James Boag's 1881 Traditional Ale
J. Boag & Son Brewing

i wish this was more than a limited edition, as its one of the better session beers ive tried locally. just lacks some balls overall to make it a real keeper, but still pretty fair on the whole.

love the color of this brew, a light bronze color with a thick foamy head that compliments the whole visual experience. great fizz which looked in total like a really well constructed beer. didnt quite live up to that unfortunately, but i could have been far far more disappointed than i was. i had to remember this was an aussie beer and not an english one. this appearance suggested a northern english ale, but the rest of the beer didnt live up to that. had malty and fruity aromas and a hint of hops, but just fell short of what i was expecting. same with the flavor. nice malt touch with hints of dried fruits and some zesty elements, they didnt come to the forefront enuff. finished with some good hop bitterness, but still leaned towards the carbonation doing the job rather than the green stuff. for all that it was still fairly good and tasty, tho it didnt reach the sort of heights i know it could. just lacked a bit in body overall which prevented it from being an absolute corker.

a boags seasonal beer which has room for development, they could have a genuine classic on their hands. ill go as far as to say that if they had got as heavy handed with this as they did with their honey porter, i reckon they just about woulda had it. maybe they should swap the attitudes to these beers, bring em back out and i think thered be a marked difference that would be for the better.

Its OK, quite light in flavour, but nice hoppy flavour, a bit edgy in taste aswell, but its drinkable, a bit of citrus in there aswell.