, this could win some awards, IMHO. Excellent job - very well done!
Rating: 37
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Smoked Porter
Appearance: Nice pffft sound when uncapped. Pours a nice two-finger tan head which dissipates after ~2 minutes and linger thinly on top the whole time. The color is as black as night!
Aroma: Mild, roasty aroma is evident. No hop aroma is discernable, which is correct to style, but there was no smoke aroma, either.
Flavor: Nice malt flavor with a slight bitterness from, I'm guessing, some black malt. Not as much burnt/coffee flavor as I'd expect this style, nor did I detect any smoke flavor. To be fair, my fiancée proclaimed it to have a "very slight, almost imperceptible smoke flavor". To be honest, this reminded me more of an export stout than a porter! With that in mind, I really enjoyed this beer a helluva lot!
Mouthfeel: Nice, smooth, creamy mouthfeel - again, very stout-like!
Overall Impression: I really liked this beer and could easily drink nothing else all day on a cozy evening! I'm no expert, but I think if you were to enter this 'as is' into competition as an Export Stout, you might take away some hardware! Excellent job - very well done!
Rating: to style: 28; as a stout: 36
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vanilla Bourbon Winter Ale
Appearance: Nice pffft sound when uncapped. Pours a nice one-finger off-white head which soon dissipates to a thin layer. The color is nearly black in the center and deep brown along the sides of the glass.
Aroma: A subtle, yet definite vanilla aroma stands out! Malt in the background with no hop aroma, which is correct to style.
Flavor: A slightly fruity/bourbon taste hits immediately, then the malt with a plum/raisin profile in the back. Finishes with a warm, slightly 'hot' alcohol finish, but nothing overpowering - actually very nice, IMO. Surprisingly, no vanilla flavor that we could detect - which is fine with me; I'm not a fan of strong vanilla flavors in beer.
Mouthfeel: Medium mouthfeel, very nice.
Overall Impression: There is no roast or burnt flavor noticeable, so this definitely specialty ale and not a porter or a stout. That said, if there were a bit of roast character, this would make for an excellent bourbon porter! Still, this was a well made beer and I'd have no problem ordering another. Well done!
Rating: As a specialty ale: 29
Thanks so very much for giving me the opportunity to try your beers. I only wish I had more!