Dark red with a tan head. Aroma is full of dark malts, dark fruit, toasted malt, and pine hops. Medium to full body. Flavor is more of the same. I don’t really pick up the dates by themselves but I do get a dark fruit note throughout. Pretty good brew.

12oz can. Glowing reddish-brown, filtered. Solid beige head. Mellow smooth malty aroma. This is quite a well executed beer, smooth and drinkable. Smooth brown malt tones, very clean. The dates work well, almost giving it some dark fruit tones reminiscent of a Belgian Ale, but that’s where the Belgian similarity ends; this is very malt centered and balanced and more along the lines of a Scottish Ale. Not as bold as what I think of an Old Ale, which is a pleasant surprise in this case. Really quite a solid beer, from mild smoke to figs, with a smooth, clean malt backbone and a steady subdued hop balance. Right on.

Thanks to Armin for sharing - clear brown pour - nose of fig, caramel, toffee, earthy hops - flavor is doughy, nutty - a bit of raisin, vanilla and date - fairly strong, woody hoppiness for the style - some leafy tobacco character - quite bitter in the finish - not really to style at all, but a decent brew.

Bottle @ Brandon’s house, courtesy of arminjewell. Huge thanks! Reddish orange appearance with a tan head. Soapy, floral hoppy, mild dark fruity, sweet toasty malty aroma. Dark fruity, a touch tangy, soapy, floral flavor.

12 oz can into English pint. Pours a clear reddish-brown with a large beige rocky head with excellent retention; leaves some spidery lace. Aroma is a little bready, cinnamony, cola (?)...Taste is somewhat sweet and meaty with a dry slightly bitter finish. Carbonation is soft, body is medium. Not bad, but I was expecting a little more. Re-rate: this beer tastes so much better straight out of the can. I wonder why some beers taste better straight out of their containers.

Location: 12 oz can from Buy Rite, 12/31/11, My 2011th Rating will double as my last rating of 2011.

Aroma: It has some sweet notes, dark fruits (date, raisin), caramel, earth, citrus, and floral hops
Appearance: The pour is mostly clear brown color with a strong red hue and a small beige head
Flavor: Moderately sweet flavor, dominated by the dark fruit, and balanced by a light-mid hop bitterness
Palate: The body is medium, with average-to-soft carbonation, and it has a fairly clean, slightly dry finish
Overall Impression: I can't help but enjoy odd number games like making my last rating of 2011 my 2011th rating. Anyway, beyond my dorky number game thing, and on to the beer, this one is quite creative. I enjoyed the newspaper look to the can, and the cleverly written article that adorned it. My overall impression of the beer itself is fairly positive. This one starts off with a somewhat subtle, but interesting and fairly complex nose. I found it to be a pretty decently balanced offering that has some nice components to it, and I thought it drank pretty well as well. This was a nice, interesting, and somewhat unique offering that I'm glad I got to enjoy, and made for an excellent 2011th rating, and last rating for 2011! Happy drinking in 2012!

Can shared by Steve at the 2011 Kuhnhenn Winter Solstice. Pours a clear deep amber with a plum hue and a light brown head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has a pine hope note with backing dark fruits and a bit of toffee. Flavor has an interesting combination of dark fruit and earthy pone hop with a bit of backing dark fruit and spice.

12 oz. can, pours a dark amber brown with a small beige head. Aroma of hops upfront, some bready malts, hints of caramel and dark fruits, and a bit of grapefruit. Flavour is a mellow blend of sweet caramel malts, citrus hops and grapefruit, with some subtle spicy notes thrown in there - the flavour dies on the palate very quickly leaving little aftertaste. Nice subtle flavours, but for 8.5%, this lacks a deep flavour profile. Mildly enjoyable.

12 ounce can from Beer Run. Pours a clear dark orange-ish brown color with a large creamy tan head. Good head retention and lacing. Malty aroma with notes of brown sugar, dates and piney hops. The taste is piney, tropical hops with spices, earthy and malty notes. Medium bodied.