Aboriginale
Block 15 Restaurant & Brewery

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From:
Block 15 Restaurant & Brewery
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
Old Ale
ABV:
7.1%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.98 | pDev: 10.05%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
17
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Oct 12, 2015
Added:
Jun 11, 2008
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  0
"The first original big beer brewed at Block 15, Aboriginale has quickly become a house favorite. Brewed with an artistic blend of seven malts and three hops. Deep chestnut in color with an interesting complex malt body. A dry hop dose of Fuggles provides a fresh earthy nose. 50 IBU's, 7.1% alc/vol"
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by bros:

  None found.

Photo of TheWiltChamberlainofipas
Reviewed by TheWiltChamberlainofipas from Oregon

4.29/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
On draft and they call this an amber ale. Sweet malt upfront, dried cherries a little bit of toffee and a bunch of hops on the finish citrus fruits with clean bitterness.
Oct 12, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of Reidrover
Reviewed by Reidrover from Oregon

4/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pint glass poured from a growler from "B2 Taphouse" in Salem OR Pours a darker amber coloured body with a large creamy thick light tan head. Nice treacle toffee type malt aromas and a slight earthy hop. Nice. Smooth balanced taste..but far from boring..lots going on and it finished pleasantly bitter dark chocolate. LIke the mouth feel on this its thick yet rolls across the tongue with ease. Overall a nice Amber albeit on the strong side
Mar 17, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by atpca from California

Jul 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by SeatsTaken from Oregon

Nov 16, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by SeaAle from Oregon

Nov 14, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by xnicknj from Pennsylvania

May 02, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by ucreject from Oregon

Jun 17, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by bluckbeyes from Oregon

Mar 13, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by juliusseizure from New York

Jan 15, 2012
Photo of Rifugium
Reviewed by Rifugium from North Dakota

3.5/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
First had: on tap at their brewpub

Labelled as a "free-style ale," I wasn't sure what to make of this one at first, but I suppose "old ale" makes sense in retrospect. I wasn't too impressed, but I would like to be able to sample this one cask-conditioned. But oh well. Poured amber with a small white ringlet on top. Aroma is vegetal, woody, and full of well-balanced hops. Mild bready base in the taste, toasted grains, rye and pumpernickel spice, earthy and resinous hops. Not very stand-out-ish, but certainly too robust a brew to be considered bland. Medium body, chewy, light carb, and pretty drinkable overall.
Jan 05, 2012
 
Rated: 5 by Seantronz3030 from Washington

Nov 16, 2011
Photo of bbb099
Reviewed by bbb099 from California

4.05/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
A - Deep amber color with foamy egg-white head.

S - Toasted grains, maybe a little sesame in there as well.

T - Full flavor of caramel and nutty malts accompanied with small amount of grassy hop bitterness. The hops mix in quite well with the full-bodied malt.

M - Medium to full bodied, creamy. Average carbonation.

O - A good balance between malt and hops, drinkable and smooth. I haven't had that many old ales however and I'm not sure how this stacks up to the rest.
Oct 29, 2011
Photo of Kegatron
Reviewed by Kegatron from Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
On cask, via hand pump @ Block 15 Brewery & Restaurant (Corvallis, OR) on 8/29/11. Served in a pint glass.

Pours a clear copper, with a ½ finger of eggshell-white head. This retains with a rich creaminess, maintaining some robust edges, and leaving back a strong smattering of spotty lace down the sides of the glass. The aroma smells fresh, floral, and earthy in the nose, with rich notes of citrus, pine, and a sticky backing of caramel sweetness, roast, and spicy rye. Wow, this has a deep, ripe, tanginess to it.

The taste has a nice balance to it of bitter green fruit and pine, which is softened by more malty tones of doughy bread, toasted grains, caramel sweetness, and a hefty dose of rye. The finish is pithy with lingering spice, resins, and rye malt all hanging in there as well. The malts probably make the biggest impact on this but the hops hold their own here as well. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a soft and creamy chewiness that lays down a light prickle as well along the back of the tongue. There is just a touch of warmth here, as that cask conditioning really smoothes and softens this out to the point where all of those rich flavors and alcohol are really quite drinkable.

This was really unique and I can definitely see why it’s hard to nail down style-wise. It came off to me as more of an American Strong Ale or maybe an American take on an Old Ale. Or maybe even an American Black Ale with a lot of malt complexity. At any rate, I really liked the way all of those hops and malts balanced and complimented each other and the cask feel really just pulled it all together nicely. I’m glad I gave this one a shot.
Sep 14, 2011
Photo of dgilks
Reviewed by dgilks from Australia

3.85/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Cloudy golden colour with a creamy off-white head. Poor head retention. Good lacing.

Sweet toffee with a note of citrussy hops. Interesting.

Sort of like an American Old Ale. There are the requisite toffee malts and fruity yeasts but the hopping is distinctly American with big, beefy, piney hops and moderately-high bitterness. Interesting.

Medium-full body with moderate carbonation. Fine.

A good take on a beer using local ingredients. Full of flavour with a curious interplay of English style malt flavour and American hops.
Jul 13, 2011
Photo of quisatzhaderach
Reviewed by quisatzhaderach from Oregon

3.94/5  rDev -1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This beer is an interesting take on the Old Ale style heritage. It is very American, and very West Coast.

The beer is a partially cloudy rust color.

The aroma first demonstrates hop spice, followed by an ample grain character.

The flavor is an elegant and original combination of heavy grains and a well-muscled bitterness.

The subdued carbonation tips the scale toward the Old Ale style.

This beer is inspiringly original, and is an excellent example of the effective "Americanization" of a well-loved style.
Feb 23, 2011
Photo of GreenWBush
Reviewed by GreenWBush from Oregon

4.33/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Interesting how this beer has grown legs in just a few short months.

Praise-worthy lace atop a burning ruby beerbody.

Initially I would have agreed with BA's Old Ale designation of this beer, but no longer. Its an American IPA in the same way that Arrogant Bastard is. Close, but not BJCP-categorical. Or, its hoppy with dark(er) malts. But this one has a nice zesty crispness whereas AB has so much malt weight it seems barleywiney at times. Citrus, zippy, very drinkable.

Impressive enough on its own, I thought this beer shared a similarity with White Knuckle on the nose. Mmm. Great drinker.

My fave so far from B15, and hopefully they'll bottle it like I think they may.
Feb 24, 2009
Photo of RedDiamond
Reviewed by RedDiamond from Oregon

4/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Block 15 refuses to assign a definitive style to this beer, insisting only that this combination of 7 malts and 3 hops defies classification. The old ale category is nicely open ended for housing beers of this sort, but it also has the spice of a winter warmer and isn't too far removed from a ruddy-brown IPA.

It's a good drinker by any standard. Notes of nutmeg, cinnamon and peppercorn emerge from the nose and the hop varieties contribute spice through the flavor and bittering ranges. It's a charismatic ale to be certain. My dad called it "solid", I called it "hearty", and the waitress said, "It's sort of a free-style ale. This is what we're all about." I might call this a distant cousin of New Old Lompoc's legendary C-Son's Greetings. Though Aboriginale lags behind that classic, the comparison alone is a strong endorsement.
Jun 11, 2008
Aboriginale from Block 15 Restaurant & Brewery
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 17 ratings