Third Coast Old Ale

Brewer: Bell's Brewery, Inc.
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 10.2%
IBU:
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into an oversize snifter

From the brewer:

Third Coast Old Ale focuses on malt, offering notes of burnt caramel & other earthy malt flavors. Designed with vintage aging in mind, the malt aspect is matched to a heavy complement of hops. Sharply bitter at first, this will fold into the malt character over time and balance out the maltiness.

It's worth noting that this is the winter 2011/2012 vintage. Pours rusty brown, with pretty red highlights at the edges of the glass. An offwhite to tan head settles out to a thin film but doesn't go away. Sticks to the side of the glass when swwirled, more like wine legs than beer lace. The aroma is great, banana bread up front, cinnamon raisin bread behind, both fresh from the oven. Caramel sweetness round it out nicely.

Very sweet. All the flavors from the aroma are present, with some darker sugars adding complexity, brown sugar and maybe slightly burnt caramel. There's a hop bitterness trying to balance it out, grapefruit and earthy, but comes across a little too aggressive. It is a little young though, this kind of thing will probably mellow with age. Just a tad boozy, too, though that, too, should calm down after a while. Temperature helps, too. I thought I was serving it plenty warm at about 50°F, but there was definite improvement as it approached room temperature. Nice and viscous, thick and mouth-coating, with a light but appropriate amount of carbonation.

It's decent now, but I feel like it could be phenomenal after a few months (years??) in the bottle. This came in a sixer, so I'll definitely be revisting it over the coming year.

My score: 3.5/5
Beer Advocate: 91/100
Rate Beer: 100/100
Pintley: 3.8/5

Old Stock Ale

Brewer: North Coast Brewing Co.
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 11.7%
IBU: 36
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into an oversize snifter

A deep copper or mahogany color, with short, off-white head. This beer is alive. The head fades pretty quick to a thin film, but is being constantly replinished in a curious donut shape in the center of the glass. Someting to do with the shape of the glass?

A nice fruit aroma, mostly apricot and raisin with maybe a touch of citrus. Some sweet caramely malt notes behind.

Taste is very rich and complex, with that malty sweetnes paramount. Some bitterness, but definitely playing second fiddle to the malt. Actually hop flavor is low to none. Alcohol is noticeable, but not overly so. The carbonation is moderate, but the beer is so smooth and full bodied that it's barely noticeable.

A good sipping beer, but a little overly sweet for my taste. A little more bitterness or hop character may have provided more balance. This is the 2011 vintage and has lots of potential to improve with age.

My score: 3/5
Beer Advocate: A-
Rate Beer: 99/100
Pintley: 4/5


"Donut" head

Yorkshire Stingo

Brewer: Samuel Smith's Old Brewery

Style: English strong ale

ABV: 9.0%

IBU:

Serving Type: 550 mL bottle poured into a tulip glass

I wasn't familiar with this beer, but picked it up on a whim. The bottle proclaims that the beer has been aged for "over a year" in oak barrels, some of which "date back more than a century". There's a lot about the barrels, but very little on the beer residing within. I was actually expecting a stout or something and was surprised by a English strong ale.

The beer pours a dark, muddy copper with some ruby highlights. There's a finger of off white/light tan head that fades to a thin film. Some of the muddy/cloudiness is probably my fault for disturbing some of the yeast sediment. The aroma is lovely and strong. Dark fruit up front, plum and raisin; with fresh baked banana bread behind.

The dark fruit flavors come through in the taste, though somehow not as strongly as in the aroma. There's a good amount of caramel malt and earthy hop flavor there to balance. No alcohol warmth. I would call the body medium to heavy, but very smooth; it clings to the glass like a wine. The carbonation is pretty high, but not over the top.

I split a 550 mL (lousy Brits) probably 70/30 with my wife and was able to knock back my... 13 oz. or so pretty quick, so this is a nice, easy drinker. As the carbonation dies down and the glass warms up, it feels less like a beer and more like a nice brandy. A very nice surprise with this beer.

My score: 4/5

Beer Advocate: A-

Rate Beer: 96

Pintley: