Breckenridge Autumn Ale

Brewed by Breckenridge Brewery
Style: Old Ale
Denver, Colorado USA

his was an awesome fall for Colorado foliage. Eager visitors trekked up the mountains in bustling droves to get a peek at the helter skelter patches of Aspen as the trees’ fiery tips reached vibrant heights of yellow and orange. But when the viewing and photographing is done and the romantic outlooks soaked in, the day can only close with some good mountain viand. My personal preference used to be a stop at the Breckenridge Brewpub, which doesn’t actually brew anything, yet somehow feels more appropriate esconced in the opulent trappings of a mountain resort than the actual center of brewing in downtown Denver’s semi-industrial district. This year we skipped the brewpub, but it somehow felt incomplete. Instead, I devoted an extra handful of cash back home to a new Breckenridge brew: the Autumn Ale. Despite all the sentimentalism and tradition of a Colorado mountain sojourn, I don’t look very fondly on Breckenridge Brewery’s products, but the Autumn Ale is a clear exception to a rule of tasteless mediocrity. It begins with a mahogany brown body, more rich than muddy. The head takes on a slight dry soil tan, but this quickly fizzles away. The aroma holds the smells of a strange repast. Burnt toast, dust and cobwebs, wet wood, and a little steak make for an aged but delicious aroma. My salivary glands run amok, and so I indulge them with a hearty gulp of the beer. There, a dark host of steak, more wet wood, barbequed pork, honey based BBQ sauce and a woody malts successfuly court the tongue. It is dark, but not abysmal, achieving dark flavors without the drowning sensation of an Imperial stout. Is it a beer fit for autumn? I think it’s a tad too dark for that, but it’s a surprisingly delicious beer nonetheless, and may very well find itself the center of a new Colorado mountain tradition.

Most of the leaves in my yard have been picked up, old man winter is traveling this way so I thought I’d crack open this Autumn seasonal as a tribute to the changing of the seasons. Burnt malt in the aroma with some vanilla and cocoa along with a trace of noble hops. Opaque brown pour, thin filmy head, and streaky lacing. Smooth and creamy on the palate, medium body with a slightly thin finish. Pleasant flavor, very malty most notable is the roasted/burnt taste. Munich malt is a great addition in this beer. Lightly sweetened, nutty, along with toasted bread. Very balanced with just a hint of hop flavor. Good all around brew, I detect a big German influence in this one. Too bad I only had one to enjoy.

Bottle. Pours a very dark brownish color. Aroma is quite malty and has a slight caramel hint to it. Sweet malts, caramel, and a small hop hit to it. Overall the flavor is decent, making this a pretty solid beer.

Bottle. Poured a very dark black color. Aroma is malty with a smokey flavor. Taste is very malty with a nice coffe smoke finish.

This was a nice old ale. I haven’t had one of these in a while and they are just as good as I remember them. Pour was a deep dark brown with little movement and a nice 1 finger tannish head. Aroma was pretty weak. Could pick up some roastiness and malt but it was hard. Taste was a nice mix of chocolate, iced tea and chewy malts. Hearty aftertatste. Gotta seek more of these out before the year is over.

The beer pours a clear deep brown with serious dark ruby highlights, head forms a decent creamy light tan crown to top off the body, lacing thin but secure in its coverage of the glass. Nose has a malt sweet aroma, supported by the caramel, also a tiny bit of hops pokes through, front ambrosial, with a touch of hop bitterness at the back, top is light to medium in feel. Finish has a lenient acidity, the hops apparent, but not over powering, sweet dry aftertaste lingers long on the palate, a nice looking, aromatic and drinkable beer, over the past few years Breckenridge has improved its quality immensely.

Draft @ the Breckenridge brewpub: The beer was a clear deep brown color with an off-white head. The aroma was roasty with light coffee notes and an earthy tone. The flavor was roasty with some toffee malt flavor. Light to medium bodied and a semi-dry finish.

Bottle from Party Source. Pours clear dark brown with a moderate frothy light brown head that is mostly lasting with good lacing. Medium toasted tart sweet malty aroma. Medium body. Medium roasted bittersweet flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of moderate duration. My expectations where met.