Clipper City Heavy Seas Winter Storm (2005+ -- Imperial ESB)

Brewed by Clipper City Brewing Co.
Style: American Strong Ale
Baltimore, Maryland USA

One of my favorite finds this winter season. This beer pours amber, with a small head, and very little lacing. The aroma is of spice and hops. It has a nice sweet/spice start finishing in a standard hop bitterness. It’s a little thinner in the palate then the beers I truly love, but overall, it’s a nice one to have sitting around.

Dark copper/amber color with a beige head. Mild citrus and pine hop aroma. Flavor of citrus hops and caramel malts.

My least favorite of the sample case. The beer is amber/dark brown. Taste is ok, and includes some malt and spice. Within my first couple of sips though, I thought that I got it wrong, and this was an IPA. I felt that the hops come in and dominate the taste of the beer with citrus/pine of an IPA. Over-all it was kind of an interesting beer for me.

Poured a deep copper color with a moderate white head. Biscuity malt flavors dominate the aroma, but a nice hop aroma lingers in the background. Medium-bodied. The imperial ESB is an nteresting concept, since you start leaning towards strong pale ale territory, but they stick with the ESB concept here - the hops are in the background but play a supporting role (I can see hopheads thinking "Why not just crack an IPA?"). If nothing else, this is a very nice strong session brew.

Dark clear beautiful amber with a big off-white head. Aroma is citrusy and sweet, while taste is rather dry and bitter with hops outweighing the malt. $2/12oz

Dark and clear copper pour. Off-white, diminishing head. Big hop aroma — grapefruit, citrus, pine, flowers. Moderate nose of sweet caramel and a slight earthiness. The flavor is heavily bitter with some sweetness underneath. Full body and plenty of carbonation. Thick texture, sticky for a moedrately long, dry finish. Very enjoyable.

A beautiful pour. A little bit too malty. Usualy a beer seems to get hoppier as it warms, this one somehow seemed to get maltier as it warmed. Maple syrup, brown sugar, and some overall lackluster flavors. i wasn’t impressed with this brew. A nice deep orange-brown color with a fluffy white head that goes away pretty quickly.

Bottle from Sam’s Blue Light. Pours a deep amber with a half inch thick off-white head. Fresh, fruity and earthy hoppy aroma. Taste is similar, almost like an ipa, but it ends with a sweet malt that balances it out very nicely. Alcohol is evident but not highly noticeable. A fine beer from an up and coming brewery.