2004 bottle shared at the 6th annual Richmond Industry Gathering, 11/27/11. Pours a hazy copper color with nearly no head. Aroma of big toffee malts, stone fruits, cinnamon, spices and some oxidation notes, not surprisingly. Aroma of toffee, raisins, spices and bitter hops. Full bodied. Glad to finally try this.

2002 bottle shared by hoppymeal at the 2010 Winter Solstice. Poured a clear deep amber brown with an off-white head that dissipated completely. Aroma was full of caramel with sweet grains, biscuit and seemed slightly oxidized. Flavor was similar with lots of sweet grains, caramel and a hint of toffee.

Drank the 2002 vintage. Dark brown pour in glass. Very sweet brown sugars, maple and molasses. Rated 2/11/03

I was able to walk out of Max’s Taphouse in Baltimore with a vintage 2004 bottle of this. Having never had a Heavyweight before I was very eager to give this a try. 12oz bottle pours an opaque amber, rusty brown with a thin, spitty, clumping, white head. Aroma was sweet with caramel, booze, rum, some tropical fruits. Flavor was malty, sticky sweet, candy, brown sugar, oranges. Finish was sticky, full bodied and a mix of sweetness and bitterness. I was glad to try this but a little underwhelmed. I would have expected more after five years in the bottle. 7-4-7-4-15 ***** Re-rate of a 2002 bottle consumed Feb 18, 2012. Pours a hazy, copper amber with some thin white head. Smells like fresh filet of salmon, minerally, sherry, caramel, apples, leather. Flavor is apples, pears, berries, caramel, leather. Medium bodied, sticky finish. Funny, I rated this exactly the same the second time around. 7-4-7-4-15

2005 Bottle: Pours a deep, murky amber with no head. Aroma is intoxicating with sweet fruitiness, faded citrus hops, caramel, and toffee. Sweet and vinous. Almost a hint of red licorice... Flavor is mostly sweet and vinous too. Some faded citrus and light maltiness. A bit lost from the aroma. Carbonation is really near zero. I would love to have had this 1-2 years ago... Still, enjoyable. Thanks biggcb!

2004 12 oz bottle courtesy of Boboski. Poured with lots of carbonation in a dull copper color with thin tan head. Good size aroma of melanoidin malt (as indicated on the label), fruity dates, cherries and raisins. Behind that is a faint caramel. The above average carbonation amps up the flavor with sweet caramelized malts and melanoidin malts. Beyond that are some very tasty dark fruit notes that mix well with the malts. Just like the aroma I find some caramel way back in the background.

(Bottle 35,5 cl) Vintage 2004. Very unclear amber golden with an off-white head. Clean caramel aroma. Solid body with lots of sweet caramel malt - extremely sweet actually. I miss some hops here for balance. 191206