Old Potentate - Southern Star Brewing Company

avalon07

South Carolina

3.66/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a mahogany brown color and a thick, murky texture. There was a small amount of foamy head that quickly dissipated. Not much lacing.

S: A nice, enticing aroma of hops, caramel, and some malt.

T: Tasted of malt, dark chocolate, a good shot of hops, and a bit of caramel. This beer has an unbalanced flavor. The caramel, which was so present in the aroma isn't particularly noticeable in the taste. Not a bad flavor, but a bit out of whack.

M: A well-carbonated beer with a dry, prickly finish. Medium-bodied.

O: An uneven beer to be sure. Not undrinkable, but not exceptional either.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2013 21:02:25 | More by avalon07

JMad

Texas

3.49/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a murky dark brown with a thick head that had small bubbles. Smells of roasted malt with milk chocolate and some earthy tones. The beer is sweet with mocha flavor and a slight hint of roasted malt, there is a bit of a metallic aftertaste. It is surprisingly light and a little over carbonated with a slightly dry finish. Honestly I thought this beer would be better but it's definitely not 'bad'.

Serving type: can

03-09-2013 05:56:23 | More by JMad

Premo88

Texas

2.73/5  rDev -26%
look: 1.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

12 oz. can poured into stout glass

L: darkish brown with hint of amber; super thick 1/2-inch head that's beautiful light tan that doesn't settle but stays suspended on top of the murk below. unfortunately, I see sediment all throughout the beer ... tan flakes of something that don't settle but stay suspended in the beer, making the whole thing look like brown jello.

S: wine. you can smell the alcohol. and some chocolate.

T: first sip is grand, then it fades into a raisiny caramel. very little hop bite.

F: decent carbonation; either silky or watery.

O: i'm not a fan. the sediment is jarring, and I've not been able to learn that it should be there in an "old ale". i would also add the only other "old ale" I've had was 15 years ago ... Old Peculier, and I liked it quite a bit more than this.

I hate not scoring it higher because I'd like this Conroe brewery to succeed. I'll try some of their other brews (and try to learn more about old ales, so I know what the hell I'm doing with this thing).

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2013 12:07:47 | More by Premo88

afluentturtle

Texas

4/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a can into a pint glass.

Apperence: Poured a earthly/dirt brown with a ton of dark amber head. The head was nice, fluffy and acctractive, but once it receded the brown/mud colour of the beer was a little off putting. Only slight lacing.

Smell: Malts and dark chocolate, some hops, maybe honey and flowers.

Taste: Bitter hops up front, then chocolate and malts, lingering sweetness through out. Weird combination but it seems to work out reasonably well.

Mouthfeel: Very nice, good carbonation, a little dryness, goes down very smooth. I could easily drink the entire four pack.

Overall: Not sure if this brew fits in the old ale category. Very drinkable pretty tasty, I could see my self buying another four pack. Not earth shattering but well worth the money.

Serving type: can

01-15-2013 00:45:50 | More by afluentturtle

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.55/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

12 oz can pours a fairly hazed brown color with a thick froth of tan head. Nice retention and lacing...pretty good looking beer.

Nose is earthy caramel, roasted nuts and maybe some mild bakers chocolate. The maris otter and special B are particularly prevalent. Hops are light and leafy...certainly old world noble varietals.

Taste is pretty 'clean' for an Old Ale, with dark caramel and chocolate leading the way. Particularly lacking is the typical fruitiness imparted from the yeast. Not overly sweet, but enough to provide balance for the toasty malt and light hops. Overall the beer is a bit light; especially when thinking of an Old Ale, but it is a pretty tasty beer. I would think of this as more of a revved up brown ale, it just doesn’t have the body and malt presence of a traditional Old Ale. While it may not be a stylistic goliath, it is a tasty enough brew for me to purchase another 4-pack or so, so take that for what it is worth.

Serving type: can

01-14-2013 00:52:07 | More by twiggamortis420