Hawks Sweet Amber Ale

Absolutely gorgeous! Pours with a thin white head that dissapates quickly. Wonderful sweet malty nose, with a somewhat murky dark amber color. The flavors mostly comes across as sweet malts, with barely enough hops to keep it from being cloying. It does leave a slight thickness at the back of the throat, and a tiny amount of alcohol burn, but its candy-like body defeats the contending flavors. I’m a big fan of barelywine/old ale/strong ales...so this really hit the spot for me. I got two bottles, one for this rating, and one to age, and am considering a case for my annual Christmas gathering. Very very nice!

So sad to see this brewery go under, this brew was another great example of their beers. Pours dark orange with a strong off-white head. Very sweet and bold aroma, fig, chocolate, wood, rum, caramel, and hops. The malt character just goes through the spectrum as you drink and it warms. This was pre-aged for a year before it was released and aged so well and would continue to do so, still has the hops to age more.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a dark amber color with a short-lived head. Aroma has a sweet oakiness, some hops, pit fruit, a little whiff of alcohol. The palate is just about perfect for a barleywine. Carbonation is present, but does not get in the way when drinking. Taste has a slight sharpness yielding to sweet and finshes with a lingering warmth and bitterness. Very, very good.

Its a damn shame that this is the last Hawks beer to be released, but at least they’re going out with a bang. Easily one of my favorite barleywines. The color was really the only thing amber about it. The ABV was noticeable but didn’t interfere with this beers drinkability and will probably mellow a bit with time. Perfectly sweet balanced by a generous hop profile. If I was still in college and this beer wasn’t so savory I might be tempted to pound it. I will definitely be squirreling away as much of this as I can.

Pours brown/amber, with an off-white head. Aroma is malt, caramel, hops, and fruit. Flavor is caramel, malt, fruit, and hops. Body is a little thinner than expected, but it doesn’t really take away from it. It’s sad to see Hawks no longer in business. Thanks Ezra, for this bottle.