25 years to make this as your defining style? I hate to see the 50, or 25 years worth of Inbev.. Pours reddish orange clear with good head and lacing. Aroma has burnt malt and lots of sour-mash. Soft carbonation. Finishes mostly sour with some bitterness. A little bit of hops floating through here. Bottle.

Draft at Top Hops... English style hops and doughy malts... Reddish-orange beige h mid-h lace... Mid sweet, plenty malty, light-mid bitter... Medium body, soft carb, a bit dry on finish...

Bottle sample at Beoir Go Leoir. Caramel malt and orange hops aroma. Clear copper with a small beige head. Buttery caramel malt, orange, and cheesy hops aroma. Medium body, soft carbonation.

Bottle: I was in Kenwood Oak Lawn to sample Sophie, Matilda & Summertime, but the manager just got in cases of this, and wanted me to push it. So here’s a report from the six pack I bought for sampling. Big nose of English hops under the cap. Deep brown color, but more translucent, a good-sized head of foam that settles to some lace around the edges. Taste has toasty malts, not as deep as a brown ale, but indeed a fuller version of a bitter (call it a Fuller Fullers, eh?). A full-on, warm-fermented English Ale with more body than the base Honkers, and delicious when chilled. I know I just got paid to sample this out, but I didn’t get a taste until after I finished the work and polished off an extra bottle in my basement writing the report.