Rock Art Magnumus ete Tomahawkus ESB3 Ale

Brewed by Rock Art Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Morrisville, Vermont USA

From a 22 oz bottle this poured a hazy amber with nice white head and good lacing. Big nose of floral and piney hops. Mouthfeel rich and creamy and flavor is sweet malts with citrus and piney hops. Nice bitter finish. Almost like an IIPA, but call it what you want it is a very nice brew. I am always amazed what small brewers can accomplish. A real find on my Eastern Beer tasting expedition.

22 ounce bottle. Pours a very cloudy amber with a big foamy white head. Aroma is floral and pney hops. Taste is floral and piney hops, but very well balanced with malt sweetness. I would have never guess that this is 8% alcohol. It is well hidden. Medium bodied and well carbonated. This is a very good beer. I’m not sure why it’s classified as an ESB rather than an IPA though.

Bomber, opened around a campfire in the middle the vermont wilderness - cloudy orange pour, with an aroma of semi-stale hops and artifical-smelling maltiness - flavor of cereal grains and sweet malt extract - that "Rock Art taste" from their house yeast dominates too much - strong, but not plesant bitterness - astringent - not even the beauty of the vermont countryside can salvage this experience.

Poured a clear almost-gold in color. Color was perhaps a bit off for what I was expecting. Some spotted lace with a struggling foam head. Nose was malty and balanced out nicely with some mildly bittering hops. Nice balance all around to this beer. Malts were sweet and even had a slight breadiness to the. Hops were a blend of spruce and evergreen and came out more as the beer warmed. I have a hunch this would be a copmpletely different beer if served out of a bottle. Medium body that filled out a bit as moved through the pint glass.

Whomp, there it is. Redolent with sweet citrusy tomakawk hops this brew is well balanced for an "extreme" style, packing aroma and flavoring hops but mitigating them with a solid unpretentious malt backing. Packing a rocky white head, nice lacing and good retention, this is a dangerous lady, weighing in at 8%, but doing well to hide it. Very easy drinking for such a heady beer!

1.6 pint bottle into a Trappist glass....hops cubed indeed noted as the beer is poured, aggressive yet respectful...consistent head on a dense orange body--look of a solid ESB...slick, straight-to-back of mouth push; aftertaste sidles over tongue’s edges...a complex beer, demanding a full drink...too much hops for an ESB?....a bit of citrus flourish... leery of anything labeled extreme--most of all, beer--and likewise leery of these Vermont brewers (i.e. Magic Hat) who can’t confidently categorize their own brews, I still am impressed with an 8% ABV that offers NO hint in the tasting whatever...this beer was a pleasant surprise, and provokes me to seek other Rock Art work...

poured a hazy amber color with a medium off-white head. Some citrus and earthy hops in the aroma. The flavor was a mix hops and caramel and nutty malt. The hop flavor has some citrus and light pine. The finish is dry and moderately bitter. A light-medium body with a mild warming sensation.

Poured amber with white head. Aroma of unearthy hops, pine, and citrus. Are you sure this isn’t a IPA? Taste was much of the same. Finished smoothe and refreshing. This tasted more like a IPA.