Autumn Ale

This beer pours a brown, Coca-Cola like color with good clarity and light ruby highlights when held up to the light.  A creamy tan head quickly fades but leaves a ring around the glass.  The intensity of the malt aroma is moderate; however, it is very forward on the nose and rich and consists of nutty and toasty qualities.  There is a low spicy hop character, which intertwines with the spice of low ethyl alcohol wisps in the nose.  This beer is lager like with no noticeable fermentation character and is very clean for being an ale.  In the flavor, the malt sweetness is moderate and consists primarily of Continental type malts with a very nice toasty and nutty note mentioned in the aroma; however, a lovely plum and slight chocolate notes are present in the flavor that was not detectable in the aroma.  Hop bitterness is low and hop flavor is moderate-low consisting of spicy noble hops.  The fermentation character is clean with no discernible yeast profile.  Similar to the aroma, the touch of low alcohol character blends well with the hop profile.  Balance is towards the malt and lingers several seconds after the swallow, however the finish is relatively dry.  This beer has a medium-thin body with moderate carbonation.  There is a very slight detectable alcohol warmth in this beer which suggests approximately 6.0% ABV (which is my personal threshold of detection).  Overall, this is a very interesting and drinkable beer.  The overall malt and hop profile remind me of a lighter German bock minus the melanoidin character and a little more noble type hop presence.  This is an interesting interpretation of a transition beer from the traditional “lighter beers of summer” to the “darker beers of winter.  I found this to be well thought out and tasty and an enjoyable drink.  This beer would pair well with cochon de lait style roast pork where the char and sweetness of the meat would mirror the beer itself.