Winter 2010/11.
My review on RateBeer:
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
AHTOH (36) - San Diego, USA - FEB 3, 2011
22 ounce bottle. Winter 2011 release (drank about 1 week after it first arrived at Olive Tree Market). Poured into Duvel tulip.
APPEARANCE: Pours gold; more straw yellow shade of gold than orange gold. Very hazy. Head is just slightly off-white and about 1 finger high. Head duration is relatively short. Once head settles, only a bit of bubbles and thin foam are left atop the ale.
AROMA: Aroma is beautifully balanced between hops and malt. Hops only slightly more prominent than malt. Plethora of citrus hops. Some grassy hops. Delightful candy-like floral/honey malt sweetness with a faint hint of spice (ie, cinnamon) (hint of spice presumably from the rye malt) – malt aroma is almost like a snickerdoodle cookie. Hint of tangy dried lemon peel. Touch of dry grainy scent.
TASTE: Taste is much more hoppy than aroma. Lots of flavor hops; more flavor hops than bittering hops (a positive attribute in my opinion). Grassy hops seem prominent, with a healthy dose of resinous hops as well. Front of palate seems to have a citrusy hop character that appears more orange flavored, which when combined with the subtle malt sweetness, has a faint orange creamsicle-like taste. Mid palate is grassy hops. Back of palate is graininess. Finish is bitter, dry, and slightly tangy – quite a complex combination in the finish. Judging by the aroma, expected bit more balance between hops and malt on palate.
MOUTH FEEL: Lively carbonation. Slightly tangy. Semi-dry finish. Medium body.
OVERALL: Phenomenal aroma. Definitely makes me want to seek out and try more craft beers that use rye as a decent portion of the grain bill; perhaps even a Rye IPA for comparison. Taste is mostly hops. Hoped for a bit more balance on the palate. Finish was pleasantly bitter without being overbearingly so.
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