Smuttynose S'muttonator Double Bock

From BEER_webalbum

From a leading New England craft brewer, this is the next (or just after the next) in the series after the "Wheat Wine Ale," which was mentioned earlier. I love the "brewer's notes" section on their website: http://www.smuttynose.com/pages/comments.html#anchor29373 It makes me want to go out and find the other Big Beers. This beer has a subtly spicy aroma on top of the malts, which are the major flavor here. BeerAdvocate members are not overjoyed, but they rated this beer pretty high, and I had to look at the reviews to come up with words to describe some of these flavors. The main thing, as with all of the Big Beer Series (why I love said series), is just strong, prominent flavor. I like the term "bready malts." The malts are sweet caramel, but not sugary at all. Hops offset the malts nicely, making the first sip huge and well balanced, bitter on the tip of the tongue. The flavor rounds out and leaves tasting straight like some kind of sweet dough. People have mentioned the alcohol flavor, but for 8.5% by vol, the alcohol is disguised. Alcohol notes are integral to the overall flavor. I love the aftertaste, which is the aforementioned doughy maltiness. Somehow, I think there is something missing here. Considering my adoration of Aventinus, I think I'm looking for some 'sharper' flavor and more aclohol, but I definitely will buy this again, and between this and the ridiculous Wheat Wine Ale, I will have to go out on a limb and try out some more beers from this series, even the ones that I'm hesitant about (Scotch Ale, Farmhouse Ale, Really Old Brown Dog Ale...) Anyway, this is a great cold-one, and it doesn't cost too much for a limited big-bottle craft brew.