Absinthe
The Vermont Pub & Brewery

 

Pours a nice golden color with a one-finger head into a snifter.

Aroma is flowery and has apple and citrus in the nose. Interesting.

Taste is bitter and herbal with an earthy flavor that dominates the overal flavor.

Mouthfeel has a bit of peppermint/wintergreen feel to it with flowery essence lingering.

A very complex ale here. Strong and unlike anything I've ever had. Very nice. I'm almost unsure of how to rate this.

Has peppermint, chamomile, coriander, licorice, ginger, and lemon balm. The appearance is unusually clear with a golden colour. The smell is of chamomile and alcohol. The aftertaste is of mint which is just perfect. The artemisium gives it an astringent taste. The bartender had me taste it first because he said only about one in fifty people like it. I was one in fifty, which I told him when I was leaving. He told me to come back and drink the rest of it. If I lived nearby I just might work on that. It really is unusual and I liked it. That may not be the classic, winning combination of "complexity and drinkability," but it's still a winner to me. If you're in the area I think the brewery is definitely worth a stop and this worth a try.

Ok katz & kittenz, here's a weird one for you. This beer was brewed with "Artemesia Absinthium, lemon balm, chamomile flowers, coriander, peppermint, licorice and ginger." But did it taste good was of course the question! Well... off the tap the brew was a true gold color with a thin white head. Nice clarity and decent retention but minimal lacing. The aroma was big and very enjoyable, peppermint and ginger zest first came forward followed by the floral lemon balm and chamomile. The flavors, however, were muddled. First to hit my palate was the semi-sweet chamomile and coriander but this was then muted by the root/stem-like flavor of the absinthe. In the middle the lemon balm tried to come through but the mixture was just too busy for anything to shine properly and it was almost as if they were neutralizing each other. The finish was very bitter and not in a pleasant, E.S.B. kind of way. Think 'astringent tea.' The body was medium and the mouthfeel good with average carbonation for an herbed style. I love this brewery but in the end I just felt like the flavors were a car wreck in a busy intersection.