“The appearance of this toffee-like brew invites a highly sessionable amber. With a medium malt body, kettle hopping with American hops provides both pleasant spiced and pine-filled flavours, while dry hopping creates slight citrus notes. Pair with a rich, fresh beef ragu and lifelong friends around the fire.”

Glassware: American pint.

Appearance: Pours a bold amber hue with a billowing four finger head. Seems far too fizzy for an amber ale. Excellent lace work on the glass though.

Aroma: Smells tired. A quick check of the BBD and yep, she’s a bit long in the tooth (brewed 12/8/24). For a traditional amber ale, 8 months wouldn’t change a whole lot but considering this is an American amber ale, it does. The hops have all but died off and we’re left with the malts only. Fortunately it’s still providing some toffee and caramel sweetness, honeysuckle, over-ripened mango, apricot and tangerine.

Flavour: This is where the age has really affected it. There’s a short surge of carbonation on entry which is followed by very tired notes of pine, citrus and tropical fruit. They’re lucky (in this case) as amber ales are still somewhat malty so the toffee, caramels, honeysuckle and delicate toasty notes are saving it from being a disaster.

Mouthfeel: Frothy and over carbonated. Obviously due to its age. Seems to be medium bodied with what would likely be a smooth and gelatinous texture.

Overall: The pitfalls of buying beer online we guess. This review is not a true reflection of the beer so we’ll more than likely re-review a fresh can sometime in the near future.