McKenzie Bavay

Formerly brewed at McKenzie Brew House
Style: Bière de Garde
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania USA

Date: 04/29/2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Dark Lord Day, 2005

light amber, fine white head, sweet spicy funky aroma, rich malt flavor, nice spices, slight funk, light fumes, good complexity, touch of sweetness, very nice,

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.6/5.0
Score: *4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

(WCC2) Clear light-amber body with large off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, vanilla, "field," nectarine. Taste is mild sweet, vanilla, mild herbal and more. Medium body. I can't place a significant element of the aroma and flavor, but I like whatever it is.

Poured a light to medium orange color with a white head. Aromas and tastes of malts and spices. Lightly sweet. Dry finish. Overall a nice beer.

Head is big, generous, off-white and leaving a well-laced 1-inch foam for long minutes. Body is cloudy, brownish orange, dark. Very appealing. Sweet aroma, apparently fluffy as a pillow, very earthy, hoppier than most bière de garde and less malty. Notes of spices, cloves.. Palate displays a dry musty fruitiness all the way through (orange), gets even drier as it evolves, very sharp. Complex finish hesitating between deep earthiness, cust and cement dryness. Huge overwhelming carbonation, medium body

Pours a clear deep copper with a big, thick, and puffy white head. Very malty caramel and candi sugar aroma. Body starts rich, sweet, and malty with some floral fruity sugars present. Nice complexity and very smooth, this hides its alcohol quite well. Somewhat one sided (malty), but very enjoyable and true to style. Thanks slob!

Hazy, amber ale with a small, creamy, white head. Great retention. From the aroma, I pull vanilla, nectarine and some earthy notes... maybe a hint of freshly cut flowers. Well-bittered flavor. Balanced with notes of clover honey, butterscotch and toffee. Full-bodied with a fizzy mouthfeel and a short, crisp, clean finish.

Orangey-cloudy beer, heavy pearling to good rosy-ochre head, fast gone. Fruity, and very grainy nose, fresh malt (for a 2 year old beer!). Pure rosewater taste, filtering out more grain, this time with indeed a little oxidation. Extremely perfumey, but lacking depth somehow, unidimensional. Sweet-grainy aftertaste, not really new and not fullbodied, without being watery. Bit thanks to Eyedrinkale and mkobes for sharing this bottle. It’s certainly not them that can help it, but (REALLY, "Dude", I’m not doing this on purpose), I’ll probably be never a McKenzie’s fan...

Flour powder on the bottom perfumed by innocent citrusy, orange dust...Dry bitterness rises from the expansive frothy carbonation...Malt is strangely not able to talk yet apart from a few wild rice blurbs...Full of energy, perhaps too much so, but certainly not wise enough yet to entertain adult conversations...