Full Sail Brewer's Share Extra Special Bitter

My buddy Matt brought over a bottle of Full Sail Brewer’s Share Extra Special Bitter to share with me. The beer pours an orange-tinted amber color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of caramel, toffee, pine, lemon, and grass-. The taste is dry and bitter with a good caramel backbone, but the focus is a lemon bitterness. Hints of toffee, grass, and pine peek through, but again, this beer comes back to the lemon flavor, even in the finish. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. For an ESB, it wasn’t quite as bitter as I had expected, but it did have a wonderful lemon focus to it.

Full Sail Black Gold Imperial Stout Bourbon Barrel Aged

I ordered a bottle of Full Sail Black Gold Imperial Stout Bourbon Barrel Aged from Northwest Liquid Gold. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head. The aroma has lots of sweet and dark chocolate, toasted malts, caramel, vanilla, and a great bourbon accent. The taste is smooth and chocolaty before a warming bourbon flavor comes out. It has a silky mouth feel with an alcohol tinge that pricks at the tongue. Vanilla and caramel sweeten on the finish, and the beer leaves a dry toasted malt after tastes. The alcohol content is 11.4% ABV. I thought the Black Gold was well blended with no low points in the drinking experience, all while maintaining an excellent bourbon accent.

Full Sail Bump in the Night

I picked up a bottle of Full Sail Bump in the Night, a Cascadian Dark Ale, from Discount Wine and Liquors in Boonton, NJ. The beer pours a cranberry-amber color with a frothy off-white color head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of pine, spruce, lemon, chocolate, and toasted malts. The taste is smooth with a roasty malt flavor at first with some burnt caramel before a very bitter pine, lemon, and spruce hop flavor kick in. Following that, a burnt toast flavors comes out of the beer on the finish. The after taste leaves some caramel and chocolate linger in the mouth. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was one of the most interesting and dynamic Cascadian Dark Ales/Black IPAs. The toast flavor took me by surprise, and it was not as bitter as I had expected.

Full Sail Session Black Lager

I received a bottle of Full Sail Session Black Lager with my beer of the month club subscription from Beer on the Wall. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy off-white head. The aroma consists of sweet toasted malts with a sour hop accent. The taste is smooth and slightly sour with malts and a roasted malt flavor. The alcohol content is 5.4% ABV. I really enjoyed the toasted malt flavor associated with this beer, making a wonderful and very drinkable lager.

Full Sail LTD 04

I received a bottle of Full Sail LTD 04 as part of my beer of the month club from Beer on the Wall. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of sweet malts with a light sour hop accent. The taste is smooth at first before a big malty bite jumps out of the beer. That taste then dries out a bit on the finish with sour hops. The after taste leaves a bit of buttered cookies lingering in the mouth. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This was, by far, one of the best lagers I have ever had. Never before has a lager popped with flavor in my mouth and left a wonderful after taste. This is a must try beer, especially for lager fans.

Full Sail IPA

As part of my beer of the month club, I got a bottle of Full Sail IPA. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head that has nice lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of sweet caramel malts with a fresh infusion of lemon and grass hops. The taste is dry and bitter on the front end with fresh pine and grass hops. The beer finishes with the sweeter taste of caramel and lemon. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This IPA was delicately balanced with a great citrus profile and wonderful caramel, all very fresh.