Drakes Expedition Ale

Brewed by Drakes Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
San Leandro, California USA

Bottle from Pizza Port Carlsbad. The beer is a dark rusty brown color with a medium and foamy beige head that dissipates slowly. Patches of lacing on the glass. The aroma is roasty with notes of malt and nuts, plus some hops. Rich and roasty with flavors of sweet malt, wood and nuts. Nice flavorful hops in the background throughout. The finish is malty and chocolatey with a lingering hops aftertaste. Right up there with the best Ambers I have ever tried. Drake’s continues to impress.

Dark red brown, complex, nutty roasted malts, piney, caramel, bitter, hoppy.

12 oz bottle from SBD. Pours a dark brown color with red highlights. The head is khaki colored, small and soon recedes to 1/4 inch and holds. The aroma is relatively mild and overtly sweet with caramel, wood, hazelnuts and sweet roasted malts. The flavor is hops forward with biter cascade, the hops are a bit harsh; also present in the taste is a bit of chocolate, caramel and pine. The mouthfeel is full and malty with lively carbonation. The finish is medium in duration with biter-sweet hops. Overall: This is a hoppy amber ale, but I’d probably peg it as an APA. And, its a very good one.

Bottled. Poured clear, deep reddish-brown with a creamy, well-retained cap of beige head.. just a lovely pour! The aroma picked up rich nutty notes and chocolate along with hefty doses of dark spices and floral character.. deep, rich and inviting.. and very difficult to classify as an amber ale. The flavor held serve with toasty caramel and nutty notes surrounded by pine and lesser citrusy bitterness.. if anything a little too aggressive on the back-end with warmth amplifying significant bitterness. Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation that moved it through the mouth well.. spicy, warm finish. This was just a wonderful brew!

Wow one of the best ambers ive had.. except it not actually an amber. Its more of a light imperial red or a malty ipa. Anyway full of malts and full of hops, caramely but bitter, floral but sweet, piney and chocolaty. In a style of its own... i wasnt expecting such a good brew. Finishes fruity with a nice hop kick.

Unusual in the amber ale style, but it works incredibly well. I wish I could have had a whole glass of this chocolatey and caramelly brew. Hop amount is just right to balance it out well.

Not nearly as good as the OTHER beer that shares its name, but... Bottle: Pours a medium-brown with a very frothy head. Aroma of musty caramel malts, very small hint of chocolate. Pretty smooth flavor, caramel, but with just the right amount of hop bitterness while still maintaining a sweet, amber character. Great drinkability factor.

12 oz. bottle in trade from stoutlover72- thank you. The brew was served in my shaker- poured blackish brown, transparent when held to a light source, low-light carbonation, very appealing frothy off white head formed (one finger thick) and very slowly laced away. Aroma of perfectly roasted malts, pine, and chocolate. Hits the mouth with a nice medium body, the malt delights the tongue while some sweetness and cream lingers in the background. In the middle, some nice hops greet themselves and stay around for the finish, which has a malty sweet tang to it. This isn’t an amber in my book, but I can tell what it is- DANG GOOD!!!