Iron Hill Old Ale

750 ml bottle - 2007 vintage; clear copper with thin tan head; carbonation is light; sugar, dates and molasses; musky, creamy and very tasty; texture is thin and still; lots of malts with caramel, chocolate and dark fruit; very nice effort

750ml, vintage 2007, from Iron Hill, Media. Fairly clear and vibrant pour, a deep amber color with lively carbonation and a prickly one-finger head. Sweet caramel malts dominate the nose, which is a bit too one-dimensional for the style. While faint traces of spice and wood are detectable, it’s a shade below the flavor. With a modest mouthfeel, there is some character that comes through as you savor the beer. Mild hops and citrus flavors play around in the sweet malt pocket, with some toffee, port, and wood coming through as the beer warms. Solid.

[2358-20090731] Bottle. Burnt wood shavings aroma has mild minty licorice notes. Hazy, dark brown orange body with a quick foamy off-white head. Boozy malt wood flavour is heavy. Full body. Noticeable alcohol, quite good otherwise.
(Vintage 2005; w/ others @ BCTC; Cooperstown, NY)

2009-07-31. Hazy brown body with a foamy beige head. (3+) Sweet aroma of caramel, rasins, figgie puddin, sweet malt. (8+) Flavour is similar, sweet caramel, fruit, dark fruit/figs, dates. Sweet malty base. Lovely. (8+) Smooth medium bodied palate. Really good! 2005 Vintage Bottle at BCTC 2009

Bottle of the 2005 at BCTC. Pours a hazy brown with ruby highlights and a medium tan head. Caramel, slightly oxidized plum notes. Malty, with some caramel and plum echoes, on a nice chewy body. Finishes lightly bitter.

Bottle at BCTC 2009: The 2005 version. Pours a murky deep orange copper with an off white well retained film. Rich fruity malt aroma- some vanilla, honey, and plummy notes with a prune skin bitterness. Slick chew body. Thick caramel flavor with plummy richness and a spicy fruit skin bitterness. Tastes a bit old with some oxidized sherryish notes. A fairly nice Old Ale.

Nice amber-copper pour, not quite transparent, with a huge frothy tan 4-finger head that dissipates well, leaving chunky lace down the glass. The nose contains nice malty sweetness. The flavors follow in tow, very malty with nods to caramel. There are also some woody notes, without being earthy or smoked. This follows mid-palate with some nice dark chocolates. The finish just closes kindly on the flavors, leaving a touch of alcohol (rare for the actual ABV) and just the slightest hints of a spiced hop. All of the complexities work very well together, and although the mouthfeel is thick and full, it is an extremely smooth quaff. The full palate is best explored when the sitting temperature is allowed to rise about 20 minutes from removal of refrigeration. Cheers, and a great job on this one to Iron Hill!

2007 vintage holiday, shared with my girlfriend Cyn and our friend Paul with Dinner. Pours orangey copper with a tan head. Nose is rich with caramel and quite malty. Taste is rich and very sweet with lots of caramel and toffee. Yum.