Old Dominion Winter Brew 2005 (IPA)

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

Old Dominion Winter Brew 2005 poured an orange colored body with a white head that left some lacing. Aroma was of hops and citrus fruit with some funk. The taste was sweet , citrus with a hoppy finish. Overall a solid IPA for the holiday season.

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

A beer with something of a convuluted history, that has finally wound it's way into my Moylan's shaker pint glass.

Picked this up back in Herndon VA, while I ws out there for seemingly the 100th business trip to NorVA/DC region. That particular trip was for working at The Pentagon (no, it's *not* as cool as it seems, trust me!)..., while I was also fighting the Mother Of All Colds. I was sick as a dog the entire week, but that didn't stop me from my usual SOP (Standard Operating Procedures): a six-pack of something tasty n' local to stock the hotel `fridge with. But, yeah, I was so miserable, I didn't even both cracking open any of these while in NorVA. So how did one beer wind up missing from my hotel fridge? I've never had maids mess with any of my stuff, in the past 7 years of traveling and buisness trips. So why now, and why only one bottle? A secret Old Dominion fan on the Marriott staff?

The "five-pack" ended up in my carry-on bag on the way back to San Diego, where I passed bottles off to my buds with Foam On The Brain (homebrewing club), as well as my bud xlperro. That left me with one bottle -- a case of "hey, where did that sixer go?" ;^)

Anyway, all that aside, this is a great beer. Listed as an American IPA, but could also probably fall in with the "Winter Warmer" boys if it were a just a touch bigger. But sematics aside, this beer is not afraid of The Almighty Hop, and I guess that's all that counts in this case!

Very nice maltiness to this beer, that reinforces (rather conflicts) the hop profile. A nice tandem effort, not a "either/or" effort that some brewers feel the need to decide between. Seems to me that Old Dominion has drawn on it's extensive American Pale Ale brewing expierence to apply the same balancing notes to a bigger/hoppier beer for their Winter Seasonal -- a nice change of pace from the ussual M.O. of "Big-ass hop/alcohol/spice monster for Christmas!" that many brewers seem to find themselves trapped doing....

Very nice in the mouthfeel, and nice finishing qualities. I guess it's just a shame that I wound up giving away the rest of my six pack (one to the Marriott maid, one to my bud xlperro, and three to the Foamies)! ;^)

Recommended.

Music: Avenged Sevenfold's "City Of Evil"
//TB

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

Keg at the Old Dominion Brewing Company, Ashburn, VA. Brown colour with alarge white head. Hoppy and malty aroma. Flavours are hoppy with some nice counterpoint malts. Full bodied. Quite spicey. Excellent.

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

Pours orange copper with a huge head, lacing is bountiful. Aroma of fruit and spice, and has a nice hoppy bite on the back end. A bit watery, this is a good flavorful drinking beer, albeit a bit sweet. Not very IPAish, but rather light to medium bodied winter ale with some spice. If they were really going for an IPA, I think they may have missed the mark but got lucky at the same time. Recommended in any case.

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

Poured a deep copper color with a very fluffy white head that laced great. The aroma was of citrus and some spicing with some caramel malts detectable. The flavor was of some caramel and lots of citrus (bitter orange rinds) with significant hopping that brought with it some sort of spicey zing. Not sure what the latter was, but it was a bit of an odd mix for the style (creative, though).

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

Poured a clear, reddish amber color with a thin, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of citrus fruits, grassy hops, bubblegum, and light toasted malt. Taste was light sweetness upfront, more citrus fruits, grassy hops, and a lingering cascade finish.