Boulder Beer Flashback Anniversary Ale

Brewed by Boulder Beer Company
Style: Brown Ale
Boulder, Colorado USA

Pours dark brown with a thick tan head. The aroma is overall roasty with caramel, toasted malt and hops with maybe even a subtle touch of coffee. Flavors are quite roasty and a little sweet showing caramel malt, a hint of chocolate, and a solid dose of citrusy hops. Very good beer. Actually, one of the better Brown Ales I’ve had.

Bottle from Binny’s Beverage Depot in Orland Park, Illinois: This poured more of a dark amber than a brown (but who’s quibbling?) with a tall off-white head that provided much in the way of lace. The aroma was strong with citrus hops over some milk chocolate and toasty malts. The flavor was dark caramel with a splash of chocolate complemented by tart oranges, zest, and pink grapefruit. Nice dry, mildly bitter finish. Quite nice.

Boulder Brewing has a quaint little motto for their hometown of Boulder which is replete with snow bunnies, snow buffs, thrill seekers, and many year-round beer-drinking residents. Drinking problems? Paf! Boulder is a drinking town with a skiing problem; someone needs to get those crazy cold-loving skiers the professional help they need. Find them a warm cozy bar quickly followed by a brimming pint of damn good beer. Craft and import beers; what started as a very small niche whose motto is and will always be quality, not quantity, has matured nicely into a national and international movement towards not just quality of beer but also quality of life. To celebrate their many-splendored birthdays, Boulder Brewing has released their Flashback Anniversary Ale, an India Brown Ale of tasty proportions.

Sporting the funkadelic retro 70s artwork that has been symbolic of their Flashback series of beers, this year’s Anniversary Ale India Brown Ale is no different. She pours quick and clean into my glass where deep browns, burnt embers, and old mahogany shimmer beneath a supple coppery head. Her head fades in rocky patches, leaving scattered clumps of tempting attire as I savor her aroma. Hops. Green, dewy, grassy and freshly mown with just a touch of astringent swampy funk before stepping aside for fresh almonds, toasted whole wheat grains, burnt brown sugars, and esters of char that are most evident in the very back of her nose. Rather tantalizing, if I do say so myself. My first quaff is green grass damp with dew and slightly sticky from having just been mown. A touch more earthy moss and swamp float atop a medium-bodied mouthfeel while hop cones linger in the finish with enviable freshness. Slightly sticky, she coats my lips and tongue just in time to great wonderfully crunchy toasted nuts, melba, and brown sugars. Slivers of crunchy sweet and slightly burnt caramel are the perfect final accompaniment to her palate before the next quaff arrives with more fresh hops. Like an old friend whom I haven’t seen in years, it takes no time for us to get reacquainted, and I gaze forlorn at my empty glass.

Boulder is an underdog brewery. They brew good beer, really good beer, and yet I tend to ignore them, forget about them, or even say they hail from, say, Denver. I know someone somewhere in Boulder is going to read this and at that moment, I shall have to enter protective custody. Geography lessons aside, if you come across any Boulder beers sitting lost and lonely on a store’s shelf somewhere, be sure to do your Good Samaritan’s duty and give them a loving home.

Bottle. A dark beer, only giving up a hint of red when held up to the light. The firm foam head sticks around for some attention, too. The glass exudes a nice hoppy aroma. This drinks with quite a punch, rich with strong caramel toast, finishing with a tight bitter end. (#3637, 8/9/2009)

Bottle, pours a very clear deep orange color with definite carbonation ’legs’ and an off-white to light tan head that lasts all the way to the bottom of the glass-leaves lots of lacing. Nice aroma of citrus hops and toasted malt with a hint of chocolate in the background. Some piney and citrus hops burst on the tongue, with toasted malt flavors. Interesting complexity. A little bit light for a Brown Ale, more of a Pale Ale color, slightly darker than Bass. A very enjoyable beer.

I wasn’t sure what this was until I read the description to above. Much more hop bitterness than most brown ales. Dark amber with a red tint. Small head. Aroma of caramel and dried fruit. Flavor is sweet followed by a big hop kick. Very well done.

Courtesy SoLan. Pours a clear copper-amber hue with a small, foamy, beige tinted head. Sheety rings of lacing mark the glass. The aroma shows maltier than expected for an India brown, with nutty caramel notes and hints of biscuit. Grassy, citrusy hops are there, but fall shy of balancing it out completely. Flavors follow a similar path, quite biscuity and sweet overall, but with a decent, peppery, grassy hop finish. The palate sports a medium, lightly sticky body with balanced carbonation. Overall, it’s a decent brew, though it’s hoppiness seems to have faded very quickly.

this has been a good week. spent a great weekend saw some friends, got in touch with people i thought were long gone. hell, even though right now i am beggar broke, with a few open wounds on my left hand i am feeling good. just had the kellerweiss from SN. my life is heading toward good thinga right now. even this sacharrin purple glass of average is pretty fucking good at this point. melted sugar nose with some bubblegum. straight sweet with minimal hop balance or really any nuances or depth. a bit of chocolate in the finish. some mint hop that may be a c hop not wanting to show itself. easy to drink, and hell, it gave me something to do while waiting for the cubs game. holy christwagons think about it, the cubs in first place, and my life not making me miserable, now i know something bad will happen soon. 3 5 5 2 10