John Harvards Celtic Strong Ale

Brewed by John Harvards Brewhouse (Corporate Office)
Style: Irish Ale
Cambridge, Massachusetts USA

Tap @ Lake Grove: This poured a mostly clear chestnut color. The aroma and flavor were pretty much the same. Decent toasty and caramel malt with some mild fruitiness to it. Mildly sweet on the flavor. Light peaty notes. Light to medium bodied.

Sampled at the Monroeville PA location this beer poured a ruby chestnut color with a small tan head. The aroma was lightly sweet and roasty. The flavor was lightly sweet with a hint of smoke and moderate fruity hops. The finish is long, smooth and tangy.

@ Framingham location, late march ’06. Ok nose, peaty, woody, earthy, nutty. Clean reddish brownish black color. Good head that faded quickly. Minor lacing. Bittersweet roasty chocolate caramel. Medium body, creamy oily mouthfeel, sweet kind of bitter dull finish. Not bad, I wish I wrote sown the abv beacuase i think it was more than 6% listed

malty nose, dark chocolate color. spicy, flavor with slight hop taste. very watery but the second best beer of the night.

on tap. ok beer. Malty sweet aroma. poured dark, with a very thin head. Flavor was overly sweet, with notes of carmael and malts.

Draft at the Framingham location: I didn’t care too much for this one. Poured dark brown with a medium tan head and notes of ruby in the body. Light roasted mlt roma with a stale refrigerator smell mixed in with some choclate and licorice. Flavor is lightly sweet with hints of chocolate and licorice. Mild alcohol burn. Slightly porterish. Also available on cask here.

On tap Framingham loc. 5/13/2005. Near opaque brown-auburn color, with a light beige head, good retention. Light lacing. Smells of toffee, lots of crystal malt and tons of sugar. Flavor gives off notes of caramel and toffee, mainly, while there is a subtle hint of peat and chewy, moist brown bread. Dr Gonzo notes that it is too sweet, and I agree, it is a bit on the sweet side, without much in the way of bitterness (actually, no bitterness). Caramelized sugar, brown sugar, toffee. Good body, though (from all of the malt). Low to moderate carbonation, not watery. Finishes with a hint of grassiness, mostly sugary dough and caramel. More of a scotch ale, IMO, but I can’t back that up.6/4/6/3/11
On cask. Good cask pour, except that it’s ridiculously cloudy. Aroma of light fruit, lots of sweet butterscotch and cream. Flavor is VERY off. Another beer from Harvard’s that I couldnt finish. Horrible alcohol sharpness, sour notes, sweet table sugar and almost something like spoiled milk. Yikes. Sticky, overly sugary body.5/3/3/2/7
Yet another sample on draught shows this one to be overly sweet, simple, and having problems with some sharpness/acidity and perhaps alcohol.

On tap in Framingham. Dark brown color, medium off-white head. Smells like dark raisin bread, caramel and malt. Very little hops noticeable. First few sips are punishingly sweet, very off-putting. Medium body, smooth carbonation. Has some bitterness in the finish eventually, but like some of John’s other brews, I get some cardboard notes. Overall this is too sweet for me.