2006 draught at EBF ’06 on 2/11/06. Thick looking, goldenrod to bright pencil-yellow, with a foamy white head, surprisingly poorly retained, though it does leave a filmy lace behind. Fair amount of haziness with only bits of bubbles here and there. The nose comes alive with plenty of rich honey and dough. Light vanilla icing and hints of lemon with a touch of drying, nettle-like herbal qualities. Sweet gale and rosemary, with yarrow and juniper as Barry says. Stuff like that. However, the drying note is only minimally felt as this stuff is powerfully malty, with a bit of candied peach and apricot. The flavor confirms the sweetness from the aroma, with a thickening, nearly syrupy mouthfeel (were it not for the pressurized C02, this stuff would be too thick and syrupy, as the cask sample Barry had). Paul (the brewer) told me that he went light on the herbs, only adding a few to the boil and had intended to add a tincture of various mixed herbs to the cask, a sort of dry-hopping of herbs (though a tincture is a liquid, so not really). Anyways, he didnt do that, and hence we have a very malty little gruit. But with the carbonation mitigating the syrupiness, I found the flavors to be absolutely interesting. Light almond skins, thyme, juniper and plenty more vanilla icing and light vanilla extract-like notes. Some fruity cherries and yellow raisins finish things off. Tomme Arthur, at the next booth over, was duly impressed. Tremendously well-done in that it is extremely balanced and only moderately spiced. Too many gruits succumb to a heavy, astringent at times, fatiguing at times, spice/herb level. This one was a malt beverage first, with just light spices added for balance. Very similar to Kuhnhenn’s Gruit, though even maltier than that one, with less herbal notes. No alcohol apparency, thinning, wateriness.