2002 growler. Dark Brown with some reddish golden hues. Slightly cloudy, as this is unfiltered and, to my delight, unpasteurized. Had out of a growler. Nice straw, malt aroma. Some dark dark, full berry aroma on the end. But mostly an earthy almost root taste coming from the barley. Nice grainy/malt character. Wonderful velvety taste. Great natural carbonation. Soft but yet has an appropriate amount of burnt flavor from the roasted malt. As it warmed to room temperature, there were some even caramel tending towards toffee notes. Very balanced ale with a full, malty body. What I enjoyed most was that it was complex and seemed to offer a bit of everything, malt, roast, caramel/toffee flavor, good body, good carb level, even had a bit of hops to it that is apparent right upon sipping it. Could be a little less sweet, as that tends to prevent from drinking much of this at one time. 2004 bottle. Still incredible. Great color, same light dark fruits in the aroma with plenty of lightly bitter, juicy hops, dominated mostly by caramel and chocolate malt. Tastes wonderful even after it has warmed. Less sweet than I rememeber, maybe a bit more bitter. I think if they lowered the alpha acids/took out some hops, this would be even better. As it is, this is one of my favorite brown ales and just a tasty, drinkable beer.