Winter 2010/11.
My review on RateBeer:
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
AHTOH (45) - San Diego, USA - FEB 23, 2011
750 mL bottle. Bottled on 10/30/09. Drank 2/22/11. Poured into Duvel tulip.
APPEARANCE: Pours a very dark brown color that is opaque. When held to light, is deep caramel brown with slight hues of ruby, as well as pink and amber. Thick tan head is 2-3 fingers and has long duration. Head eventually settles in a pillowy fashion.
AROMA: Sour – like an oud bruin – is the most prominent aroma. Chocolate (like powdered light milk chocolate) and caramel. Subtle notes of spices – allspice and nutmeg appear most discernible. Faint hint of chili on nose.
TASTE: Tart and acidic – similar to an oud bruin. Front of palate is acidic. Mid palate is some light malt sweetness with notes of chocolate and light caramel. Spices on mid palate as well. Back of palate has a nice amount of chocolate come through (behind the tart/acidic character). Finish has pleasant touch of heat from the chili – discernible, though hardly overbearing.
MOUTH FEEL: Lighter body than expected. Somewhat crisp. Lively carbonation.
OVERALL: Oud Bruin (Flanders brown [a sour]) with Mexican hot chocolate notes. Given its classification as Spice/Herb/Vegetable instead of a stout (eg, Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence is grouped as a stout), was unsure what to expect. Hardly expected something this tart. At first thought it was infected. Still unsure if Telegraph was going for a sour with this. Wanted to like this, though must admit: better in theory than in practice. Aroma much more pleasant than taste. Although oud bruin has its time and place, this would have been much better if it had a different style as a base. Furthermore, it seems the sour character mixed with notes of Mexican hot chocolate hardly work well together.
Winter 2010/11.
My review on RateBeer:
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 14/20
AHTOH (37) - San Diego, California, USA - FEB 10, 2011
11.5 ounce bottle. Poured into Duvel tulip.
APPEARANCE: Pours dark amber tone of caramel brown. Sediment suspended sparsely throughout looks like black dust. Very slightly off-white head is about 1 finger high with average duration length. Once head settles, thin layer of foam covers most of the surface with some clusters of bubbles in the center as well. Minimal lace.
AROMA: Burnt caramel (ie, crème brulee), prune juice, rum-soaked cherries, very noticeable peppercorn spice. Some soy sauce. Faint piney hop aroma. The subtle grainy scent smells of rye bread. Although complex, the medley of aromas lack a degree of compatibility with each other.
TASTE: Front of palate is citrus and peppercorn. Mid palate is slightly toasted grain, and is somewhat cardboard like. Mid palate also has faint vinous character. Back of palate has abundant pepper spice, as well as faint hint of bitter chocolate. Peppercorn spice finish has extremely long duration.
MOUTH FEEL: Light body (lighter than expected). Drinks like a somewhat watered-down stout.
OVERALL: Interesting and unique. However, aromas hardly mesh well together. After first sip, palate is dominated by peppercorn spice that lingers, making it difficult to taste some of subtleties going forward. Although I enjoy spicy foods and spice character in beer, the pepper seemed excessive.
Winter 2010/11.
My review on RateBeer:
4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
AHTOH (22) - San Diego, California, USA - JAN 4, 2011
11.5 ounce bottle (2010 5.0% abv vintage) poured into Duvel tulip. Pours hazy pinkish orange; unlike any other beer have seen. Off white, slightly pinkish head dissipates fairly quickly, leaving only little amount of foam around edge as well as trace of thin film layer atop the ale. Zero lacing. Some miniscule amount of sediment dust, which seemed suspended in a ring near the bottom of glass, is apparent when held next to light. Nose is semi-sour with big hibiscus aroma, along with subtle tropical floral sweetness. Very unique aroma. Pleasantly tart taste makes this more like a tart, hibiscus flavored Berliner Weisse, rather than a hibiscus flavored Belgian wit, which if it were more wit-like would likely be a bit sweeter, as well as perhaps somewhat spicy and yeasty. Taste has subtle hints of lemon and perhaps even lemon peel. Mouth feel is light, crisp, and quite refreshing. Highly quaffable. Overall, highly unique and greatly enjoyable refreshment ale.
Fall 2010.
My review on RateBeer:
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
AHTOH (17) - San Diego, USA - DEC 17, 2010
Large bottle. Poured into Duvel tulip. Large slightly off-white head diminishes quickly to very minimal amount of traces of foam atop the beer. Beautiful deep golden/dark straw color. Slightly cloudy. A handful of sediment clusters floating around. Nice and slow effervescence. Vinous and spice aromas seem most prominent. Chai tea aroma, with scents of black tea and cardamom as well as ginger. Hints of clove, black pepper, and cinnamon (in order of most robust) on nose. Yeasty scents. Aroma base like a Bavarian hefe (eg, Franziskaner) though this is a much more complex ale due to the additional ingredients. Also robust aroma of spices covers up any banana like scents. Taste is as if took a Franziskaner and mixed chai tea concentrate in as well as increasing the abv. Quite deliciously complex. All the aromas listed above are noticeable in taste. Fruity esters, ginger, and subtle semi-citrusy notes on front palate. Bavarian hefe taste mid palate. Strong presence of chai tea spices on back of palate and especially on finish. Overall, an enjoyable beer to sip a glass of, though perhaps a bit too uniquely robust to finish off entire large bottle at one go. Smooth mouth feel. Wet finish. Spice bite.
