Big Sky Powder Hound Winter Ale

Brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: English Strong Ale
Missoula, Montana USA

Bottle, amber brown pour with stiff short head, aroma of sour nuts and caramel, flavor is similar to Moose Drool with more sour notes and an English finish

12 oz. bottle from the local QFC. Not much of a head to speak of with this beer. Transparent dark coppery brown appearance. Looks fairly decent, but I have sen better. Sweet caramel malt and toasted malts coming through in the aroma. This is a fairly pungent beer I must say. Aroma is not terribly nuanced, or impressive, but it does the trick. Very flat nappy beer. Has light carbonation, but it is too light for me. The toast and caramel malt flavors come through, but boy does this beer fall short.

12 oz bottle. Faint aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg. Pours brownish red with a thick head and nice lacing. Tastes a little sour. Carbonation is a little low; thin. Fairly standard, boring winter warmer.

Pours a garnet amber with big old off white head. Aroma of toffee and caramel malts, some hops, a bit of powdered sugar. Citrus and caramel flavor. Pretty one dimensional. basically like mandarin oranges and caramel malt. Mouthfeel is nicely carbonated. Kind of sweet in a weird way. Some cardboard. Mehhh

12oz. Bottle: Gusher. Aroma of malts, spices, raisins, nuts, and light caramel. Poured amber/copper/orange in color with a dense, off-white, medium-sized head that diminished but lasted throughout. Cloudy. Slightly sparkling. Full of tiny particles throughout. Excellent lacing. Flavor is lightly sweet and lightly bitter. Tastes of malts, dark ripe fruits, prunes, toasted malts, light burnt malts, light burnt caramel, burnt sugar, slight hops, and a hint of smoke. Medium body. Average texture. Average carbonation. Malty, burnt caramel, burnt dark ripe fruit finish is slightly sticky.

Appearance: Pours a clear, deep, dark amber body with a frothy, off-white head. Smell: Gently toasted biscuits with notes of caramel and fruit and just the teeniest, tiniest pinches of lemon zest and spice. Taste: Toasty, biscuit-like malt overtones with some caramel sweetness present, though overall, the tastes here seem a tad thin. Modest amount of fruitiness. Spicy, lightly citrusy hops with a low bitterness. Up from the taste came a bubblin’ herbal quality giving the beer a tea-like flavor on the drying finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: While it’s definitely not the most engaging or alluring of wintertime offerings, it is fairly acceptable for a relatively light seasonal offering.

Name: Powder Hound
Date: May 23, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Ticker Tasting
Appearance: clear amber, creamy beige head, streaks of lace
Aroma: lightly sweet caramel malt aroma, drying earthyness
Flavor: caramel malt flavor, light spicyness, touch of sweetness is well balanced with an earthyness, light bitterness joins with the spicy character
Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.8/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Aroma: Malts and dried fruits. Appearance: Powder Hound pours dark copper with a tall persistent off white head and moderate carbonation Flavor: Initial bitterness is quite over powering. There are some malt or dried fruits notes. By the end if the beer the bitterness is tamed, but the malts stay in back ground. Mouth Feel: Thick body and cloying. Overall Impression: The bitterness is too prominent for the malt back bone; it is a little out of balance. The malts never show up.