Ø For Awesome - 8 Wired Brewing Co.

beerdrifter

Germany

4.4/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Picked this up at my favorite beer store in Belgium, Dranken Geers. Beautiful clear mahogany pour with a ruby tinge when held to the light. Two finger beige head with great retention and lacing. Very bold, complex, malty nose with hints of brown sugar, molasses, toffee, tobacco, pine, caramel, citrus, and just a touch of dark fruit. The taste is just as bold and complex. Earthy and nutty with incredible balance. Starts off almost like a Barley Wine with citrusy hops, pine resin, molasses, caramel, and toffee. Mid way it opens up with lots of oak, port wine, a touch of vanilla, and an awesome vinous character. Can definitely see the Nogne Ø 100 influence here. The mouthfeel is slightly syrupy but really smooth with a really nice bittersweet finish. Hugely drinkable for such a big beer. It really defies categorization. It has the best of several styles. A truly surprising and remarkable beer! Very close to giving it a 5.0 in taste...

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2012 15:38:41 | More by beerdrifter

crnipeter

Slovenia

3.6/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours deep coppery-brown with a finger thick beige head with good retention.

Nose is heavy on caramel, toffee, orange-oil and biscuit-like malt aroma that exhibits hints of chocolate and smothers the hops underneath. Various-hop aroma overlaid by massive malt-profile seems to comprise at least earthy, spicy and citrusy qualities. The reach overall fruitiness seems to be due to specialty malts rather than hops used or esters.

The unfermentable sugars of strong caramel malt impart prominent sweetness balanced by copious amount of resinous hop-bitterness lending astringent finish with woodsy aftertaste. The astringency is inappropriate but not surprising considering the huge amount of hops needed to balance such a malt bomb. Body is viscous, supported by moderate carbonation.

For Awesome is essentially a three-beer mixture (scotch ale, barley wine and DIPA) reflecting the qualities of each. Albeit labeled "Imperial" it's overdone in a sense that creates a jumble of aromas & flavors. Still, balanced for what it is which is the key to a good Amber, thought (500 ml, BB end of March 2014, into tulip).

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2012 11:37:33 | More by crnipeter

avalon07

South Carolina

4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had an amber color and a somewhat cloudy consistency. There was an inch of creamy, off white, fairly long-lasting head. Very good lacing.

S: An extremely hoppy aroma, with some fruit elements present also.

T: Tasted of hops - a lot of hops - along with some citrus (orange?), a little bit of caramel, and malt in the finish. A very solid flavor, with a great deal of hops, even for an imperial red ale.

M: A good amount of carbonation with a super dry finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A well made, bold, complex beer. Very much drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2012 12:17:28 | More by avalon07

ngeunit1

California

4.1/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours a fairly dark brown with some amber and ruby around the edges and a finger of frothy off-white head. The head fades down at a normal pace leaving behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix of sweet caramel and toffee malts with some tropical fruit and floral hops and a bit of booze.

T - Starts off with a mix of sweet caramel and toffee malts with some grapefruit and citrus hops with a bit of bitterness. Through the middle, some floral and pine hops come through with a bit more bitterness and some more caramelized malt. The finish is a mix of sweet caramel and lightly bready malts, grapefruit and pine hops, bitterness, and a touch of booze.

M - Medium-plus bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a sweet and bitter finish.

D - Very drinkable. Nice imperial red ale with a good malty profile and a good amount of hop flavor and bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 00:45:21 | More by ngeunit1

oberon

North Carolina

4.45/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into an impy nonic a deep deep dark amber with pillow-like one and a half finger light tan colored head atop,great retention thru the duration of drinking it.A big dose of piney hops and nutty malt,just a great mix of the two together,can't beat a well made hopped up amber in my opinion.Roasty malts with deep brown sugar notes that meld into lightly roasted nuts and piney,earthy hops in the finish.The alcohol is kept in check well making this a danger for me because I have another in the fridge and Iam supposed to go out tonight!Anyways a great frickin beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2012 20:40:09 | More by oberon

jjveverka

South Carolina

3.73/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Got this beer the day it hit the store. The appearance is a a very dark red-brown with great lacing. The smell is a bit of toffee and caramel with a hint of alcohol at the end. Taste has a strong maltly flavor with caramel, there is also quite a bit of alcohol taste for having only 9% ABV.The hoppyness really does not show up until the after taste. It's mouthfeel is medium to heavy, and the aftertaste lingers on your palate for some time. Overall a good beer. Glad I got a chance to try it.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2012 02:28:22 | More by jjveverka

GONZALOYANNA

Spain

4.63/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

500ml bottle. ½ pt Shaker glass. Enjoyed on agt´12. Pours dark amber in color, golden reddish brown to the light. Beige, medium sized bubbled, froth creates creamy crown. Fairly good retention leaves lacing rings on sides & thin lasting layer on top. Nice aromas of Caramel & Chocolate malts, ripe cherries, figs & dates, with subtle herbal notes. Flavor profile shows sweet toasted malts, toffee, ripe & dried fruits followed by sharp bitterness. Full body. Soft carbonation. Oily texture. Hints of licorice in the middle lingers with underlying bitter cocoa into a long sweet malty finish. Coffee hues & resins on the aftertaste. ABV well hidden allows an easy & refreshing drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 18:49:01 | More by GONZALOYANNA

AgentMunky

Alabama

3.8/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a half-litre bottle into a Koningshoeven chalice.

A: Translucent, ruddy-pretty amber. Great lacing, light head.

S: Malty and robust, with a touch of citrusy hops...smells sort of like a 90 Minute. Nice. Touch of metal.

