Ithaca Excelsior! Ten

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

Bottle from Capone’s. Pours turbid burnt umbery with some ruby and dark brown highlights and a huge, fluffy 3-finger khaki head. The aroma is a beautiful behemoth medley of piney hops, pineapple, mango, black pepper, vinous fruit, and caramel malt...very Dreadnaughty aroma. The taste is heavy caramel malt matched by a huge hop bill, giving an array of the aforementioned citrus and tropical fruits. As it warms, the fruit emerges even more and I even noted a late cognacy spirit flavor. The palate is rich, with more than enough malt to expertly balance the hops. My only beef is that it gets a tiny bit hot late, but that heat just adds to the allure here, taking nothing away from the drinkability of this gem, one of the finer IPAs I’ve ever quaffed. Ithaca continues to blow me away with their aggressive beers, made with a technical expertise that others may misinterpret as a thumb in the eye to traditional styles. Beers this awesome don’t come from a Cracker Jack box, fellas.

750ml Red Foil/Cap Batch: E!009 Poured into my chalice a cloudy brown color, very nice carbonation, huge two-finger plus creamy tan head, which leaves tons of nice thick/creamy sticky lacing behind, with some nice small islands. The nose is malty, nice notes of hops, with some figs, raisins, oak. The taste is slightly sweet, malty, hoppy, with some dark fruits/oak. Medium body. The alcohol is a little up front, but nice. Very drinkable, this is a very tasty BWSA, highly recommended.

Thanks to LUM for this awesome Extra! I am still looking for some more of this if anyone is wanting to do a trade! This pours a deep brownish red color. The nose is great on this as well. The mouth I got was toffee, caramel, hoppiness. The nose was hop and spices that blended well. I will be searching this one out again. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 08-27-2008 13:30:20

Poured into a tupil. Pours deep mahagony red/brown with a bit of stone color head. Robust nose with loads of toffee, chocolate, cherries, and candied hops. Wonderfully balanced sweet, but not cloy, malts, and piny and pleasantly bitter hops. Full but not overwhelming body. I really like this beer a lot.

Batch E!006. Pours a lightly hazy deep ruby red/amber/golden with a large foamy/creamy off white lacing head. Aroma of orange peel, tropical fruits, pine, toffee, caramel, toasted malt, very floral, I love the mix of sweet malts and fruits that come across in this aroma. Flavor of toasted malt, caramel, toffee, some nuts, pine, grapefruit, orange peel, floral notes, other various fruits, earthy. Very nice balance of sweetness along with a nice dose of hop bitterness and flavor. Well done beer, I like the move towards more of an Imperial Amber as opposed to your standard Double IPA. Between this and Old Habit Ithaca needs to keep this big beer series going strong. Right up my alley.

Bottle, Batch E!006, first bottle purchased from Finger Lakes Beverage Center, Ithaca, NY. Pours a ruddy brown, ruby red in direct light. Off-white to tan head, 2-finger, big bubbles, lasts considerably and laces beautifully. Nose is a cascade bomb: grapefruit, pine resin, sweet candied fruits and raisins - very assertive hop aroma. Taste is more balanced but still strongly hoppy: citrus in tangerine and grapefruit, slight fruity sweetness, very nice caramel malt backbone mellows everything out. Slight peppery spiciness, perhaps from the tinge of alcohol in the finish. Lasting, strongly bitter aftertaste. Rasping on the palate, creamy with very fine and strong carbonation. Excellent. Right there with Old Habit at the top of Ithaca’s stable. Rerate: Had this on tap last night. Even better than when I first tried it, with a subtle but perceptible smoked malt note in the taste and a wonderful, sublime aroma.

Slightly cloudy dark copper color wiyh a thick, creamy beige head. A really pretty beer. Aroma of pungent hops - lots of pine and grapefruit - along with a honey-like sweetness. As nice as it is, the aroma is outdone by the flavor. Sweet, earthy, and fruity is balanced perfectly with aggressive hops. Balanced may even be the wrong word - this is like a slugfest between the sweet malt and pungent hops - as soon as you think one is going to overpower, the other makes a comeback. Thick, sticky body makes for a long finish. Outstanding beer, Ithaca seems to be constantly outdoing themselves lately.

thanks nhorweeen (never rated this the first time). says 9.9% on the bottle, batch E!009. wow, i haven’t had a beer like this in a long time. pours a thick murky cherry wood brown with a quarter inch of dirty mustard brown foam. can smell the soapy hops from a mile away. super soapy, but a decent bit of malts, making it a bit like bigfoot. the slightly flat mouthfeel is perfect for this beer, as is the fridge temperature. very very sweet, raisins, vanilla, lots of underlying fruit. the white sox are so bad, my god.