Burton Ale - August Schell Brewing Company

icefisherman

Minnesota

4/5  rDev -2.9%

11-18-2011 06:44:49 | More by icefisherman

JJWIGHT

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -21.1%

10-30-2012 05:14:30 | More by JJWIGHT

Kjendahl

Colorado

4.88/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Overall a great great beer--perhaps the best special brew Schell's has ever done. It's very flavorful from start to finish. Not overly hoppy and not overly malty. It's a nicely balanced brew. I liked it so much, I refused to share it with any of my beer snob buddies. Well done, Schell's. Please make it again some time.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2012 04:46:32 | More by Kjendahl

MN_Beerticker

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -15%

07-13-2012 03:15:33 | More by MN_Beerticker

theminutemen

Missouri

3.5/5  rDev -15%

06-26-2012 20:07:23 | More by theminutemen

tempest

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I figured this was a decent beer to age (it's about 8 mo old), but had to break it out for a steak dinner. Damn I'm glad I did.

This strong ale has a rich bready caramel aroma with a toffee edge. The flavor follows up with more big smooth barley and a touch of fruit, that's balanced but subtle spicy hops. There's a little lemon rind and earthy apricot, but it's hard to tell where the hops end and the malt and esters begin. A fine English strong ale. I hope to see this around again.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2012 22:49:20 | More by tempest

pisomojado8

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +3.2%

05-21-2012 00:33:57 | More by pisomojado8

siradmiralnelson

Iowa

3.93/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from 12oz bottle into Tulip.

A. Poured 2 finger head. Good retention. Decent lacing. Color is a light amber.

S. Smell is a malt explosion. Smells of sweet malt, caramel, brown sugar, some raisins, dark fruit.

T. Caramel, raisins, brown sugar, fruity. Pretty complex array of malty flavors going on. Very easy drinking. A little bit of bitterness, but not much.

M. Medium bodied. Medium carbonation. Some lingering sweetness.

O. Really solid beer. Schell's should consider adding this to their regular lineup. Not quite as flavorful or complex as a barleywine, but really a very good beer. Extremely easy drinking for 8%.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2012 22:22:34 | More by siradmiralnelson

kawilliams81

Illinois

3.88/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a Alesmith Horny Devil snifter.

A- pours a cloudy, amber with a 1 finger off-white head. Small ring of lacing on the glass.

S- sweet dark fruits, belgian yeast, bread.

T- toffee, dark fruits, Belgian yeast, sligh metallic taste.

M- medium body and carbonation. Very effervescent and slightly acidic.

O- good beer but nothing special. Taste lacks in comparison to the aroma.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2012 00:49:50 | More by kawilliams81

doucmehu

Wisconsin

3.93/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz. bottle to New Glarus footed pilsener glass.

A: Beautiful pour, looking very full bodied with an impressively formed 2 finger head and a deep amber color.

S: Smells of cereal grains, yeast, fresh white bread and maybe a bit of sweetness.

T: Belgian-like yeast and bread flavors up front, followed by some estery alcohol and dark fruit notes. Some hop bitterness is also present, but fairly muted. Reminiscent of a doppelbock or a dubbel, depending on the style presentation.

M: Creamy and smooth, a bit heavier than expected, with mellow carbonation to keep things lively. Finishes smooth and clean, very mild bitterness. Alcohol heat is present.

O: This is a fine beer from Schell's, one of their better in my opinion. Overall, I would say it drinks a lot like an American brewed Dubbel, which to me is slightly subdued on the yeast and has more of a hop presence. Solid, if not my favorite style.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2012 02:25:45 | More by doucmehu

Greggy

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -15%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- Pours a red colored body, crystal clear. The head is slightly soapy and light tan in color. No lace.

S- Very bready on the nose. Biscuit, some dark fruit and earthy hops come through.

T- Starts out very malty... almost syrup like. Big maple syrup note right off the bad and ample breadiness. The finish is slightly drying... after a long while slightly astringent but still holds onto the sweetness.

M- Huge. Sweet. Low carbonation. Sweetness a bit cloying
.
O- I've never had a Burton Ale but it's pretty tasty. I would love to try this on cask.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2012 03:00:00 | More by Greggy

zeledonia

Minnesota

3.88/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a deep cherry-wood brown, quite clear, with a big two-finger cream-colored head. Great retention and lacing. Biggest strike against it is the lack of visible carbonation.

Smell is quite malty, slightly toasted, with some grassy hops in the background. A little spritz of citrus in the back end tickles the nose. A bit faint, but what's there is good.

This is different, and quite tasty. Has a great fruit-forward sweetness, balanced nicely by hop bitterness that flows in later. Drinks a lot like a barleywine to me. Nutty, fruity malts, with some fig and walnut. The finish is even more bitter, as the alcohol comes through with a kick to remind me it's there.

Medium-bodied, pretty sticky, but drying up in the middle. Low carbonation. It works.

This is like a barleywine-light. I like it. Solid flavor, well-balanced, and with a hefty chunk of alcohol that doesn't knock me over.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2012 04:01:39 | More by zeledonia

ChopsMeister

Minnesota

5/5  rDev +21.4%

03-03-2012 08:47:47 | More by ChopsMeister

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

4.43/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Reviewed from session notes.

