Ithaca Excelsior! Ten

Brewed by Ithaca Beer Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Ithaca, New York USA

Hand bottle thanks to Goldtwins. Pours a dark amber with tan head. Hoppy nose from the start with good amount of toasted sugar. Flavor has a decent hop punch, but that is pushed aside with great sweetness from the malt followed up by a nice roasted finish. Thick mouthfeel, you can tell it has a good bit of alcohol with all that sugar.

On tap @ 4th Avenue Pub. Reddish amber with lasting head and lace. Mild fresh hoppy and toasty aroma. Toasted rown sugar malty flavor with minimal fruitiness, nice hoppy flavor and bitter dry finish. Very well-balanced with well hidden alcohol. An excellent sipper.

Malt aroma with very fresh hops. Hazy red color with a medium tan head. Strong sweet malt beginning fading to light hops and a small amount of alcohol.

Bottle courtesy of alraomon on 11/22/2008. Slightly hazy dark copper body with ruby highlights. Huge malty aroma with massive amounts of citrus and floral hops. Big caramel, citrus hops, light floral hop flavor. Medium body with moderately high carbonation.

Pours hazy amber with a four inch monstrous head of tan. After several minuts of retreat, a rocky cone on the center of the surface remained, as well as plenty of torn foam on the walls of the glass. Aromatics are filled with ripe, red fruits, pine resin, zesty citrus, and boozy alcohol. A hint of nougat and roast follows through along with a bit of wet cedar. On the thick side of medium bodied. Creamy and chewy, with plenty of tacky, sticky malt and resin. Extremely robust on the palate, with a heavy amount of malt and resinous hops. Sweetish carmelized malt, spruce dew, oily hops, and earthy bark. A struggle between piney goodness and grapefruit zest. Warming alcohol quickly steps forward as the firm bitterness tries to dry things out. Finishes with lingering sweetish crystle malt, and a mildly numbing combo of earthy, pungent hops and boozy alcohol. Big beer. Already showing some age with a hint of wet cardboard and wood though. Very tasty and certainly within Barleywine territory.

Bottle generously shared with Sparky27...Eric has to be the most generous guy on the site!!! Burnt caramel color with a HUGE fist-sized eggshell head. Aroma is spice, sweet caramel malt, and brown sugar. This is an Imperial IPA minus the hops...kind of tastes like an aged version of Dreadnaught. Prickly mouthfeel, tingly on the tongue. Caramel and candied sugar...this has become barleywine-esk. The alcohol is hidden but felt. Really happy I had a chance to try this beer!!!

Bottle courtesy of LilBeerDoctor – thanks Margaret! Pours a cloudy amber with a huge 4 finger foamy beige head that leaves spotty lacing. Nose is earthy hops, dark fruits and caramel malt. Taste is floral hops, caramel, brown sugar with a slight resin finish. Medium prickly mouth feel. Good stuff.

The beer is a dark amber with a hint of red. The off-white head is long last with nice lacing through the whole drink. Sweet Floral aroma is very distinct with hops. The first thing that hits is an overwhelming sweetness that has undertones of hops. The smell prepared me for a more hoppy taste but it was weaker than expected. The tones of caramel and sugar linger but fade to a metallic finish. The brew is somewhat heavy and leaves the tounge coated and slow. Overall a really nice beer. Could be paired with duck or some other oily bird. Something to cut the sweetness but still stand out on its own.