Ok so story begins with this brew when I'm up in Maine for labor day weekend. I forget to get some Spaten Optimator before driving up from CT. When we get there we expect Hannaford's to have some in their walkin but no go. I make my family and I drive 4 miles down t
he road outside Portland to get me my favorite stuff and what do you know, the place has 200-300 special crafts. I was overwhelmed and by the time I left I had 3 single 750ml bottles in a brown bag and almost forgot the Optimator again, the package on this one alone had me sold.
Appearance: Great looking detail of a friar on the front mixing a batch of kickass in a huge cauldron. He's got his wheat and barrels behind him and that's all she wrote on the design here. A couple company celtic(sorry if I'm mistaken) symbols floating around and a little bit of text. Now began the even better part, poured this into the pils glass and the golden red orange amber body filled the glass. It came off with a partly misty body with average perspiration throughout the drinking. The one finger head of a desaturated golden head held some of the finest lacing I've encountered yet and when the glass was empty looked like spider webs before it was washed.
Smell: A barrel of malts for sure, a bit reserved but nothing more than that, a little bit of chocolate was thr
own into the mix as well but could easily be mistaken for the roasted bit as well. A complex smell to say the least but that's the only slight downfall I had for this brew, after all it's for drinking right?
Taste:
-Hoppiness: Bitter chocolate notes is the place taker of real bitter hops here without a straight punch to the taste buds. This bitterness will come in mainly during mid sip and last in the after taste for a quick bit before leaving you.
-Flavors: My favorite aspect of the brew to say the least. Roasted chocolate in the forefront, pure roasted steely and stalwart malt in the mid ground and then a settling malt mixed with some sweetness of caramel hitting the end note in a gulp. It was really a delight with the heavy flavors on this one especially the cool feeling it gave throughout the drink with some wheat/grain notes hidden in the pot too.
-Balance: Pure flavor here folks with some bitter aspects coming from em. Won't be reminded of the hops of mid-dark brews here. Some nice complexity that isn't tough enough for just a casual drinking and the roasted notes really make it a lively tasting.
Gardner Factor: Not too much to say here as you can obviously tell from my more than enthusiastic notes on the beer in the review thus far. It's about 3/4ths of a meal in a bottle here as far as I can tell. I'd maybe have some small snacks or appetizers with this guy but even so it's too much fun by itself, you may ruin it doing that. The balance overall is perfect considering its relatively low price point of $5.50 at RSVP package store. I'd definitely pick one up again given the choice/chance. I'd rank this as my 3rd favorite brew thus far trailing behind my 2nd Ommegang Abbey Ale and then the best bang for buck Spaten Optimator. There's just so much to taste in this one bottle it's really a treat should you pick one up. A pilsner glass or even just a mug is what I'd take with this guy.
-Overall: Currently my best recommend for bang for buck 750ml brew there is. Great heavy roast and malty notes for a good filling beverage. Light beer drinkers beware it's heavier than the color shows. All in all a lively drink
-Rating: 9.6/10.0
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