sbroome (73), Burnsville, Minnesota, USA
| 4.2 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 |
Oct 28, 2009
heavy, heavy, heavy. dark fruit like plum and raisen with sugary malt sweetness. you can tell the thickness from the pour, which is dark brown with big head. nose is big and massive. lots of surprises popping up, but most notibly sweetness. mouthfeel is again, heavy. the taste is very similar from last year’s "12," but much heavier. and exceptional improvement over last years great outing.
 beerguy101 (3946), Newark, California, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 |
Dec 9, 2009 Sampled on 11/27/2009. This American Strong Ale pours a dark black, dark brown color with some serious ruby highlights from a 22oz bottle. Medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is dark fruit, raisins and figs. A medium to full bodied American Strong Ale. The malts are brown sugar, figs, raisins and some alcohol. The hops are earthy and floral. Nice assault of flavors. Fairly smooth tasting, despite being 13% alcohol. Its still a little boozy, but some bottle aging should fix that. Excellent beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.
Savvy1982 (315), Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 |
Dec 9, 2009 Bottle. What a huge goddamned beer! Pours an impenetrable dark brown, almost black, with a thick medium-tan head, with nice lacing. Nose is smoke, chocolate, coffee, oats, licorice, tree bark, and a rootbeer-like sasparilla character. Palate is huge and complex. I will have to have me another 2-3 bottles of this before I can fully appreciate all that is going on here. Salty, in a strange way, plus the oats really shine in this beer, many dark fruits, plus the roast coffee/chocolate character, a candied note, and a smokiness that seems related to the chocolate, almost a chocolate-with-chipotle thing going on here. Kickass!
ditch (14), Dale City, Virginia, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 |
Dec 9, 2009 Poured a very dark, almost impenetrable black with red around the edges. Nice creamy 1 finger head of a light caramel color. Lacing sticks for a bit before falling back to the top of the beer to leave lacing for the next sip.
Smell is malty! Roasted malts and dried fruits dominate. Bready... almost a date bread.
Taste is great! Caramel and molasses, dates and raisins, slight hop bitterness in the finish and a little lemon zest. Alcohol is well masked, and only slightly warming.
Mouthfeel is good for this style. Enough carbonation to keep it refreshing, but not too much to mask the flavors. Not as mouth coating as the aroma would leave you to prepare for.
Drinkability here is also good. Big and heavy flavor with a not so heavy feel. Yes I will have another!
Hats off to another great anniversary ale from the He’brew! I will be buying another of these for aging. Delicious!
Serving type: bottle
carl4beer (401), Fairfax Station, Virginia, USA
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 |
Dec 8, 2009 pours dark dark brown with nice tan head. aroma is prune/raisin and a hint of alcohol. mouthful is big and bold with more dried fruit, some malassas, and a hint of coffee. finish sticks around... nice chewy big one.
topherh (928), Kearney, Missouri, USA
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 |
Dec 8, 2009 Bottle pours dark brown with a thin brown head. Aroma is rich malt, dark fruits, roasty notes and a bit of hop. Flavor is lots of malt, raisins, brown sugar, roasted coffee, and warming alcohol with a good punch of hops in the finish.
SpencerDB (68), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| 4.2 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 4/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 |
Dec 8, 2009 Poured dark brown with a thick caramel head. The aroma will clear out your nostrils... but in a good way. Huge notes of malt, hops, chocolate, and others. The taste was just spectacular. The high ABV is hidden well with these flavors. Boy what a good beer.
Ernest (4491), Boulder, Colorado, USA
| 2.3 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 5/10 | 3/5 | 4/10 | 2/5 | 9/20 |
Dec 8, 2009 Bottle.
Head is initially small, frothy, brown, mostly diminishing.
Body is dark brown to black.
Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, chocolate), lightly to moderately hoppy (resin, grapefruit), with notes of alcohol, vanilla, and chalk.
Flavor is heavily to harshly sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter.
Finish is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter.
Full body, syrupy texture, lively/soft carbonation, heavily alcoholic.
Smells ok, if kinda simple. Very very difficult to drink, however...extremely sweet and sticky/cloying, very burning aftertaste. As a whole, completely unfocused and haphazard; the epitome of a train wreck in liquid form.
Cobra (1066), In a van, down by the river, Maryland, USA
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 6/10 | 3/5 | 16/20 |
Dec 7, 2009 22 oz. brown bomber bottle. No freshness date seen. Poured out a dark brown, with reddish highlights around the edges. Aromas are of rum soaked raisins, prunes, dates & figs. Flavors are dark, rum soaked fruits. Alcohol is prevalent in the tastes. Thick mouthfeel, oily & slick body. Coats your mouth with it’s oiliness. Finished somewhat bitter, with some subdued chocolate notes. Alcohol sneaks up on you in a hurry. Decent beer overall.
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