Ithaca Excelsior! Ten

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

Bottle. Aroma nutty with rich dark malts, slight sweet alcohol, tropical fruits which grow. Flavor very nutty, nougaty, toffee-y with sweet fruits and big sweet malt, but never unbalanced big sweet malt with all those earthier flavors and the tropical hop presence. Not very complex, but just a damn good beer. Very tasty.

Bottle, batch E!009. Pours a dark brown/amber with a huge head! The head is light brown, thick and foamy and really expands once you pour it. Aroma is lots of caramel malt with some citrusy/lemony hops. Flavor is EXTREMELY balanced--fresh citrusy, floral hops with a lightly sweet, crackery malt. Slight fruitiness. This is one of the smoothest ASAs I’ve ever had. Not too sweet/malty and not too bitter. Some alcohol burn. But this is a superb beer and very easy drinking (you get some booziness in the flavor, but somehow it’s not really a "heavy" beer). Wow, this is a good beer!

Rich amber color with a thin off-white head. Almost rye-tinted aroma, thick malts, moderate earthy hop character. Nice rich malt and hop balance, lingering peppery finish. Can’t necessarily pin it down, but I like it.

I thought Ithaca Beer Company and didn’t expect this level of craftmanship with the initial sticky banana-esque yeasty character along with a heavy malt bomb supplanted with a citrus grapefruity hop explosion. The only thing keeping this from perfect in my taste buds is the lingering caramel malt, murky appearance, and the unhidden alcohol burn which slides in with the malt character. If drinkability was a factor, I’d score a bit lower but who cares, I want the aggressive character!

In short: Some kind of super-malted rich IIPA. Very good and very drinkable
How: Bottle 750ml, fresh, drank a few days after purchase
The look: Cloudy redish-brown body topped y a small beige head
In long: Had it a few times, this bottle I’m rating was noticeably different from previous experiences. Nose is fruity caramel with plenty of sweet red fruits (even strawberries!). I particularly liked the rich maltiness in this one. Big fat rich and sweet round juicy fruity caramel, that baby’s got malt. Leafy resinous hops. 10% is nowhere to be found. This is a big nourishing heavy and very hoppy beer that is never aggressive and surprisingly easy to drink. Splendid body, and you know, you need a great body when you want people to say you’re a ten.

bottle: pours with a big off white head above a good dark amber body. aroma is very hoppy with slight bitterness good malt behind the hops slight citrus also. flavour is full of hops that are citrus bitter decent malt hides behind all the hops easy to drink.

Pours hazy dark amber with off white head. Aromas of pine and bready malts. Flvaors of caramel, malts, brown sugar, spices and pine hops. Medium to full body with average carbonation. Good stuff.

750 ml bottle. Batch E!009. Pours a hazy brown with a massive off-white head that lasted through three-quarters of the glass and left patchy lace. Very pleasant aroma of malt, molasses, and orange. The flavor is equally nice with rich malt up front, follwed by some roasted orange (almost like BBQing some orange slices), brown sugar, and some pine towards the finish. Moderate bitterness towards the end that lingers for a couple of seconds beyond the swallow. Mouthfeel is a bit chewy, which I liked. Good stuff.