Cottonwood High Gravity Frostbite

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

03.12.06 12oz bottle, HW OH, thanks to FrumptyDumpty. Decent, thick looking stuff, brown and clear. Aromas are sweaty, buttery, wet, boozy, and a bit odd. It took some getting used to. Some armpit aromas and flavors, quite bitter, mineral notes. Centennials fighting to please, but too much Columbus. this beer is misguided and seemingly hiding behind a big dose of hoppiness.

Bottle. This is the new high gravity Frostbite, at 8.5%, thanks to NC’s revised abv laws. Reddish amber with a tan head. Nose of deep earthy hops with lots of pine, dark caramel, crystal malt, and faint alcohol. Flavor is very rich grainy malt with balanced bitterness throughout, finishing hop-tacky and bittersweet. Alcohol is well hidden and lends a glowing warmth throughout. This was fantastic, though the Brown Ale moniker confuses me. There might be a "winter tradition of a hearty brown ale", but what they’ve brewed here is a tasty IIPA.

From bottle. Pours an orange brown with tan head. Nose has some floral hops. Flavor is of sweet malts with a bitter finish.

12 oz bottle. Pours coppery with a big off white head. Nose is citrus and hops, a touch floral. Flavor is rather bitter, much less citrus than the nose. Pretty one dimensional, but good in that dimension.

(Re-Rate 4/12/9)) I’m confused. They say the regular alcohol content Frostbite is discontinued. This bottle I got isn’t marked. The old one was marked High Gravity and 8.5%. Leaves me guessing wich one I am drinking now but tastes flike a fullbodied IPA with some higher floral notes and some light spice. I’m giving it a 3.1 this time around.

Poured a dark copper with a tall tan head. Aroma was very hoppy with citrus fruits. Flavor was biting with grapefruit. A very good drink.

This beer pours with a frothy, two and a half thick, tan colored head that sits atop a brilliantly clear, amber-red colored beer. Interestingly enough the aroma has notes of funky cheese. There are also notes of herbal hops and a soft fruitiness of citrus and perhaps some notes reminiscent of currants. As time goes on the funky cheese notes seem to drop out a bit.

The taste is lightly sweet with a touch of grapefruit, plus a bit of zingy herbal hops. The malt is fairly subdued underneath the hops; it is here though and contributes to the fruit character, perhaps contributing some notes of raisins. This is a nice hoppy beer, it is perhaps not as malty as I would like as it needs a bit more structure to make it a satisfying winter warmer.

At Jan ’06 KC biermeisters meeting. Dark red color. Honey, brown sugar, cascades (oops, wrong C hop), citrus aroma. Fragrant! Honey, sweet malt, citrus, pine, mild earthy flavor, moderate bitterness. Similar to Celebration. Full mouthfeel. Good stuff!