Cottonwood High Gravity Frostbite

Brewed by Carolina Beer Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Mooresville, North Carolina USA

Bottle (high gravity version) courtesy of NachlamSie. Pours dark copper with small ivory head. Piney hops dominate the aroma, with some bread and hints of alcohol. Flavor is resinous hops, some pine; toast in the middle, and a mildly bitter finish. Alcohol comes out with warmth. This is actually a pretty good brew.

Strong sugary hop aroma with a dark amber appearance with minimal head. Flavor is full of sticky sweet and piney hops with not much balance. People who aren’t hop heads might not like this. The beer could be better classified a s a imperial ipa.

Bottle. Pours a dark burgundy with a tan head. The aroma is dry, slightly vinous with notes of rich pine embedded into an assertive woody, earthy, semi-sweet foundation. The hops are there in the flavor, but not intense. They add a zesty, citrusy dimension which melds well with the oaken sweetness. A bit of tobacco and the slightest of raspberries are also noticed. The alcohol is very present, but not unpleasant at all, it works so well with the bold flavors and warms me up nicely. I was very surprised as I was expecting something not good.

Bottled - Pours a dark amber.. Lots of piney hops in the nose... Taste is.. ehh.. bitter hops.. not much balance here... and leaves a disgusting after taste... not a big fan

Pour is deep amber with no head and little lacing. Nose is a little fruity and hoppy. Roasted malt, nuts, and piney and citrus hops come through in the flavor. A little unbalanced towards the end with a strong bite.

Dark brown, tan head, spice and caramel aroma, some earthy notes, pretty decent beer.

Pulled from the mystery beer swap box. slightly spicy and fruitcake accented caramel malt aroma. Medium hop presence gives it a faint pine/grapefruit note. The body is murky brown and holds a creamy and lasting tan head that is a full thumb thick. Somewhat hoppy fore...milder malt notes beneath, but thinnish and without much range or ceoncentration. Mostly a thin IPA really.

From notes 2/11/06: Same label as the old Frostbite, but with a "High Gravity 8.5%" notation on the neck. Pours a moderately hazy auburn copper color with a filmy almond head. Lacing in a thin spiderweb design. Swirling reanimates the head to a thin cap that then quickly reduces again. Aromas initially have a surprising markedly noticeable caramel malt character. Raw green hop tone is then easily noted in the air. A bit rough, edgy. Quiet fruit tones of peach and apricot as it warms. Chewy caramel flavors begin the tasting. Hoppiness (in the way of being citrus or piney or resinous) has plenty of oomph, but not overly so. Tongue-scraping bitterness, and at times a touch overwhelming. Woody feel. Tongue-shriveling. Rough and tumble. More than one would ruin your palate, but unfortunately not in a glorioius way a la Stone’s Ruination. Bitter and harsh just to be bitter and harsh. At 8.5% this one packs an alcohol wallop, but the entire package doesn’t seem to land this beer in the DIPA category. This one has a simple IPA character written all over it with the added bonus of belly- and cheek-warming.