Draught at CBC, 11/19/15.
Bright, deep, fiery orange color with a moderate-sized off-white head that shows average retention. Good clarity.
Caramel, toffee, strong fruitiness (light pumpkin, mushy apple, strawberry) and balancing black pepper phenolics are all appropriate in the nose. Very light floral/perfume-like notes from the hops and no alcohol or flaw noted.
Good malt structure up front produces a biscuity/bready-like caramel flavor that is quite dry and nutty. Peppery phenolics continue to keep things dry, with some late vanilla-tinged cream-like sweetness to help balance. Moderate fruitiness keeps it stylistically on point and the textxure is slightly hard but with an ample carbonation that helps soften things somewhat. CBC is really something. I didn’t even care for this beer particularly much, but they are just so god damned well-brewed that you can’t help but give it high marks (if you’re in to that sort of thing, rating to-style/execution).