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

A pretty nice Blonde Ale, poured at the Gingerman in Dallas, TX. Sweet, grainy aroma, slightly spicy. Billowy, soft head, clear body, light gold. Between creamy and crisp, soft carbonation. Grainy, sweetish, some spicy hops. A nice blonde ale.

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

I will regard this as an Old Ale, since, really that's what I found to be in the bottle. Malty and cardboard like oxidative aroma, no hops, but some earthiness. Pours almost completely flat, and ruddy brown, no foam, no lace, nada. Flat and minerally, in the mouth, coating but not obnoxious. Minerally and malty to start, sweet malt and sour finish. I like the interplay between sweet and tart notes, but it lacks the malt complexities of most English Strong Ales (whatever the sort). Not a bad Christmas offering, but it certainly leaves something to be desired.

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

Ahh...review number 750, the goal buster for 2006. Malty, toasty aromas, some dark fruit, like toasted cinnimon raisin nut bread. Pours a slightly hazy deep brown with eggshell head. Mildly creamy and softly carbonated mouthfeel combind with faint flavors of dark fruit, toasted grahamn crackers and nuts along with resinous hops for a sticky but not saccharine sensation. Quite the treat for another milestone. Not quite an Old Ale, not quite a Barleywine, not quite an ESA, but some kind of wonderful, strong ale, indeed.

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

Resinous and caramelly aroma, very clean and straightforward, a good indicator for the beer, simple but bold, an interesting interpretation. Pours crystal clear brown/copper with quickly fading head. Rather thin across the palate, nice carbonation, no sticky sweetness, attenuation apparent (hmmm...chico yeast, perhaps?) yet quite warming. Again, caramelly and toasty malts, resinous, earthy hops, not the most complex, but bold and straightforward, I'll be putting some more back in the cellar to see what develops, but this a clean staring point.

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

Poured at the end of a BJCP class. Fruity, funky and spicy aroma coaxed up from my sample. Coating mouthfeel despite the apparent tartness and carbonation coupled with a dry finish. Tastes of spice, vineous character, leather, fruits. A very nice blended lambic, I'd hate to see these guys go.

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

Pours a deep brown, khaki head. Chocolatey, spicey and piney aroma and flavor, kinda rough, like it was meant to have more time on it, albeit I did drink this one immediately after release. Its quite nice now and looks to improve for at least a year.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

So I pour this cellared beer from Canada. I get a hazy gold pour with a stand of off white foam, for a while. I smell pineapple, pepper, cloves, pilsner malt, sugary alcohol, other tropical fruits (coconut? mango? who cares...) a slight wisp of something spicy...hops? or yeast? The foam collapses in a jiffy and its full of haze, bold, I like it. The body and carbonation are there, the bottle condition paid off, even down the road, alcohol is warming in the slightest, but zero burn.. Incredible flavor, bananas foster (nuts, banana, caramel, vanilla, mild smoke), maltiness, tropical fruits again, estery and phenolic with clove and pepper. Spot on...complex but still rather clean. Impressive.

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

With the bar raised as high as it has been in the past few years for Pumpkin ales, its good to see a nice pumpkin lager, as well. This years had some Captain Morgan Private Stock Spiced Rum added to the serving tank. The spicing of the pumpkin beer really united with the malt flavors via this addition, it really smoothed out the spice character and melded things together. Good, smooth moughfeel, this could be a dangerous concotion. Well done.

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

An excellent selection for cask. Hoppy and phenolic aromatics, clean and crisp maltiness. Well balanced and mildly funky. A cool brewpub offering, spicy and refreshing.

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

Damn this BJCP training...why am I so tempted to rate by style? Oh well, I'll just go with it. Spicy and fruity aromatics characteristic of the Ardennes/Chouffe yeast they chose to ferment this with, combined with plenty of caramel. Effervescent, but a bit sticky-sugary. Excellent use of yeast and malt flavors, rich and layered, not unlike Chimay Red or Westmalle Dubbel or Grimbergen or Maredsous 8, except that its underattenuated compared to these and on the sweet side, however, as a winter brew, I'm certainly open to that. Nicely done.

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

Earthy aroma with roasty cocoa and coffee like notes, distinct british yeast. Dark brown, mild haze, some light pokes through, small bit of head. Minerally, dry finish, medium bodied. Minerally, roasty, mild caramel, supporting bitterness and earthy hop character. Quite nice.

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

2003 Vintage. Pours a deep ruddy brown with small bit o' foam. Toffee, cocoa and earthy hops dominate the nose. Thick and coating mouthfeel, mild carbonation breaks it up. Still intensely bitter at three years old, the hops have a fresh bigfoot level bitterness to them, plenty of hop flavor and a very rich malt presence. This is one monstrous ale. Some more time may round it out, but for now, it is quite good, but not the best.

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

2004 Vintage: Rich apple aromatics, like granny smiths with macs and golden delicious, very nice. Hazy gold. Fairly viscous in the mouth, but fitting for a slightly sparking semi-sweet cider, still, quite refreshing. Full of apple and fruitiness, golden raisin, star fruit, pineapple, excellent. A great cider.

