Ponderosa
Threshers Brewing Co.

 

Very surprised at this one, out of a can had an excellent pour into a glass and a really nice flavour with few bubbles/gas.

 

Pours a brilliant, moderately hazy rosewood reddish brown, sienna highlights, with nearly three fingers of dense ivory head, that recedes very slowly, leaves a considerable, tenacious, unbroken ring of lacing behind. Beautiful pour.

Nose: Caramel caramel caramel malt. Sticky soft caramel, toffee, brown sugar, maple syrup, clover honey, vanilla frosting, sugared coconut, pralines, cannoli filling, the list goes on. This is just insanely malty, sweet, and decadent on the nose. There are very subtle wafts of gentle floral hop notes, bringing lilac, lilly, and other garden blossoms to mind. There are also some dense, sweet, almost sherried dark fruit notes showing up, namely dried cherry, plum, fig, raisin, and even blueberry pie filling. This reminds me of a few great scotch ales I've tried. The aroma coming off of this is a major wow factor.

Palate: This is one that will pull a double-take out of you. In spite of the seriously candied sweet malty nose, on the first sip, you quickly see that this is very much a pilsner malt base. Clean, crisp, and slightly grainy. It's one of the most stark contrasts I've encountered in a beer. Most of those decadent sweet notes still show up, but without any of that perceived sweetness - but more of in a dry, unsweetnend essence sort of way. I still pick up essence of that toffee, some caramel, some of the dark fruit notes, and florals, but it's all surprisingly dry. Not only is it dry, but it quickly shifts to a metallic flavour, as the hops become more apparent. There's a very mild twinge of bitterness in the far back sides of the tongue, and the hops become much more herbal and green, with a little bit of spiciness. There's something ever-so-slightly savoury about this, as we get into the finish. Slightly increased metallic note, and what I can only describe as a faint, unsalted teriyaki note. The earthy, herbaceous hop note becomes more earthy and herbaceous as we get to the finish, and then everything but that and the metallic note fades away, and the hops eventually die off before they can linger too long. Finishes dry, clean, with little to no sweetness at all.

Mouthfeel/Body: The beer is light to medium bodied, with a pilsner-likr crispness about it. There is just a touch of weight, both I believe that to be due to ABV, and not necessarily malt weight. There is, however, a subtle softness to it, but at no point does the beer feel thick, or particularly smooth. There is an average degree of effervescence, consisting of rather small bubbles, which is always nice. The effervescence contributes to the crisp, airy feel. It is surprisingly dry, with no lingering sweetness or heft to it. An easy drinker, despite nearly 7% ABV.

Overall: This one really threw me for a loop. That aroma is to die for, and I got way too excited and ahead of myself. It really does set you up to think you're in for a sweet, malty treat. That's what I was expecting after that aroma, and admittedly, I am a taf,disappointed. Even before pouring the pint, I expected more malty sweetness, because even by average amber ale standards, this is quite dry. My rating on the aroma is going to stay, and that will bump the score up considerably, but I have to admit, this isn't really what I've come to expect from an amber ale. It's not bad, and it's certainly a great choice when you want something on a hot day that isn't necessarily a lager or some kind of pale ale. It's not bad. It's like a very robust pilsner. The metallic note is a little off-putting, but not an end-all deal breaker. The dryness can be put up with, especially if you're expecting it, and maybe in a different setting, like midday, and not the final beer of the night. All in all, it's a decent dry amber ale, and although it may surprise you at first, it's not a bad beer at all. Just a bit quirky.