Big Sky Powder Hound Winter Ale

Brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Missoula, Montana USA

Deep mahagoney color with brownish hues and a tan head. The aroma is a mild caramel malt sweetness. Light - medium bodied. Not overwhelming but sweet toffee, caramel, and malt flavors. Lacking in any punch at the finish. However, a pleasant winter ale.

Pours a clear, mostly still, light brown copper with a nice frothy light tan head. Aroma is a fairly subtle blend of sweet caramel malts, English hops and a touch of corn. Starts fairly thick and malty with a pleasant sweetness, nice carbonation, and a pale malty, dry hoppy finish with a touch of adjuncts. I think this brewery needs to change their yeast strain because they seem to make some decent beers, but the yeast in the end is too adjuncty tasting and overpoweringly lager-like. Thanks to IndianaRed for this brew!

Malt and caramel aromas. Very dark orange with a head that lasts. More malt and caramel in the taste. Seems like an English strong without being ruined by alcohol flavors.

I respect this ale because it’s essentially what it purports to be: a good beer to drink in the "Dog Days of Winter". Coming from Minnesota, it’s been near or below zero for the past few days. I find that, like Powder Hound’s description implies, it’s warming yet not so full bodied that it saps one’s energy. Color is a mix of gold and copper. Aroma is very malty and much like strawberry Turkish Taffy. Flavor is deep, dark malty and bready with a ample amount of hops showing through as well. Linger is surprisingly bitter-hoppy. This is a great winter beer.

Fairly dark amber wth a small tan colored head. The aroma is green beans along with some bread dough and a hint of overripe apples. The taste has a full light cinnamon bread along with some hints of pears. A very nice and well balanced EPA. This is an ideal session ale.

A prettuy average medium brown with a small quickly dissapating head. Aroma was of malt, but wasn’t very strong. This was fairly sweet with a tad bit of fruit and not hops. The moutfeel was a bit thin. Pretty good overall, for a run of the mill beer.

Bottle. Light brown beer with zippo head. Aroma of sweet malt and jelly toast. Really. Stawberry jam I think. Taste is sweet and mouthfeel is average. Does not taste very strong. Fruitiness, including strawberries, is present and no hop flavors detected. While I am not a hophead, there needs to be more in this beer. Not so much for flavor, just needs a little more balancing bitterness. Like I’ve said before, this brewery seems to make lighter bodied beers than is normal for each style.

Bottle pours brownish amber, slightly hazy, large frothy tannish colored head, very sticky lacing, with light carbonation.   Malty aroma, slightly sweet and biscuity.   Soft hop bitterness, amidst a grainy maltiness.   Mild overripened fruit flavor as well.   Nice body, but mediocre mouthfeel.   Finishes with a slightly syrupy sweet cloying feeling, if that makes sense.   A bit heavier than yer normal English Pale Ale, but not bad.