Bottle. A really weird beer. Cloudy amber with a small head and medium lace. Aroma was medicinal and herbal. Taste was bitter with a herbal tea flavor. Dry aftertaste.

22oz bomber pours hazy orangish copper wit weak tan head of foam. The aroma offers up raspberry like fruit notes and lesser amounts of black licorice and anise spice. It then gets a bit musty with sort of a fruity earthiness. The taste is similar with a berry or raspberry fruitiness mixed with a modest level of anise spice. The more I drink the more earthy anise it seems to get as well as sort of pumpernickel into the finish.

Bottle. Pours with a very minimal (very very lightly) hazed golden to light orange hue with a large bone hued head that slowly recedes, but still has pretty decent retention. Aromas are very herbal and spicy. I guess I misread the label...I was thinking Chai, not Chi. Interesting. Chinese 5 Spice, clove, sezuchan (sp?) peppercorn, pine, tea, earthy, pepper. Quite spicy and floral. Medium bready malt character. Light butterscotch notes. Some floral and possibly slightly oxidized hop character. Flavor is medium sweet, floral and herbal. Bready, biscuity, crystal malt, ice tea, green tea. Complex herbal character that I cant quite place. Definitely something clove like, lightly peppery. Not too much else. Hope this doesn’t mess too much with my plans for sleep in an hour or so. Interesting. Light peppery heat at the back of the throat. Pretty tasty, but nothing special. Medium bubbles, nice malt backbone. Light tannins on the mouth. Lightly lingering sweet and floral notes. Decent.

12oz pint at the brewpub pours a hazy orange with zero head. Nose is like a box of crayons, waxy plastic, faux citrus, herbs, perfume, orange candies. Flavor has more punch, sweet orange soda, thyme, lavendar. Tastes like herbal tea that someone mixed with orange seltzer. Medium bodied, oily finish.

Slightly muddy brownish glow with a ruby tint and a thin, but noticeable tan head. Aroma of tea, caramel, alcohol, pit fruits and some very minor sweetness. Medium-bodied; Strong, very potent flavour of malt, tea, nuts, earth and a little spice and herbal characteristics. Aftertaste is not very pleasant packing more of a spice and tea note than anything of signifcant value and the finish isn’t spectacular. Overall, an okay beer with a decent idea turns into a beer definitely worth passing up - especially if it’s full price. I sampled this pint on draught at Pete’s Brass Rail in Danville, California on 19-March-2011.

Draft at Marin. Not really sure how to rate this one. Very perfume-y aroma. Lots of jasmine with some spice and aromatic bark. Herbal. Verges on sickly sweet and medicinal but doesn’t quite go over the edge. Odd body. Not really recognizable as an ESB. I’m not a fan, but it could have been much worse.

Tap at the Raley Field Brewfest. Pours amber with foamy off-white head. Smells herby. Tastes fresh and of tea or herb. Not heavy, but not watery. Unusual body - maybe like tea with sugar? Not that it is at all sweet. Whatever, it’s pretty refreshing.