The Benchmark is our limited-edition, annual release. It is a pale old ale,with a great malt palate, subtle hop presence, and a high gravity (9.9% alc/vol). We brew it once a year, fermenting half with ale yeast and the other with lager yeast. When it's ready, we blend the two and finish it with Champagne yeast and age it for many months.
Beer Ratings and Reviews:
[1] Review by herbjones from Orange, CA, USA who has tried this beer (10/30/2005 11:21:07 AM)
"Pours such a deep copper that it is bordering on red. Off white head sits atop with the aroma of cherries and vanilla seeping up through it. Nice malty front cut cleanly by hops in the middle. Medium body lets this one be a nice easy drink.Abv is hidden expertly."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
6/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.8)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
[2] Review by EyeChartBrew from CA, Liechtenstein who has tried this beer once. (7/10/2005 3:49:34 AM)
"22-oz bottle, with silk-screened "label", including a rather Caeser-esqe emblem. No brewed-on or Drink-by dates....
Pours with a fair amount of head, that quickly disappears. Not much in the way of Belgian Lace, either.
But the aroma and flavor profile more than make up whatever shortcoming this beer may have appearence-wise. Very complex, with many hints of many different things going here. Has a definate "old ale" feel to it though, even if I suspect that this beer wasn't even conceived until sometime no earlier than sometime last year or so.
Probably a beer of limited apeal, since it's not especially bitter, or "user friendly" enough for normal "day-to-day" folks to drink. But even if I've recently had some serious doubts about the skills of the brewers of the Portland Brewing Company, this 22-oz Bomber makes for a very fine beer, and I have no reason to not Highly Recommend this.
//TB
"
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
7/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.1)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[3] Review by beerguy101 from Newark, CA, USA who has tried this beer (6/18/2005 2:29:06 PM)
"Medium orange color. Large head. Aroma is fruity, bubblegum and malts. A big bodied barleywine. Malts are fruity, apples, pears, orange peel, a touch of bubble gum and cloves. Hops are slightly spicy. The yeasts are very bright, like in a Belgian Ale. Well balanced. Hides the 9.9% alcohol very well. Tasty beer. Smooth flavor. Etched beer bottle. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
10/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.2)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
[4] Review by heemer77 from Savannah, MO, USA who has tried this beer once. (5/18/2005 8:43:15 PM)
"From a 2004 vintage bottle. A light yellowish head. The body has dark amber coloring. Aromas of maple wood and apple. The taste has malty apples with caramel and bread. This is a little thin for the style. Alcohol is barely tasted."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
[5] Review by Reidrover from Oregon, USA who has tried this beer a couple times. (3/19/2005 2:52:48 PM)
"A very classy looking ale it is,nice warm chesnut brown colour with a nice sized semi-frothy off white head..that sinks fast but leaves a good amount of lacing. the aroma is quite malty and reminds me of some Scotch Ales ( Skullsplitter comes to mind).Some dark fruitiness in the aroma also. mm nice taste too again the malts are very nice in this ,but there is no lack of hops also..they strike the tongue half way through the mouthful.then are gone, alcohol is warming in the belly but is not very noticable in the mouth. Nice smooth mouthfeel with a nice creamy finish. I liked this beer and found it very drinkable for almost 10% alcohol"
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.1)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
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(3.8)
