Tannen Bomb - Golden Valley Brewery and Pub

canucklehead

British Columbia (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I had this down in the cellar for a year and it very much turned what was once a spicy winter warmer into a vinous barley wine. The nose turned slightly aged with some hops on the rise but the first taste is quite interesting. The balance and hops are apparent but a nice vinous backbone has arisen with a slightly sour edge. The edges are rounded off and the flavours are more delicate. This beer copuld not really benefit from any more aging but the one year experiment brings added interest to an already good beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2004 17:41:46 | More by canucklehead

marc77

California

4.3/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Deep carmine hue, with a stiff, khaki head that yields attractive lace. Pungent combination of spicy cinnamon notes and nectar like sweetness hits the nose upfront. Sandalwood and pine sap ensue in a softer fashion. Swirling release hints of sour plum, yeast must and butterscotch. Very inviting and soothing aromawise. Smells spiced, but I don't think it is. In flavor, all components are well balanced. This is an egalitarian brew. Malt components are of well buttered, lightly burnt toffee and toasted rye hints. Integrated esters of a red grape and dried date nature complement malt aptly. Hop bitterness is well calculated, and offsets residual sweetness to the point were dark caramel remains, and simpler, sugary notes are overshadowed. Hop flavor is mostly floral with a citrus zest twang. Moderate in body, with sufficient dextrins for a firm, but not overly hefty mouthfeel. Finishes with a surge of black currant sweetness that fades into a simple, agreeable, lingering dry biscuit presence. A complex, very tasty brew that deserves to be sipped, but begs to be consumed hastily. A fine combination of an English style old ale and American Barleywine. Superbly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2004 01:59:05 | More by marc77

jtfest

Oregon

4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Dark coppery/auburn, with a nice tan head that lasts not quite long enough, this is one of my favorite holiday offerings. A very hoppy flavor that isn't bitter at all, only the 8% alcohol reduces the drinkability score. Interestingly, it has a strong malty smell that seems to compliment the hoppy taste when you drink it. Love the name, too. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2004 03:21:06 | More by jtfest

beernut7

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a deep, dark amber with a thin lace on the glass. The aroma is strongly of sweet toffee and roasted malt. The predominant introductory flavor is of sweet, sweet candy on top of a heavy body with a building big hop presence. Both spice and bitterness present simultaneously and add to the complexity of the warming alcohol finish with a hint of sour tang.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2004 15:31:51 | More by beernut7

beerguy101

California

4.22/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reddish amber color. Small head. Aroma is spicy (cinnamon and clove) and fruity. A medium bodied “strong ale”. Malts are nutty and sweet. Hops are piney and grapefruity. Lots of winter spices in the beer, cinnamon, nutmeg and a touch of clove and ginger. Well balanced. Smooth taste. Nice winter warmer. Hides the 8% alcohol well. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and dry. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2004 04:25:38 | More by beerguy101

ADR

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Hazy clove brown with a nice 1/2 inch head of pale tan. Fat string laces. Nice aroma, a lot of cling peaches in syrup stuff goin' on. The fruit theme continues into the flavor, lots of orchard fresh peach and apricot, some apple cider and cherry. Hopping is good but not assertive, malt, slight yeast, and fruit are showcased in this medium carbonated beer. Mouthfeel is shy of what I was expecting, but there is a slight alcohol note. Bright and fresh for a Winter brew, different and a lot of fun.

Source: Liquid Solutions

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2003 19:41:09 | More by ADR

freed

Oregon

4.18/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Surprise lurking on the bottom shelf at the beer store; another new beer from Golden Valley, and its a winter ale! The label is another nice, subdued work, and is quite attractive.

When I poured it, I was surprised that no foam appeared. A slightly more vertical pour encouraged some, but its just a slight rim of golden bubbles. The beer itself is the first I've had that could be described as garnet colored since I'd seen the term first applied to a beer this summer. Turns out VENOM already used the term to describe the beer so I'll just describe it as a deep amber syrup with a somewhat dull appearance. Looks and smells like it ought to be a doppelboch, with a heavy malt nose and a somewhat suggestive alcohol aroma.

Taste is quite warm and pleasant. My Beer fridge was too cold, so it took some time to warm to a good serving temperature, but when it had, the flavor was greatly enhanced. It washed the the biscuit malt grain down nicely, and easily filled the sweet and bready void. The hops provide a slightly bitter finish, but it dries the palate nicely, complimenting the sip itself.

