Elysian Bifröst Winter Ale

Brewed by Elysian Brewing Co.
Style: American Strong Ale
Seattle, Washington USA

22oz. bottle. Hazy amber color with a small beige head. Citrus hop aroma with a bit of pine. Flavor was a sort of dull version of the aroma. A bit hoppy with some biscuity malt.

10.09.05 Bomber, thanks to Glenn at HW open house. Aroma is amarillo and centennial and tea. Now, had I known this was an English strong and not an IPA I might have made more sense of the tea notes I was getting. Bitter and empty. Pineapple and pine. Oxidized to the brink of cardboard not a great mix with cat pee. Dry and stark. Reminds me of something from Rogue, but I can’t remember what.

Second attempt at this beer, strangely, also from Glenn at HWOH. This time, I loved it. I’m not sure if it’s a better bottle or if my palate has changed over the last six months, but I really enjoyed this. I hadn’t recalled having tried it in the past, so I took fresh notes:
Dark golden. Sweet, strawberries, wood, mulch. Is this a big ASA or mildly malted BW, I’m not sure. Very nice with excellent balance of sweet backbone and dry hopped goodness. Centennials stand out, amarillos are subdued. Lots of grapefruity citrus, some perfume. 7-4-8-4-16, previous score: 6-4-5-2-12. I wonder if the last bottle was a bad one.

bottle-pours a light tan head, color is golden. Aroma is hops. Taste is hops, mild, good carbonation.

On Tap @ Elysian- Pours a dark orange color, small off white head, nice lacing. Aroma is sweet and piney, oranges. Flavor is very hoppy, tons of pine needles and alcohol, warming with a dry finish.

Dull Amber color....you can definitely taste the strong alcohol content. Sharp hop taste with just a little sip....but with a deep malt finish. Not as deep of taste as I expect a good winter beer to have. Might be why they’re serviing it in September....

I picked up my bottle at Sam’s Liquors in Chicago. Just like JMerritt and Cornfield it cost under $2 for a bomber. It was a West Coast holiday ale in the vain of SNCA, hoppy not spicey. Amber color with tan head that contained a few large bubbles. I believe I found a good deal on Bifrost but I also think the bottle had lost some quality and that landed it in the bargain bin @ Sam’s. I’ll be drinking my other bottle of Bifrost sooner than later.

Purchased at Sam’s Wine and Spirits for around $1.50 for a bomber. Pale orange with a frothy, uneven head. Lemongrass, alcohol, sour grapes and medicinal aroma. Off-putting caramel flavor, stale graham crackers and sour apples. Very alcoholic, with moderate carbonation. Wow, was this stuff awful. Looking at the other ratings, maybe my bottle was off, but it looks like I purchased it the same time and place as Cornfield. WIll have to re-rate again.

There’s some awfully heavy-handed northwestern hopping for this to be an English strong ale... much more like an American, or even an Imperial IPA. Pouring a slightly hazy, deep amber body, it has a thick, yellowish head that does some nifty lacing. There’s a sturdy caramel base under the heavy pine and grapefruit hop bitterness. Nice and bitter, although the hops take a more earthy tone in the finish.

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