Full Sail Wassail Ale

Full Sail Wassail Ale, Winter Ale, FS Pub Series. Alc 7.2% by Vol. Full Sail Brewing Company, Hood River, Oregon.

Appearance: dusky brown coloring, slim, cocoa/tan head.

Aroma: earthy, nutty , dark fruits. malty.

Taste: Little blast of hops up front, then it's the Malt Show, all day and night. Sweet and toffee-ish at first, tempered slightly by hop bitterness. Rich malt flavor. A little nutty, a lot sweet. Nice winter ale, but nothing special.

these are my notes on beer #6 of the 6-pack I bought because I knew it wasn't on the Bitter Nib yet, and it was only $8 a 6-pack. I wanted to take fresh notes, because I didn't feel like my old ones were good enough, but maybe they were? Here's what I wrote about this in January of 2003 (almost 12 years ago)"

Fine, sturdy, off-white head, dark brown color. Sweet aroma, but nothing too distinctive coming through. Faint hints of toffee, nuts, spices. Mild hoppiness, medium carbonation. Sweet maltiness. Very mild, very mellow, but to a fault. I like my winter ales with more of a kick, and this slides down too smooth for my tastes. Feels as if they were shooting for something like Anchor's Our Special Ale, but something held them back.  01/12/03.

Looking back, I think I said it well then.