Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale

Brewed by Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Boonville, California USA

12oz bottle-pours a big rich to rocky light tan head and hazy amber color. Aroma is medium malt-musty/peat/caramel, some fruit, herbal/tea-hops. Taste is medium malt-musty/peat/caramel, some nutty, balanced herbal/tea-hops (continental). With a home brew drawback in there (cardboard, diacytl).

Aroma was a great mix of citrus and caramel, which doesn’t sound good, but really smelled great. Had a nice amber color, mine was pretty clear, head stuck around for a while, but not as long lasting or as thick as I would hope. Flavor was sort of like toffee up front, but well balanced by just the right amount of bitterness, and what I considered to be a relatively dry finish. Medium bodied, with a good level of carbonation. Overall a very enjoyable beer, I could definitely drink a few of these.

Hazy amber with a quickly dissipating off-white head. Aroma of caramel, bread and light citrus hops. Thick, creamy and fill bodied taste of caramel and toffee. Pretty well balanced, decent amber.

Bottle. Rich reddish amber beer with a light tan head. Light caramel malt aroma. Caramel/toffee malt flavor with backing citrus hops. Medium body. Well balanced. Lingering toffee/caramel malt with enough hops to back.

On tap at 99 Bottles in Santa Cruz. Poured into a pint glass. Deep amber with a tan head that sticks around forever. Aroma is sweet and caramely, with toffee and cookie-ish malt. Hardly any hop influence here, surprising for a California amber. Flavor is identical to the smell. Lots of sweet bready malt and maybe some dark fruit. Mouthfeel is creamy but a little flat. Still pretty easy to drink.

Bottle purchased at Corral Liquors in Granite City, IL. Pours a hazy dark copper with an initial twist of sediment at the center that reminds me of a "swirl" (marble). Two fingers of creamy, beige head diminish to a thin cap. The nose is of sweet, cookie-like caramel malt with a lightly spicy zucchini bread note and light citric hops in support. On the light side of medium-bodied and creamy with a lightly dry and bitter finish. Quite nice while it’s on the tongue, the palate turns somewhat flinty after the swallow. Round, sweet caramel malt with a bready, spicy note similar to the zucchini bread mentioned earlier. Faint citrus hops sit in the background playing a supporting role. The flavor, while nice, isn’t quite as enticing as the nose, but this is a very solid amber and one that I can easily recommend.

Bottle, from Douglas88. Thanks! Deep used-penny copper, tan cap of foam that fades fairly quickly but leaves some nice lace behind. Dark toasted caramel araom, citrus, walnut, earthy coffee notes, carrot cake. Full carbonation, a little noisy in the mouth. Toasty dark buttery flavor. Robust candied citrus hop bite. As much as amber ales usually leave me a little cold, this one actually has a lot of interesting things going on.

Nice amber pour with a foamy head that quickly fades but leaves nice spotty lacing. Sweet caramel malt aroma with just a hint of spicy hops. Flavor is similar, with a touch of dried fruit. Medium bodied. A pretty good amber.