Burton Bridge Empire Ale

Brewed by Burton Bridge
Style: English Strong Ale
Burton-on-Trent, England

Pours a cloudy golden hue with a frothy slight-off-white head. Aromas of alcohol, citrus and a slight metal smell. Mouthfeel is medium bodied-fizzy- Flavors of oranges, slight pine, moderately hopped with an old flavor. Not an IPA like the bottle says.

This brew pours with a golden orange body topped by a thick, fizzy head with little lacing. The aroma is slightly sweet and citrusy with some spicy notes. The flavor is slightly sweet and slightly bitter with a strong spicy note and a little citrus. This brew reminds me of a saison or a triple more than an IPA, as the bottle labeled it. Medium bodied and very tingly.

Bottle. Golden-orange with nice head. Hoppy, fruity, oranges, bitter finish. Ought to have a little more of everything the high abv taken into account.

first off the bottle foamed over when i opened it!? anyway. poured out LOADS of head(in fact most of the first pour was head.)it did soon calm down a bit.the smell was fruits,and a bit of alcohol,and some hops. the taste was very different from any i.p.a. i have ever had. it had a bit of bitter hops,apples,grapes,maybe some yeast? this is very good in a very different way.

Bottle: Aroma is very malty and fruity. Definite grape. Pours a very hazy dark orange with a big white head with excellent retention. Very malty in the beginning with obvious caramel. Light hops in the finish that balances well with the maltiness. Very light alcohol taste in the finish as well. Slight bitter aftertaste. Very good beer. I don't know if it's the bottom of the bottle or the warming of the beer, but the alcohol taste and bitterness greatly increases once the last of the bottle is poured into the glass.

Hazy, peachy color, full, creamy froth atop... Fresh, fruity aroma, yeasty and smooth...becomes creamier and mellow...grapefruit and pineapple sticks out a bit, and it appears stickily sweet...I enflamed my nose to conisder the last time I encountered anything like this...I think it was DogfishHead 120...So far, looks good, smells good,... but the taste? It don’t carry over so well...too much sourness on the palate, too much green apple...Now it’s reminding me of that other big, overpriced bottle from these guys, Olde Expensive Ale. Don’t know why IPAs from England disappoint me so often. Taste flattens out, becomes tinny, plasticine...not pleasant at all. My experiences with this company continue to be one-time affairs, sorry to say...

Re rate, aged bottle, one year past its best before date. Hazy amber gold, vast fluffy head that required three glasses to contain it all and good condition. Complex hoppy nose with hints of apple and yeast and a low funkiness that had become muted in the year since I last tried this batch. Seemed much more sweet in the mouth, with the hop flavour obviously diminishing with age but still quite noticable, had developed something of a perfumed triple fruitiness as well. Finish was long and smooth with the hop bitterness now well balanced. Worth an extra point for palate from last time. June 2003 rating of same batch- Bottle conditioned. Hazy orange, fluffy white head and moderate condition. Good hoppy aroma with hints of Orval brett notes, full bodied with hints of apple and more hop flavour. Finish is long and bitter with a big alcohol kick.

Bottle from the Offie, Leicester. Dusky orange, thick white head. Delicious, fresh hoppy aroma. Controlled agression here: tasty citric hops. Sweetness in the mouth, some syrup, then a sour grapefruit finish. Powerful, but drinkable. Stylistically uncertain: reminded me a lot of Stone Ruination, and is certainly closer to the US defnition of a hoppy IPA, than those labelled as such in the UK. A strong or Double IPA, would be my guess. Anyway, this was delicious.