Bridal Ale, 2005
Pelican Brewing Company

 

Poors a beautiful amber golden brown with little to no head. The head that does form leaves a thin ring surrounding the amber beer and slides down the walls of the glass with little evidence of existance. Smell is very raw wert-y, biscuity, malty, whole grain dominates the nose. Taste begins with a whole wheat, grainy earthy note. Hints of dates, raspberries, bakers chocolate and ends raisiny with hints of earthal citrus. Finishes dry and clean leaving a beautiful aftertaste of malty, rich, wonderful ale. Impressive!

2005 vintage

Packaging date of Oct 2005 written on the rear label. Corked and caged 750ml brown bottle wrapped in gold aluminum foil. Pours a beautiful dark reddish brown color with a nice off-white head. The aroma is sweet fruity malt with some caramel and hints of yeast. The taste is sweet, malty and slightly toasty, with some dark fruits and touch of caramel. Overall, I enjoyed this beer and am surprised at how well it has held up after 2 1/2 years after being bottled.

750ml Bottle
Gold Wrap
Caged/Corked
Brewer Signed/Package Date October 2005

Poured into a chalice a nice cloudy golden dark orange color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger plus off-white creamy head, some nice sticky lacing follows. The nose is malty, some yeast, slight tang, and some caramel. The taste is malty/yeasty, some very slight cherries, spices, and caramel. Medium body. Very drinkable, really enjoying this one, highly recommended.

I bought a 750 ml of this from liquid solutions because I hadn't heard of it before. Now, I really enjoyed this beer despite how light it is and the fact that its peaked already. I also disagree with calling this a biere de garde. I mean, it is wheaty and light but its way too dark and sweet to be in this catagory in my opinion.

The beer poured a nice clear (relatively) red color that produced an inch of head or so. The foam dissipated over a minute and left no lacing behind.

The aroma was spicy and a little of what ever is used in red ales. It definitely smelled a little oxidized but it wasn't too far gone at this point. There was also a soft wheatiness to it. Not sure what all is in this beer as the smell and taste were very involved and not to mention aged. The flavor was probably the best part of the beer. Even though it was a touch past ripe, it was nice and sweet and very smooth. The malts dominated the flavor as any hops in a beer of this style would have disapeared by now. The strange spices that I smelled upon opening were mixed into the flavor but were much less noticeable.

The body was medium/light and very smooth. Enjoying this beer is kind of a guilty pleasure and I would like to try a newer version to see what its like before it ages.

October 2005 Bottle Date, Sampled January 2008
A mix of spicy, really peppery notes and oxidized malt character reach my nose as I pour this beer. The head musters up a frothy, amber tinged, tan colored head the peaks just over a finger in height. The beer is a brilliantly clear, cranberry red color. A deeper inspection of the aroma yields aromas of ginger, light sherry, prune, and a substantial malt character of toasted bread crust, touches of soda crackers, touches of caramelized malt and a nice grain character. I really like how softly spicy (really a white pepper note) the aroma is and the initially noticed oxidation is not nearly as present once you get down to it.

Somewhat sweet up front, the beer has a bit of heft to it up front but seems to thin out as you move to the finish. Oxidized malt flavors provide a touch of sherry and seem to accent a pepper bite in this beer. A medium-low level of carbonation provides a touch of an offset to the malty body. Quite a bit of caramelized malt character is here, though without contributing overly to the sweetness of this brew. A touch tart in the finish, as well as having a light, though noticeable bitter hop bite. This has an interesting woodiness to it too; slightly tannic, touches of buttery-oak and even something like vanilla, a mix of flavors I was not expecting from this un-oaked beer (though these notes are certainly soft and subtle).

This has survived quite well in the two-and-a-half years since being bottled. It is definitely starting to show some oxidation, but not overly so and this seems to somehow accentuate the spicy pepper note that I like so much in this brew. There is not much else I could ask from a 2+ year old Bier de Garde; a near perfect mix of lagered, yet spicy, malty, lightly aged character; though of course I will by saying that it could use a touch more complexity.

Purchased: Liquid Solutions

Poured from the hand dated/signed 750ml bottle into my St. Feuillien goblet, the Bridal Ale is a hazy, ruddy burnt orange with a small off-white head that quickly fades the a small collar and scattered skim leaving very little lace.

The aroma is moderate in strength, lots of caramel and butterscotch maltiness, and a bit of fig and nutmeg, as well as slight chalkiness.

The taste, like the nose, initially has a rich caramel malt taste reminiscent of thin barleywine. There is also a nice fruitiness, cherries and oranges. All of the tastes quickly fade to a very clean finish, although there are some phenols and a hint of booze.

The mouthfeel is nice, very creamy and lucious, substanial but light at the same time. Exceptional indeed.

While this isn't the most flavorful brew in the world, it's very nice and super easy drinking. I really took my time and savored the bottle, but if it wasn't so precious, I could really enjoy these all night long. Went great with my BBQ chicken.

