Eel River Triple Exultation

Brewed by Eel River Brewing Company
Style: Old Ale
Fortuna, California USA

22 oz. bottle, no bottling/freshness date, sampled in a snifter glass. L: Cloudy in appearance, dark caramel brown in a color with a small beige head that settled into a thin bubbly skim. The sticking is pretty light, mainly just splotchy lace dots ringing the brim of the glass. S: Lightly roasted caramel, toffee, cocoa and nutty malt aromas with a soft currant and date fruitiness. Further whiffs reveal traces of caramelized sugar along with a touch of molasses. The hops are milder than what I expecting after talking to my local beer guy this afternoon, he lead me to believe this was going to be a hop bomb, which it is not, but still quite pleasant, citrus, leafy herbs and a mellow pipe tobacco. F&T: Medium bodied with a little malty chewiness, you can tell this is an ’American’ Old Ale by the resiny, sticky hoppiness in the finish. Crisp with a gassy creaminess, my only complaint with the mouthfeel is that the carbonation is a bit too fizzy for me, not the smooth firm feeling I like in a upper echelon Old Ale. Mildly roasted malt tastes of caramel toffee, light coffee and chocolaty nuts with some molasses sweetness towards the end. Soft fruity flavors of currants, figs and sugary dates in the middle. As I neared the finale the oily, resiny hop tastes became more pronounced, grapefruit peels, pine, woody herbs and a pinch of earth. A nice citric spicy bitterness lingers in the aftertaste, giving this an amiable drying cleanliness. The alcohol has a low fruity warmth in the palate, making this an easy sipper. I’m not yet a fan of organic beers, but this was quite enjoyable, an Old Ale that would make a proper night capper.

Deep ruby red with a strong beige head. Smells very sweet, with caramel, cardboard, spice, alcohol, bread, honey, cinnamon, bittersweet, and dark fruit notes. Very rich flavor, with tons of sweetness. Caramel, brown sugar, molasses, orange peel, bourbon, and spicy notes. The alcohol is strong but balanced out nicely. Full and creamy mouthfeel. A damn good, damn potent brew. I think of this as a real Old Ale, not a Barleywine wearing a malty mask.

(Bottle 65 cl) Courtesy of BrianK. Hazy amber golden with a creamy, off-white head. Sweetish caramel in the aroma with lots of alcohol. Medium body, some caramel flavours, some yeast and a distinct alcohol burn in the finish. Not bad, just....superfluous. 190408

Bottled. A hazy dark amber beer with a lazing orange head. The aroma is sweet mlaty with notes of alcohol, hops, and a light touch of grass. While the flavor is sweet with strong notes of grass and medium notes of alcohol, leading to a bitter finish.

Hazy brown with medium off white head. Sweet aroma with off notes. Swete flavor with fruity and caramel notes. Ends sweet.

Bottle. Cloudy orange coloured with a medium sized off white head. Aroma of malts, caramel and sulpur with notes of fruits. Sweet flavour of caramel and fruits with notes of dried fruits, sulphur and hops. Hoppy finish.

Blind tasting at Papsoes place, another great session, thanks Henrik! Beer #16: Pours hazy orange with a fully diminished off white head. Dry malty aroma, light caramel note. Flavour is mild sweet caramel malt. Light yeasty, mild bitter and with nicely integrated fruity hops notes. This goes into a dry bitter finish.

# 16 Bottle. [Papsoe’s great blind tasting, thanks Henrik!] Large thick beige and creamy head that mostly lasted. Excellent display of lacework. Light cloudy amber color. Aroma of toasted malt, light floral, some fruit. Over the palate came spice and hint of herbs, light hoppy perfume feel. Medium bodied with a soft carbonation. Light to moderated bitter flavor with some counter sweetness. Light dry and bitter floral finish. 6-4-6-3-12 = 3.1 19-04-2008