Sun Jun 26, 2005 2:11 pm
Experimental beer from Old Dominion. Served on tap at the Old Dominion 7th Annual Beer Festival, June 28, 2003. The line for this beer was unbelieveable. At least 60 people standing in line for a taste of this rare nectar. Poured out jet black, not a spot of brown to be had. No head at all, because this was a cask conditioned beer. Aromas mostly of vanilla, vanilla, and more vanilla. Oh yeah, did I mention it smelled like vanilla? Not much in the way of malt aromas here, but plenty of alcohol. In fact, all I could really smell was vanilla & alcohol. It basically smelled like vanilla extract. I asked the server if they used extract in it, and he had to call the brewer over. He told me they use a lot of vanilla beans in each batch. No extract. Some woody - oaky notes in the middle, followed by a strong alcoholic finish. Not much in the way of hops here. Not such a bad beer, but extremely unbalanced IMHO. Very sweet, cloying even. Coated the tongue with a syrup consistency. Long standing aftertaste of vanilla. Good thing I only had one of these.
