The Apocalypse
Great Waters Brewing

On cask at the brewpub...

Darker and very opaque chestnut brown color with a very nice standing head of 1/2 an inch. Cloudy thick laces on a snifter-style glass. A bit of smokiness shows in the aroma (henceforth, it gets a little lost), fairly subtle though with some paint thinner impressions as well. Lower carbonation, solid thick body. Flavor is a bit overpowering from the get-go, alcoholic and quite hot with turp qualities and a decided tobacco-chaw bitterness moving in quickly. Maybe this is where the peaty smoked grains come in to play, but they are subsumed by plenty of hoppiness and a sticky alcohol, so its tough to notice. Too harsh at the close for me, can't say this one is a favorite though it may have been fun to brew.

Had the chance to sample this high alcohol, cask brew at the brewpub. Served in a 10oz tulip snifter, at cellar temperature. Murky bronze color, one inch of bubbly head. Some foam lasted for the whole glass, nice thick tracks of lace.
Aroma is similar to an APA, citrus hops and you can smell the alcohol as it warms your nose. Taste is very hoppy as well, with more citrus and even some pine I think. Mixed in there is some grainy malt. Definately one to sip on, as the alcohol is quite strong and the hops leave a bitter aftertaste. The cask conditioning gives it a nice thick body, and limited carbonation make it smooth and somewhat creamy. I think they are trying to push this one 'over the top' with lots of hop and lots of alcohol that packs a punch. A nice one to sit back and enjoy slowly on a cold day. Glad I had a chance to sample this one-time offering.

On-cask at the brewpub and served in a 10oz tulip snifter: Clouded bronzey gold, darker in the center then the edges. Medium cap of bubbly off-white foam which stays intact for great length. Lacing is placed all over the glass in thick strings.

Aroma is fairly hoppy and boozed up with juicy citrusy stuff of lemon, orange, and lime and a malty, light caramel, whole grained backing. But the boozyness is over riding many aspects of what could be one decently complex nose.

Taste, unfortunately, has the same characteristics of the nose with a big citrafied hoppyness of lime, orange, and lemon juices punched with a big hit of warming alcohol and backed by a slight malty sweetness of grains and bread. Too warm too quick. The booze slaps ya quick and the hops pucker there after with much citrusy bitterness and warmth thats seemingly unbalanced and out of place the whole way through.

Big on warmth, soft on flavor, medium in body, with a cask texture thats fitting, but the warmth is too much as its hoppyness. Strong Ale? You bet your ass it is. Very strong and quite hoppy too. This almost seemed like a IPA triple at first. This was not an easy drinker to say the least. The snifter took me forever to finish, or so it seemed. Chalk this experimental brew up for a tweeking and pass me a Volcanus Red.

Pours a redish brown with plenty of small frothy bubbles from the hand pump. Mostly white slightly tan head. Big malt on some hops on the nose. For such a big, malty, hoppy beer, I am surprised that the aroma is so subdued. Body is full and smooth. Nice balanced bitterness. Reported to have some peated malt in it, but it's very light if not imperceptible. Very easy to drink, so be careful or you'll be feeling it quickly. Served in a snifter glass.