Ithaca Excelsior! Ten

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

Share courtesy of friends at Oldsmar Tap House. Pours hazy red with a nose of malt, grapefruit, hops, some pine, and a mellowness all its own. Flavor is similar with caramel malt and lingering piney citrus hops. Some bite to it, but very mellow.

750mL bottle, batch E!009 acquired from sholland119 a while back, poured into a snifter. Top pops off with some force and pours out a deep reddish amber, only slightly hazy, with a massive cream-colored head. The head lingers for a long time and leaves sheets of lacing down the side. The first thing I noticed in the nose was a surprisingly big hop profile for the age of the bottle. Massive citrus presence with grapefruit, oranges, lemons, but very well balanced with a big bready malt aroma with hints of caramel sweetness. The taste is also good, though the hops don’t hit quite as hard up front as I imagine it did fresh. It’s dominated more by the caramel and bready malts with the hops coming in stronger in the finish leaving a pretty impressive bitterness on top of some alcohol heat. The mouthfeel is wonderfully sticky with hops and a hefty malt sweetness that sticks to the mouth between sips. The finish is actually slightly dry with some wood hints. I was impressed with this beer, a big amped-up imperial red with more hops than I expected. Very good.

Courtesy of Nate. Pours dark amber brown w/ some reddish hues. 2-finger eggshell colored head with a little lacing. Aroma is a huge brown sugar cube soaked in bourbon and raisins. Flavor is a deep sweet malt. Caramel and rum. A rich body that leaves a nice and creamy feel on the tongue.

Caramel cake aroma with tinges of hopping, taste is rich caramel and toffee malting,hops are evident and not as much as others were getting. A lively bitter finish alcohol not aggresive,tasty malt treat

750ml bottle, Batch E!009: This one pours a very murky coppery color. It had a small white head on it. This had a complex aroma. Hops were up front, but not overpowering. Pine was the main characteristic, but there were also some citrus and grassy notes. Definitely malts to the nose also. The taste is fairly well balanced. A fair amount of bitterness with a decent malt body. Some other fruits in the finish. Quite nice!

bottle from blipp. Very reminiscent of alesmiths second decadence brew. Very good. Slanted towards malt with piney hop finish. Very good.

From 750mL bottle, batch E!006. Nice nose. Sweet caramel and fresh grassy hops. Very fragrant with light alcohol. Hint of smoke. A little butterscotch. Dark coppery amber clear with dregs haze and light chunkies. Medium body with medium carbonation. Starts with nice malt character, light alcohol, and sweet caramel. Mellow with a hint of smoke and woody resin. Nice hop finish with bitter after. Very nice.

750 courtesy of Nate at Xmas tasting. EXCELSIOR! This beer is good. Im super serial! Pours red with off-white/tan head. Nose is sugary caramel, slight popcorn and a touch of chocolate with some hop presence. Taste is creamy caramel and toffee with slight chocolate and a good bitter. Dry and tasty. A touch of piny hop character. Great mouth feel. Very drinkable.