Maple ATE Alf
Dark Horse Brewing Company

 

12 oz bottle
Sent from superspak

Maroon-coffee colored with a grey-yellow head of 1/2 finger, stable, slight hilly lace.

Aroma of winter spices (peppermint, nutmeg, holly), stiff alcohol, and slight maple.

Starts out really good with molasses, caramel, fudge, and fruitcake, but then the back palate brings a gigantic wave of bitter lawn clippings, pine, and sap...Well, doused in maple at least. Very bitter finish.

Feel is creamy and the alcohol is really not present relative to the alcohol listed on the bottle. Still nice warming heat though. Mild carbonation. Sticky finish.

Overall, if it wasn't for the huge pine/lawn clippings wave at the back of the throat, this beer would slay. It is pretty hoppy though, as well as being super malty, they kinda cancel each other out. Man!!

Smells great but the maple is missing in smell and taste. If I wasn't expecting maple I would be enjoying a winter warmer from the subtle spices and balanced hops to sweetness. The head was underwhelming. Mouthfeel not sticky or overly carbonated, enough carbonation to lighten what could be a heavy beer. Overall not a $6 bottle and I wanted maple so I'm disappointed.

 

 

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 12/7/2018. Pours nearly opaque dark brown/black color with a 1 finger dense and rocky khaki head with awesome retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of huge caramel, maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, ginger, peppercorn, citrus peel/zest, and toasted dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of licorice, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, smoke, char, raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready/roasted malts, maple syrup, spices, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of huge caramel, maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, ginger, peppercorn, citrus peel/zest, and toasted dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of licorice, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, smoke, char, raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, floral, grassy, roast/char bitterness; and peppery cardamom/cinnamon/clove spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, ginger, peppercorn, citrus peel/zest, toasted dark/brown bread, licorice, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, smoke, char, dark fruit, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/roasted malts, maple syrup, spices, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with an awesome malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, fairly sticky, and lightly chalky mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 11%. Overall this is an awesome imperial winter warmer. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/roasted malts, maple syrup, spices, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to drink for the ABV, with the modestly bitter/spicy/drying finish. Not overwhelming on any aspect. Perfect balance of rich malts, maple syrup, and spice flavors; with balancing earthy hops against sweetness, and restrained fruity yeast complexity. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive style example as expected. Definitely an improvement over the base beer. Richer on malts/maple complexity, but still has the same balance against sweetness with the hops/spices.