Mail Order Raisin Old Ale
Willimantic Brewing Co.

Got this one at a beer judging event I was helping run. 12oz bottle...

A: A nice deep dark brown brew with a 1 inch mocha colored head that fades at a decent pace but never completely disappears. Good.

S: I get some sweet earthy malt upfront quickly followed by a roasty vanilla in the middle and a mild faint hop on the back. Ok.

T: I get some mild raisin upfront blended with a big sweet malt and some wateriness in the middle. An almost, very mild vegetal flavor on the backend. Decent.

M: Medium body with a heavy carbonation. A malty finish. Decent.

O: All in all, this is a slightly above average brew. Not amazing, but decent. It doesn't really taste like an old ale to me. It's more like an Imperial Fruit / Vegetable beer. It seems to have a hint of tomato in the taste. Give it a try if you like Bloody Mary's and beer.

Dark brown hue, light off-white head. Strong earthy nose, deeply malty, somehow peaty feeling with several dark fruit suggestions among which dates and grapes stand out. Heavy dark dried fruits in fact. Very appealing, especially with that slight leather touch. Feels even more vinous in mouth, the fruitiness is as expressive as can be yet still leaves room for plenty of dark bread aspects. Light acidity level and well contained sweetness contribute to overall balance. Nice rather thick body proposes medium carbonation level.

12 oz snifter.

Thin, creamy light brown head with good resistence. Some thin and pretty lacing that holds throughout the glass. Semi-opaque dark brown with shades of black throughout.

Dark fruit: plum, raisin, and even grape. Also a bit of a chocolate, roasted maltiness.

Begins with the full array of dark vinous fruit: grape, plum, and cherry. A nice mixing of the date and raisin flavors with the chocolate-tinged malt character. Finishes a tad dry with an aftertaste of raisin and chocolate.

Full bodied; smooth and creamy on the palate. Regarding how pleasant this was on the palate, I was kicking myself for not trying this on cask.

The 9.7%abv is virtually undetectable so be careful. A very unique and pleasant take on the style.

this brew is simply exquisite! usually i can expect consistency in the 3.8 range from willibrew's homemades. usually split my drinking there between guest brews and a house brew for a changeup. this weekend, the raisin old ale and the barleywine sampler made me forget completely about my trivia box.

this beer has alot of the same things i like about storm king. it evokes a real dark fruit flavor, spice and substantial mouthfeel without finishing in an unwanted bitterness. puts all other raisin ales i've tried to shame.. yes, you know which ones im talking about.

served in the snifter with the perfect head, the rich dark color and at the perfect temperature. run, don't walk, to willibrew for this unique concoction.

The beer is a deep ruddy brown, tinted with garnet, topped with a thick, crusty looking almond head. Served in a snifter. Very good clarity. The head diminishes to a thin mist almost immediately, and disappears completely after a couple sips.
The aroma is some serious big beer. A huge raisin aroma, slightly sour, backing some gigantic malt. Toasty, with lots of caramel malt and a touch of roasted barley, perhaps. Some faint smokiness, with wonderful estery plum and fig coming through. No noticable hops, although the sour raisin does a wonderful job of balancing the sweetness. A touch of alcohol presence. Very complex.
The flavor is gigantic, with a thick, almost viscous maltiness. Lots of toasted and caramel malt, with a slightly smoky toffee flavor up front. The raisin comes through almost immediately, starting with a sticky, almost cloying sweetness, mingling with ripe, dark fruity esters, then changing into a grapey sourness into the finish. Lots of caramel malt all the way through, extremely sweet, but balanced well with the sour raisin flavor. Some vague chocolate in the end, with the barest touch of herbal hoppiness, providing some bitterness. Lots of caramel and raisin, with a sourish raspberry/cranberry suggestion in the aftertaste. A sticky, yet slick mouthfeel, very full bodied, with silky soft carbonation. A sticky sweetness lingers on your lips.
Extremely good. It was almost like a very strong lambic, in the sourness of the fruitI believe that this is one of John Watson's recipe's, and it's a hell of a beer. Very drinkable, although the alcohol content drops the drinkability a bit. I had a glass of this after about three other pints, and it laid me out for the night. Worth a drive to try it.