North By Northwest Holiday Ale

Brewed by North By Northwest Restaurant and Brewery
Style: English Strong Ale
Austin, Texas USA

Date: February 22, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Appearance: clear copper, wispy beige head, streaks of lace
Aroma: sweet caramel aroma
Flavor: sweet caramel flavor, nice spicy character, balancing bitterness follows the spicyness, touch of candy caramel brings it back to sweet, nice bitter finish
Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Bottle courtesy of lb4lb. Pours mahogany/amber with a fizzy white head. Smells of roses, caramel, hints of cherries, some toffee. Taste yields lots of rosy character, some raisin, bits of caramel, touches of citrus and some subtle bitterness. Some alcohol is also present here. Low carbonation (similar to a cask beer) results in a somewhat flat but oily mouthfeel. Finish reveals some bitterness. Interesting, but a little unbalanced.

Thanks to notalush for bringing this one out. Deep amber beer, slightly cloudy with a white head. Earthy, spicy aroma. Lots of herbal character as well. Sweet pale caramel malts. Cherry, apple, pear fruitiness with a soft figgy/raisiny character. A soft fruity and toffeeish character. The palate is a bit thinnish, but otherwise it works.

Thanks to fly for this, and I agree that with a little more polish and technical merit, this one would be rated extremely highly. As it stands, it’s still a very nice holiday beer, with a hazy dull orangy/deep coppery color and aroma of caramel malt, honey, figgy fruit, nutmeg, plum, and cherry, with those aromas intermingling to give a complex flavor, with the malt, x-mas spices, fruit, cabernet, and honey notes coming through at various times. I had to decant this one carefully toward the end, and it seemed to get better as it warmed. This is a very nice and unique beer.

Bottle. Doesn’t keep a head and the aroma is pretty sweet with some spicy cinnamon and apple. Flavor has some honey but its mostly baked apple. Dry, long finish.

Had on tap at the brewpub in Austin. My choice of the sampler to have a full pint of. Pours a light amber color with a light tight, but persisitent white head. Aroma has some nice sugary sweet bubble gum accents with some fruity notes. Flavor has some notes reminiscent of a Belgian with that delectable cotton candy sugarness. Some yeasty notes as well. Overall, a decent after dinner treat and a good departure for a brewpub.

Bottle from lb4lb (thanks, man!) - hazy copper beer - aroma of apple, cherry, caramel, dough, light tartness - light herbal bitterness, with some vanilla, cherry, and overripe apples - finishes with some orange rind and doughy character - reminds me a bit of certain Fuller’s vintage ales.

Bottle shared by notalush: Pours a muddy, deep orange with and off white head. Fruity aroma of apple skin, musty yeast and some peppery alcohol notes. Mildly carbonated. There’s apparent peppery alcohol along with light toffee sweetness. Some mild fruit skins and crisp apple notes. The finish has a lot of peppery spiciness. Kinda tasty, but nothing memorable.