Telegraph California Ale

Brewed by Telegraph Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Ale
Santa Barbara, California USA

On tap at Hamiltons. Pours with a slightly cloudy, amber gold body topped by a medium thick head with a good amount of lacing. It’s grassy with a slight bitter note, a touch of sourness and a hint of over ripe fruit. Light to medium bodied and highly carbonated.

This California Common pours a light orange gold color from a corked 750ml bottle. Small sized white foamy head. The aroma is fruity and sweet. A medium bodied California Common. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are earthy. Nice carbonation. It has that soft round mouthfeel that you get from some steam beers, I mean California Commons, but it also hs a touch of Belgian Yeast esters. Kind of a different take. Very smooth. Nice beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Pours a transparent copper bronze with a spotty-lacing white head. Aroma of lightly sweet toasty dark malts and mild light fruity esters with some mild doughy notes. Body starts lightly sweet and toasty grainy malty with some light fruity flavors before a smooth semi-bitter finish. Quite drinkable and true to style.

Bottle purchased at Holiday Wine. Shared with Bartzilla. An interesting ale this was. Reading that it was a California Common, I immediately thought "Anchor Steam", but alas, this tasted nothing like a steam beer. It has a very Belgian nose, with lots of spices prominent. It pours a nice rich amber color. The flavor is similar to a Saison - with hints of pepper, clove, banana, ginger, etc. There is a sourness at the finish that we both agreed must come from the unique yeast. It’s very subtle and the sourness actually adds to the drinkability. This is a great summer ale, and something I am sure I will return to.

Todds tasting Thanks to Sell Tibet for this one! I have to start out saying this has gotta be one of the best CCA i’ve had. Bottled 3/8/08 Gold amber-ish pour with a fluffy white head. Hints of citrus on the nose. Slight vegetable, lemon, and hop flavors. Well balanced and very easy to drink!

750 ml bottle from Bev4less, Poured a slightly hazy orange-copper color with an off-white head that soon dissipated. The aroma was moderate in strength with pepper spices and some bready yeast. The flavor was a bit sour with apples, rye bread and tart grapes. The mouthfeel was a bit on the thin side, with adequate carbonation. The finish was long and sour with the occasional bit of biscuit emerging through the sour aftertaste. Overall; as a CA common style, I do not think very much of this beer, but looking at this as a sour I am bit more pleased.

bottled on 02-04-08, amber color with a small head and a pruny nose, flavors are vegetal and caramel, dry with a slight hoppiness

Bright, dark, golden-amber. Lightly spicy aroma with a footy yeast note. Spicy, with light caramel, a hint of clean tartness late. Crazy beer - lots of nuance. A bit of an odd duck but I like it.