Kaffinator
Ithaca Beer Company

bottle #769 from 6/2007 by way of alldaydrinker.

pours on the brown side of ruby brown with a small agitated beige head which quickly fades. it does manage to deposit some spotty lacing before it goes.

smells like a really nice porter... spent wet coffee grounds, toasty grains, molasses, brown sugar, scalded cream and lots o' maltiness.

it's barely sweet on the palate and the coffee taste is much more tame than the aroma... flavors of amped up malt powder, chocolate, graham crackers and light ashiness with a dry slightly sour finish. nice mellow coffee bean aftertaste... mmm. medium body with an airy texture and super creamy lush mouth feel.

terribly delicious but very uncomplicated. i could probably drink another one right now if i had it, though!
7/4/7/4/16/3.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

A capped 750ml bottle poured into my nonic Imperial pint glass. Bottle # 2072, June '07. Appears a clear crimson brown color with about an inch of creamy ecru foam. The head has good staying power and leaves behind a mild lacing on the glass. Nose and flavor consist of browned toast, espresso, milk chocolate and caramel notes, rich roasted coffee, brown sugar. approaching full bodied with adequate carbonation. Pretty nice! This one needs a comeback.

I sampled a 2 year old bottle poured into a pint glass at room temp. Pours a cola brown with some garnet highlights. A tan head foams up and fades to a sturdy surface layer. Aroma is toffee and roasted malt and coffee bean. Sweet malt and brown sugar mix in as well. First sip reveals a light to average body and almost no carbonation. Thougth it may be a little bigger but it is still nice.
Flavor is malty with a fairly sweet and clean taste caramel and coffee mixing. Easy to drink and very nice beer, I wish this wasnt retired.

Thanks to Aerozeppl for sharing this.

A: Deep red body. Not very dark at all. It's hard to think of this as a bock though since the coffee makes it seem like a stout.

S: Super intense nose. Big roast malt, dark espresso coffee and chocolate. Again, it smells a lot like a big stout crossed with a bock.

T: Coffee is pretty mellow but chocolate is strong and sweet. Good strong bock malt sweetness supports the other flavors nicely.

M: SUPER smooth and creamy. Amazing mouthfeel.

D: Phenomenal except that they don't make it any more.

A: Mostly black with some brown around the edges. Good looking traditional bock color. Nice lacing and some coffee colored head.

S: Nice mix of coffee and chocolate. Even some hints of chile in there. I think time has downed the espresso and melted everything together.

T: Nice mix of coffee and chocolate. Milk chocolate. everything has really melted together. Really nice malt backbone holds everything together. Nice sweetness.

M: Super creamy mouthfeel. Wonderful.

D: For the reasonable ABV 7% and big taste this is a wonderful beer. I have cellared this since the June 07 bottling. Bottle 1197.

Thanks to BeerTruth for knocking this off my wants list.
Released June 2007
Bottle #2205

Pours a dark brown color with some brown/reddish hues when held up to the light, lots of head, great retention as it fades slowly, leaves some patchy lacing.

Smell is highly roasted with a good strong whiff of coffee.

Taste is malty with a good bitter coffee aftertaste, seems a bit thin and watery though, if it was a bit "thicker" it would have been great.

Appearance: Pours a lovely shade of dark brown with a rocky head that retains fairly well and leaves some shards and dots behind

Smell: Interesting blend of coffee and dark fruit, primarily prune; a hint of plastic phenols

Taste: Opens with a black bread flavor that moves in a roasted espresso direction by mid-palate; after the swallow, the fruit comes through to join with the black bread and coffee flavors; nice lingering coffee aftertaste

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: I sure do like the Ithaca Excelsior series; this is my last of the original four and it is a tough call with the Old Habit as to which I prefer; this one is more a coffee beer than a dopplebock with coffee, but I like it just fine

Thanks, BeerTruth, for the opportunity to try them all

Deep mahogany color-on the border of being black but not quite. Small tan head on top. Decent amount of carbonation. Coffeeish aroma. Mild roasted grain and a toasted nut scent. Good malty flavor up front. Decent coffee flavor with a very nice graininess to it. Lingering bittersweet cocoa. Very good body-none of the syrup like qualities of some doublebocks. Very easy going down and quite enjoyable. Nice beer for a cool summer's night. Thanks to tayner for this sample when she was offering "free" beer while cleaning out her cellar.

Shared this brew with me lady Pixel at Spuyten Duyvil. Deep chestnut colored with an off white head that slowly fades into some spotty lace.

