Red Brick Winter Brew (2008)

Brewed by Atlanta Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Very dark brown. Burnt popcorn in the aroma. Mild coffee and some chocolate. Not great, but an OK effort.

A lot of malt quality and well preserved. Not much foam here. Not much texture either. The body is a bit thin. Some nuts and toffee, nothing distinctly chocolate. Ver y accessible amd easy for such a strong beer and good basic "homebrew" qualities in terms of the aesthetic - simple, qualitative and good tasting. If you’re looking for a star big brew here, you won’t find it, but that’s not what everyone’s lookingfor all the time.

[March 14, 2009]
Bottle. Pours really dark red with a well formed head. Aroma is sharp, grainy and slightly metallic. Hints at spices are present. I thought the flavor to be almost wheaty, though a sweet fruits are definitely here. Notes of cloves, grass, Twizzlers. . .this is not too bad. Just a little rough around the edges.
[March 21, 2009]
Bottle. Having this a second time. . .this is really sweet. Lots of "beat you over the head" esters are here which get quite sticky after a few sips. The candied qualities of this beer are very powerful. The first few sips were okay. I got the fruity, spiced, wheaty, thing going on. But man, after a 12 oz. this is cloying.

12oz bottle. deep chestnut brown. Dates, candi sugar, raisin, lots of dark fruits in the aroma. Prune juice dipped sourdough bread. Fruity and doughy. Nice dark malt complexity. Finishes with a nice alcohol burn with some woodiness. Classic Belgian style big beer with dark malt.

12 oz. Cloudy reddish-chestnut with a lasting quarter inch of cream. Aroma of banana liqueur, clove, nutmeg, light cocoa, and hints of tart cherry and oak. Flavor is the same combo plus some mixed dark fruit: prune, raisins, plum. Some additional spiciness, oak and alcohol show up on the finish. Maybe some wheat in there as well. Medium body is tingly and the sweetness is well-dried with the alcohol-wood on the finish. Nice warmer.

Wow....nicely done. Lots of esters and bananas.....liked this a lot. The color was a dark auburn, the aroma was bready and almost warm, the flavor was like eating circus peanuts candies. Yum....

Bottle at the Midway. Wafting raisin aroma with a tinge of molasses in the back ground. Flavor is all prune and molasses at first but as it warms more of the roasted malt comes through. Caramel and a hint of chocolate in the malt profile. More on the medium bodied side of things with a relatively quick and sweet finish.

Appearance: A lightly effervescent, dark mahogany-hued body with a small, fizzy, white head. Smell: Aroma that’s fairly fruity and a bit high on the fusels, coming across like sniffing a basic DeKuyper liqueur. Lesser spicy, herbal hints as well as notes of dark malts. Taste: A blend of dark malts displays flavors of caramel, bread (though light), and roast (even lighter). Hmm, right from the word "go" it’s kinda conspicuously boozy. Tastes of plums, figs, bananas, and spicy licorice try their very best to usher you away from the glaring alcohol character. Lightly hopped with a slight herbal pop and only ever mildly bitter. Finishes dry and fruity with a bit of lingering alcohol heat on the tongue. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Try as I might, I just wasn’t too crazy about this one. However, for good or bad, it’s at least pleasing to see Atlanta Brewing Company trying their hand at some new brews.