Big Sky Powder Hound Winter Ale

12oz. Bottle: Gusher. Aroma of malts, spices, raisins, nuts, and light caramel. Poured amber/copper/orange in color with a dense, off-white, medium-sized head that diminished but lasted throughout. Cloudy. Slightly sparkling. Full of tiny particles throughout. Excellent lacing. Flavor is lightly sweet and lightly bitter. Tastes of malts, dark ripe fruits, prunes, toasted malts, light burnt malts, light burnt caramel, burnt sugar, slight hops, and a hint of smoke. Medium body. Average texture. Average carbonation. Malty, burnt caramel, burnt dark ripe fruit finish is slightly sticky.

Appearance: Pours a clear, deep, dark amber body with a frothy, off-white head. Smell: Gently toasted biscuits with notes of caramel and fruit and just the teeniest, tiniest pinches of lemon zest and spice. Taste: Toasty, biscuit-like malt overtones with some caramel sweetness present, though overall, the tastes here seem a tad thin. Modest amount of fruitiness. Spicy, lightly citrusy hops with a low bitterness. Up from the taste came a bubblin’ herbal quality giving the beer a tea-like flavor on the drying finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: While it’s definitely not the most engaging or alluring of wintertime offerings, it is fairly acceptable for a relatively light seasonal offering.

Name: Powder Hound
Date: May 23, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Ticker Tasting
Appearance: clear amber, creamy beige head, streaks of lace
Aroma: lightly sweet caramel malt aroma, drying earthyness
Flavor: caramel malt flavor, light spicyness, touch of sweetness is well balanced with an earthyness, light bitterness joins with the spicy character
Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.8/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Aroma: Malts and dried fruits. Appearance: Powder Hound pours dark copper with a tall persistent off white head and moderate carbonation Flavor: Initial bitterness is quite over powering. There are some malt or dried fruits notes. By the end if the beer the bitterness is tamed, but the malts stay in back ground. Mouth Feel: Thick body and cloying. Overall Impression: The bitterness is too prominent for the malt back bone; it is a little out of balance. The malts never show up.

12oz bottle. Thick amber brown color. Patchy,soapy head. Ambery sweet caramel aroma, screams old to me. The taste seems the same, some deep faded amber malt and cinnamon sweetness. Poor job of covering the alcohol. Scotch ale with some unpleasant pungent sourness...in a bad way. I hope this is just my punishment for drinking a Winter beer in later April.

Copper pour, low head, medium lacing. Spicy alcoholic aroma. Nicely carbed with a dry spicy flavor. Piney fruitiness reminiscent of an IPA. Some unpleasant bitterness. Not very complex, an average Winter brew.

Pours dark copper with a 3 finger tan head that has great retention. Aroma is grainy malt, caramel, roasted nuts, wood notes, dark fruits, dessert spices and some planty hops. Flavor is caramel, nuts, hints of dark chocolate, toasted pine, some nutty and earthy notes come out as well as some more malt sweetness as the beer warms. Finish is earthy, spicy and slightly bitter. Palate is medium thickness somewhat dry and chalky, while being a bit sticky on the lips. Overall not bad but nothing too impressive.

12 oz bottle courtesy of Douglas88. Pours a clear amber color with a 1/2" off white head. Aroma is malty with a hop background. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor is malts with some caramel/toffee. Some hop bite. Bitter finish.