Middle Ages Wizards Winter Ale

Brewed by Middle Ages Brewing
Style: English Strong Ale
Syracuse, New York USA

(bottle - 12 oz) Nice copper pour with a thin tan head. Aroma is loaded with malts, caramel, and spices. Taste begins with a lot of malt then goes to a slightly hoppy middle with a finish that’s a mixture of malts, caramel, nuts, spices, and alcohol. Slightly bitter aftertaste and very warming.

(Bottle from <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/massachusetts/w target=blank>Julio’s Liquors) Poured a clear slightly reddish copper with a large biscuit head that receded to a sloppy foaminess. Sloppy foamy lacing. Aroma is bready before head recedes, then only some very mild hops and malt. Mouthfeel fairly smooth. Flavor is pretty mild, just mild malt overlain with mild bitterness. Finishes a little bitter. Drinkable but no big deal (i.e., pretty bland) except for nice kick of ABV.

12oz. bottle: This one pours a somewhat hazy dark amber color. Mine had some off white head that subsided rather quickly. The first thing that hits the nose is a bit of spices. They are followed by a whiff of some caramel and fruits. The taste is quite good and well blended. Individual flavors aren’t fighting to come out. Somewhat of a dry aftertaste. Very drinkable.

This is what I expect from a winter seasonal. It is dark, stong flavored, with the hops to balance the strong flavor. Nice, lip smacking aftertaste. It warms the blood.

Murky brown with a light tan head. Aroma of apples, caramel, and yeast esters. Flavor is initially sweet, with caramel, and light fruitiness, paired with a slight butterscotch presence. Finish dries out nicely with a faint woodsiness and grassy hops.

Aroma:mixe of candy sugar and butter scotch.... Appearance:Light hazy cooper,good head... Flavor:Light chemical flavor,caramel,candy....

Cask at Mahars. Nice little bit of a bitter hoppiness, some what orange-rind in a good way. Aroma is not overbearing from the cask, but that’s typical of a cask beer.

Coppery orange. Retentive off-white head clings to the glass. Bubblegum, lightly roasted nuts, and bushy hop aromatics. Quite estery. Hint of butterscotch. Airy, medium-sized bubbles dance all over the palate. Slightly fuzzy and acidic, as well. Opens briskly but fluffy with a mixture of nutty malts and earthy hops. Quite fruity and leathery, but with a hard mineral edge that overlays the slickness. Light kiss of unsweetened chocolate and toasted hay, but the malts are mostly firm, rather than lush, in texture. Hop character showcases a glimpse of juicy brightness, but the brashly bushy earthiness prevails. Glazed pecan richness develops as it warms and acts as an anchor. Zippy esters tickle the tongue and reinforce the crunchy dryness before closing harmoniously with spicy hops, aniseed, and fruitcake. The main flaw with this is the hard carbonic bite and absence of balancing softness. Toss this in a cask, though, and I bet this would really come to life. Thanks, Clark!