Jack Russell Olde Ale Winter Warmer

This reddish -brown ale poured with a decent beige head and a strong roasted malt aroma. It looks good and smells good, but the flavor is lacking. There is some chocolate malt and coffee, but the finish is metallic.

Bottle from the brewery. Dark reddish brown color with a decent light tan head. Rich aromas of chocolate and treacle. About medium in body with creamy carbonation. It does seem to have treacle, maybe some coffee. Maybe even chocolate. Something like a porter on steroids? Finish is rather astringent. Not sure there’s significant hop - but something is balancing the sweet. Think I got lucky. This one had been kept in the cooler!

Not sure what it is with Jack Russell beers. They are either average or below average and this was no different. A malty aroma with a nutty angle but with a heaping dose of wet paper. Uh-oh. Oxidation time. It also set in on the flavor of the beer, which combines with the overly sweet malt bill and smallish hops made this barely drinkable.

Bottled. CO2 FLEW out of this bottle when I opened it. When I poured it, it foamed over the top of my Duvel glass before I’d even poured half of it. It took three or four minutes for the tan, stiff egg-white-like head to subside enough to allow the rest of the beer to be poured. Even then it foamed up again making me wait to pour again. I’ve never seen a head of this size on a beer that wasn’t infected. Stay tuned... The color is black with a reddish hue. As I wipe the bubbles from my nose I can tell you the aroma is full of chocolate, prunes and cigars. When the bubbles finally subsided, I found the beer to be somewhat chocolaty and very much watery with notes of ashtray. It leaves a tongue numbing aftertaste of dirt and coal(?) Great beer for smellin’, bad beer for drinkin’. I’ll be pouring the rest of this out...

Dark amber color. Small head. Aroma is malty and slightly spicy. A medium bodied ale. Malts are nutty and sweet. Slightly spicy, cinnamon and nutmeg. A very typical “inter warmer’ beer, but there is a kind of cardboard flavor as well. Its more annoying than unpleasant, but it still shouldn’t be there and detracts from the beer and cannot be recommended. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Dark brown. Malty but sourish. Not much bitterness.

Attrocious swill. Dirty, root-like flavors that coat the mouth and leave a sourish, unpleasant after-taste. Avoid at all costs.