Bomber purchase at Countryside Liquors in Clearwater, FL. Pours clear copper with a nice half inch tan head. The aroma has a sense of urgency as notes of roasted malts, toffee malts, melodeon malts, bread and a mixture of earthiness and pine hops rush to my senses. The taste begins with a mildly tart and bitter combination of malt astringency and pine hops. The flavor grows into a roasted maltiness along with toffee, earthiness and hints of burnt malts. The pine hop bitterness seems to be there from beginning to end but I really like the way the maltiness comes together in the finish and into the after taste. I do get a faint sense of oxidation in both the nose and taste that just takes away a bit from the experience.

Bottle. Mulling spices, chestnuts, malt and slight hops aroma. Dark amber color with with small creamy head. Nutmeg, cinnamon, cherry, malt and bitter hops flavor. Very smooth and nicely balanced. A very nice seasonal beer.

Pour is a dark red with a small tan head. Aroma is a very nice roasted malt with some honey and alcohol. Flavor is even better with lots of roasted malts and butterscotch with some toffee and dark fruit. Pretty decent ale and very tasty.

Bottle. Ruby amber beer with a light tan head. Spicy, malty aroma. Spicy, malty, slight grass flavor with backing citrus and some darker malts. A bit too much hops (or not enough). Starts to get into buttery tones. LIngering grass, citrus, spice and a bit of butter.

Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark caramel color with a huge butterscotch head that lingered. The aroma was sweet, yeasty, nutty and had a light nutmeg undertone. The flavor started out fairly bitter with undertones of yeastiness, caramel, nutmeg, and nut. The finish was bitter and spicy. The beer got significantly more bitter - and less pleasant as it warmed up a bit.

12 oz bottle, best by 9/06-pours a big, foamy, rocky tan head that retains. Clear dark amber color with effervescence. Aroma is malt, sweet, touch of bitter hops. Taste is malt, bitter, then sweet starts to come through but the alcohol overrides the sweetness. The malts and hops are close to balanced…

2004 bottle. Good cherry-to-light burgundy appearance. Mostly filtered, with a light amount of haziness. Big off-white foamy head. Aroma of light cinnamon, dry toffee and a hint of goldings or something similar. Not tremendously powerful. Fruity and spicy beginning, with a dry almost nutmeg like spiciness. Gains some sweetness, and balance. I enjoyed the flavor and it wasnt all that boring, the biggest problem was that it just didnt pack enough flavor in it. Lightly dry, nutty finish, more spice and lightly toasted malt. Quite reminiscent of the Fullers Vintage Ale line (though not as full flavored, balanced or interesting) but it’s on the right track, and for being a year old, it tastes pretty good. Hops and a hint of brown sugar linger on the aftertaste as well as a bit too much bitterness and alcohol. This vintage (2004) has some definite aging potential, as this didnt seem to get watery at all.