Fish Tale Anniversary Ale - 10²

Brewed by Fish Brewing Company/Leavenworth Beers
Style: American Strong Ale
Olympia, Washington USA

Found it a little sweet for my liking. Really enjoyed the flavor, and the hoppy taste, but still noted quite a fruity aftertaste. Liked it, but didn’t love it.

Bottle: Pours a lightly hazed amber-oramge ale in the glass with a sticky off-white meringue cap..sticky lace frosts the sides as you drain this thick ale. Aromas: Toffee, grapefruit, earthy tones, some wood, wet grass. Profile: Big creamy full mouthfeel, in the frontside those big toasty- toffee malts fill the palate as a very intense hop mixture provides near perfect balance....Mid way the flavors get complex, you pick up lots of taste impressions as the hop mix, malts and yeast phenols play havoc with your senses trying to define all the falvors coming at you: walnut muffins, cedar, toffee, orange rind, wet birch, vanilla cake.....finish is anti climactical as the malts drop away and it dries slightly leading to a real dry puckering aftertase like citrus rind....f’n marvelous! Big, big beer where the alcohol is completely buried in huge flavor...big silky mouth feel...barrel aging gives a underlying mellowness. great big-assed beer.

Bottle courtesy of CBA : Poured a medium clear copper color ale with a small foamy head with limited retention but some good lacing. Aroma of citrus hops is dominating with a sweet malty base. Taste is dominated by some medium bitter hops with some citrus presence but probably not as much as expected. The malt base is slightly too sweet for all the hops in there and I would have preferred more caramel malt presence. Body is quite oily but not full enough considering the style. Interesting experience but not something that need to be repeated too often.

12oz bottle, courtesy of my brother. Pours a hazy, orangish-amber color; off-white head with fine-bubbled lacing. Dense, resiny hop aroma: graperuit and citrus and candy sugar. Dense, resiny mouthfeel: slightly overcarbonated, with plenty of chewy citrus hops; candy sugar and caramel maltiness; slightly harsh hoppiness and carbonation. Lengthy, bitter hop and wet malt finish. (My brother: "I could clean the bathroom with this.")

Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy deep copper with a small white head that fades quickly leaving decent lacing. Aroma of sweet malt and every hop that they could cram in the kettle with a strong oak backbone. Taste is the same as aroma just a bit harsh. Medium full mouthfeel with a very strong bitterness. A good beer but needs a little more balance.

12 oz bottle, purchased @ Bottleworks, Seattle, WA. 10 types of hops, 100 IBU’s, oak barrel aged. Totally my cup of tea. This is one hoppy mother of a beer. I liked it alot. A little rough on the palate, but overall very good. Got me pretty lit up too........

355ml brown bottle. Hazy redrish brown colour, small tan head. Aroma is piney and floral with some sweet/caramel notes. A lot of hops up front in this one - pine, citrus, some sweet malt with mild woody notes, long grapefruity finish. Fine prickly carbonation, medium bodied. Alcohol reamins in the background.

Bottle. Pours a clear coppery amber with a lacy yellow head. Big C-hop aroma, grapefruit over peaches. Medium to full body with moderate carbonation. Sweet taste of oaked citrus. I didn’t realize how bitter the finish was until I swallowed twice to clear the layer of malt off my tongue. The blast to the taste buds almost completely hides the booze.