DuClaw Colossus

Brewed by DuClaw Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Abingdon, Maryland USA

Date: April 25, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Appearance: clear dark amber, short lived scant head
Aroma: sweet and fruity aroma, light fumes
Body: big thick body
Flavor: sweet and fruity flavor, lots of candy character, honey sweetness
Overall: jellied fruit candy

Date: May 24, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
heating tempers the sweetness and makes a more tempered and balanced beverage

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **+/4

(1L bottle, thanks scraff) Medium off-white head atop clear amber body. Aroma is moderately sweet, fruity (cherry, cantaloupe, orange). Taste is very sweet, orange, some cherry, apple, and of course, alcohol. Sticky full body.

Bottle at Chriso’s Kook Tasting 09. Thanks to Ken again for this. Pale chestnut colour, lasting dark beige head. Soap powder and sweet malt. Sickly. Raisins, dried fruit. Malt loaf. Some dry malt, very tasty, bit of heat.

1L bottle @Noogfest High5 Thanks thebeersommolier–pours no head and amber color. Aroma is sweet medium malt, medium fruit. Taste is sweet medium malt, medium fruit, woody, syrupy. As a sipper for a sample size 3.4, can’t see a pint of this though.

Bottle at chris_o’s "smash kook’s granny tasting". Alround rating: Noteably sweet, caramel, herbal hop, noteably fruity, lots of prunes and other fruits soaked in honey, some cinnamin. Alc is very well hidden, like this is no way 15%+ i genuinly dont believe its that high. Remarkably easy to drink. Winner!

Bottle (served very warm)… O’sS&BS-I-T-YVBThrowdown… Dark beer. Spicy, sweet aroma offers cinnamon and other autumn and winter spices along with a good dose of dark rum. Full-bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and faint carbonation. Sweet, spicy, lightly herbal flavor is very reminiscent of a good glögg. Hearty, to say the least, warm and boozy. Great warm. Don’t know that I would have enjoyed it cool or even at room temperature, but Jim Wagner did suggest it be drunk warm, as a glögg. Thanks to scraff for providing the bottle!

1L bottle shared by scraff. 22% ABV, jesus christ... It pours a medium copper amber colored body, brilliantly clear. Nose of alcoholic apple pie – spices such as cinnamon, cardamom and coriander are all there, and all very forward, and the presence of corn starch and corn syrup is also quite heavy, and along with the alcohol I just don’t think this is going anywhere good. Far too sweet, far too boozy, and overcarbonated on top of both of those, when big booze and big sugar demands more of a flatness to the carbonation. The apple pie is nice, but I’m too distracted by the messy alcohol and assertive carbonation. Tingles on the tongue, warms the throat, but overall I think it’s far too messy to be enjoyable.

Bottle sample at Noogfest High 5. Poured dark brown color with an average frothy off-white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Moderate to heavy complex caramel malt and fruit aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium to heavy complex sweet flavor with a medium to heavy sweet finish of moderate to long duration. Solid complex sweet drinkable beer.