Trafalgar Oak Aged Rye

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Another bomber brew from Trafalgar at the LCBO. New label mentioning that they are part of the OCB (Ontario Craft Brewers). Pours a nice clean golden-orange colour with average tiny-bubble carbonation, a small head, little retention, but some decent lace. The nose is well-balanced (but not too strong) with caramel malt, rye, fruity orange notes and the hop. Smooth slightly creamy and watery mouthfeel, making this one refreshing. Again, the taste is pretty tame, but still nicely balanced with the rye, bread malt and mild hop in the finish. The oak comes out in the aftertaste. Overall, a nice inoffensive rye beer.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Poured an clear orangy brew, almost no cap - great visual impression....... The aroma is sweet, orange?, slight oak, dark doughy bread, touch of caramel and biscuit. More biscuit on the taste, light sourness, bready and a bit thick. Dry bitterness similar to English ales, no doubt about it. I don’t see how oak aging has added much. A bit of rye, watery. Rye finish on the breath and an ok tart finish. Boring ass beer for sure. The best part of this beer is the after taste - not a good sign.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 4

Light bronzy brown with no cap to speak of, very clear and bla bla boring / cheap looking. Rye oaky aroma some hop and chocolate and a mystery chemical smell. Blech not a fan of this soft flat slimy feel this is no good I tell you, NO GOOD!!!!!!!!!! Rye is prominent in the taste with vanilla from the oak aging, there is a surprisingly good hop bite what I was not expecting. More I drink the more bready and boring this becomes. This beer is completely non disgusting but I get no enjoyment from it. Lat sip tasted like sour crap.

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

650ml bomber....no date coding but all sorts of promotional stuff about the OCB and assurances this is "craft brewed"....color me cynical. pours a limpid cider- amber with the expected lame cap that goes to nothing quickly. Aroma..at least it isn’t offensive this time...light grains and a funky woody smell like wet wood chips definitely not barreled. Same Trafalgar weak mouth feel...light malts however the rye (no matter how sparingly used) makes its mark with a spicy-malty tang ( more than the hops) fast finish ...thin but with more flavor than usual for Trafalger 5%brews and a total absence of off tastes....that said, there is still that obnoxious vegital-funky yeast taste in a small tick just in the finish...it shares this with all the Trafalger brews I loath...time on the shelf will tell if this rotten funky taste takes over this brew like it has the other bottled offerings...that said... this is .best brew in a couple of seasons for this brewer but still pretty uninspired.

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

A very good offering of the style. This is a clear reddish-brown beer. The aroma was malted rye with some hints of spice and hops. The flavour was dry in nature, and malty.

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

Bottle: Poured a light copper color ale with a medium foamy head with average retention and some lacing surprisingly. Aroma consists of dry malt with some notes rye. Taste is a mix between some refreshing rye notes with some very subtle and almost undetectable oak. Medium body with some average carbonation. Definitely better then the last couple of offering from this dubious brewer.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

650ml bottle
5.0 ABV
Milton LCBO Outlet #1 (Milton, Ontario, Canada)
March 19, 2008
The beer poured a translucent orangy-red colour with very little head, and a lot of effervescence. The aroma was primarily sweet malt. The mouthfeel was medium bodied, somewhat dry, and with a lot of carbonation. The flavour was mainly malt with very little else. I didn't get any rye or hoppy feel from this brew.