Nose full of espresso, mocha, caramel, brown sugar, breads, yeast, and hints of milk chocolate. Very enticing.

Creamy smooth great mouthfeel. Very well balance of the espresso and dopplebock. Works great together. Mocha, espresso, vainlla extract, almond, brown sugar, caramel, and thick sweet bready malts. A damn easy drinking beer that I like.

05/15/08- Generously shared by BA member Talisker.

Presentation- 750ml bottle with a bottled on date on the label. Poured into a Duvel tulip.

Appearance- A dull grey black color with a 1/2 inch head on the pour. Did leave behind nice lace patchwork.

Smell- Espresso coffee grounds, a bit of chocolate and that's about it. Pretty much about the coffee. Pretty much spot on for the beer description.

Taste- As noted above, espresso coffee. As Talsiker said, it's like someone dropped a shot of espresso in the beer. I did get a bit of chocolate and a very light hoppy note in the aftertaste. Malty, but not as full as would expect for a Doppel.

Mouthfeel- A tad thin, not watery, just not full. Lightly creamy and a bit milky at times. Coffee aftertaste that lingers.

Drinkability- Seemed more like a coffee porter than a coffee doppelbock. I really liked the taste but knocked it down a touch because it wasn't quite to style. Still, very refreshing...did I mention it was 100 degrees yesterday?

Bottle 2199, from my buddy BeerTruth. Thanks ahole.

Pours nearly black but shows ruby hues around the edges of the glass, and reveals itself to be more like a deep, dark brown when held to the light. Only about one finger of coffee colored head builds on top and leaves just a thin, patchy lace and minimal stick.

Coffee is definitely the dominant aroma going on here, with some sweetness to it but really not much else. Straightforward but pleasant.

Good coffee flavor, too, with some moderate sweetness and a bit of espresso-like bitterness. As it warms the sweetness comes out more and there are some chocolate notes to it. It's pretty one dimensional but tasty.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and the carbonation is pretty aggressive, but not to the point of being bothersome.

This is a solid and tasty, if pretty one dimensional brew. Definitely worth a try if you can still find it.

I received this one, as well as the rest of the Ithaca big series from a fantastic NY trader. This was the first of the series I was going to try and chose to pick it last night as I was in the mood for something a little bit heavier with a god dose of coffee! Can't go wrong right? This one just looked great with a huge 750ml bottle that had a nice wrapped cap top and really just a sleek look to it.

Appearance - The look was very nice on this one, with a thick black liquid pouring out of the bottle. Some brown poking through around the bottom and the sides, but mostly inky black in color. A nice touch of tan colored lace then came up over the top of it. It reached a height of around two fingers before settling down to a thin crown that lasted throughout the rest of the session. Some nice side glass lace was present as well.

Smell - The aroma was all coffee as one would expect it to be. Not much hint of anything else going on here, just a rich, sweet coffee aroma that really pushed through rather nicely. Very good depth to it, and the longer it sat, the sweeter it seemed to get. Really very nice.

Taste - The flavor followed suit perfectly. A rich coffee flavor poured over the tongue and left little room for anything else. There was really no way this was a bock, just too thick, and with none of that earthy flavor you would expect from it. There was a touch of a biting bitterness in the finish, but overall it was really just an excellent coffee porter like flavor.

Mouthfeel - Pretty thick, especially for the style, it was really very nicely done. A good medium bodied ale, it was really nicely carbonated and a good bit fuller then what I would have expected from the style.

Drinkability - As far as the drinkability, it was absolutely excellent, I could have had this going on tap all day long. The alcohol was non existent and the flavors were rich and full. Great follow through and awesome carbonation, there was really noting in this one not too like.

Overall I thought this was excellent, really a fine example of a little seen style and a good beer from Ithaca. If the rest of the Excelsior series lives up to this I would be a very happy camper. One of the better beers I have had in a while. Definitely a nice one here you should seek out if you can find it.

Thanks to SS biegaman for this brew. Dated June 2007. A coffee lager...hmmm. Taste and smell is all coffee. I don't taste much dopple in here b/c of the coffee. Black with a thin head. Held up pretty well for almost a year but I would drink this if you have it. Smooth mouthfeel & drinkable. An interesting brew.

Cheers.

June 07 Bottle# 1941

Pours a dark lager with no head nice retention. Dark roasted chocolate , burnt coffee and sugar. Crisp and smooth. Paired nicely with some chocolate tiramisu.This is the second of a big bottle series that I've tried. A must try and a great beer from Ithaca.