Clipper City Reserve Winter Ale

Formerly brewed at Clipper City Brewing Co.
Style: English Strong Ale
Baltimore, Maryland USA

Nice red color with a candy spice flavor. An "unoffensive" winter brew if you know what I mean.

Pours a deep reddish brown. Somewhat translucent even though the minute amount of sediment was emptied into my glass. Hop bitterness is the dominant scent but there is a slight malt sweetness underneath. Tastes hoppy but is very smooth. Evident citrus taste with spice intruding. Possibly coriander or nutmeg. Has a mustiness or moldiness about it in the taste that is hard for me to define. It does not ruin the beer or make it undrinkable, it's just hard for me to put my finger on. Finishes sour with a definite lingering aftertaste.

This is a very spicy winter brew. It has a bite to it and the after taste make your mouth a bit dry. But it will warm your insides up in a jiffy.

The beer pours a winsome deep burnished copper color, the head walloping in size, spumous in texture and a light tan in color, with the lace a glutinous sheet that occults the glass. Floral aromas up front, sweet malt underneath, clean fresh and quite appealing to the senses, with a large malt and slightly sweet start. Top is skinny in feel, and the hops vigorous in the spicy bite, the acidity tolerable and the aftertaste droughty and long lasting, a quite drinkable and refreshing brew from a decent brewery.

Ugh. Found this one at Avalon (Richmond, VA) and gave it a shot. Has that patented severely generic cookie cutter ’microbew’ flavor that permeates a vast majority of these minimal-effort domestic micros. Extremely bitter aftertaste bordered on metallic. Hops is all you notice with this beer. Overly carbonated - very filling. Looks average copper/tan color, almost no head which vanished instantly. I will never pick this up again. Undistinguished to say the least.

(Best by 4/03) The brewery claims to have upped the gravity of this winter ale from an alcohol content of 6.5 to 7.5. The nose is very restrained on aroma, but the palate is very hoppy. It is amazing how hoppy this beer is on the palate, but not in aroma. Amazingly, enough the beer is malty enough to support its heavy hopping. The palate is very fruity; I taste a hint of raspberry. The finish is long and super hoppy/fruity. This beer is a hoppy fruit bomb that will warm your winter. The one draw back is the lack of nose.

Bold malty flavor up front with a very refreshing hoppiness in the finish. Thank you Hugh Sisson for bringing back the seasonals and a job well done.

smells spicy, nice dark color, finishes a little smoky. good for the winter.