Drakes Expedition Ale

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

Dark brown body, tastes rich with a lush swell of flavor in the finish. Crisp and clean. Would compliment anything well in my opinion.

(Bottle) Pours a mahogany body with a small off-white head. Aroma of breadiness, grapefruit, and toffee. Flavor of chocolate, caramel, roastiness, and citrus.

12oz, no date from Saarlander, thanks Aaron. Pours a clear deep amber brown with a 1 1/2 finger beige head. Aroma of pine and grapefruity hops, powdered sugar, light toasty malts wth a hint of toffee. Flavor still has a good hop presence, though the burnt toffee and caramel malts seem much stronger. There is some big bitterness that mixes with some earth (that I didn’t catch in the aroma), especially towards the finish. Bitterness peaks at a 6 to 7 (out of 10). Medium body with moderate carbonation. Most ambers seem pretty bland to me, but when they’re hopped up like this one, I enjoy them quite a bit.

12oz bottle acquired in trade with jimbowood (thanks!). Poured a deep and cloudy amber color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, oranges, and a little earthy. Tastes of caramel, citrus, and toffee. For an amber ale, I really liked this one.

Sample from kmweaver. Clear dark amber body with a small, off-white head. The aroma is citrus, tea and caramel. The flavor is toffee, tea and grapefruit. Medium/light body is thin with soft carbonation.

Hazy dark amber colour. Toasty malts with big woody hops, hint of citrus. Rich heavy woody hops, toasty, caramelly malts...it’s a thick wall of earthiness. Big body, as ambers go. The thing is, a dark IPA can be a wonderful brew but only if there’s a sense of purpose to the way the malt character and hop character are combined.

12oz bottle, courtesy of aspidites. Thanks, Mike! Pours a dark amber color; light tan head with fine-bubbled lacing. Dense, dried fruits and candy sugar; some alcoholic warmth. Medium-to-full, chewy mouthfeel: pleasant citrus hop character and sugary malts; lively carbonation, with a slightly dry finish: nutty with chewy sugars. A really nice amber ale.

Cloudy burnt orange/amber pour. Thin beige head slowly and mostly fades, though never fully, even to the last drop. The aroma is pleasant and moderately expressive. Plenty of fresh hops, even fresher caramel malt, indecipherable tree fruits, woodiness. One component seems to be missing: alcohol - how nice. The flavor is composed of bold hop bitterness, medium-high acidity and mild sweetness. the finish is bitter and off-dry. The mouthfeel is softly but adequately carbonated, light to medium in body, a touch spicy and tingly as a result. Very easy to drink and very enjoyable.