Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 5

This ale brewed with spruce tips is 6.4% and pours a pretty amber-orange that reminded me of an IPA. The nose is malty sweet toffee with a minty evergreen edge to it. Med-full bodied with a scratchy carbonation. The flavor is weirdly candyish - cotton candy, mint, toffee. The spruce tips come through in the finish. It is odd, like a sweet berry cake or pie that ends with mint and pine. Not at all what I was expecting but I’ll give them points for originality!

Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5

Bottle from Mitsuya. Pours a dark copper with a very small, thin white head that dissipates almost instantly. Malt aromas with some light spruce and bamboo. Body feels thin but malt-forward with a harsh, paint-thinner-like boozy notes on the finish. Not good.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

12 oz. bottle. Dark copper color, with some bubbles, but no head. The nose is rye, caramel, pine, and bread dough. Sweet and very malty, with no real hop bitterness, but some spice and light roasted bitterness. Medium to heavy body, very thick, clingy, and a little acidic. This is a nice malt bomb. Sweet and chewy, and the spruce adds a lot.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5

Bottle sample at Sioux Falls fest. Clear golden color. Caramel aroma. Taste is mostly caramel malt.

Appearance - 3 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 3 | Overall - 12

Bottle. Amber body with a short, off-white head. Aroma of caramel, toasted grain, pine. The flavor is moderately to heavily sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes moderately sweet and lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, sticky texture, lively carbonation. The spruce is obvious in the sweet finish. Average at best.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

12 ounce bottle into snifter, best before 3/15/2015. Pours slightly hazy bright orange color with a small dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of caramel, toast, biscuit, pear, apple, berries, spruce, herbal, grass, light pepper, light nuttiness, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, spruce, earthy hops, and yeast ester notes; with good strength. Taste of caramel, toast, biscuit, pear, apple, berry, spruce, herbal, grass, light pepper, light nuttiness, and yeast earthiness. Slight earthy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, toast, biscuit, pear, apple, berry, spruce, herbal, grass, light pepper, light nuttiness, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice robustness and complexity of dark/bready malt, spruce, earthy hops, and yeast ester flavors; with a great malt/yeast/spice balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, fairly crisp, and lightly creamy/bready mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice old ale style. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, spruce, earthy hops, and yeast ester flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

Nice warmer with spruce

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Bottle. Light smoky toffee malt and spruce aroma. Amber with minimal head. Sweet, lactic caramel malt flavor. Pretty good but mild.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 6.5

Bottle: Clear, bubbly, amber-orange with a thin soapy, head. Caramel/toffee aroma....herbals... Taste is cola, sweet toffee with a pleasant, evergreen, cooling tone. Pine/Spruce/Menthol. Very nice....a little different.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Pours a ruddy brown kinda clear and leaves the same color body yet there is a slightly amber look to it, thin white cap of a head dies immediately, carbonation is seen rising. the aroma has lotsa cherries, lightly \"spruced\" malts, the taste has sweet cherries up front, spruce comes back, super light malty aftertaste, somewhat of a dry finish, its fairly easy on the palate, nothing harsh, carbonation just right on the tongue and mouth with no inconsistencies, just all around good; I say this is a pretty good old ale that I would get again