12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled on 9/30/2015. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy deep reddish copper color with a 1-2 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the head. Aromas of plum, fig, pear, apple, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, light roast, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast, figs, and earthy hop notes; with solid strength. Taste of caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, plum, fig, pear, apple, light roast, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Moderate herbal/spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, light roast, and herbal/yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice robustness, complexity, and balance of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast, figs, and earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, and lightly sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with zero warming present after the finish as expected of 4%. Overall this is a very nice fruited English bitter style. All around good robustness, complexity, and balance of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast, figs, and earthy hop flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

Draft at Odd Side, and Michigan rating #1000. Translucent light straw-brown body, thin off-white head. Very light, nearly imperceptible nose with light fig and grain. Grainy body with earthy, nutty fig, grain and slight bitterness. Clean and quaffable. When I first joined Ratebeer, the prospect of sampling 1000 beers brewed in my home state was improbable. It’s been fun and a bit overwhelming to witness the growth of the state’s brewing industry since 2003. Cheers to the entrepeneurs, brewers, and imbibers who made this happen. Here’s to another 1000 Michigan brews.