Ithaca Cold Front
Cold Front is our Belgian-style Amber Ale brewed in autumn to keep us inspired as the days grow shorter and the nights colder. It’s brewed with European Malts and hops and fermented with a legendary Belgian "Farmhouse" yeast. Savor its deep russet color, rich flavor accented by slight herbal hoppiness, and definite spicy yeast character. Bundle up!
3.4
181 reviews
Ithaca, United States
Community reviews
A copper-amber color with a frothy white head. A bit of autumn citrus with subtle coriander. A solid beer with well balanced IBUs to finish.
Pours a clear ruby/amber with a thin off white head. Aroma has some muddled spice and a bit dark fruit and faint leather. Flavor has some earthy bitterness and muddled spices. Mouthfeel is medium and the finish is dry and spicy/medicinal.
12 ounce bottle. Hazy dark reddish brown color topped by a thick creamy beige head. Rich yeasty, toasted malt aroma. Hints of nuts, bread and plums. Flavor upfront is burnt caramel, malty with dried fruit undertones. Nice herbal hops offer a balance to the complex fruity malt and yeasty character. Very Belgian-like. Delicious.
Draft at craft ale house. Pours clear copper with a small off white head. The aroma Is dominated by the yeast funk with some burned brown sugar and light caramel. The taste is like a very light quad. There is a big sweetness with some dark fruits.. Figs, plum. Very nice.
Smoke and candied nuts in the flavor, but not overly sweet. A bit of spice and a bit of warm malts.
cask at Blue monk. Pours deep amber, almost purple in my glass. tan head with little retention. Nose is a bit bland, but I do detect some burnt sugar. Taste begins light with some pitted fruit and vanilla. Light toast adds. body is silky and gulp able.
From a growler from the brewery. Some good spicy malt that sits well on the back of the tongue. Has some nuttiness to the flavor. Not too much yeast flavor. Warms up your chest as advertised.
Would buy again.
Good mahogony body with offwhite generous head, lots of carbonation, looks appetizing. Smell is strong and solid, yeasty banana and alot of sweet malts, maple syrup and so on, taste is really malty with a good earthy balance. So drinkable, booze peeks through appeallingly. Mouthfeel is thankfully full and crisp
12 oz bottle from Bhensonb. Nose is hints of banana, candisugar, maple, and bubblegum. Hazy copper brown with a medium, heavy lacing, beige head. Flavor is lightly sweet with bits of roast and even a little smoke. Excellent!
Pours a light copper with a medium frothy white top and some lacing. Aroma is toffee, small smoke and some spicy yeast. Taste is a smokey toffee with spicy Belgian yeast flavouring. Not a big belgian presence.
Pours a hazy reddish brown. Aroma of nutty malt and esters. Taste is nutty malt with Belgian yeast finish. Very interesting.
Explodes out of bottle with a 5+ finger khaki head that fades quickly to a thin layer, leaving some lace. Hazy amber color. Medium carbonation and medium bodied. Belgian yeast nose and flavor is caramel and Belgian yeast, hops are subdued. $2.35 for a 12oz bottle from Julio’s Liquors Westborough, Ma.
Straw, burnt caramel, sweet on the nose and taste. A little chewy, it is moderately bodied. It pours a flat dark brown amber. Could drink again, but a bit boring.
Aroma of sweet spice and yeast and initially a bit smokey. Umber brown with tan head and lace. Taste is a real surprise: the chocolate roast one expects on a porter or perhaps a dark English ale. This being combined with the yeasty effervescence of Belgian ale, of course. Filling if not heavy, with a good deal of co2 activity going on. Can’t remember being so pleasantly surprised by a domestic beer. Another winner for Ithaca.
Pours dark ruddy amber with a creamy/foamy near beige head. Aroma is indeed herby. Almost covering up a roast malt aspect. Med+ body. Flavor is earthy, almost coffee dirty, with a lot of yeast/spice and veggie hop. Earthy rather than barnyard - but it’s a close call. Wowser. A really dark saison? Pretty tasty stuff.
