Iron Hill Old Ale

Brewed by Iron Hill Newark
Style: Old Ale
Newark, Delaware USA

2004 bottle thanks to MIBRomero for sharing. Sweet caramel, buttery malt goodness with some malted chocolate notes. Hint of subtle hops. Ruby-amber-brown with a thin off-white head. Wow, flavor is tasty...like malted chocolate balls, intense but subtle. I like that it is sweet but not cloying. Medium full body, creamy texture. Nice.

2004 holiday vintage Pours a deep maroon and ruby color w/ a thick tan well laced head glows a little when thrown into light. Aroma is very malty lots of carmel and some almsot brown sugar like flavors hints of toffee and some dark fruit as well as a hint of alcohol. Palate is thick and creamy. Oooh delicious flavor brown sugar and toffee some plum and hints of bittersweet chocolate. Very very good.

2002 750mL bottle from Hopdog, consumed on 10/06/06
Large toasted-almond colored head hints that this could be in excellent condition. The head is stable, though fading to only half-a-finger in height. Light lacing. Maroon-amber body, with light old-leather-brown tints. Medium clarity, unfiltered et al from this dedicated brewer.
Cherries galore in the nose, combine with English toffee and a warm, slightly sweet nuttiness (almond/walnut paste). Dry chocolate slowly sweetnes as it warms, with dry fruity esters balancing the sweetness well. Strong aroma to boot, with no alcohol apparency and just layers of sumptuous malt. Some spicy tones are noted, as well as a bit of dry breadiness and just the faintest touch of dark fruits.
Very malty in flavor, it does not hint at the 4 years of age under its belt. No oxidation and seemingly fresh, vibrant, deep malts. Rich caramel, medium-dry toffee and crystal malt breadiness all put on quite a show. Fluid, substantial texture, with appropriate carbonation (medium to medium low, not loose). No alcohol noted in flavor. Some spiciness, be it phenols or hops, gives a perky edge to it, while the finish is redolent of old, dry, raisin-oatmeal cookies. Love the esters in the nose and the soothing mouthfeel works wonders. Bit on the sweet side, without tons of malt complexity, but soundly made.

02 Bottle. Pour was a cloudy brown body with a small beige head. Aroma was very sewwt molasses, raisins, and brown sugar. The flavor was quite sweet with still enough life left to balance out the sweetness with a little alcohol. Finishes very nice.

Probably my favorite of all the old ales at the blind tasting. Not sure on the vintage of the bottle but it didnt taste old or oxidized at all. Slight haze but clears as it settles a bit and a thin lasting head. Thick sweet caramel and toasted malts in the aroma, with light fruity esters. Full smooth mouthfeel of biscuity and toffee-like mlats, light caramel, and cookie-like. Nice smooth finish with a lingering finish.

2002 750 ml purchased in Deleware branch.Lots of malts and toffee and complex sweetness with old ale, nicely mellowed.I can’t believe I drank the whole bottle, it just get going with a multi-course meal. Perhaps the best I have had from this brewer.

This one surprised me, Poured a cloudy orange with okay head and solid lacing. Aroma was sweet, brown suger. Flavor was of molasses, little buttery and sweet. Mouthfeel was very creamy. Good beer.

So much for my take on this style, I certainly liked this more than other do, although I’m not a big OA fan, so take that for what it’s worth. Vintage 2004. The pour was murky orange color with black-brown coffe ground looking sediment at the bottom. The head was big with good lacing. The aroma was brown sugar, light fruitiness. The flavor was molasses, tea bags, light brown sugar, slight diacetyl (although well under control for an old ale), intriguing sweet/sour balance, and increasing lingering bitterness with temperature increase. Almost a nutty bitter aspect to the aftertaste. Mouthfeel was smooth and slightly creamy. I was a fan, no doubt.