Back Road Autumn Ale 2008 (Belgian Dark)

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 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.

7/23/2009: Back Road Autumn 2008 Belgian Dark is amber-colored with a foamy, ivory-colored crown. That is where the decent characteristics end. This beer smells like burnt toast topped with butter. It is sweet, but quickly tastes burnt and acidic with a weird grape flavor. This beer has a medium-full body and a syrupy texture that just doesn’t work at all. Not good! To me it seems like they scorched the malt and/or wort, added far too much candi sugar, and then had a problem with the yeast since it created more or less one big diacetyl bomb! This beer is a DRAIN POUR!

22 fl. oz. bottle shared by Tmoney99. Rating #11 for this beer.

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.

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.

What kind of style is this? There is a strong taste of cherry. Some Belgian Ale. Maybe some cola. Interesting spin on something or other. Not sure what to make of it.

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.

22oz bottle shared by argo0. Dark amber colored body with a medium sized beige head. Sweet, caramelized sugar, dried fruit and cinnamon spiced aroma. Full, sweet, malty flavor, with some raisin, caramel, and toffee and alcohol burn in the finish. Sticky, full body. Nice aroma, but finishes a bit too sticky and alcoholic.