Lakefront Bridge Burner Strong Ale

Bottle courtesy of bu11zeye. Pours a clear red copper pour. Big smell of red malts and hops to match. Heavier smell though. Tastes of gentle hops and a bitter kiss that stays with you through the finish. Not bad, some sweetness as well.

Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Pours with a hazy brown body and a fading off-white head. Aroma is hoppy with pine, grapefruit, chewy caramel, pineapple and light green apple. Taste is caramel with a lot of citrus hop flavors. Light carbonation.

bottle, thanks to bu11zeye, dark amber color, nutty plum and caramel aromas, tangerine and malty caramel flavors

Bomber from Greens. It pours a dark amber, almost opaque but not quite. The aroma is boozy up front with a lot of dark malts. Behind that is the distinct scent of piny hops. Perhaps a little hint of caramel. On one hand the flavor is surprisingly lacking in complexity, while on the other hand it is smooth and easy to drink. The caramel becomes more noticeable, but all the potential flavors are a little too subdued. Worth a try but certainly not mind blowing.

Septemberfest. Sample from a bottle thanks to Butters. Red-brown with a puffy light beige head. Aroma is caramel, sweet malt, vanilla. Taste is caramel, oak, vanilla, very sweet, light alcohol.

22oz Bottle Pours out a rusty amber topped with a sand cream head. Aroma of sweet caramel, citrus hop and a rich malt. Taste more of the sweet caramel and rich malts. The hops have started to die a little. There is still a nice grapefruit bite on the end.

(Bottle, Stockholm Beer Festival, 26 Sep 2009) Cloudy reddish amber colour with frothy, beige head. Malty, fruity nose with caramel, rubber and earthy hops. Malty taste with notes of dried fruit, caramel and generous doses of earthy hops in the finish. Slightly above medium body, balanced sweetness. Nice and tasty with a warming puff of alcohol in the finish. Nice one.

Uhhhhh. . . . Picture Homer with tongue hanging out on couch. Camera pans over to floor. Three empty Bridge Burner Ale bottles lying on floor. This is what I aspire to most days. And with the high alcohol count, three would probably do it. I leave the fruit and flower comparisons to the other raters; to me this is as good as a hoppy ale gets. After consuming a significant number of these since Lakefront came out with it, I’m forced to reevaluate my dislike of Pale Ale. This is not, by the way, listed as or called a pale ale, but it is very similar to one (but heavier, more alcohol). Through from Milwaukee, I’m only marginally a fan of this brewery’s other beers--I’ll drink ’em in a pinch. This one is different--a true keeper and my favorite ale!