Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Great hoppy aroma along with some nice caramel maltiness. The flavor is loaded with ripe fruit, hops and more of the great caramel malts. A heavy hoppy sipper of a beer a real treat.

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

Bottled@Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Deep reddish amber colour with a foamy mediumsized white head, which leaves some lace. Aroma is sweet malts, some alcohol, vanilla, rye bread, a bit toffee and some dried fruits as well as some mild nectary tones. Flavour is wooden, some sweet malts, alcohol, toffee and mild dried fruity tones with a wee bit of sweet berries as well. Smooth, but as it warms up the alcohol becomes more evident.

Thanks Brian, aroma is quite funky. Taste is red wine in the finish. Not bad but wonder what it would be like fresher.

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

Flaska från trade, årgång 2014. Något murken rostbrun, liten beige krona. Stor kryddig ton både från vinfat och massiv humling. Smakar av vindruvsstjälk, ek, tanniner, druvsötma, kolaremmar, något oxiderade toner, lakritsrot, menthol. En del beska kvar, men har antagligen avtagit med åldern. Smakar som att det varit rejält humlat från början. Hänger kvar länge i munnen. Mycket toner från faten trots att bara hälften är fatlagrat. Gott, om än väl kryddigt.

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

2014 Reserve bottle (Best After 2/24/15--yup, this qualifies!) in trade with AirForceHops--thanks, Chris! Appearance is lightly hazy medium brown (pale red with light source directly behind) with tons of bubbles stuck to the sides of the glass and an initial whoosh of sparkle to the surface but then very light. Ring of off white head with no lacing. Aroma is some caramel and brown sugar with a bit of unfinished wort. Taste is strong caramel/toffee, brown sugar, dark fruit, lighter wine contribution, hints of wort and lasting bread. Mouthfeel is medium side of light-to-medium bodied with smooth texture, lively carbonation initially--mellows as it warms, nice alcohol warmth and sweet finish as taste with lingering warmth. Overall, as anticipated, this has been aged beyond its peak with the slightly unfinished wort smell and overcarbonation being the most obvious signs present and weak barrel the most likely thing missing. Still, some enjoyable features and I feel like I got a sense of what it was like in its heyday.

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

Bottle thanks to Darrin. Pours hazy dark amber with a large offwhite head. Notes of hops, caramel, malt, toast, sweet oranges.

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

22 oz. bottle. 2014 vintage.Aroma is raisins, fig, prune. Flavor is close to the same, addition of red grapes. Alcohol is hidden, soft carb, maybe just a touch of oxidation. Doesn’t ruin it but should have been opened before now.

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

Bottle at Hair of the Dog, Phrom Phong, Bangkok. Poured a murky dark amber colour with a thin broken white head. The aroma is sticky toffee caramel malt. The flavour is strong sweet with a sugary malt, warm alcoholic bitter palate. Medium to full bodied with flat carbonation.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

From Mar 2006

Poured from 22oz bottle labeled 2005 Reserve(room temp) a dark gold with a very small head of foam that dissipated quickly leaving just a ring around the edge.

The smell is very subtle...just barely caught some sweetness in the nose.

The taste is a malty sweet up front..very sweet and woody but some bitterness sneaks its way in midway through and adds some definite kick and then, the finish is on the sweet side again for me. Hmmm...this is pretty good stuff! The bottle says it's aged in oak and it's most apparent when I swish the beer in my mouth from side to side. Wow! Wonderfully complex! Doing that really helps me notice the complexity when I'm sipping it.

Bottom line: My BA hat's off to Deschutes for a great BWSA sampling...the brew has so many good things going on, I didn't even notice the %abv at all. I'm glad I have another bottle!

Edit: 2009 Edition:

A clear copper colour pour with a small head of foam but some good lacing.

It has a fruity, caramel malty nose that is sweet as in....very damn nice. Some alcohol is also there but not objectionable.

Sipping on this puppy is fun..lots of caramel maltiness, lots of fruitiness that both impart major sweet tones but not overly so. Due in part, I think, to a light hop bitterness that does a nice balancing act. Very flavourful but again, there's some alcohol warming here that grows as the session goes on.

The mouthfeel is medium and very smooth as the carbonation is close to medium but still light.

Drinkability? Like with the 2005, this is dangerously drinkable or more appropriately, dangerously sippable. A wonderful brew.