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

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

Bottle from State Line in Elkton, MD. Pours copper red with an off white head. English like malty aroma, with some fruity hops in the background. Medium body, but a tad on the light side for a strong ale. Nice malty flavor of caramel, toffee, toasted malt. Piney and citrus hop bitter finish. I would label this as a nice session strong ale.

Good Flavor. Strong after taste, malt aroma with small head that dissolves quickly. Amber color with white head.

From the bottle, pours a beautiful pure red with a thin off-white head with decent lacing down the glass. Aroma is very malty, as well as very bitterly hoppy, not too dissimilar to a pale ale. Quite malty in the flavor, with a bitter hops aftertaste. As it warms, the maltiness becomes more pronounced, which seems to cancel out much of the bitterness, though not completely. I’d say this is a pretty good one.

Pours a beautiful dark amber with a nice head and good lacing. The aroma was a little lacking but smelled mainly of hops lacking any fruit nuances. The maltiness comes through in the flavor with the hops providing nice counter balance. A little hot on the palate but overall very good.

Pours an attractive amber hue with a thick and lasting white head. Great lacing throughout. Aroma hints at pine trees and earthy English hops. The flavor is full of bitter english hops that for some reason have always reminded me of cheese. There’s a bit of warming alcohol on the way down. This one definitely gets bonus points for being unique. Enjoyably big stuff.

Bottle: dark amber in color with a nice tan head. Smell has got some nice citrus and pine smell, with a note of malt in the background. Taste is a bit sweet, with a malty finish, but a nice note of hop in there. Taste is good on this one. Just enough bitterness in this one.

12oz, no date courtesy of bstill. Pours a clear orangeish red with a fading one finger beige head. Aroma of woody, earthy, and floral hops, some fruit and burnt caramel malt notes. Flavor had some fruity sweetness, some burnt toffee, pretty big bitterness in the middle with some pine and wood, though it is balanced quite well. Lingering bitter slightly chalky finish. Moderate to full body, moderate carbonation, creamy mouthfeel. Pretty darn good.

Pours amber with a white head. The aroma is full of hoppish charateristics of citrus and pine. The flavor is highly hopped with a citrusy bitterness and a finish that is nicely hopped.