Back Road Christmas Ale 2006

Bottle shared with Odeed, Nose of coffee and chocolate malts; cherry brown with a small beige head; flavor had coffee with a tiny bit of background hop bitterness, much better than the Atumn we had right before it.

(bottle from bbb63)black body with light brown highlights.dark brown head. that fades fast.aroma of milk chocolate,caramel,and dark fruits.body was a bit chalky and again it had the sour aftertaste the other back road brew had although it was not as pronounced.

Bottle from Mike (BBB63) Thanks. As best I can think of this was the 2006 bottling. It was certainly very close to a porter, and not a stout. The smell has some vanilla notes with a hint of smokiness but also some rich roasted coffee flavors as well. Taste is smooth and fairly high in carbonation with a spicy unique flavor. This was an odd beer, that I did not enjoy at first, but as the glass progressed, it was actually pretty good. Thanks Mike.

#983, Bottle at the Champaign-Urbana private tasting held at Radio Maria. Thanks to Phillip. Black, thin tan head that was Quickly discipating. Nose is sharp moca malts with some smoke. Taste is crisp vanillaish hoppy and crisp alcohol. Medium body and sexy.

Bottled and enjoyed in my Unibroue tulip at near cellar temp: Pours a deep brown with a just a hint of ruby highlights with a fading tan head and some lace. The nose detects a smoked and chocolate malt vapour along with dusty and plum fruit yeast esters. A mild aroma of vanilla sneaks in the end. The flavor profile starts with heavy amounts of roasted malts, coffee, and prune. The midsection displays a pumpernickel bready quality before leading off into an ashy and slightly boozy finish. The vanilla is more an afterthought than a headlining component which is a shame. In the end, this beer is missing full balance and seems a touch too hot at the moment. A far cry from last years outstanding offering. Still I will age a few and see if they mellow out.

On tap at FFF. Followed later from the bottle. I was very very impressed with this on draught, less so in the bottle. On tap this was my beer of 2006, which is saying a lot. Notes of cocoa and oak on the nose lead into a rich palate comprised of toasted marshmallow, semi sweet chocolate, mocha fudge, and a touch of vanilla and coffee. Bottled version was less impressive, although I tasted it following several stronger beers. Rating from tap.

12 ounce bottle. Dark brown, pretty much black with a brown head. Some vanilla character in the nose, along with some choco and roast. Flavor is milk choco and vanilla. Not much coffee, if any. Pretty full bodied and sweet. Not much of a fan this year. Get of the smiked mocha kick Chuck.

Bottle. Found this at Trail Creek Liquor in Michigan City. Deep brown body with a medium dark tan head, very thin head, with a soft brown ring around the edge of the liquid, and a very thin layer of foam is seen when the glass is swirled. The nose is a bit light, a bit quiet, with some mellow vanilla beans, some bread toast, some cracker and biscuit malt scents, and a light touch of soy or smoke. Mellow, low carbonation with a decently thick body, it feels right around 8-9%. Ashy more than smoky on the tongue, somewhat dry malts throughout, with that ashy dry stout character noticed. Some more sweet dark chocolate and vanilla flavors present, pretty delicate it appears. This beer certainly has some things going for it, but it really doesn’t bring togethor the ashy, smoky qualities with the sweet maple and fruit qualities - it’s like there are two different beers in the glass. Still, in no way is this is a terrible beer. It does enough things different to garner a good amount of respect.