Pumphouse Firestorm 500

Murky deep orange. Sweet malts, with notes of cake, caramel, cocoa and rock candy. Relatively mild hops only produce a little bitterness. Therefore, juicy sweetness takes the stage. Lingering bitter chocolate made the finish and aftertaste rewarding.

On tap @ Boulder Strong Ale Fest poured a cloudy reddish copper with a lasting amber head. Aromas of oak, fruit, vanilla and carmel. Palate was light bodied and dry. Flavors of spices, oak and mild cherry with a dry finish.

Draught. Head is mostly diminishing. Body is dark amber. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (cookie), moderately hoppy (grapefruit, apricot, resin). Flavor is heavily sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Medium to full body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic. A bit harsh in effect, but balanced pretty well overall (not just a hopfest). Ok for the style, but not my thing.

Had this at the brewery. Beer poured a murky, medium-brown color with a small, creamy, light-brown, mostly lasting head and some lacing left on the glass. The aroma was moderately malty with notes of roasted grain, cookie and caramel; moderately hoppy with notes of grapefruit and resin / pine; and a miscellaneous note of honey in the background, The flavor was heavily sweet and heavily bitter with a long, heavily bitter finish. The body was medium-to-full, the texture was creamy, the carbonation was soft and there was a moderate alcoholic feeling in the ending.

Draught at brewery. Pours cloudy, hazy mahagony with a small tan foamy head. Malty (caramel, molasses), dried fruit hoppy aroma, floral and fruit hop bouquet. Moderately bitter and acidic fruit hop flavor, malt (maple, cereal, cookie) body. Medium bodied and warm, dry palate.