Theakston Old Peculier
By Dad on July 19, 2007 @ 5 PM (3 Comments)
I’m pretty sure I’ve had this one before but I have misplaced my first hundred reviews so I tried it again. Beer temp. 49.8 F – 10.1 C. Pours dark amber brown with med. tan head that faded quickly. Molasses aroma with coffee undertones. First taste has pleasant malts and very light hops. Malts have very light caramel taste with molasses. I would classify this as a dark brown ale which I sometimes call “stout light,” but this is even quite good to my taste. There is a slight sweetness to it and the taste doesn’t linger overly long. The taste works the back of the tongue and the carbonation faded quickly. John has said that the true test of a beer is the second one and this may prove him right. Not quite as strong or complex as Turbodog but it’s quite enjoyable. The mildness is surprising as the color is so deep.
At $1.99 each it is good for the rotation when you want something with depth of malts but not as deep as a stout. I give it a good solid 6. Repeatability, wish I had some more now.
Addendum:
After the comments on the site I picked up another and tried it at 66F, Wow were my eyes opened. I picked up 8 aromas cereal, coffee, nutty, roasted, toffee, mold, alcohol and plum. Taste were 8, coffee, roasted, toffee, black licorice, brown sugar, plum and raisin. At 66F the flavors really pop, first the dark fruits and then the light licorice and coffee. The taste were complex but danced lightly on the tongue. It seems like the aging brings out the dark fruits of a Belgian Ale and the dark malts give it a nice light porter quality , almost like 2 beers in one. I must admit that at the higher temperature the 5.7 ABV hit harder than I expected. I have also awarded this the The BeerFathers “Best Buy Award” for quality and price. Thanks to those of you who commented I have adjusted the rating to an 8. I also after some trying managed to score the last single and the last 6 pack in the area. Some troll at Heineken has “De-Listed” this so it is not available in the USA anymore. Pox upon them.
Shove your shitty 6 rating up your ass. Try drinking this fine English bevie at the appropriate temp, 68f.
My great-something-or-others came over on the Mayflower, so I’m as American as they come – and I think this is the best beer there is. Dad, why the (*&# are you drinking it at 50 degrees?
I can tell you why Dad tried it at the temperature he did – we double checked Beer Advocate and they said serve at 50-55 F:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/359/926
That said, I can tell you that based on the strength of the comments that Dad has now tried this again at the appropriate high 60’s temperature and that son of a bitch Jim Little is right – it sang. Dad will soon be posting about his new experience here as an addendum. Thanks Beer Love community for setting us straight when we need it!