Williamsburg AleWerks Drake Tail Ale

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

Bottle into a standard pint glass. Dark amber to bronze pour, smallish off-white head that moves to a coating. Lacing is present but spotty. There is citrus, caramel, pine, and malt in the nose Taste is citrus, floral, caramel, pine but a lot of caramel. This is mildly bitter in the finish. Medium to heavier body with decent carbonation. Decent IPA but heavy on the sweeter side (not a plus for me) and not much taste remains until the next sip. I would try this again but it is not on the top of my list.

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

A very nice IPA with a good balance of malt to hops considering the alcohol content. Nice orange color, medium head, medium bodied and drinkable. Citrus and pine abound. Solid.

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

Excellent IPA, right on target for the style: pours a dark amber with a full sized off white head. Floral, grapefruit, slightly piney and fresh hops on the nose. Taste is mildly acidic, but packs a powerful punch of stanky hops. Citrusy all the way through. Finish is long.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

Pours with an almost four-finger thick, amber-hued, tan colored head that sits atop a brilliantly clear, reddish tinged, amber-copper colored beer. The aroma has a pronounced caramel character that is redolent of crystal malt; caramel, toasted bread, biscuit notes and a crusty bread character are all quite noticeable. There is some hop aromatics here as well, but not nearly as much as I would expect from a beer labeled IPA; herbal hop notes are noticeable with a touch of sweet citrus and perhaps a hint of pine.

Quite bitter tasting with a lasting, lingering bitterness. This bitterness helps to offset a thickish, chewy, caramel malt character & body that would otherwise dominate the beer. Instead the aggressive hop bitterness is the dominant note; it becomes astringent at times, especially in the finish. The bitterness is a bit too harsh for the rest of the beer, which is saying quite a bit considering that this has a cloying amount of crystal malt character too. As my palate gets used to the bitterness and crystal malt flavors I can taste a bit of hop fruit flavors that lean towards sweet citrus notes. This is not a bad tasting beer, it is just way out of balance.

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

Singlemalter shared this wonderful beer from his private stock. It poured a slightly cloudy golden amber with a great head and alot of lacing. The fruity nose was very evident as was the hops.The malt and hops were very well balanced from start to finish with a light bitterness at the end.THis is quality beer. They got it right. Wish I could have more!!!!

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

Superb! I'm very surprised that this beer wasn't listed on beerpal until I added it. It's a winner! Poured one of a six-pack my parents picked up for me in Williamsburg, and score a BIG one for them! I almost wish they'd not done so, though, because now that I've had this beer, I'll want it again and again, and only have five left! :o( Deep dark copper pour with a one-finger ecru head and curtains of lacing. Sweet roasted malt and floral hops in the nose, and a chewy, hopped-up but balanced flavor. Nicely bitter finish, moderated by the sweetness of the malts. Lip-licking good! 5/30/09 update: Mater and Pater went back to Williamsburg in April and scooped up a full case of this for me! It'll be in my hands sometime in August. Can't WAIT to have enough to splurge on this one. Phishpond and Heddy, you'll get yours too!