Five Years / Five Beers
Ecliptic Brewing

Appearance - Pours a light amber with four fingers of frothy white head.

Smell - mild floral, earthy, and spicy hops, biscuity malts, orange, pear, black pepper, fruity esters (clove, banana), and spicy belgian yeast.

Taste - mild floral, earthy, and spicy hops upfront then quickly goes into the orange and pear which are predominant in the taste. The biscuity malts, black pepper, fruity esters (clove, banana) follow suit. The spicy belgian yeast rounds out the brew.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes smooth with all ingredients lingering.

Overall - A pleasant and highly drinkable BPA. For my first go at this brewery albeit a collaboration brew with Russian River which I have yet to sample any offerings from, this is highly flavourful and packs a nice punch considering the ABV. A pleasant and rare find here in Cowtown!

Nice foreign beer / Euro aroma comes up from a hazy lightnamber pour. Light head, vanishes intp a skim coat. Pleasant taste of stone fruits, figs and coriander spice. Long, lingering aftertaste, leaves only a trace and no off notes. Too bad this is a one- time deal.

 

500mL bottle (what a nice size) of this Ecliptic / Russian River joint venture. Served in a can glass, this beer is golden and lightly hazy. Moderate head formation. Aroma is surprising: straw, lagery, cut grass, and a little bit spicy. Looks like a Belgian Golden Ale, for sure, but smells like something else. Flavor brings in classical Belgian strong pale ale flavors of clove and caramel. Mouthfeel is paradoxically light but coats the palate with syrupy goodness. Hoppy? Yes, it's a bit hoppier than BPAs, but whereas these brewers easily could have turned this into a Belgian IPA, they obviously did not. The hop character is more akin to a German or Czech pilsner than a West Coast IPA.

Dated 10/08/19.

Bottle:
Pours with some tiny particulates in suspension of a dirty yellow/gold body that has a fluffy yellowing head, a minor amount of which remains in the end. Carbonation is still visible, though fingers cannot be discerned beyond an inch behind the glass.

Nose is a mix of saison-like Belgian yeast, some white pepper spiciness, and hay, both dry and wet. Flavors start with a nice malty base and gets a citrusy white wine addition before mid-taste. The farmhouse aspects from the nose seem dampened by a slightly more hefty body to the beer. Some clove and white pepper come in to carry the beer to the end.

The “hoppy” part of the brewery’s description doesn’t stand up strongly, but there is a little fresh pine that sneaks into the later notes. This beer could be classified a few different ways, but its Belgian qualities are not in question. I kept waffling on some scores and this beer could be the best argument for 1/8 point increments (he says jokingly).