Central Coast Chai Cream Ale

Brewed by Central Coast Brewing
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
San Luis Obispo, California USA

Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Pours a hazy gold with large white fizzy head. Aroma is tart, some funk, citrus, was great! Flavor is nice, light tartness, citrus, funk, faint bitter. Mouth feel is light body with fizzy carbonation. Overall, some what reminded me of a Belgian ale....very tasty! Also just to add, from reading other raters opinions, I am judging this on how I enjoyed it, didn’t strike me as a cream ale, but if brett was a mistake or if I had an old bottle, oh well, the one I had I really liked!

Bomber $4.99 at Bottle Barn; 2007 product. Looks like I should just copy IrishBoy’s words. Glass of foam with a little liquid. (That repeats with each pour; must be a live one) Slightly hazy golden color with a huge frothy white head. It has a really spicy aroma. Pie spice. Coriander? Nutmeg? Clove! Chai? Isn’t that tea boiled with milk and water? Certainly seems to have ginger. Thin to medium bodied with spritzy carbonation. On to the flavors. Ginger, coriander or nutmeg, likely clove, something herby - must be the Chai - seems a bit like tea. Light malt, or medium malt overwhelmed with spice. Overall it reminds of different ales: Butte Creek Mataveza; Badger Blandford Fly. Pretty tasty. Ought to go great with spicy asian food. The finish is decently dry, and the spice lingers while there is a flavor like that from sucking tea leaves. Overall it is pretty strongly flavored, but there are many different flavors, and they seem to work well together. Don’t die ’til you’ve tried this one.

04-Jun-07 (22 oz bottle: Purchased 03-Jun-07 for $5.69 at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido, CA) Nearly explosive CO2 release when opening the bottle, a very heady pour, and a moderate smell of phenolics from the head means this freshly purchased and opened bottle of beer is already showing signs of problems. Fortunately, the phenolic flaw is only present in the nose, not in the flavor which makes me wonder if the aroma of chai is tricking me. What really jumps out on my first taste is the strong, herbal flavor of chai, not surprising for a chai beer, but it’s definitely not shy. To me, the herbal flavor is also reminiscent of spruce tips. Lightly bitter, but it’s an herbal bitterness, not from hops. The base malt is very innocuous, which was probably the intent of the brewer, but the chai is so dominating, a little more maltiness wouldn’t have interfered. A mild honey sweetness gives the beer added depth and pleasant counterpoint to the chai. As the beer warms, a background graininess and slight breadiness emerge, the mouthfeel seems fairly creamy and smooth, and the medium-full body seems to have increased from my initial impression of being light-bodied. When cold, the beer has a nice, herbal crispness and is very refreshing, but when warm, it’s more balanced and interesting. Carbonation is quite lively, adding to the refreshing nature of this beer. Dark-golden in color and fairly hazy, sediment makes the final pour very cloudy. The whitish head never fades below a quarter inch, and I’ve nursed this beer for a few hours, though the initial patchy lacing eventually disappears. Overall, while the beer is fairly expensive, I found this enjoyable, intriguing and refreshing enough to buy it again.

bottle thanks to bullzeye.. Pours pale gold with thick head. Aroma of hay, gras, some malty sweetness, tea. Flavor is understated, some spice and sweetness. Nice but thinnish.

Bottle from bottle barn. Dark yellow with fizzy head. Sweet milky chai taste. Not much else going on.

Bottle: Dark caramel color with crimson edges, explosive beige head with adequate lacing. Nose of clove, light yeast and spices, some up front citrusy hop and coriander notes as well. The flavor is balanced, moderately acidic with a grassy citrusy tail. Floral tail, lacking the trademark chai spices such as clove or cardomom. Seems just like a novelty beer to me.

(22oz bottle, 2008 vintage) Pours a lightly hazy yellow body with a tall frothy white head. Aroma of lemon, orange, clove, and tea leaves. Flavor of tea, citrus, floral, clove, cardamom, and grass.

Bottle. 2007. Amber beer with a huge cream colored head. Bottle under big carbonation. Spicy, nutmeg aroma. Very spicy (nutmeg, cinnamon, clove) flavor. Some vanilla and dusty malt. Lingering spice. Medium bodied. Spice overpowers.