Something of a dark malt aroma with dark fruit. Clear dark brown color with orange hilites. A beige head that didn’t really stay. Starts full mouthfeel, dark brown sweet, followed by hop. It’s sweet, but not sticky. The hop arguably balances the malt, and the finish is relatively dry and lightly bitter. The sweet is kind of earthy, not candy.

Bottle from cpkschubert; Nose of dark, fruits, with a little coffee in the background; clear, dark brown with a small tan head; flavor is of coffee, chocolate, and friuty malts with a little hops in the finish. Didn’t really notice any alcohol, well covered.

Hazy red-orange body, medium creamy light tan head. Funky aroma, quite yeasty, with the qualities of a dusty wood-planked cellar, some sourness, and fermenting dark fruits and sugars. Red wine and wood. Flavor of sweet breads and pastries, toast, and bark. Sort of a "candleshop" medley of antiquity. Sweet finish; the brown sugar is definitely notable. A somewhat metallic aftertaste detracts a bit from the palate. Would go well with a fine cigar and darts. I’m not sure why more breweries don’t craft this style, as it’s a refreshing alternative from typical winter offerings. Many thanks to Dan (jah noth) for another great beer!

Bottle (courtesy of FlacoAlto): Poured a dark brown color ale with a medium dark brown foamy head with pretty god retention. Aroma contains lots of sweet roasted malt and toffee. The sweet roasted malt also dominates taste with a light hop presence at the end. Body is a bit too thin for my liking but alcohol is well hidden.

2005 bottle, I assume (correct me if I’m wrong, Sebastian) graciously sent by FlacoAlto for no other reason than to let me try some Arizona micros. How about that?!
Initially, a small head appears, a sort of marble-cream-white, but it quickly flees to the edges of the glass. Smells of prunes and toffee with some light, dry, earthy roast. The roast is quite light and lets in some chocolate and light soy notes. No hops noted in the nose. The aroma strength is fairly weak, though. Flavor begins with a chocolate-fudge note, sweet and malty, with dry, earthy toffee lingering. Reminds me of what a good cigar and some espresso might taste like, only very faint tobacco and coffee notes are apparent. Very dry on the end, as I mentioned now about 3 times, but a sweet chocolate is there for balance. Very low carbonation, medium body and a slightly watery consistency. No alcohol noted. Chocolate covered prunes linger on and I find little in the way of yeast, though I’m not surprised as the beer seems to be filtered. Hmm, odd, I liked this beer much more than my score indicates, but I guess it’s a tough style for me, statistically.