12oz bottle from Crosling, drunk on 9/2/06. Not sure of the age.
Very deep red-clay body has copper-orange highlights and a very high clarity, though the liquid looks very thick/viscous. Off-white head is flimsy, receding very quickly to partial-cover/ring and then nothing, in a matter of seconds. No lacing left behind. Sporadic, large bubbles drift lazily upwards. No sediment on the bottom.
Munich malt in the aroma pretty much overlays everything. Bready, lightly acidic sourness seems at odds with the clarity/crispness that these citric hops would like to deliver. Dry, thick, pine resin sits on the end and in between there is a touch of cherry and orange fruitiness. I keep getting an odd, almost chalky, dull/bland note, maybe the wheat (not that I would have guessed that). Whatever it is, it seems mainly stale, like preliminary oxidation. Candy sweet malts seem to outdo the hops, and in the end, I’m left with a large amount of sugariness, growing stale and finally bready and sour/acidic with hard pine and raw citrus.....
Seems like most of the bright/lively hop flavors have passed out of the flavor, as this is a syrupy-sweet, thick, cloying mess of a beer. Pine acidity, with dry orange-rind bitterness and an old, leafiness are all that are left as far as hops. Hard crystal maltiness produces caramel and candy flavors, while the munich malt keeps things sourish and bready. Forced carbonation is large-bubbled, not engaging and exacerbates the syrupiness. I think Nick is paying me back for the Nashoba Valley Peach Lambic ;)