Ithaca Excelsior! Ten

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

Bottle shared by someone kind at SL. Dunno, but thanks to whomever. The pour was amber-red, nice big head. The aroma was strong malts, dough and bread, fruits, floral, caramel, yeast. The flavor pretty much followed, sweet, alcohol sits smoothly. Mouthfeel a tad on the sticky side, but decent.

750 ml bottle purchased at Friendly Mini Mart in Lakewood for a ten spot. This one pours nice and dark red with a thick and lasting foam head resting on top. The aroma is loaded with malt, cotton candy, clove, more sugar, a little bit of oak, vanilla and cherry. The mouthfeel is a nice viscous, gripping the tongue like some serious rugburn. This thing would stack up well against the gold standard of American Strongs: Double Bastard. This has a very similar flavor, but less citrus notes and more spicy malt action. I really like the crispness when it hits the tongue, its not too much, and it really grabs the tongue and holds on to it.

750 ml bottle (batch E!009) via trade with notalush - Pours a a hazy amber color with a two finger thick light tan head. Nice lacing. Aroma is doughy malt, floral and herbal hops, and esters. Flavor is sweet toasted malt, esters, and lots of hops. A smooth, medium to full bodied beer. Very nice. Thanks Brandon.

Sample @ EBF. Pours a hazy reddish-amber with a lacy, off-white head. Aroma is malt, hops, wood, and yeast notes dominating. Flavor was surprisingly sweet, but mellow, with malt, caramel, dark fruit, and hops detectable. Beer has a long and strong finish - solid, very very solid.

Bottled. A hazy amber beer with a lazing off-white head. The aroma has notes of sweet malt and hops as well as light notes of wood. The flavor is sweet with notes of malt, caramel, and wood, as well as lighter notes of vanilla and over ripe fruits, leading to a dry woody finish.

Bottle 75 cl. Courtesy of Storm. Pours a hazy and opaque orangey brown with a dense, creamy beige head leaving laces. Fat aroma of hops and overripe fruit. Quite full-bodied, a little low in carbonation, lots of overripe fruit and a load of aroma hops. Fairly bitter finish. 290509

Blind tasting at Papsø’s
Hazy amber color; medium creamy head. Nice American hop aroma, partially fruity and then resiny, a bit sweaty. Strong caramel flavor, a bit fruity and sweaty. The body is well structured, it has a very good caramel flavor, with good sweetness level, nice alcohol warmth, strong hopping, resiny and a bit fruity. Long and strong final. Excellent.

#21 Bottle. [Papso Shady blind Tasting 2009] Large creamy and bubbly beige head that mostly lasted. Good display of lacework. Muddy amber color. Aroma of grapefruit, pine like, citrus, peach, toasted malt, caramel. Over the palate came bread, toasted malt, wood, dried fruit, vinous, nutty. Full bodied with an average carbonation and warming alcoholic texture. Heavy sweet flavor with good counter bitterness. Lingering nutty and floral bitter finish. 8 / 4 / 8 / 4 / 16 = 4.0