Middle Ages Wailing Wench

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

Hoppy, bready nose. Dark clear brown color, tall head. Sweet caramel malt body with a hint of raisins and nuts. Big fresh hop finish. Fully body and a good balance. This beer grew on me more and more through the glass.

This was surprisingly good. Kinda similar to Arrogant Bastard overall. Pours a nice deep amber with a thin head, but lots of lace. Aroma has a really nice balance of citrusy hops and thick deep caramel malts. Flavor has lots of caramel malts, wierd toasted malts, and some hops that might have been more intense if it were fresh. Pretty smooth overall.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry. Pours a bubbly clear reddish copper with a large lasting creamy off-white head and impressive lacing -- I don’t think an Ale can look better than this. Big fresh citrusy hops aroma along with spices and malt. The flavour: Wow, now that’s tasty! A delicious citrusy hops flavour balanced with just the right amount of malt, fruit and spices. The alcohol is present but not overpowering and the palate is slightly syrupy. Medium bodied. This beer is fantastic!!!

Bottle (650ml). Shared with blankboy, courtesy of blankboy. Poured clear mahogany with a massiive foamy-creamy beige head with lovely lacing - I don’t see how it could look better. Aroma of tons of piney, resiny hops with enough light roasted malt backbone to stand up to it - also mild fruits, oak and butter. Taste is terrific - resiny hops, burnt caramel malt, some sweet buttery toffee, then stronger hops assert themselves, along with more than a hint of alcohol - a long finish with a few zigs and zags between hops and roast malt, this is a great brew! Mouthfeel is slightly syrupy, the body is medium, and the only knock against it is it needs to blend a little better. I think a vintage bottle of this might be a 4+

Pours a two-finger cream head that fades slowly leaving some lace. Clear amber color. Hoppy nose. Medium carbonation and medium bodied. Starts with some sweetness finish is hoppy/malty with some bitter aftertaste. There are better double IPAs like Stoudts. $4.99 for a 12oz bottle from Julio’s Liquors Westborough, Ma.

From a bottle this beer pours a dark amber with a tan head. Floral aroma with a big butterscotch presence. Smells like some of the first batches of home brew that I made. Taste is similar with strong diacetyl, but much better than my first homebrews. Piney dry hops with resiny floral notes and some malt sweetness. The sweetness is dominated by the butterscotch (I don’t like the diacetyl) but the potent hops do shine through and somewhat save the flavor. Not a bad beer if you hold your nose while you drink it.

Dark burnt orangey red color with a slight brownish tint and fairly clear in body. Nice tannish cap of creamy foam sits about an inch high after a moderate pour out of the 22oz bomber and keeps a presense at length. Dwindles down slowly to get a keep a girth of cream always present. Lacing is in sandy sheeting with some broken cob webbing areas to the overall skin. Aroma reminds me of dirty unwashed oranges but also carries with it a pretty solid topping of woody pine and some light cardboard notes. A bit to dull and plain in the realm of what I come to expect from a double IPA. Taste is also a bit low ended and tame. Very small amounts of dark orange flavoring with a smidgeon of burnt edgyness to it. Big on the pale malting. Wood notes are akin to spruce pine and cottonwood esters. Some cardboard paper dryness and roasted grains float across the finish as does a light pale bitterness of hop resin and dried flowers. Slight buttery parts inbetween. Left over parching orange flavors sweep up late under the bitterness. Feel is a solid medium body with a stern smooth ended carbonation creating a bit of texture and bite to the overall tone as the hops help add some bitterness while the pale malting does its thing. Sweetness comes up short but is there within the orangeyness and flowery finish. All in all its an OK Double IPA, not quite what I was hoping for as its overall tame dry tone just lacks complexity and juicy hoppyness that I tend to like in others I’ve had in the style.

Copper color. Malty caramel component splashed in with a yeasty Grapefruit rind taste with intense bitterness.