7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

December ’06 bomber drunk on 4/18/07
Large, foamy white head shows moderate retention, light lacing and tops a deep golden body with some peachy tints. Fine-bubbled carbonation rising sporadically.
Deep simcoe nose shows tons of pine, though it’s not horribly acidic or bitter (there’s a punch to it though). Hop oils are quite fat and push aside much of the malt, though some moderate toasty, lightly sourdough-like malts fight back (munich maybe?). Pine sap and wintergreen sit starkly on the end, with a clean yeast and very minimal malt sugars. With warming and breathing, the carbonation lessens and the effect is to allow the hop aromas to spread out more and become a little more "fuzzy". Not as concentrated, thick and oily, though still displaying plenty of conifer and white grapefruit. Alcohol is lightly felt and the strength of the beer hangs on the end, with a bit of doughiness and dextrinous heft.
Fruitiness is immediately apparent, but it’s a light pineapple-peach flavor that gives way quickly to strong pine and very dry white grapefruit notes. Some breadiness from the malt, maybe, and definitely moderate dextrines. Carbonation is kind of a let down. For a bottle conditioned beer, it’s a bit loose and prickly. Acidity constantly and inevitably builds up, but enough brisk pine and citrus flavors hang on to keep it enjoyable all the way to the end. You know what else? This beer is about 4 months old. No doubt it has lost a lot of its hop flavor and aroma, showing more bitterness than was intended by the brewer. Still must be incredibly bitter fresh, but with that fresh simcoe that still shows through strongly even now.