APPEARANCE: (4) Semi dark, cloudy. Pretty thick foam which builds up by twirling the glass.
AROMA: (5) Malty, syrupy aroma. Heavy thick smell of figs and sweet fruit.
TASTE: (4) A pretty sweet beer where the base is on the malt not the hops. I wish there would have been more hops in this than I can taste. I know that it is there because it is a "heavy" beer on the malt and there is hops to balance it but the hops are playing second fiddle to the malt in this angry bastard.
EXTRA: (5) Stone Brewing don't make any bad beers. Their brews, bottles and website have very high quality. From Stone Brewings own website:
"
This is an aggressive ale. You probably won’t like it. It is quite
doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to
appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you
stick to safer and more familiar territory–maybe something with a
multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it’s made in a
little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow
beverage will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million
dollar ad campaigns make things taste better. Perhaps you’re mouthing
your words as you read this"
I have to admit that I had GREAT expectations on this beer and they did not fully come true since I am a hop lover. This is a great beer, no doubt about it but it is a beer for the Malt lover more than for the Hop lover. Even if this beer is much more renowned and more expensive, I think that it taste quite like
Diamond Bears Presidential IPA which is also a malt dominant beer instead of a hop dominant beer.
Beer style: American Strong Ale
Serving temperature: 10 C
Alcohol: 7.2%
Food Pairings: Strong cheese, barbeque, burgers or whatever. Because the hops is so mild, there is just the maltiness that can be paired with a lot of food.
APPEARANCE: 4 x 5 = 20
AROMA: 5 x 10 =50
TASTE: 4 x 10 = 40
EXTRA: 5 x 1 = 5
Total: 115/130
