Exit 8 - Flying Fish Brewing Company

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.93/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle - $9.99 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours out a very dark brown body with a medium-small, short-lived, light beige head.

Smell: Displays a wide range of notes, you've got chicory, dark caramel, molasses, baker's chocolate, ground cloves, plums, banana bread, and pine.

Taste: Roasty, toasty (whole grain bread), chocolaty malts with a full-on nuttiness and molasses tone throughout. Caramel and perceived honeybun sweetness. Amply malty throughout. Growing clove-like quality from the yeast. Faintly resinous pine in the background. Lightly bitter, with the spicy phenols and alcohol helping to balance the sweetness. Touch of dark fruits and an additional fruity hint of bananas. Spicy, sweet, and still with a nutty maltiness on the smooth finish with a bit of alcohol warmth.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-plus carbonation. Smooth, not quite creamy mouthfeel.

Overall: This Exit is fairly good, not outstanding, but a beer that shows some real promise.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2012 22:55:26 | More by ChainGangGuy

oberon

North Carolina

4.43/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a large tulip glass deep dark roasted chesnut brown with a decent sized tan colored head atop.Aromas were awsome with the chesnuts used in the beer along with sweet honey and mild yeasty notes,very appetizing and rich.Rich is a good word to describe the flavors with sweet honey and roasted chesnut notes,slightly cakey, mild yeasty phenols,and light earth round out the flavors.What a great rich beer,it's sweet but not overy so with a nice drying effect in the finish,easily the best Flying Fish beer I have had to date.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2012 13:43:12 | More by oberon

drabmuh

Maryland

4.05/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Served in a snifter, I drink these beers because all alcoholism should have an altruistic motive resting under the surface.

Beer is brown, dark brown, clear at the corners, nice tan head, small bubbles, some lacing, moderate to low carbonation. Looks good.

Aroma is nutty, sweet, a little yeasty, a mild roast.

Beer is medium in body, fine, nutty, walnuts mostly, decent yeast, fine finish, moderate bitterness on the back from the grain, no aftertaste, a fine nut brown, a little bigger than most.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2012 02:42:36 | More by drabmuh

metter98

New York

4/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The beer is clear and very dark brown in color. It poured with a half finger high beige head that has good retention properties and never completely faded away.
S: There are moderately strong aromas of dark malts and chestnuts in the nose.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and also has some notes of honey. Flavors of Belgian yeast are very apparent, particularly in the finish. No sweetness is detectable.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is very flavorful—particularly with chestnuts—and hides its alcohol very well.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 13:30:02 | More by metter98

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer poured out as a nice looking brown color with a light tan head on top. The head settles and leave just a light ring around the edge of the glass. The smell of the beer has a really nice sweet aroma of bready Belgian yeast with some honey in there too. The taste of the beer has a sweet start to it, the flavors of fresh tabacco mixed with the sweet honey and the yeast make this beer really quite nice. The mouthfeel of the beer was gently carbonated, with a clean drinkable dry finish to it. Overall it's a very nice beer. I found this enjoyable and I could see myself drinking this one again.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2012 02:08:31 | More by Knapp85

Gavage

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: pours a dark brown color with a thick 3" head that slowly falls to a thick surface covering. Lots of lace sticks to the glass.

Smell: loads of toasted nuts in the aroma with a decent amount of malt sweetness.

Taste: nice bready and malty brown ale. Big roasted nut flavor with some brown sugar, a hint of spicy yeast, and you can barely make out the honey late in the taste. Decent hop level brings a nice balancing to the beer. Alcohol is slightly noticeable.

Mouthfeel: medium-heavy in body. Lightly crisp to start, smoother and a bit dry late. Aftertaste is long lasting as the flavor stick to the tongue.

Overall: this is a slow sipping but flavorful brown ale. As with others in the series, this is some of Flying Fish's best stuff.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2012 16:53:48 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

4.05/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours brown with a lasting thin head. Lacing sticks.

The smell is of chestnuts with molasses. It smells of a rich brown ale with a "Belgian" earthy, spicy touch.

The taste follows through. A brown, nutty (chestnut) flavor with a "Belgian" spicy touch. Malty with spicy yeast and minimal hops. Sweet, but not sticky.

Velvety smooth and creamy. Slides down "too" quickly.

A very nutty, sweet-ish, treat! A nice, nutty brown ale with a Belgian-inspired background. Alcohol well-integrated. Very nice!

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2012 10:42:31 | More by jwc215

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

First had: hand pumped firkin at Teresa's, Wayne, PA

This is not a "Belgian strong dark ale," but rather a [Belgian-style] brown ale, brewed with chestnuts.

Poured a clear, woody, medium brown, with a huge puff of off-white head that retained well and left quite a bit of lacing on the glass. Aroma of sweet malts, toasted nuts, bread crusts. Similar taste, with notes of bready yeast, toasted nuts, with a good malty / honey sweetness that never really took the foreground. A bit of roast and earthy hops in the finish. Light-medium body, and pretty drinkable overall, though not overflowing with flavor. Still better than many other brown ales I've had, and I'd have another one of these if given the chance.

Serving type: cask

03-19-2012 11:43:58 | More by Rifugium

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

- Belgian style brewed with honey and chestnuts.

A: Rich otter brown pour is pitch black in the chalice accompanied by a sturdy 2 finger frothy sandstone tinted head. Healthy retaining head shows small beads upon the build up turning to a creamy covering. Thick clumpy patches of foam cling nicely to the vessel with a very good rate of coverage.

S: On the nose was chocolate, roasted chestnuts, burnt caramel sweetness, with some wet coffee grounds. Light aroma level subtle complexity saves this from average regards. A hint of musky belgian yeastiness is present but again very subtle.

T: Big coffee roast, burnt caramel while the belgian yeastiness is much more dominate in the flavor then was on the nose. Roasted chestnuts, milky chocolate roast with some honey sweetness upfront shows wet coffee grounds on the close. Hop bitterness shows subtle fruitiness and pine while the malting is the real limelight here.

M: Creamy body, light void of much carbonation. A small alcohol warmth is accompanied by a light musky belgian yeastiness.

O: Nice flavor overall, sweet honey laced coffee roast has hints of roasted chestnuts and belgian yeastiness the comes together nicely at the end of the day. Intriquing flavor, very worth experiencing, and the addition of honey and chestnuts clearly worked out. Good drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2012 22:40:25 | More by beerthulhu

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.4/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours an opaque dark-chocolate brown with a thick and rather persistent light tan head. Strong aroma has a malty core and notes of cloves and cinnamon plus a hint of molasses. Rich flavor has malty, molasses, caramel, nutty and earthy notes plus a honey-sweet undertone and hints of cloves and woody hops - or is that chestnut? Thick body is fairly fizzy and leaves a nice tingle with subtle earthy, honey and hoppy tones. Excellent! Be sure to get off at this exit.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2012 03:35:34 | More by Cyberkedi

avalon07

South Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Poured from a bottle to a goblet. Had a dark brown color and a cloudy consistency. There was an inch of tan-colored, foamy, fairly long-lasting head. Very good lacing.

S: An interesting aroma of chocolate, a nutty quality, and some fruit.

T: Tasted of dark fruit, a bit of yeast, a hint of chocolate, the nutty quality, and light grassy hops. A decent flavor, but not pushed far enough.

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

O: A solid, but not spectacular beer. Drinkable enough.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2012 12:05:47 | More by avalon07

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours an extremely dark brown with some garnet hints when held up to the light. The beer pours with a finger tall beige head that reduces to thicker patches and a ring at the edges of the glass - this head is very foamy like what I would normally associate with root beer. Significant lacing is observed.

S: Aromas of dark malts, lots of the chestnut (as advertised for the beer), and that distinctive smell of Belgian yeast.

T: This beer is not too sweet, as one might expect considering it is made with chestnuts and honey. While the aroma was strong with the chestnuts, there flavor is more influenced by the honey. There are some additional light hints of chestnuts and the definitive flavor of the Belgian yeast. Some slight bitterness but overall a nice complexity and balance.

M: Medium to full bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth.

O: Been looking forward to trying this one since I picked it up on release day, definitely worth getting another bottle of this if I can still find it. It was very pleasant, easy to drink, and enjoyable. The alcohol is extremely well hidden. Thus far I have been impressed with all of the Exit Series beers I have tried from Flying Fish, and this continues the tradition.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 11:53:51 | More by dbrauneis

oline73

Maryland

3.65/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from the bottle into a goblet.

Pours a murky dark brown color with almost a finger of thick, creamy tan head. The head sticks around nicely. The smell is full of caramel and dark fruit notes along with some mild toffee. The sweet aromas are nice, but there is a hint of tartness that doesn't belong if you ask me. The baste is very smooth and reminds me of a British brown ale that is just a little bit tart. I would have liked this to be less tart and to accentuate the malt more. The finish is bitter. The carbonation is smooth and fluffy, almost reminds me of a nitro pour. I wish the sweetness was more dominant but I still enjoyed it enough.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 01:33:16 | More by oline73

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

3.73/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a solid dark brown color with a smallish brown head that shows moderate retention. Smells of caramel, chocolate, a bit nutty with little to no hop presence. Taste is sweet and malty with a caramel earthy chocolate flavor to it. Medium body and carbonation level with a sweet almost sticky mouthfeel. Nice brown ale with a nutty edge. I'm glad I got to try this.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 23:35:02 | More by johnnnniee

ColForbinBC

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750mL champagne style bomber poured into a pint

Pours a dark brown with with a foamy khaki head. Loads of lace all over the glass and a thick coating over the beer.

