Immortal
Hydra Beer Co.

I am reviewing this beer as an English Brown Ale since it is a travesty to think of it as an English Pale Ale. It is another bottle from my ever-diminishing backlog & I am happy to be getting to it. Bottles are the bane of my existence, but I still have a number of them to drink/review/rate.

From the Bottle: "English Style Ale".

I Pop!ped the cap & gave the beer an aggro pour, arousing the dormant many-headed Hydra into forming just over a finger of fizzy, foamy, light-tan head with modest retention. When it fell to wisps, I thought that it had gone back into dormancy, but as I leaned in for a sniff, it roared up in great fury! 8=O Color was Brown to Dark Brown (SRM = > 22, < 27) with NE-quality clarity. Nose had a pleasant roasty sweetness of milk chocolate, treacle, coffee, brown sugar & toffee. Mmm. This was the moment of truth! I took a great draught in my mouth, wrestling the beast with my tongue as I noted its near-fullness, not quite creamy, but on the approach. The taste was undoubtedly of an English Brown Ale & I could easily envision this being served from a cask. It had a pronounced milk chocolate & toffee flavor, kind of like a liquefied Heath bar, but the characteristics of treacle, coffee & brown sugar also persisted, albeit lightly. Just as I thought that I was getting the better of this beast, it made like the sushi restauranteur's worst nightmare - it took hold in my throat and began to choke me from within! Aaack! A note of explanation - some sushi restaurants had been in the practice of serving live small squid & octopi, but without guidance to their customers. Taken in & swallowed head first, the tentacles contract and the animal slides down the gullet unimpeded. However, if the tentacles lead the way, a self-preservation measure kicks in & the animal will use its suction cups to impede its progress, causing choking. Fortunately for me, I still had some beer in my glass & the next wash of liquid was too much of a deluge for the Hydra and it was forced downwards, into the acid bath awaiting it. Finish was semi-sweet (on my part, NOT on the Hydra's), but if you wanted to argue for semi-dry, I would not put up much of a fight. This was mos def an English Brown Ale & one that I would LOVE to see in cask format!

Hydra Immortal, 4.5% ABV, 17 IBU. Pours deep brown, with a one finger tan head. Nose is malt, toast, and caramel. Taste follows with slight sweetness and a slight bitter cola or root beer close. Decent mouthfeel, perhaps a tad overcarbonated. Overall excellent.

 

 

12 oz bottle poured into a pub-style pint glass.

Appearance
Deep mahogany with ruby highlights. Excellent clarity. Lively carbonation.

Nose
Brown sugar, caramel, biscuit, toast, and root beer.

Taste
Root beer, cocoa, brown sugar, and caramel. Biscuit and toast. Light earthy hoppiness.

Mouthfeel
Medium-light bodied, crisp, off-dry, and refreshing.

Overall
A downright stellar Brown Ale!

 

 

 

 

 

Pours from the bottle a clear brown with a creamy, off-white head that leaves spotty lacing.
Aroma is biscuit and cracker, a bit of toffee and muted spice.
Taste is a bit bland. Bready with a slight bitter finish and a hint of spicy hops.
Mouthfeel is good, medium and creamy.
OK beer, not worth buying again.

 

 

 

 

A : This beer starts out strong with a cream soda colored body, 70% opaque, with a giant fluffy off-white colored head, standing about 3 fingers. The lacing it leaves is substantial and the head stays with the beer quite awhile, settling at a dense foamy shelf on top.

S : There's not much for aroma here, but pale and caramel malts are apparent with a high concentration of barley. There's also some rooty aromas, and cereal grains with cardboard. The more the beer is left out in the open, the stronger the aromas become - but it's still a fairly hard beer to nose.

T : The flavor is solid, with some much darker flavors than I anticipated. This actually borders on weizenbock territory. Very malty, with hits of caramel, apple skins, under-ripe cantaloupe, and some pale hop. Malts are roasted and baked. It ends almost root-beer like, it's sweet and malty but not overly so.

F : Dense and substantial, with light cream and light carbonation. It ends strong, with a heavy pucker and dryness on the finish.

O : I'd have it again, it's just not at all what I was expecting for an English pale ale. This is definitely darker, and as said earlier borders on a Weizenbock in its flavor profile.