Rock Art Magnumus ete Tomahawkus ESB3 Ale

Gift from Stegosaurus. Bottled, cloudy pour with a spicy hop. A caramel malt flavor with a bread like finish. I enjoyed this one.

My Bottom Line:
Orange pith and lenient caramel plunge into a very bitter and lengthy finale in this unbalanced hophead’s strong ale.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam tops the nearly clear amber, marred by flying chunks of yeast.
-The nose is very fruity, but quite simple.
-The disproportionate hop bitterness is resinous and grassy.
-Effervescence is cushiony and the body lean, making this somewhat drinkable despite its intensity.
-With The Alchemist around and McNeill’s offering more-than-decent hop bombs in bottles, this brew doesn’t even stand out in Vermont, let alone New England.

Bottle.

Okay first of all, mine is labeled "ESB2" not "ESB3" so I’m not sure what in Sam Hill is going on here. This one pours a hazy dark orange, with millions of tiny bubbles. Lots of icy lace. Looks awesome. The smell is bitter malts and flowery hops. A richness in the malt that smells a bit dark. Hops are bitter and, as the brewers themselves say, "aggressive." The taste is first bitter woody hops, then pine oil and perfumey flowers. It’s an overhop; strong like an Imperial IPA. The feel is thick and creamy with a bitter bite on the way down. It’s a little too bitter with no balance as a respite. Good taste but a tad too much.

Bomber shared by Luc (merci!), served cool in a tulip glass. MA26/09.

App.: Very cloudy orange-amber with a rocky white froth. Aroma: Starts off with lots of berry fruitiness then morphs to caramalt and savoury mash, quite sweet and sticky malts, rye bread crust, orange marmalade, some yeast and every once in a while, a little barf or cheese or dust note...enigmatic. Palate: Medium-full body, full, shard effervescence. Flav.: Slightly dirty rye bread and marmalade, blood orange, grapefruit, slight burnt malt, pine, slightly earthy mushroom; quite sweet with a wallop of bitterness and some rich malts to finish.

Pretty nice stuff, particularly for Rock Art

Sampled on draft at Zeno’s in State College PA this beer poured a hazy yellow-gold color with an enormous yellow-white head. The aroma was moderately strong fruity and floral hops and not a whole lot else. The flavor was bitter, sour, crisp and fairly full of fruity and floral hops with a light sour malt underbody. The finish was dry and bitter. Somewhat undistinguished.

A hazy amber ale with a thick frothy off white head. A bready fruity extreme ESB, with nice pungeant hops, light berries, and wet dough.In mouth, a dry crisp malt with notes of honey, restrained hops, subtle and piney, a bit short, gin alcohol in finale. Medium to rich bodied. A decent Rock Art. Bomber shared rom probstk, May 26 2009.

Pours a neutral amber color, slightly cloudy. Generous three-finger head that dissipates into a solid and rocky quarter inch leaving tremendous amount of lace. Fresh hop aroma with some light malt on the side. A little alcohol warmth and some yeast smells as well. Extreme, indeed. Lots of potent bittering hop--far more than the smell suggests. Lip puckering bitter aftertaste from the bitterness. This is not a balanced beer--for hop heads only. Full bodied with an appropriate amount of bubbles. Too much of a good thing? Although I love hops, I also like to have some balance. This is a bold beer.

About a 1 inch thick head of varying sized bubbles. Reduces to a rocky cratered top. Light carbonation. Lightly fruity and hoppy aroma. A bit of peaches, caramel malts, some dried flowers and as blankboy stated "tropical fruit". Color is a dirty looking orange. Pretty bitter flavor. Lots of peanuts and peanut skins, caramel malts, dry tea leaves and a bit of harsh roastyness. Not too bad and has a plethora of flavors in there. Bit thinner in body than I expected. Finishes bitter and tea like with some lingering pasty dry bitterness. A decent brew but only if you really like hops and bitterness.