About halfway through the beer the high ABV becomes apparent. This is obviously brewed by someone who lives in the NW, and understands the intolerable grays and SAD blues. A pleasant addition to the winter ale collection.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2003 01:08:24 | More by freed

Gusler

Arizona

3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer pours a murky blood red color, the head is purposeful in size, creamy in consistency, and light tan in color as it dissipates it leaves behind a sticky and thick sheet of lace to conceal the glass. Ripe bananas, yeast, malt, cotton candy sweet all make up this quite sniffable beer. Ambrosial the start, tons of malt, the top middling in feel, the finish minimally acidic, the hops present, but not over powering and the 8.5 ABV hit in all the malt. Quite drinkable, and a beer worthy of a sample, I think a bit different from the run of the mill “Strong Ales”.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2003 14:16:34 | More by Gusler

sinistersteve

Oregon

4.3/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Nice deep dark amber color. Head started off thin, then exploded to about a finger think, then died down again, but a little sticks around to lace the glass. Strong malt aroma which forewarns you of the massive malt flavor. A decent holiday beer and worth a try, but I don't think it's one of the better ones out there.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2002 22:29:33 | More by sinistersteve

Jgcarrick

Oregon

3.9/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A
Thin head off tap yielded minimal, buy solid lacing. Caramel hazy orange in color.

S
Complex toasty malts and some fruity hop nose

T tastes like it smells sweet front end, toasty offer caramel and a bitter obviously chinook induced finish. I noted a alight
Astringent alcohol burn that I did not like.

M

Okay, a little thinner than it should be. Smooth and light on palate, bit letting it's "winter warmer" label influence my review. It's bit hefty in the mouth.

D
Meh. Decent beer, but overall small bang for the
Buck. Alcohol comes through in the taste
Solid beer I may try again but alcohol shines through and it's astringency turns me off.

Serving type: on-tap

02-17-2011 23:27:19 | More by Jgcarrick

msubulldog25

Oregon

3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Here we are, just a couple weeks into fall, and already I'm drawn to the Tannen Bomb Winter Warmer on-tap at Bailey's, downtown Portland. $4 for a 12 oz. snifter-fill. Possibly the earliest calendar date I've ever had this or any other of the style. Have had this several times, most recently was probably the Holiday Ale Festival last December.

A: Dark brown/mahogany pour with lighter glints of amber. Retains a fairly firm 1/2-finger cap of creamy, soapy ivory and falls gradually to a thinner scattering of sparkling film. Slow and steady carbonation crawls up the glass, concealed somewhat back in the murkier depths. Pretty lace, sticking in thin bands.

S: Light aroma that's got a pleasant malty sweetness tempered by some herbal and citrus hoppiness. Also holds a squeeze of honey, a dash of orange zest, faint tannic oak and traces of holiday spice. Not as bold as I'd have liked, but enough to evoke a cold winter day (and a warming ale to go with it).

T: Toasty malt and a sugary caramel go nicely with a more pronounced bittering (pithy orange rind and grapefruit). Balance seems fair - beginning malty with earthy hints of cocoa and peat, evolving to sharper citrus and tart fruit/hops, then rounding of with a more caramel finish.

M: Well carbonated, steady mouthfeel, leaning towards creaminess. Having read other reviews that cited a weakness in this category, I wonder if those suffered some from being kept in bottles; this kegged version was fresh, lively, medium/full-bodied and held up for several minutes with a gentle citrus-y/malty coating finish.

D: A tasty winter warmer with a concealed alcohol strength; 8% is virtually undetectable. Good flavor profile and nice balance. A beer that I'll certainly having again this fall/winter, especially when the draught version is available.

Serving type: on-tap

10-07-2007 00:36:18 | More by msubulldog25

Thrasher

Oregon

3.55/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Sampled at the 2003 Holiday Ale Festival, Portland OR. A robust English style winter ale with woody, buttery malts (a hint of varnish). Hops include Chinook, Liberty and Fuggles, creating a hop flavor that is sharp but doesn't overwhelm. Mouthfeel very smooth and pleasing, aroma equally good. The beer may be a bit in the raw, unrefined. It's certainly solid but maybe a little boring.

Serving type: on-tap

12-08-2003 04:22:43 | More by Thrasher