Laughing Dog Cold Nose Winter Ale

Brewed by Laughing Dog Brewing
Style: English Strong Ale
Ponderay, Idaho USA

12 oz bottle, shared with NachlamSie. Pours brown-orange with dense, but small, off-white head. The aroma is a little bit vegetal with fruity esters, some caramel, some acrid smoke, and some plants. The flavor is bitter but devoid of good hop character; seems more like general plant matter. There is a charred, oaky maltiness that is a little bit redeeming, but too little too late. The finish is fruity and slightly salty. Peachy aftertaste. Not great.

12 oz. bottle shared by Tronraner. Pours pretty dark with some ruby tints and a fair head. The aroma is fairly tart with some vegetal hints. suggestions of berries, greens, and soured fruits are noted. The flavor is pretty much the same: tart in a spoiled vegetable way, grassy, with a bit of sourdough. This is pretty darn English.

12 oz. bottle. Great mahogany color and huge puffy head--a really pretty beer. Spicy, nutty, and surprisingly hoppy for a winter warmer. Excellent finish with a flavor that really sticks around. Purchased at 99 Bottles in Federal Way, and I got my beer club T-shirt today! What a great store!

Date: November 21, 2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Liquid Solutions
Appearance: dark ruby red, fine beige head, bits of lace
Aroma: sweet dark caramel and butterscotch aroma, nice spicyness, earthy balance
Flavor: rich and spicy malt flavor, touch of dark caramel sweetness is well balanced with a woodsy earthyness, touch of buttery character goes with the spices for a mulled effect, spices spill over into a bitterness leaving a bitter finish
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Another brew from a Christmas gift basket from brother Bob--thanks! Dark prurple ruby red (black at eye level) body, hevy with uneven brown head in a Chimay glass--this beer is not messing around! A perfect five appearance is lost to a sloppy, inconsistent lacing... intriguing balance of malts and hops--forms a grapelike, citrusesque aroma... something astringent afloat here... somewhat creamy mouthfeel... medium-bodied with an effervescent soda rush when chewed, smooth otherwise... a uniquely acidic presence: like beechwood and merlot had a lovechild(!)... as the glass drains, the alcoholic blow softens to a rather smoky finish, as a port would.... Cold Nose stands out from other winter ales I’ve sampled with its daring balance and uniquely complex character... the strength of hops rise as the beer drains, offering an IPA-type pleasure... a nice introduction to beers from Idaho!

Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Smell is butterscotch, malts, caramel, and grains. Look is a red color, clear like, with an ok light tan colored head. Taste is roasty, bitterness, floral, and other stuff. I thought it would be better.

definite cascade and tettnanger aroma (citrus with a touch of pine) with a touch of spice. deep opaque brown color and poured very syrupy with a thin head. the hppy flavor is nice but there is no balance with the syrupy maltiness which ruins the finish by making it sweet and bland...reminds me of a weyerbacher beer.

12oz. Bottle: Aroma of hops, citrus, pine, vanilla, spices, cola, slight caramel, and light chocolate malts. Poured brown/ruby/mahogany in color with a large, creamy, dense, rocky, beige head that lasted throughout. Cloudy. Sparkling. Full of small particles throughout. Excellent lacing. Flavor is light to medium bitter. Tastes of hops, pine, caramel, malts, cream, slight root beer, slight chocolate, slight resin, slight cola, and hints of wood and vanilla. Medium to full body. Creamy, lightly sticky texture leaves the tongue dry. Average carbonation. Hoppy, piney, resinous, malt finish.