Winter Solstice Old Ale
Paper City Brewery Co., Inc.

 

 

12oz bottle from 2001, poured into a Weyerbacher tulip. Thanks to Hopstoopid120 for sharing this little bit of obscurity.

A: Clear ruby-brown body with a handfull of off-white bubbles. Spotty lace. Ok for being over a decade old.

S: Musty chocolate and spice. Sherry oxidation. A little cheesy. Nice.

T: Sweet, fruity, sherried, and musty. Somewhat spicy finish. Tasty.

M: Fairly light, moderately carbonated with creamy effervescence. Excellent.

O: While not spectacular by a long shot, this one held up quite well and delivered some very pleasant oldness.

Cheers!

 

I have had this beer in my fridge since 2001. The date on the bottle is 2001. This is Paper City's Winter Solstice. I was dissapointed with the appearance. When poured it did'nt reveal any type of head or lacing. The bottle states that this is an Imperial Pale Ale loaded with 100 IBU's of British and American hops. It was also dry hopped and comes in at 7 to 8 ABV. This has definatley smoothed out and aged nicely over the years. I remember trying this before and the ABV was rough. Now five years later except for the head its quite tasty. Aroma of sweet malts and raisins but not much hops. Leaves a dry bitter finish. The color is a dark red. Leaves a dry grapefruit bitterness. I've tried this before and it tasted like a barley wine that smelled of cherries, but this is different.

I was disappointed with this Winter Solstice, it was way too bitter especially at the finish. Maybe I shouldn't have had it with cheese and crackers. Of course the label points out there are 100 bittering units . . .