E.J. Phair Winter Ale (Quivering Quail)

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

Sampled both draught (at the E.J. Phair Alehouse in Concord), and later bottled. This review will be a culling of both expierences (for better and for worse).

When I first had this less than a week ago at the Alehouse, this was described to me by the generally savvy server as "an equal blending of IPA and Imperial Stout". Well, E.J. Phair doesn't have an Imperial Stout in their roster, so I'm not sure I buy off on that description. In fact, I'd say that this is probably more along the lines of what their IPA would taste like with a bit more chewy malt, and a real freakin' long boil....

Dark Amber, nearing black except when held up to the light, with a decent head, and fair amount of lacing too.

Pretty standard nose -- nothing too avant garde or anything. Hints of some Englosh hopping in the aroma, along with the rather standard sweet/malty thing that goes hand-in-hand with this sort of Seasonal.

For the flavor profile, this has some issues, I'm sorry to say -- and the bottled version highlights them even more than the draught. That is to say, the "cloyingness" from the additional x-number of pounds of malt tossed into the mash carry over to the finished beer, esp. in the middle and the overally-long finish. Kind of coats the back of your mouth and the top of your throat with stickiness.

Now, while I don't dig sweet beers, I can make an exception for certian styles (this beer is listed correctly as a Winter Warmer, IMO). But remember the server trying to say that this was an even blend of Imperial Stout and IPA? Well, I totally discount the first half of the melding, but the IPA? Yeah, I can see that. And that, I'm sorry to say, is where another problem with this crops up, IMO. A bit too astrigent and angular in the hopping. Kinda like when somebody tries to save money, by buying just a few high-AAU% hops (instead of a range of Alpha Acid Unit hops)..., the resulting beer can get pretty harsh in a hurry. Found the same thing in their English IPA as this one -- too bitter and too harsh for the style.

This sort of beer should be a nice slow-down-and-sip type of beer..., not just yet another "bigger-equals-better-so-it-must-be-a-Winter-Seasonal" beer....

The draught version of this seemed a little less turgid and harsh, but not nearly enough to really motivate me to post two reviews for this, to be brutally honest.

Overall, I've been rooting for the E.J. Phair folks from the get-go, coming from my hometown of Concord CA and all. But really, this beer just doesn't cut it, I'm sorry to say....

Music: Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line".
//TB