Boulder Beer Cold Hop

Brewed by Boulder Beer Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Boulder, Colorado USA

Bottle. Pours a golden amber body with a thin head. Aroma is sweet malt, floral hops, some light fruit. A good amount of hoppy bitterness throughout this one. not bad.

Hazy orange with large white head. Aroma is worty with grape nuts and earthy caramel tones that mingle with the grapefruity hops. Taste is way off and band-aidy, with a hollow metallic mouthfeel. Not sure what the brewer was shooting for, but I would guess that this is not it. $3/22oz

A simple beer, and likely enough for avowed hop heads. I am less convinced, though the store’s price makes it a certain acquisition. The pour quickly produces a lumpy though thin and light head. The body is a cloudy amber - a standard paint job in the beer world. The aroma certainly elicits hops - fresh hops, too. Actually, imagine that when you win the big game, instead of having a barrel of gatorade dumped on you, it’s a barrel of freshly harvested hops. Not bad for most, but very bad for those of us that find purified hop astringency to be less than pleasant. Tongue wrenching. This hops is solidly dedicated to that bitter aspect, no counterbalanced grain of sugar here. Nosing around the flavor one can find a slight nuttiness, and maybe a whisper of honey, but one wrong move and BOOM, like a landmine you hit another patch of spicy hops. What I found most interesting was that, under these circumstances I typically associate the hops bitterness with grapefruit. But even that, the fruit, seems to have been forcibly stripped and tossed away, again leaving only the essence of hops bitterness. It would be magical if it weren’t so difficult to drink. Drink at a snail’s pace, or be ready for taste bud restorative surgery.

A very tasty ale. Flavors are fresh and crips almost like a marzen in style. Nice balance of hops and very light fruit. Pours golden with a frothy white head.

Bottle into English pint glass. Pours a honey color with a fluffy khaki head. Lacing is chunky and impressive. Aroma is fruity flowers, taste is sharp, zingy hops, sweet, toasty malts and a clean, lingering hops finish. The mouthfeel is tingly and leaves a light coating on the palate. A nice beer, but not necessarily one I would return to again and again.

Pours with a frothy, initially fat-two-finger thick, light tan colored head into my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is a lightly hazy, ruddy amber color, but shows a bright, almost clear, copper color when held up to the light. The aroma is much more malt focused than I was expecting; ample notes of sweet caramelized malt, toasted bread notes, a biscuit maltiness and a sweet grain cookie character are all quite prominent. This does have some hop character, it just plays a secondary role to the malt; hop driven aromas of currants, a rich earthy spiciness and a light resinous hop character all seem to accentuate the malt character more than jumping out on their own. This has quite a pleasant aroma, it is just surprisingly malt focused for a beer with the word hop on so prominent a display on its label.

Sweet malt character is the first thing I notice in my first sip, but this is fairly light bodied, though it does have a slightly sticky malt texture to it. The hops kick in with a resinous, herbal hop flavor and persistent, lightly astringent bitterness. The hops play more of a role in the flavor than they did in the aroma, but they are still second fiddle to the ample, sticky malt character. The sweet malt and hop character combines to create a jam-like, berry flavor here. I do like the finish of this brew as the hop character gets a bit herbal, with a nice floral accent & light bitterness that helps to wash the mouth of the excessive crystal malt. It is only an attempt, as the hop character really doesn’t have a chance of standing up to the malt here; caramelized malt sugars, ample biscuit-like flavors and an astringent grain husk edge that though light, just adds to the crystal malt domination.

The crystal malt notes play a bit too big of a role here, they completely overwhelm the aroma and even make a significant attempt at washing out the flavor of this brew. Really not all that bad, but if you are sensitive to excessive crystal malt usage this may be a little too much. Strangely, though the aroma is much more malt dominated than the flavor, it is the flavor where the malt just becomes too excessive.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson AZ

Sweet aroma with a light floral hop smell. Hazy orange color with a small white head. Light bitterness in the beginning with a malty finish.

Pours orange-amber with a large off-white head. Lots of lacing. Aroma is quite forward, floral earthy hops. Taste is closer to a good APA than I expected from the description. Plenty of citrus hops that were the dominant flavor here. A well made tasty beer that I enjoyed. Maybe not the right category though.