1112. John Harvard's Twelfth Night Wassail
Published by Unknown on Monday, March 01, 2010 at 9:30 AM.
1112. John Harvard's Twelfth Night Wassail
A friend and I went to John Harvard's for a few beers on January 17th. We split a pitcher of their wassail.
On another note, this post auto-publishes on March 1st. If you're reading this it means I'm turning in my dissertation today.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: John Harvard's Brew House
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: Winter Warmer, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 3.0 | Drinkability: 3.0
Overall: 3.4
This winter warmer pours a cloudy, copper-amber color. It's topped by a thick, dense, off-white head that fades to a film. The aroma has two layers, the spices, and the underlying malts. The spices are strongest, with notes of cinnamon and clove, along with a bit of orange peel. The underlying malts are at the border of caramel and chocolate, all over a faint graininess that seems characteristic of the house Belgian yeast strain, which fails to give off a lot of fruit.
The spice bites upfront, a little bit of heat. It moves into a sweet maltiness: candies flavored with a bit of cinnamon. The underlying coarse graininess hinted at in the aroma comes out next, and remains constant with a moderate sweetness, and a building spice, both from the alcohol and spices. The beer ends sweet with a slight kick of bitterness that seems more spice derived than hop derived. Not overly spiced for the style, but it doesn't pop either. This beer starts off smooth and moderately thick, but ends disappointingly thin.
This is a spiced beer, so not surprisingly it's not one to drink a lot of. The spicing isn't overdone, but the backbone seems a bit thin. So overall it averages out.
A friend and I went to John Harvard's for a few beers on January 17th. We split a pitcher of their wassail.
On another note, this post auto-publishes on March 1st. If you're reading this it means I'm turning in my dissertation today.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: John Harvard's Brew House
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: Winter Warmer, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 3.0 | Drinkability: 3.0
Overall: 3.4
This winter warmer pours a cloudy, copper-amber color. It's topped by a thick, dense, off-white head that fades to a film. The aroma has two layers, the spices, and the underlying malts. The spices are strongest, with notes of cinnamon and clove, along with a bit of orange peel. The underlying malts are at the border of caramel and chocolate, all over a faint graininess that seems characteristic of the house Belgian yeast strain, which fails to give off a lot of fruit.
The spice bites upfront, a little bit of heat. It moves into a sweet maltiness: candies flavored with a bit of cinnamon. The underlying coarse graininess hinted at in the aroma comes out next, and remains constant with a moderate sweetness, and a building spice, both from the alcohol and spices. The beer ends sweet with a slight kick of bitterness that seems more spice derived than hop derived. Not overly spiced for the style, but it doesn't pop either. This beer starts off smooth and moderately thick, but ends disappointingly thin.
This is a spiced beer, so not surprisingly it's not one to drink a lot of. The spicing isn't overdone, but the backbone seems a bit thin. So overall it averages out.
Labels: Winter Warmer
