Dunder & Blixem Strong Ale
Brown's Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

Poured on nitro-tap in the brewery and served in a tulip, the beer is a dark, hazy, brown coloring with a thick, creamy, foamy, light tan head that is a solid inch and a half that slowly recedes to a filmy, clingy coating. Aromas of rich, biscuity malt, highlighted by tart cherries and dark, old world fruit like dates and fig. Honey and booze highlight the nose, also. Flavors are rich and bold, with a blending of sweet, dark fruit and earthy, oaky tones. Slight bitterness keeps things in check, with a boozy kick at the end. Some mild pepper and all spice highlights, also. Bold and big on the palate, the body is extremely smooth and surprisingly light to keep the beer palatable and refrain from overpowering. Great cling left along the glass as you go, and the beer has a rich and bitter dynamic finish. Decent linger of sweet and rich brings you back for more. Tasty brew.

 

Drank at the browns taproom

A: pours a medium amber that is quite transparent, pours with no head and leaves no lacing

S: intense holiday spice reminders, cinnamon, nutmeg, and something else I can't quite place, overall unique and nice

T: unique taste, similar to the smell, very nice

D/M: smooth on the pallet, spiciness warms the pallet, drinks deep but solid, overall I loved its uniquenss

Served in a pint glass. There's wan't much of a head, but i might blame that on a slow pour out of a full growler. The beer is hazy reddish orange.

The aroma is sweet and thick like candy and strongly of cloves. Flavor continues the nose well and additional holiday type spices come through, perhaps cinnamon and nutmeg. The middle is malty and smooth and a little bit of roast malt bitterness shows up in the finish.

The mouthfeel is pretty thick and carbonation is low, though it seems to fit. Overall it's a little too thick and sweet to drink a lot of, but it's a nice holiday beer to have a glass of.

pint from Brown's on 12/18/2010, 2 days after this beer's formal release at the brewpub.

A - dark brown. some head and lacing, looks very syrupy.

S - pretty spicy. not sure i have had anything like this before. has a malt richness to it. i have heartburn already.

T - wow. definitely christmasy spicy. never had anything with a ridiculous spice load as this. whether it was intentional or not, it's a unique beer. good malt backbone but as others have indicated, the spices can dominate. low hop presence, or else it's also obscured by the spices. i love spices; i like this.

M -a bit syrupy beyond what would be best. good amt of carb.

D - probably not very drinkable for most people. a lot going on here. but i later finished a growler in an hour or so. it is unique and captivating, which can keep it interesting enough to finish the pint, at least. Brown's has many "normal" styles, so I was happy to try this venture. Go Peter!

A: Deep red color with a decent but fairly short lasting off-white head. Great clarity.

S: Bold aroma. Very spicy. A bunch of clove and nutmeg pour over the lip of the glass.

T: Wow. I've never had clove beer before. Its interesting how much malt they managed too shove into this liquid clove.

M: Not the body a strong ale should have. Its pretty light for a strong. They definitely missed style big time on this beer.

D: Color me not impressed. This is the worst Brown's beer I've had. I only drank half the pint and left the rest.

A - Pours a really nice clear amber brownish-red cloudy with a finger of thick off-white head. The head fades fairly quickly and leaves behind very little lacing.

S - The spices, especially cloves dominate the aroma. Most of the smell is mulling spices with a touch of honey and a little dark fruit smell.

T - Starts with a building spicy flavor, once again cloves dominate. Eventually the spices really explode and have a bit of sweet honey and a touch of malt flavor to smooth a bit. The aftertaste is a mix of a touch of alcohol taste, a touch of hop bitterness, a bit of dark fruit, and the spices. Overall, the clove taste dominates a bit too much and is a bit overpowering.

M - Medium-light bodied with moderate but assertive carbonation. Overall, very smooth with just a hint of creaminess. Very pungent finish.

D - Fairly drinkable. The alcohol taste in the finish really blends well with the other flavors. However, the flavor is a bit unbalanced and it could use a bit more body. It is still an interesting beer, and defiantly worth trying.