22 Anniversary Ale
Heavy Seas Beer

 

22 oz brown bottle - coded 17229 [August 17, 2017]

Upon removing the cap on Heavy Seas 22 Anniversary Ale the Ale started gushing off-white foam out of the bottle. The foaming lasted a few minutes. I handled and stored the bottle as I do all of my beer. A week later I opened a second bottle which yielded the same results. So, there must have been issues in the bottling.

After the Ale stopped foaming it poured out a hazy red gold color. No head was produced as all the foam had been used up during its gushing. Aromas of light fruit; pears, peach, apple and a sugar sweetness was detected by the nose. The taste was very similar to the nose with a little peppery spice and yeast also noted. The mouth feel was medium bodied and a little dry spicy finish.

I was disappointed due to the above mentioned bottling issues - otherwise I would have enjoyed this ale more.

From the truly ancient bottle, it pours a hazy amber with a modest, soon diminishing to a ring, head. In the nose, it is alcohol and malt after all this time. In the mouth, it is alcohol forward, but still decent.

 

 

Draught 8oz snifter at the Brass Tap here in Baltimore. Want some hops with your Belgian? This is the ale for you.

 

L: Poured from a bottle to a goblet. Had a light amber color and a hazy consistency. There was a quarter inch of foamy head that lasted an average amount of time. Below average lacing.

S: A good aroma of Belgian yeast, lots of spices, apples, and some other fruit.

T: Tasted of a moderate amount of Belgian-style yeast (the peppery kind), some apples, a hint of pears, a few spices (coriander, cloves, in particular), a bit of whiskey, rye, vanilla, and caramel. A bracing flavor that gets better as it goes along. It has a spicy / strong character that's warm, inviting, and interesting.

F: A solid amount of carbonation with a slightly slick finish. Medium-bodied.

O: This is an interesting American version of a tripel. Well worth a look.

From the 22 oz bottle in a snifter. This very nice hybrid pours a lightly hazed
amber color with a nice thick head of white foam that subsides to a thick ring,
thin layer, and shows some nice sudsy lacing. Nose of subtle spices and candy malts
with a hint of citrus and stone fruits. Flavors show that it definitely ain't the nose that
is the important thing. Peaches and orange zest lay atop a spicy rye note that gives herbal
and spicy elements to an already great style of ale. Rye whiskey presents nice mellow notes
with some warmth giving way to toasted coconut and vanilla with a touch of barrel as well
as a hint of Belgian spices of coriander and fresh bread. Nice mouth feel; medium light body,
medium light carbonation, and a sweet and lightly warming spiced finish.

Another solid brew from a solid brewery. Unique and different. Think some rest
in the Doomsday beer closet would make this one shine in a year or so.

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

A-A very nice hazy amber color with head and lacing.
A-Aroma has spicy and malty hints.
T-The taste follows the nose with spicy and malty flavors.
M-A robust medium bodied beer with a decent amount of carbonation.
O-A well balanced well made beer.

 

22 ounce bottle into chalice, bottled on 8/17/2017. Pours slightly hazy golden amber/light orange color with a 1 finger dense and fluffy off white head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lemon, orange, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, melon, peppercorn, coriander, clove, light banana, vanilla, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, honey, candi sugar, rye bread dough, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, rye whiskey barrels, pale/rye malt, and moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big lemon, orange, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, melon, peppercorn, coriander, clove, light banana, vanilla, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, honey, candi sugar, rye bread dough, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. Moderate peppery yeast/rye/whiskey/oak spiciness and some herbal/grassy hop bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of lemon, orange, peach, pear, apricot, red apple, melon, peppercorn, coriander, clove, light banana, vanilla, spicy rye whiskey, toasted oak, honey, candi sugar, rye bread dough, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, rye whiskey barrels, pale/rye malt, and moderate earthy hop flavors; with an awesome malt/spiciness balance; and zero cloying/astringent flavors after finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from bitterness and yeast/rye/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy/silky/sticky, and fairly tannic balanced mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mildly increasing warmth of 10.5%, with zero barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an outstanding Tripel! All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, rye whiskey barrels, pale/rye malt, and moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV. Great well rounded yeast complexity, balanced rye/pale malts and earthy hops; outstanding barrel presence/integration with no booze. The silky barrel smoothness was a highlight. Well attenuated and not sweet/heavy for the ABV, with nice dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.