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

Shared by a friend at the St. Louis Brews Happy Holidays Homebrew Competition Banquet. As excited as I was to have this brew, it didn't quite satisfy. That's not to say I didn't like it, but I have just so high expectations for Goose Island special releases anymore. It has the requisite phenolics and esters, the lightness of palate and nice carbonation with a nice malt and hop structure, but it seems to lack unity. Perhaps it needs more age, or less, I'm not sure. The parts seem to be there, but they don't work as smoothly as in others.

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

My first beer of the great St. Louis Ice Storm Blackout of 2006. After the lights went out we huddled around the kitchen table and lit some candles. In the darkness, I decided I needed something to warm me up a bit. This RIS was my antifreeze that first night. Chocolately and malty aroma, light on the roast and dark fruit found in some. Blacker than Cafe' Du Monde coffee...or so it seemed... With a nice cap of head and lace on both pours. Rich and full mouthfeel, soft carbonation to keep things in check, very nice. Very malty, sweet, chocolately, a bit of roast, a touch of raisins, but again, not as fruit filled as some. An excellent brew, and my favorite from Avery so far. This one is a good cantidate for cellaring as I picked this one up in May on a visit to Texas and just now enjoyed it, very nice.

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

Wow, I hate to lay the smack down on an Imperial Stout, but this was just not up to par. Biscuity malt aromatics with a weak roasty backing...where's the beef? It looks like a browner Guiness, with the ruby highlights and whatnot, nearly not head or lacing...why can I see through this? Thin and lifeless across the tongue, nothing wrong, but this doesn't act like a big, hearty stout beer should. Again, where's the roast? Lots of biscuity malt flavors, some earthy hops...but come on! This is supposed to be a beast, where's the kick? This might be a really big brown ale, but as an Imperial Stout, I'm left wanting something more. Given how great the Sweet Stout is, I had high hopes.

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

Wow! I got nearly a pint for free at Cicero's because I got lucky again and got the last of the keg. Full, fruity aroma, spicy, caramelly and rich, very nice. Deep copper/red coloring with a very nice stand of eggshell foam which laced all the way down, despite the alcohol. Lively carbonation and coating, but not thick or slick, quenching and warmning, like a Belgian should be. Full of dark fruits, raisins, figs and some peach/apricot/pear notes with coriander, pepper and other spices, like anise. An excellent dark Belgian and a great find. Drink this if you can.

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

Pours with a wheaty, estery aroma, lots of spices, ya know, that Unibroue yeasty, breadiness. Dark gold with lots of fairly fluffy head. Spicy and fruity flavor with plenty of yeasty and grainy breadiness. A nice ale, but not their most inspired.

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

Ho-hum for an ESA, however its a respectable Northern English Brown Ale, if a bit on the pale side. Slightly minerally, brown, thin, malt focused, mild earthy hops and very pedestrian. I'm not disappointed...just bored.

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

Hand pumped from the cask by Larry Bell at GTotMW 2006. Full of coffee and cocoa aromatics, lots of roast, in layers. Dark, earthy brown with a dearth of head. Excellent balance of coffee and rich stout, I believe the base is Special Double Cream Stout, and it is a fine choice. On the whole, a very nice winter warmer...even in late summer.

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

What an odd offering... Pours with an alcoholic, cracker crumb malt, spicy hops and some belgian-esque esters. It was nearly flat with no head, which given the alcohol is expected, but isn't it supposed to be a Pils in some respect? I expect carbonation. Flavors reflected the aromatics with some fruit sneaking in. An interesting beer, if a bit off target. Thanks, Jack.

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

Another special treat from Belgium. Aromatic with apples, caramel, pepper, coriander, pears, anise rising from a clear, copper body with puffy foam. Slick and quenching mouthfeel, and the tongue agrees with the nose. Very little bitterness, some herbal hops and caramelly sweetness are all here. Another cool take on a Holiday brew.

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

Spicy, alcoholic and caramelly nose over a crystal clear amber body and a foam of large bubbles. Prickly carbonation to start and a coating caramel quality after it warms, quite a different texture for a Belgian. Full, fruity and spicy flavor with sweetness to start and mildly tart/bitter end. Quite pleasant.

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

I'd almost forgotten to review this one...its probably because its an uncharacteristically boring and dull brew from Unibroue. It isn't flawed, but it lacks the spicy phenolics and general depth of flavor we come to expect from this group. It isn't bad, its just not up to par.

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

Wow, the famed Bourbon County Stout, finally in my glass. Pours with a rich aroma, full of bourbon, wood, smoky vanilla, chocolate, caramelly, malty and earthy. Dark, like a black hole with very little head, but nice legs linger on the glass. Creamy and full bodied and very smooth, low carbonation and rather pleasant. The flavor coincides well with the aromatics, however, I find that it leans too far in oak/bourbon department, to the point of partially overwhelming even the massive beer which its influenced. Still very nice, but for my hard earned money, Expedition Stout is more likely to find its way into my cellar...