Back Road Autumn Ale 2008 (Belgian Dark)

Formerly brewed at Back Road Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
LaPorte, Indiana USA

(22oz wax-sealed bottle, thanks BBB63) Medium beige head atop lightly hazed dark amber body. Aroma is moderately sweet, caramel, candi sugar, some raisin, light cherry. Taste is sweet, candi sugar, cherry/raisin, some caramel, light alcohol. Sticky full body. Just too sweet.

22oz, blue waxed, bottle acquired in trade with shawnm213. Poured a deeper amberish/brownish color, slightly hazy, and a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, fruity, and a little earthy. Tastes of caramel, some dark fruits, bananas, and grapes in the finish. Medium alcohol burn. Different.

Bottle shared by argo0 on 1/10/09: Slightly hazy copper amber pour has a thin, wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of sweet caramely German malts with some light fruity esters. Body starts with good sweetness and some noble hoppy balance with lots of light fruity character before a slightly warming finish. A unique and fairly authentic brew.

Bottle from Kahn’s in Indy. Poured clear brown color with an average frothy brown head that was mostly lasting with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy toasted sweet malt aroma. Medium body with a thick texture and soft carbonation. Medium to heavy sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. My expectations where not met and I hope this a single bad bottle.

Tap at Anniversary Party and rated at home out of bottle. Deep coppery hue with a fading head and minimal lace, some oily legs however. The aroma has notes of candi sugar, caramel and toffee malts, fruity plum and smoky esters and an overall earthy yeast vapour. Some alcohol noted as well but very pleasant on the nose.

The taste starts sweet, fruity and malty reminding me a lot of a traditional Abbey Abt. Some mild bitterness is found on the backend along with a unique ashy smoke undertone. A bit hot for now and aggressive. Seems to be a cross between a Dubbel in style and a Quad in strength.

Surprisingly the mouth feel is sharp and biting with a dry finish. I like this and can not wait to see what a few months of aging will do to this. Well played Chuck.

Thanks to Mike for bringing this! Poured hazy medium orange with a creamy cap of off-white head. The aroma picked up sweet banana-ey esters and dried fruits (some apricot and grapes) over a fruity and caramel base.. warmer and quite nice. The flavor had a tangy fore of fruity notes amplified by alcohol warmth.. warm caramel and more fruits toward the back.. spicy pepper and floral bitterness were balanced well on the edges. Medium-plus bodied with moderate carbonation on the palate.. spicy and warm on the back, but not too aggressive.

Blue waxed Bomber from BBB63, thanks Mike. Said wax killed my ommegang bottle opener, literally separating the opener part from the lion up top. Tis life, cut the wax off with a big ass pair of scissors or snipped it and then got it off, so to speak. Pours reddish orange with a ring of a tan head. Nose is fruity, rich and sweet, with tons of wonderful candy sugar. Taste is also quite sweet with a great fruitty flavor with some muddled cherries and raisans. Overall a damn tasty Belgian Strong.

Blue wax capped bomber. Pours a dark and cloudy sienna color with a small, fading, cream colored head. A swirl of the glass leaves some relatively dense legging, but gives no lacing. The nose shows heaps of cherry, even some of the sour variety, with big caramel and doughy, yeasty bread. Candy syrup and boozy sherry serve as turnoffs. Flavors take a turn for the worse, boozy and hot, with heaps of sweet candy sugar and an odd, out of place, tart cherry component. Under carbonated, syrupy, and searingly hot, the mouthfeel matches the rest of this beast in terms of misplaced intensity. This brew is a mess, through and through.