Hudson Valley Old Man Ale

Pours a deep earthy brown, with a thin almond head. Looks good so far. Aroma is malty, with a bit of roastiness and estery pale malt sweetness. A nice mix of both. I really can't detect much in the way of hops. Flavor is surprisingly mild, sweet and a little bready. A touch of roasty bittersweetness, with mild estery fruitiness. It comes through in the aroma, but not much in the flavor, which is a shame. It tastes sort of like an old ale, but I can never really tell. Moderate carbonation, could use a little more fruitiness, overall pretty decent, but I doubt I'll get this again.

So the beer expert/store clerk told me this brewery has called it a day. Generally, that's sort of sad, but when it happens to a lame brewery, that's just survival of the fittest, baby! This beer had very little head and a bit of an alcohol burn. Oddly, every beer label this brewery has depicts the act of sleeping - obviously a lot of late nights were spent brewing this stuff. Excellent aroma and a very malty ale with significant nuttiness (good), but it's the spiciness that most jumps out at you. Rather complex and worthy of some respect. Reminds me of something the much-lauded Southampton Publick House might come up with. I don't often get psyched about a spicy, hoppy, "big" beer, so take note.

I really don't know what to say about this. It is a pretty stardard English Strong Ale. It lacks a certain depth of characer that the good ones have, and it is a bit thin bodied, with a somewhat watery finish. The aroma and flavor are roasty and nutty, but not extremely impressive. A pretty middle-of-the-road beer.

This is a decent English Strong Ale. Dark amber in color, a tiny lacing around the sides of the glass. A slight essence of chocolate malts in the flavor and aroma. Very smooth and drinkable.

Copper with tiny particles fogging the almost clear liquid. Thin, fizzy edge head. Single lined carbonation. Decent aroma of fruity alcohol esters is quickly met with a grassy, hay aspect and hints of bubblegum. Mildly airy body. Initial fruitiness fades, replaced by a bitter fruit skin flavor and dry malt husk flavor. Medium thick. Very dry, almost too dry. Fruity alcohol is warming with notes of black cherries. No discernable malt flavors. Finishes mild, cottony and with floral hop notes. Very average for an old ale, heck even a plain ale. Contract brewed by River Horse Brewing Co. Go figure?