750ml bottle signed by the brewer and hand dated- Oct '05

I couldn't resist picking this up when I spotted it on the shelf. Thought about saving it as a collectors item, but then came to my senses and realized that would be a waste of fine beer. Hey, I get to taste a 20 month old craft beer without having to lease out the valuable slot in my fridge. So, I decided to pop it tonight and see if I might want more. Seems like the most logical thing to do.

After wrestling with the cork for a good 5 minutes, (Hey, I'm stubborn and the cork screw was all the way in the drawer right behind me) I finally get my first whiff of this beauty. Smells like chocolate covered cherries or something. Just a real pleasant aroma. I pour it slowly and produce a nice average sized off white head which melts away rather quickly leaving a solid wash of lacing in its wake. The beer itself is a beautiful color that I don't have a name for. Let's say bright amber. Kinda reddish. It's cloudy, and almost glows under the light.

The taste is very mellow. Light cherry and caramel flavors are accompanied by other malt characteristics that I'm unable to identify. There's a hint of nuttiness in there too. The hop presence is restrained and plays it's role perfectly. The carbonation is tuned in just right as well. Very balanced and drinkable brew that finishes clean. I think I'll have to break down and buy another bottle. This has held up well so far, and I see no reason why it wouldn't be even better in another year or so. This would make an excellent gift for newly weds. If you see it, snatch one up. It's worth the price tag, imo.

Warmly glowing ochre, an absolutely stunning color that looks like the best tropical sunset imaginable. The expansive, whipped creamy head of pastel orange is flat-out gorgeous as well. Although lace generation is less than abundant, the melting milkshake crown more than makes up for it. Whatever else Bridal Ale might be, it's a looker.

I'm less than thrilled with the nose. It can't be very easy to pull off an authentic biere de garde unless one uses a Belgian yeast strain. If I read their website correctly, Pelican uses a simple ale yeast here. Unfortunately, it shows in a serious lack of depth and complexity. Otherwise, the beer smells mildly caramel malty and generically fruity.

Bridal Ale 2005 makes something of a comeback on the palate, although I'm not especially reminded of the great country ales of Belgium and France. As long as I don't compare it to the intended target, this is pretty good beer. I just wish I could think of a comparable style so my taste buds could get their bearings.

Strangely enough, I'm reminded of a lower-ABV, much less hoppy American barleywine, or even an especially sweet Oktoberfest. The beer is pale and caramel malt-dominant, is barely short of cloyingly sweet and has an orange fruitiness whose origins I can only guess at. The other members of the malt bill are Golden Promise and Special Roast. There's no hint of the latter by my palate. Tettnang hops provide a subtle flavor and bitterness that keeps things from becoming too one-dimensional.

Along with the appearance, the mouthfeel is the highlight for me. Thanks to all the malt, it's bigger and more luscious than any 6.5% beer I've ever had (or that I can remember anyway). I guess the brewers didn't add enough yeast to devour all the sugar, effectively keeping the ABV down. The carbonation feels almost cask-like. This stuff is pure pleasure in the mouth.

Even though I've only had a handful of their offering so far, I've been impressed with Pelican. Doryman's Dark and Tsunami Stout are incredible. Bridal Ale 2005 isn't quite as good, largely because it lacks an identity. Forget biere de garde because it isn't one, no matter what the brewers intended. I'm just glad that it's much closer to The Princess Bride than The Bride of Frankenstein.

750 ml brown-glass Champagne-bottle corked and caged. The date (2005) and brewer's signature were done with a thin black Sharpie marker. No dating other than the year. "Packaging date OCT 05".

Pelican's 2005 Bridal Ale pours a lightly hazy amber-chestnut brown body beneath a finger-thick head of creamy, yellowed, off-white foam. Golden-orange highlights peek out at you from the base of the glass. The head retention is good, but the lacing is somewhat limited. The nose is rich, sweet, and inviting with notes of strawberries and cream (well, the cream is actually more of a soft, sweet malt note... but cream sounded better!). It's medium-full bodied, and creamy in the mouth with a very fine-bubbled, bottle-conditioned carbonation that just lightly bristles the tongue before warming to become more airy and cottony-full. Very nice! The flavor delivers more yeasty fruitiness including strawberries, cherries, soft raisin, and light plum. It's sweetish and malty - lightly caramelish, and slightly toasty - but not overdone. It's very rounded and supple! A firm bitterness anchors it; and it holds tight as if there were nowhere else to go. Yet it remains sweetish in the finish, as well as delicately fruity and floral.

Being from the east coast, I bought this through liquidsolutions.biz and had it shipped via UPS. It was expensive at around $27, but I feel it was worth it. My girlfriend absolutely loved the lightly sweet, fruity, and floral character it had; and I enjoyed it myself. A surprisingly unique beer!