Middle Ages Wailing Wench

Brewed by Middle Ages Brewing
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Syracuse, New York USA

22 oz bottle
This was a bonus in a trade; I finally got around to opening it after getting through a backlog of other "to be opened" beers first. Decent but not spectacular it helps reaffirm my opinion that Middle Ages make respectable but not amazing beers. Maybe someday they will prove me wrong but it could take a while with all the other quality breweries out there.

Aroma / Appearance - The surging chunky head had an ochre tint. Underneath was a carbonated amber body with a reddish brown gradient. Caramel, moist sap, grapefruit, old ash, and floor wax form a typical but not special experience.

Flavor / Palate - Strongly hopped the only taste at first is a intense bitterness. Overpowering the caramel, grapefruit, and pine it is too one dimensional. Unbalanced with no focus it is average at best; maybe it falls off quickly and is much better immediately after being bottled instead of spending a month in the fridge.

Eh ok. Sweet malty aroma with some fruit notes. Flavor nothing special, bland with a bitter finish.

Bottle. Aroma of weakish malts, seemingly lots of pale malt despite the color and sort of water-crackery, bolstered by largely citrusy and some spicy hop notes. Flavor has the same basic notes with an increasing emphasis on citrusy hoppiness. The beer seems a bit muddy, with neither the malts nor the hops being allowed to show their full force. The hops do come through more and more, however, making the beer enjoyable for me, if not a world classic.

Bottle. Pours a clear brown with a thick tan head. Aroma of sweet malt and some bitter hops, plus a really an odd smell of curdled milk? Slight diacetyl. Flavor is more similar to an ASA with lots of malt and a bitter finish. Decent, nothing great but certainly drinkable. 6/4/7/3/13 (3.3/5)

SpringsLicker’s Fish Fry. Sample from a bottle thanks to decaturstevo. Brown-red with a soft off white head. Big toffee, fruity aroma. Taste is more toffee, dates, fruity. Probably an older bottle, could have fooled me for a Barley Wine.

Very sweet malt aroma with light hops. Orange pour with thin white head and lace. Malty flavor with medium hops and a bit of brown sugar on the finish. Medium bodied nice carbonation. This wench had been in the cellar too long and had lost most of her hop pop.

Sampled at Springslicker’s Fish Fry ’09. Clear red pour with thin off-white head. Caramel, apple, very malty with some background bitterness. Not a DIPA at all. But awesome name and label.

This is a Double IPA like Justin Timberlake is heavy metal. But alas this one poured a dark amber to brown color. The flavor isnt exactly "screaming" with hops, more like "screaming" with malt with a nice hoppy backbone. Alot of caramel and dark fruits such as raisins coming through. A bit of citrus shows through as well. Some alcohol in the finish. Overall regardless of the style this was a nice beer.