Almond 22 Torbata

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Bottled. Amber colour, small beige head. Aroma is hops, caramel, some wood and tobacco. Also some barnyard. Flavour is yeasty, malty and quite hpppy. Not very interesting.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Purchased at Khory’s in Vegas.. or Henderson. Nice large, bubbly tan head on top of a soft chestnut coloured beer with decent retention. The aroma is interesting: chestnuts, plum, candy, similar to an English barley wine - comes across very fresh. The taste is really good, yum yum I will say. Mild dark fruit and warming, toffee, hint of smoke, weakest of chocolate and something similar to anise. Good carbonation, fresh, soft biscuity dryness on the finish. Big marks for the good use of chestnuts.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Quarter inch stiff and wiggly tan cap (mmmmmmmm……..stiff and wiggly) that sits on top a hazy brown body. Very interesting aroma, nuts, tobacco and old bubble gum? Aroma is not the greatest but its complex and interesting. Flavour is like the aroma not the greatest but very interesting. Lots of nuts some astringent, I taste the smell of fabric Band-Aids, some cherries and all comes across mildly bitter. More that I drink the more I notice prunes, figs, a mixed bowl of nuts, some orange and mild smoke. Very interesting beer will worth a try. Thanks Gully

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

This beer pours into my 25cl tulip glass with an initially three-finger thick, lightly tanned head. The beer is a deep amber hue with a touch of ruddy red; when held up to the light the beer shows a lightly hazed, deeply red stained, copper hue. As I pour this I get a scent of orange zest, but an inspection of the nose yields a phenolic, smokiness backed by a touch of medicinal notes. Underneath the dominant phenolics is a touch of sweetness that reminds me of honey perhaps, there is also a nice toasty grain character and a corresponding toasted nutty note, this last actually becomes more and more prominent over time. After a bit the strong phenolics seem to dissipate almost to the point where I am barely noticing them any more. A solid, though subtle fruitiness starts to become noticeable in the nose as well; notes of green grapes, a touch of raisin and some aromatic plum are noticeable if you really dig for them.

Soft and creamy textured up front a peppery carbonation kicks in towards the middle and provides a bit of texture, though not enough to keep this from being creamy through to the finish. The finish has a lingering phenolic note to it that tastes of smoky plastic and smoked sea salt. The beer is lightly tart towards the middle which helps to bring out flavors of plums and raisins. There is a lightly astringent / tannic note here that combines / is a product of a nice, toasty nuttiness; this sort of adds a chewy richness to this beer that I can only assume comes from the chestnut honey, but might in fact be all malt derived. The smoky, plastic-like phenolics does seem to fade a bit with time, but it always is there, lingering in the finish. While creamy this beer is not overly heavy, it is a sipping beer but is almost light on the palate.

I didn't realize until later that this beer actually has Peat smoked malt in it (it tastes very similar to what an infection can cause); I think the peat gets a bit too phenolic at times (plastic like even), it would be much better if it was at a more subtle level as it would add to the overall richness of this brew. I had high hopes for this brew, but the smoky phenolics just get to me a bit too much for me to settle down and enjoy this. Not bad though, just not my cup of tea.