A. Medium dark coppery amber, no significant head at all, although there is carbonation present in the glass...

S. Nutty toffee, morning buns, light booziness in the background.

T. Initial earthy and spice hop attack rushes in and out like a well organized task force. Mid-flavor is a brown sugared doppelbock-like breadiness mixed with English Barleywine styled noble hopping profile. Finish has a remarkably sudden drop-off in hopping flavor that leaves me with a lingering hearty multigrain loaf of bread finish. As it warms up towards room temperature, it gains an additional undertone of brioche loaf. I’m absolutely in love with this flavor, it has won me over completely!

M. Hearty thick yet smooth and creamy, similar to the body of a good roggenbier, the gentle carbonation keeps things moving around on the palate quite nicely without being a distraction.

Very much recommended, and not just for the historical curiosity’s sake of trying a nigh-extinct beer style; it is a wonderful beer even when judged with a blind eye to its endangered species status. If only there was a better head presentation....

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2012 01:24:54 | More by WastingFreetime

elec

Minnesota

4/5  rDev -2.9%

03-01-2012 05:12:17 | More by elec

BasementBer

Manitoba (Canada)

4.08/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Great Beer!

A: Healthy, though pouring it near room temp probably helped it out a bit.

S: This is my only gripe with the beer, the abv definitely came through in this aspect. Kinda filled the room actually. Smelled like water that had been sitting in a glass for far too long and just boozy.

T/M: Taste was fantastic though, the abv was really well concealed and a great spicy character with a generous hopping had this beer going down with ease.

O: Great beer! My favorite Schell's for sure! keep it coming

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2012 18:03:03 | More by BasementBer

ForWhatAlesYou

Minnesota

4.23/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle into a tulip

A: Deep amber, slightly cloudy. Small off-white head.

S: Rich bready malt. A light fruity element over a subdued hop aroma.

T: Big. Very rich with an almost tawny port over flavor over biscuity malt. Finishes bitter and very savory.

M: Full. Med-high carbonation. Viscous and a little syrupy.

O: Very good. My first exposure to this nearly extint style and I really like it. Very well done. Fits style very well.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2012 14:06:14 | More by ForWhatAlesYou

Cramerican

North Dakota

4/5  rDev -2.9%

02-16-2012 03:33:34 | More by Cramerican

Duff27

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A- Inch-tall light tan head on a clear ruby red body. Really dig the color. Splotchy lacing, above average head retention.

S- Fresh toffee malts, caramels.

T- Lots of toffee notes. Alcohol sneaks through but isn't dominant, just enough. Bread, fruits (cherry). Low hop profile. Mmm, that is good.

M- Medium to medium-thick mouthfeel, somewhat syrupy actually. Adequate carbonation.

D/O- Well, I was looking forward to this beer a lot and it lived up to expectations...even though I didn't know what to expect! Very drinkable given the alcohol content. Full disclosure, I'm kind of a Schell's fanboy but I highly recommend this beer if you can get some. One of the better "English Ales" (minus stouts) I've ever had.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2012 03:51:34 | More by Duff27

ratty918

Minnesota

4/5  rDev -2.9%

01-31-2012 02:59:45 | More by ratty918

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.03/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Big hearty brown and amber pour, has more brown to it than amber, ploughy off white head, 2" is the forecast. Aroma was definitely that England Burton type of old school mothballs and English toffee wood flavors. The hopping discussed on the ringneck label does not in fact present itself on the nose.

Taste, not my favorite style, bitter yeast tones, warm dubbel like sugar existence. I feel like the beer is aged on wood from dirty bars that have had decades or even centuries of use from these parts, part of it is no doubt the gritty toffee and tea like aspect with some waterlogged wood. And a banana someone dropped on the ground.

What I can say this was amazing at was making 8% drinkable. When I read that on the website, I was floored. Figured this was standard 4-5% stuff. Hopping is pretty traditional to style, adds some bitterness to the beer, nothing in real mouthfeel of hops. Bready musty aspect, I can't say this beer missed the mark, it did what it was aiming for probably, but it turned me off.

Nothing I would seek out, but thank you to the generous trader who threw this in as an extra. Ultimately, this beer was too difficult for me to continue to peruse all 12oz of it, and the last 3oz met its demise down the sink.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 23:36:50 | More by Beerandraiderfan

match1112

Illinois

3.93/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

a: dark copper, see thru bdy, inch of off white head, decent retention and lacing.

s: sweet, bready, caramel, toffee apples and earthy hops.

t: fruits and breads up front, followed by caramel and spicy hops on the finish.

m: medium body, good carbonation, slight oily and sticky, spicy finish.

o: this is my first of the style so i dont have anything to compare it to, but this is a very drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 18:59:24 | More by match1112

Hopstout

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -15%

01-28-2012 20:52:01 | More by Hopstout

herman77

Minnesota

4.08/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Deep copper with hints of rust color. Cream colored head with nice retention and excellent lacing.

S: Intense toffee and rich carmel with lots of bready notes. A hint of earthy hops and minerals.

T: Rich bready maltiness with sweet toffee and carmel. A touch of english hops on the backend. There's not that much hops, but it still pretty balanced.

M: A little over medium body, soft and smooth carbonation makes it feel a bit creamy. Very nice.

O: Never had a Burton Ale before since it's pretty much a lost style. Gotta say I like it or at least this one is really well done. ABV is about on par for the taste. Tastes different than anything I have ever had before. Not the best drinkability, but I'm really glad I got to have some of this.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2012 03:45:55 | More by herman77

bigbeers84

Minnesota

4/5  rDev -2.9%

01-23-2012 08:10:52 | More by bigbeers84