Bottle. A great belgian at the start and middle, then things just fell off a cliff. The aroma was a sweet bread that reminded me of King’s Hawaiian rolls. A foamy head that settled into a nice resilient film topped a dark brown cloudy appearance. The medium crisp palate complimented the taste, which was fronted with a solid bready dough, then things dropped. The taste just fell to a very bitter and acidic aftertaste. This might be due to the "amber" style, but either way, I didn’t favor it.
Very hazy deep muddy brown coloured body with a slight ruby coloured tint with a thinnish, one centimetre tall tan head. Aroma of yeast, rye, caraway seed, oregano, malt, flowers and a bit of nuts at the end. Medium-bodied; Assertive toasted malt with some bubble gum flavours, some bananas and a lot of yeast and deep earthy flavours. Aftertaste has more earthiness than expected with a pungent malt flavour, some nuts, a little bitter yeast vibe and some light sugars tucked into a decent amount of alcohol. Overall, an okay beer - but matches with the label - more of a ’dark’ belgie styled ale, but not executed perfectly. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Oliver’s Beverage in Albany, New York on 18-November-2011 for US$2.90 sampled at home in Washington after leaving Lake Placid, New York earlier in the day on 29-January-2012.
A very full Belgian ale aroma and flavor mixed with a hint of spice. Full nutty flavor.
I’ve liked other beers from Ithaca beer, but this was a huge disappointment. Both the initial candy sweetness and roasted smoke in the aftertaste are overpowering and unpleasant. Not awful, but not good.
Beautiful autumnal amber with brown tresses and thinnish head. Intensely spicy nose that overflows with phenolics and touches of sasparilla. The body does not come together quite as well. A green banana dominates the phenolics and mixes off-key with sasparilla underpinnings. A bit off-balance and sour/green, but okay.
Aroma is great,appearance is great and beer is good but not great . Aroma is yeasty and a lot like a sour ale . Dark amber in color and huge cream head . I think yeast and sugars are the biggest flavors and a little sour.
bottle poured a dark amber in color with a thin tan head. aroma has brown sugar, bread yeast, and some malts. mouth feel is medium and there is plenty of carbonation. flavor throws up a bit of yeast, brown sugar, and some spice.
On tap. Pours with a clear bronze body with an off-white head that fades. Aromas are yeasty, fruity, estery, lots of phenol, clove, spicy. Nearly a buckwheat note. Herbal. Flavors are very spicy and herbal, peppery, highly phenolic, nutty, malty and a bit of vegital. Very dry, lively bubbles, a touch warming.
Poured a hazy copper brown color. Medium head. Aroma is nutty, with some pepper and smoke, and caramel. Med light sweetness, lite bitter, lite sour. Med bodied. Ave mouthfeel. Not very smooth. Something in here ruins this beer for me. Not sure what. Almost like a burnt pepper flavor or vegetable or somethingg simular.
Not a bad beer by any stretch, but probably not a repeat for me. On draft at bukowski’s, dark amber to brown, aroma and taste is bitter brown sugar. Easy to drink.
12oz bottle poured into glass. Murky dark color with a thin beige head. Aroma is yeasty and slightly bready. Flavor is a tad spicy with slight hints of dried fruit.
Bottle thanks to bhensonb. Poured near brown with an off white head. Aroma was Belgian yeast, citrus, caramel, bread, and dark fruits. Flavor was pretty much spot on with the nose. Body was light and fuzzy.
A nice ruby/brown pour. Decent holiday beer, spices-hops-dried fruit. Not a full bodied beer.
Strong bready aroma supported by spicy yeast character. A hearty ale highlighted by its Belgian nature. Big malt base featuring notes of clove and banana and ending with a moderate hop bite. 7.2% ABV is well hidden. Solid brew, reminds me more of a dunkleweizen.
Deep amber - brown pour with a fluffy head which dissipates very quickly. Moderate Belgian style lace left. Aroma is of yeast, smoky, alcohol, cedar, fruitcake. Body is medium plus. Strong sweetness, strong spiciness, smoky, burnt toffee, very yeasty, pumpernickel bread. Very complex, with layer upon layer of intricate flavors developing. The finish is nicely balanced with candy sugar and hops, very yeasty, warming alcohol, and more roasty, smoky flavors developing. Not a world class beer, but very interesting. Surprisingly roasted and smoky.