22 ounce bottle at the Relentless Thirst Gathering in Richmond, VA, 8.29.09. Pours a clear copper color with a medium head. Fair head retention and lacing. Aroma of muted bitter citrusy hops. Taste has the same muted citrus hops with a bit of cheese. Still very bitter with some toffee notes. Medium bodied.

Location: 22 oz bottle from State Line (part of my wonderful haul from that place, what a store!), 8/18/09

Aroma: The wood/oak dominates over the floral hops, vanilla, caramel, and hints of citrus
Appearance: Clearish amber color, 2 fingers of creamy off-white head, lots of lacing on the glass
Flavor: Unlike the nose (which was very oak-dominated), I found the flavor to be pretty well balanced between the hops, oak, malts
Palate: Nice mouthfeel, medium to full body, smooth, some alcohol burn present as well, a bit on the sticky side
Overall Impression: First of all, what a great store State Line is, damn, if you ever drive 95 through the MD/DE border you have to stop at that place.
Ok, on to the beer. This stuff is pretty tasty. Enjoyable, complex, and fairly original. I'm not sure it classifies as a IIPA/DIPA (not the hop bomb I expect from the style), but what do I know? If you are looking for a big IPA, this might not be it, but it is a pretty darn tasty beer, interesting, and big on the oak chips/barreling that some people really, really enjoy.

Bottle 65 cl. Clear amber golden with a creamy beige head. Spicy, lightly perfumy woody aroma. Medium body, somewhat oxidized and tired mouthfeel, bourbon notes and a warming alcoholic finish without much bitterness. 110709

Bomber. Color is about the color of a tarnished penny. Head is dense and leaves some pretty nice lacing as it dies back and I sip. The aromas of this beer are very earthy/woodsy with lots of sweet maltiness and a less profound hops presence than I would have guessed. Flavor seems to bear this out as this is very sweet with lots of oaky type wood and alcoholic burn as it goes down. Malt comes through as an almost buttery caramel. The hops presence is there, but it is kind of washed out due to the wood and sweetness. These malt bomb type IIPA’s are not my thing, I guess.

22 fl oz bottle, RBSG2009. Pours clear and dark amber with a small white head. Aroma is light yeasty and subdued roasted malt. Fruity too. Mild fruity and malty flavoured, slight phenolic. Smooth fruity and phenolic finish.

Bottle courtesy of ericandersnavy and boomer0813. Pours with a large, creamy tan head and a hazed orange body. Great lace. Aroma of orange, caramel, spicy wood notes, vanilla tannins, earthy and sticky. Taste is bitter and earthy with sherry, bitter toffee, wood, caramel and an english hop profile. Light bubbles and a creamish mouthfeel with low residual sugars/dryness. A little disappointed, but still a good beer.

Pours deep clear copper into a trappist glass. Off-white head recedes to cloud surface and hug rim. Oak aromas. Sweet oaky caramel upfront turning resinous and piney in the lasting sweet oak finish. Alcohol is well hidden; but in the end more oak than DIPA.

22oz Bottle courtesy of PinkZambia. Clear light chestnut with a huge sandy head. Blocky chunky lacing as it recedes. Big oaky aroma. Vanilla and woody. As a matter of fact. I don’t recall noticing such an overpowered Hop profile. The oak is just a bit much. And when I say "a bit" I mean..a lot. Smells great. But like shewing on oak staves. Full bodied, and fairly sweet. Soft carbonation.