Grand Reserve
Silver Gulch Brewing and Bottling Co.

12oz bottle acquired in trade with DarkElf (thanks!). 2002 Vintage.

Poured a dark and cloudy brown color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of toffee, caramel, nutty, roast, smoke, and some soy sauce. Tastes of toffee, molasses, light soy sauce, roast and smoke. Syrupy body with some alcohol in the finish. Sweet and bordering on cloying.

Notes from 8/25/06

12oz bottle in pint glass

Picked up a six pack last summer in Alaska, highly recommend checking this place out, it is worth the short drive from Fairbanks.

A: Pours syrupy and dark with very little carbonation. No head or lace.
S: Sweet malts, raisin-y, hints of alcohol, sort of like a ruby port.
T: Very sweet with a sharpness at the end, incredibly rich a hint of alcohol hotness but just barely, no hop presence.
M: thick, mouth/tongue coating.
D: This is desert in a glass. I have never had a beer like this. In fact, I think calling this beer is a bit of a stretch. Sure it has malt, it was fermented with yeast, I imagine there are some hops in there but, completely different from every other beer I have had. Very difficult to review this beer, what do I compare it to?

I spoke with the brewmaster when I was there, I don't remember the details but, he mentioned running this through the system 3 times to get the concentrated/high gravity wort. I don't remember anything about freezing so, I don't think this is an eisbock.

You can only get this in Fox, Alaska. If you are in the area, check them out. This is definitely worth trying, I am glad I have one more bottle left :)

Thanks to hopdog for the '02 vintage.
Appears a dark brown with black and red notes. The small off white head quickly fades out. There are tiny specks of lacing left around the glass but they slide back down into the fizzled out head.
Smell is of caramel, toffee, molasses, and light soy. I actually like the aroma though. Complex and different.
Taste is of the aromas with a syrupy richness that teeters on being enjoyable.
Mouthfeel is of coffee bitterness, light cocoa, and molasses with maple syrup.
Drinks much like a sherry, or port.

Appearance – This is a thick, dark beer. The liquid is cloudy brown and looks like pond scum with the dirt tossed up. There is absolutely no head to this EB. I feel like I’m about to meet the Grim Reaper.

Smell – The booze is thick and unapologetic at the smell. It’s the first thing you’ll notice when whiffing this chalice. There is a monster winey character with tons and tons of refined sugar. Man, this is potent.

Taste – The thick, heavy malts again remind me of a nice, aged wine. The booze from the nose steps back a bit at the taste. It’s not an off-putting ale but is serious business indeed.

Mouthfeel – This isn’t quite full-bodied but it’s close. The big malts and light alcohol sting make me want to get my freak on! This feels great in between the cheeks – big and stingy but not offensive or too complex.

Drinkability – This is a big, boozy, wine-like Eisbock. When I hit this style I want to be blown away, and this does the trick.

Comments – Thanks to skyhand for busting this 2002 vintage out of her cellar for her First Annual Broken Fridge Night.