Ex-nerd

Our doppelbock bids a fond aufwiedersehen to tradition, charting a flight path into bold new territory. Medium amber in color, it offers a heady, estery banana aroma. Rich maltiness predominates, with cedar aging lending just a hint of spice to the finish.

Aroma: 8/12

Caramel and something that stings my nose like excess carbonation. There is no mistaking the smell of cedar, although it’s sharper than I would expect. The smell reminds me of cedar oil more than cedar wood. I don’t get any of the banana aromas the brewer suggests. Inhaling deeply leaves me with a fairly strong whiff of alcohol alongside of the other aromas.

Appearance: 3/3

Beautiful deep amber-red color. Light tan head dissipates via large bubbles until a thin but dense film covers most of the top of the beer. A quick swirl brings back a nice, thick head.

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Burton Baton is a blend of an English-style Old Ale and an Imperial IPA.  After fementating the separate beers in our stainless tanks, the two are transferred and blended together in one of our large oak tanks. Burton Baton sits on the wood for about a month.

Aroma: 10/12

Hops fading into caramel. After a swirl, caramel and oak with just a touch of grain. Only a hint of alcohol underneath belies the hefty 10% ABV. Unfortunately, the hops flavor dissipates fairly quickly, which is a sign of the length of time required to get the beer up to this much alcohol, but leaves me wanting more from something identifying itself as an IPA. I suspect that adjusting time and duration of dry hopping could help extend the hop aroma a bit further, but perhaps Sam wanted to emphasize the caramel and oak more than the hops.
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Brewed in August, the beer rests a few months to reach an optimal balance. Three kinds of hops and six different kinds of herbs and spices define the rich taste of this Christmas beer.

Aroma:  8/12

A spice blend that comes together as mix of allspice and anise.  Just a hint of banana at the end from the yeast.  Overall aroma is relatively low for a Belgian beer until it has had a chance to sit for awhile, but even then it takes a bit of a swirl to get much out of it.  The best thing about this aroma is that it completely hides any hint of the 10.5% ABV.

Appearance:  3/3

Light tan head that dissipates quickly into a thin lingering lace around the edges.  The beer itself is a gorgeous dark red-brown perfect for the style.
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“Ommegang Adoration, brewed in the authentic style of Belgian winter, or noel beer, is dark, strong, malty and assertively spiced.”

Aroma:  12/12

Very balanced bubblegum that leans toward banana.  Hints of caramelized sugar and sweet malt.  Only a slight amount of alcohol, despite the high ABV.

Appearance:  3/3

Pours a dark red-amber with a thick foamy head that lingers for a couple of minutes before dissipating to lacing around the edge.  A quick swirl brings back a thin coat across the top of the brew.

Flavor:   18/20

Strong flavors of candi sugar and belgian yeast, with fairly prominent orange flavor underneath.  All sitting on top of well-balanced fruity belgian malt with perhaps just a hint of corn sugar.  A larger sip reveals fairly prominent taste of alcohol that dissipates into just a hint of hoppy bitter.
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