The aroma is of toasted nuts, some booze, honey, fruity esters from the Belgian yeast and some bready malt. Overall sweetness bordering on cookie at times.

The flavor profile follows the nose. Sweet malts and toasted nuts with honey through the middle. The finish has a little fruitiness from the Belgian yeast, but is mostly roasted/toasted nuts and a faint hit of booze.

On the lighter aide of medium with low carbonation. Residual sweet/nutty flavors linger.

This is a nice brown ale with the added twist of a Belgian yeast strain, one of the better ones I have had. They hit a nice level of compex flavors and aromas in a relatively tame style. (Edit: I just noticed the style is BSDA, but I reviewed as a Brown Ale)

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2012 17:11:15 | More by ColForbinBC

Proteus93

Virginia

3.95/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Every year that I come to Long Beach Island, I make sure to pick up the Exit series that is available at the time I'm on the island. To date, time has proven that Flying Fish makes some of the best beer I've come across in Jersey. Let's see if this continues that tradition/trend...

A: Somewhat murky deep brown, topped with an almost disproportionately white head. I would have assumed it would have had a little more of a khaki tone to it. It forms nicely, retains well, and has a nice creaminess that I appreciate, though.

S + T: The typical scents associated with an American nut brown can be found here... some roasted malts, a nutty quality, and a soft sweetness. The sweet side of it has a fruity quality thanks to the yeast. There's a little hint of toffee, however modest, and any honey notes are more notable in the flavour, towards the finish.

M + D: The body is the one point where this beer might fall a little short. It's just a touch thin. Nonetheless, the carbonation is appropriate, and the finish has a slickness that I find enjoyable. Another year has passed with another enjoyable Exit series brew that will play a role in next year's vacation!

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2012 02:16:43 | More by Proteus93

Daniellobo

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice take on a Belgian dark with a nutty/sweet edge.

Presentation: 750ml brown capped bottle. Brown background label with brewery identity and a highway exit illustration naming the ale. Side paragraph notes intent, limited release, ingredients, main characteristics and food pairing. Shows 8.3% Alc. by Vol. Served in a tulip glass.

A - Deep dark brown pour with a nice creamy head, medium retention, good surface memory with a lasting surface ring, and some splashes of lacing.

S - Sweet and malty nose, plenty of caramel, slight nutty insinuation with a touch of yeast...

T - Nice expansion on the palate, caramel and sweetness with a light Belgian touch, soft nutty sense in the bitter punctuation towards the finish.

M - Medium to medium/full body, medium carbonation, Rather creamy and smooth.

O - Nicely flowing ale, almost a bit too sweet at points, and maybe best suited as an after meal brew.

Notes: Curious differences during a comparative tasting with a similar homebrew that happened to share plenty of the departing characteristics but whereas this one shines on its sweet edge, "Castaña Supreme" had a more pronounced fruity, yeasty edge… None of the two really showed off the chestnut. Maybe more so Exit 8 around the sweet/hoppy edge...

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 13:07:24 | More by Daniellobo

bonkers

New Jersey

3.78/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I poured from a bomber into a snifter, dark brown pour with a plus sized white head. The aroma is nutty, roasted malts. The beer taste more like a nut brown ale than a Belgian ale. The honey is noticable, finishes with a nutty sweetness. The body is medium, good carbonation. A tasty brew, more of a Belgian brown ale.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2012 04:07:07 | More by bonkers

KajII

North Carolina

3.7/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

[Suggested Glassware: Dimpled Mug]

The pour was a very dark mahogany brown with an average (1-2 finger) light brown creamy head, which reduced to a medium film with a medium collar and had fairly good streaky lacing.

The aroma was of a toasted dark bread malt, light resin hops and a leathery Belgian yeast with notes of molasses, caramel, dark chocolate, honey and a pronounced nutty odor.

The taste was malty sweet and a tad roasty with hints of molasses, honey and caramel at first, progressing into a slightly bitter yeast taste with a bit of chocolate, a nice chestnut presence and a little more than slight alcohol tinge at the end. The flavor lasted an average time proceeding the swallow, with a dark bold yeasty taste left behind to fade away slowly.

