Sample at the Eurostash II tasting on 12/12/09: This beer pours a deep mahogany color with medium thick and fluffy off-white head that diminishes slowly. Thick sticky rings of lacing on the glass. Aroma of earthy malt and bread, plus some citrus. Medium to full body with an herbal and earthy character, and flavors of grainy malt, grapefruit and hops. Notes of alcohol as well. The finish is doughy malt and hops with a lingering citrus aftertaste. Pretty good overall.

Bottle sample at a tasting. Slightly hazy amber color with a white head. Strong aroma of pine needles and resin. Bitter flavor with some fruitiness, lots of resinous and piney hops, caramel and a bit of alcohol. Medium to full body.

At a tasting, thanks DSG, almost no head, quite clear rusty orange colour, aroma of orange marmalade, lightish bitterness and a strong candy like alcoholic sweetness, also some herbs, sweetish aftertaste. Not too complex and a bit boring.

22oz bottle shared at the DC Local tasting. Transparent copper amber with a thin, sticky white head. Aroma is strong, resiny hops, pine. The hop flavor is very pronounced. Flavor is very nice, caramel, cookie dough, citrus, pine. Finish is a little salty, sweet, sticky.

Bottle from Olbutikken. Pours maroon. Caramell, hops and oatmeal porridge. Oily

Bottle at RBESG 09 Sheffield. Copper colour, slight haze, thin off white head. Really cereally oak on aroma. Sweet, hoppy, toffee flavours, fine.

bottle - Pours hazy orange-brown with a one finger head. It smells of malt and alcohol with some dark fruit, especially cherries. It tastes of big, sweet caramel malt with some dark fruit as well as citrus accented hops in there. It’s full bodied and certainly different.

22 oz. bomber, bought June 09. RATING #1800!!! $16.99 at Binny’s. I’m cracking this barleywine while very young, but I want to review it on Examiner while there’s a chance it’s still in stores. Wet hop smell just in the underside of the crown. Deep garnet brown color admits shadows from the other side. Tiny bubbles keep crowding the underside of the head in my snifter. For a Floyds beer, the smell is somewhat subdued in hops. Some malt sweetness, and little vanilla and maple syrup, maybe even some Maypo®. First sip fights to keep from being swallowed. Brings up warm malty alcohol, and here’s those hops at last. Pine and resin, a bit of gardenia. Not as velvety smooth as an oatmeal stout, but we’re talking much more alcohol keeping it, as Tina sang, "Nissssssse and Rough!" A tinge of English hop earthiness and I sit and contemplate this øl. Going down a lot faster than I imagined. Interesting and a bit "simple," I can see how aging this beer might work in some complexity.