Saturday, July 28, 2007

Beer Tasting: East End Ugly American


The Beer: East End Ugly American
Style: A "corrupted Belgian Tripel" (hence the Ugly American!)
Reviews: Beer Advocate Rate Beer
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Packaging & Date Stamping: 1 liter swing-top brown bottle; no date stamping

From where & how stored: Purchased from the brewery by Adam, who made a personal visit in March '07; stored at 48F since then

Pricing: $x.xx

Availability: Late 2006, Early 2007, likely not again until 2009

ABV, IBU, and Other Available Stats: 7.8% ABV
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Bryan's Notes
The Look:
- Slight cloudy, golden color
- Very thick, tight shaving cream type head
- Drapes all over walls of glass long after the liquid is gone
- thick sludgy sediment on bottom of bottle

The Aroma:
- hops not so noticeable in the aroma
- sweet dubbel aroma; yeasty

The Taste:
- a bit slick like a triple IPA
- hop presence is subdued up front but catches you in the finish and lingers pleasantly
- pepper, clove, and orange citrus easy to detect
- drink on the cooler side, since the flavors and overall taste profile is cleaner and more enjoyable than at room temperature

The Verdict: Scott Smith would be disappointed if you tried to call this beer (or maybe any of his) by a particular style. He sticks by the credo with this brew which, to me, was flip-flopping back and forth between an American triple IPA and a Belgian dubbel (as opposed to the double IPA and tripel). Ah, those crazy Americans, always flip-flopping!
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Adam's Notes
The Look:
- straw color

The Aroma:
- sweet nose as it warms

The Taste:
- not severe but big
- not ugly
- round hops too
- bitter finish
- a little peppery alcohol
- slight grapefruit
- malt is there to support
- double er triple
- clean when cold

The Verdict: Ran out of beer to taste, note to self, don't share with Bryan next time ;-) I think this one deserves a second tasting. Lively and interesting, marketing makes you think it is a frankenstein of the the Belgian tripel and American Double IPA styles. It is truly something outside of those styles. This is what we need more of. You can tell Scott likes to experiment. I'm happy to taste the fruits of his labor.

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