Mouthfeel was medium in body and dry, yet thinly oily in texture with a medium carbonation.

Overall this was a very well rounded Belgian Brown with all the components working together rather well, creating a very appealing brew that was nice and roasty yet still possessed that Belgian Ale drinkability...

http://www.facebook.com/KAJIIsBeerReviews

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2012 19:18:53 | More by KajII

Jimmys

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750mL poured into a 2012 SAVOR snifter. purchased several months ago. kept at cellar temps.

A: hazy dark brown body. brownish tints to the white tight bubbled head. retention is terrific as is the huge amount of lacing left behind.

S: plums and figs. some yeasty notes as well. there is the linger of heat, but you can tell this has calmed down. roasted barley is there as well.

T: sweet and savory. very fruity. grapes, strawberry jam. caramel and chocolate. malt starts to pick up and make a presence towards the finish. coco and figs linger long after the sip is gone. hint of coffee as well.

M: tingly, fine carbonation bubbles. full bodied.

D: this is a really solid belgian strong dark from NJ. not getting a lot of chestnuts in particular, but certainly a buttery sweetness that could be lent from the nuts. chestnuts or no chestnuts, this is a solid beer and worth picking up and throwing into the cellar.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 23:31:27 | More by Jimmys

bump8628

Oklahoma

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

I didn't get a ton of Belgian character in this one but did find a really nice big, malty brown ale. Rich malts - warm bread, burnt sugars, caramel, and coffee cake. Despite the richness, not overly sweet with a nicely balanced herbal hop flavor. A bit of plum and pear fruitiness and a light clove spiciness works into the flavor profile well and is about the only hint of Belgian character I pick up. Really nice.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2012 17:11:49 | More by bump8628

jtierney89

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

not enjoying this little red coating on the top of this bottle.

Off white sticky head atop a clear deep chestnut colored ale. Very subtle nose of earthy hops along with some strange scents of plastic and soap.

Pretty moderately sized body actually, more reminiscent of an American Brown ale then a belgian but i can taste the belgian influence as well. Roasted malt on the tip of the tongue, copmlex layers of endless flavors. Dark fruit, raisins and plums, touches of cherry, soothing honey, molasses, light earthy notes and pine, and even a slight vinous character. You definitely can that nuttiness that the brewery was aiming for as well. An overall pretty sweet beer with what tastes like belgian candy sugar. But just enough hop bitterness to balance. Both the hops and malts linger in the mouth. Another beer with a slightly tannic quality. A genuinely unique beer that tastes totally awesome. I'm not the biggest flying fish fan but this beer is something else. It took the best of american browns and dark belgians and somehow married them together, with honey.

Complex, layered, flavorful, and proportioned. In your face yet reserved at the same time. Not just one flavor overrides everything. You palate goes on a rollercoaster of a ride each time.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2012 01:38:51 | More by jtierney89

TheFightfan1

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a tulip, a murky,cloudy mahogany color with a nice finger tan heading. Some decent lacing stays throughout the tasting.

Decent roast aroma with a touch of fruity yeast. Heavy toasted chestnuts , slight brown sugar as well.

Very similar to the aroma, toasted chestnuts with a belgian yeasty finish. Nice brown sugary alcohol kick. Subtle earthy hops balance this out.

Light-Medium bodied, decent carbonation in the mouth. A little bit on the thin side for my liking but not really all that boozey for an 8.3% ABV.

Not a bad beer,nothing really bad about this one at all just not my style.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2012 20:03:29 | More by TheFightfan1

ckollias

Maryland

4.5/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed this large bottle out of a Belgian tulip glass.

A: Pours a dark brown with a thick, frothy, light brown, 2-finger head that slowly dissipates down the side of glass, leaving a nice trial and ending in a solid persistent lace.

S: Sweet and tart Belgian yeast scent at first followed by a smooth roasted malt aroma with a caramel background. Lots of complex aromas here.

T: Smooth and slightly tart fruity Belgian flavor up front. Roasted malt middle and finishes smooth.

M: Medium body and medium carbonation.

O: Amazing Belgian Brown ale. Perfect balance.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2012 02:22:26 | More by ckollias

mikeg67

New Jersey

3.95/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle. Pours dark brown with a long lasting beige head and good amount of lacing. Aroma is of barnyard yeast and toasted malt. Body is full and smooth. Taste is toasted, nutty malt, spicy hops, yeast, dark fruit and molasses. Finish is long and dry. Very tasty brew.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2012 03:03:49 | More by mikeg67