Nimbus Belgian Strong Ale

Brewed by Nimbus Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Tucson, Arizona USA

2 pints after a long drive to Nimbus from San Diego and two growlers I brought back with me. Nice rusty copper color, strong clove/banana nose. Lingering head leads to sweet spices, warm malts and chewy caramel touches. Was Insane with my double burger w/cajon fries at Nimbus, cheers Mike and Big Jim~

Did not totally love this one. The estery-ness makes for a nice aroma but the flavor ends up like drinking a glass of bubblegum.

Pours an amber color, with a 1/2" white head. Spotty lacing. Aroma of esters and malt. Smells pretty sweet to the nose. Banana spice flavor with no lingering after tastes, or bitterness. Shared a glass with cbkschubert at Nimbus.

On tap @ Nimbus - Pours a clear copper color with a medium size off white head that tooks its time settling. Nice lacing. Aroma is mostly esters (banana & dark fruit). Flavor is yeast, esters, spice, and light toasted caramel malt. Palate is fairly sweet, almost cloying. Medium to full body. A good beer.

The beer sits in my pint glass with a deep red color. It is topped by a frothy, light tan colored, thin head. The aroma has a distinct banana note to it up front, but then a touch of richer, malt character kicks in. Aromas of caramel, berries and of course the banana is noticeable. The banana note is clearly the dominant note here, but it is nice a clean.

The beer has a full banana flavor as well and is sweet with a medium-full heft to it, though it is not cloying. This tastes like caramel coated bananas and it even has a bit of a creamy texture to it that further amplifies the analogy. The beer is lightly carbonated, though this is typical of a draught dispense.

This is perhaps a bit too sweet to be my typically favored Belgian styled beer, but I really like how the sweetness couples with the caramel coated banana notes and creamy texture. The body and residual sweetness helps this to pair quite well with the spicy fish tacos that I am now enjoying as well.

Cloudy brown body with small beige head. Aroma is very sweet (rock candy?), yeasty, slight alcohol. Taste is sweet, rich, and well-balanced, with a mild alcohol burn in the swallow.