T: Interesting...sort of dry and grassy, with a strong-spicy hop presence. The malt base is sort of boring. Caramel sweet, but only just, with a pleasant acidic tartness.

M: Competent.

O: I quite like imperial reds and I quite like this beer. Recommended. Strong nose, good body, tasty taste.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2012 07:45:41 | More by AgentMunky

gford217

Georgia

3.9/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle capped with a Renaissance bottle cap.

Pours dark mahogany brown with very little light passing though unless held up to light, where the edges show a deep amber.

Aroma is sweet and malty with lots of treacle and toffee. Some juicy tropical fruits, almost like mangos and passionfruit, not the lighter stuff.

Taste has an initial citrus kick, this time it's a little more of the traditional oranges and pine resin. The backbone is heavy on the caramel malts, lightly toasted with some molasses and a lightly bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is slick and on the heavier side of a traditional amber (which I know this one is not).

Really good blend. Sure, it's not a FW blend, but good for what it is.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2012 03:13:50 | More by gford217

brystmar

New York

3.63/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks Denise!

Dark brown body, white head, sticky lace. Hoppy, orange-y, scotch-y aroma. DIPA-esque. Taste flows pretty well for a blend: aggressive hops meet the scratchy scotch base, supported by plenty of malt. Booze warms my throat at the end but doesn't stand out.

A decent blend, though not something I'd seek out myself. Glad I tried it though.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2012 00:43:59 | More by brystmar

danieelol

Australia

4.48/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

With thanks to IBS

Pours a very, very dark amber, almost copper/brown. Fantastic head and lacing.

Smell is DIPA at first, then you get the other elements. Hops show mango and kiwi fruit. Get the maltiness and roast, probably from #100 (though at times this beer is more reminiscent of #500). Get honeycomb and burnt malt too (the latter presumably from Stonecutter). Bit of a fruity funkiness. Definitely get the Hopwired and really all three elements of the beer. Ends up with a lot of Barleywine qualities.

Taste is sweet and fruity candy-like with an almost equal hop bitterness. Drying finish.

Mouthfeel has sweetness, resin and drying alcohol.

Well done for constructing such a complex and mutable beer. Everything comes through.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2012 16:40:50 | More by danieelol

tbeckett

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle from Slow Beer. From notes.

A - Poured eep red with a three finger fluffy light brown head. Bright. Decent carbonation, good rings of lace and a half finger of retention.

S - Citrussy, tropical fruit, hop, some caramel maltiness, dark fruit and bread.

T - Some smoke, mild tropical fruit, more caramel. Tropical fruit and caramel blend came off as smokiness at first but it came through nicer later as the smokey element seemed to pull away. Dark fruit and generous hops were there as a nice combo

M - Gentle carbonation, full body, and a carmelly bitterness in the finish.

O/D - Nice, hoppy and balanced. Easy drinking and full of great flavours while being complex and hiding alcohol well. Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2012 06:38:10 | More by tbeckett

BradAndAdele

3.83/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

It's not a very red colour. More a dark, syrupy brown. Not a bad thing at all. The head is reasonable -- creamy and temporal -- and the taste is very smooth. I smell a fair bit of yeast, but it's not overpowering. Sultanas, honey, maybe a little tropical fruit in the smell. It's a sweety!

The taste has enough bitterness to bring me back to reality. It's not super hoppy or bitter like some imperial red ales, and I think it has the balance nearly right. Being an imperial (dry hops, hops and more hops) it's a little strong given the look and smell, and would probably have worked better as a plain red ale.

But at 9% abv it won't be long before I am having the time of my life. So excuse me while I polish off the rest of this bottle ...

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2012 11:11:36 | More by BradAndAdele

dgilks

Australia

4.4/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Dark, dark brown with a smooth, dense, light tan head. Good head retention and some great lacing.

Rich, rounded aroma with some fantastic caramel and toffee malt notes. Nutty. Passionfruit and other tropical fruits. Psome harder fruits like pear and stone fruit. Delicious.

Quite a complex ale. The malt is rich like the Scotch ale that has supposedly influenced this beer with lots of toffee and nutty character coming through. Then there are all the big, juicy, New Zealand hop flavours coming through with the passionfruit, guava and mango notes. Lovely combination of biscuity, toffeed malts and hops. Really good.

Medium to medium-full body with moderately-low carbonation. Good.

A simply stunning beer. Awesome is the right term to describe what is going on here. Lots of malt and hops in a fantastic balance. I love the combination of the tropical hops against the Scotch Ale type malt profile.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 08:34:55 | More by dgilks

ADZA

Australia

3.75/5  rDev -9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This is a 3 way collaboration between Renaissance,8wired and Nogne based on the mixing of one of their flagship brews together being Stonecutter Scotch Ale,Hopwired IPA and Nogne 100 and is called an Imperial Amber Ale i also love the spiel about David Tua on the side hence the name and pours a dark magohany hue which leaves a off white creamy two finger head that stays and stays and leaves heaps of clingy lacing,the smell is roasted barley,rock candy,paw paw,candied passionfruit and rockmelon,the mouthfeel is medium bodied and a touch creamy with tastes of burnt toffee,rock candy,a touch of tropical fruit,gooseberries,roasted barley and finished with a mix of caramel sweetness and NZ fruity hoppiness and overall a very tasty Imperial Amber Ale that id buy again as after tasting all three of the flagship brews you can definately taste them all in there but i feel the NZ hops definately make themselves well known and just another one of those brews that you have to try at least once cheers.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2012 09:11:20 | More by ADZA