Can from day 24 of the Beer Republic Advent Calendar. Aroma is bitter. Smoky peat and boozy. Burnt caramel. Dark and glossy opaque cola brown. Virtually no head - a few beige microbubbles. Flavour matches the aroma. Burnt caramel underbelly Big bitter boozy peat and black coffee. Light-medium bodied. Slick verging on oily. Soft-fizzy carbonation. Long dry astringent finish. One of those barrel aged beers where I'd like to try the original to see how overpowering the barrel aging has been.

12 oz. can from Total Wine - San Antonio, TX. Pours a crystal clear gold color with a small, fizzy white head and poor retention. No lacing. Pretty standard pale lager aroma with a hint of bread. Likewise, the taste is almost all pale lager, with little to no blonde ale characteristics. That said, it is a smooth, clean, and easy drinking lager. Very chuggable. Medium-light body. Medium-light carbonation. Not bitter. Maybe not a good blonde, but a refreshing beer.

12 oz. can from Total Wine, San Antonio, TX. Pours a crystal clear gold color with a small white head and fair retention. Zero lacing. Basic pale malt aroma. Basic pale malt flavor to match the nose. I'm not getting any caramel notes. Not much of an amber lager, but it's a good pale lager. Clean and crisp mouthfeel. More carbonation than I expected after the semi-flat pour. Medium-light body. Zero bitterness. Basic and good, but room for improvement.

Bottle, another forgotten gem that I should have drank years ago - but to my surprise the batch one ( totally different beer) I had yesterday was still pretty good, after 10+ years. So hopes here are slightly higher than they were ! This one pours a clear, warm blonde. medium large white head with the lower of average stability. It was a very slight and slow gusher, even when cooled. Nothing problematic, but this does point to a higher carbonation level. Scent is full, again - just like B1 yesterday - showing sóme age, but nowhere near the 10+ years - more like 2. saison can be recognized, but it misses some of the crispyness (can you blame that? ) smokey character is very mild, and seems more phenolic than actual smokey malts - which I understood they used? Taste is sharp, more smokyness here. Strong bitterness remains. Mild age factor - honeyed character , not paper yet. Very high carbonation indeed. not terrible at all - and again shockingly great for it's age. I'd say it taste a bit more aged than the Batch 1 at this point (which is slightly older) but it's still drinkable, still enjoyable even. Mild smoke character doesn't bother me as much as I feared and thought it would have. Damn, these expected drainpours are better than some fresh craft's from nowadays !

Pours a rather clear, darker blonde. Big white, stable head. Scent is bit hay-like, sharp, phenolic, hoppy in a way ( regardless of the age) . not nearly as bad / over the top oxidized as I anticipated it to be. Taste is bitter, fairly sharp, higher carbonation. A certain amount of age can be detected, but nowhere near the 10+ years - this aged pretty damn awesome, concidering. Still vibrant, and very saison like if anything. Since I expected this to have become a drainpour, i'm pleasantly surprised.

19.2 oz. can from HEB in San Antonio, TX. Pours a semi-clear gold color with a white head and decent retention. No lacing. Very light lime aroma. Similar light lime flavor with a light salty finish, as advertised. Slick, kinda slimy mouthfeel. Light body. No bitterness. Not enough carbonation for a lager. Okay, but not as good as a regular lager.

12 oz. can from Spec's - Boerne. Pours a clear orange-gold color with a white head and fair retention. Very few spots of lacing. Very light bready malt aroma. The flavor follows the aroma. Light bready malt flavor with no caramel notes. This is more of a German festbier than a marzen. It's a good clean beer, but very forgettable. Medium body and medium carbonation. No bitterness.

Ever so slightly hazy golden coloured body with a very faint, single centimetre tall, pure white head that fades very quickly. Aroma of soft wheat, grass, coriander seed, yeast, lemons and a good deal of bubble gum and especially bananas - less strong on the spicey notes, but there is a dryness to this one and a light sweet aroma. Medium-bodied; Assertive yeastie and wheat flavour at first with a ton of bready notes along with some supportive sweetness and a hint of light coriander seed and allspice along with a touch of caramelised sugar and toffee notes. Aftertaste shows some robust nutty and earthy flavours with a decidedly yeastie bite that doesn't have any funk, but is a touch bitter and pungent with a good bread component, but no real sweetness. Overall, a rather deep and easy-ish drinking, but the relatively pungent flavours that are usually very muted and soft make this show more in terms of the flavour and light complexities and isn't as easy-drinking and simplistic as most for the style. A good and flavourful beer that shows about right for a german hef, but perhaps a bit stronger near the end, with a rather large malt and bready profile that still makes this nice in the summer, but still a touch strong. I sampled this twelve ounce can, purchased from Total Wine [Forum] in Selma [San Antonio], Texas on 14-October-2019 for US$1,79 sampled at home in Washington on 16-May-2020, one of the first real hot days (over 80degF) here for the season.

Batch: 05 February 2014 Deep, super dark copper and bronzed coloured body with a thin, very faint tan head, a centimetre tall that fades fairly quickly. Aroma of pungent and very musty nuts, earth, grain, toffee, raisins and pitted fruits - quite strong alcohol and astringent pungency as well is noticeable in the nose. Medium to Full-bodied; Robust pitted fruit flavours dominate with prunes, raisins, figs, earth, grain and a good dose of rye is noticeable along with some alcohol, caramelised sugars and a touch of more peaty tobacco notes towards the end. Aftertaste shows the robust crisp malty flavours with the astringent alcohol, light metal and nutty finishes that showcase the pitted fruit and caramelised sugar sweetness at the very end with some raisins and figs for good measure. Overall, a balanced and relatively earthy barley wine that shows some good malt aspects and a smooth sweetness with the caramel the strongest, but also a lot of pitted fruits throughout. Good to sample and the age definitely helped with this one, since there was no punch from the alcohol, just a light warming quality and nothing too deep in flavours - quite mellow after a few years and definitely doesn't show anywhere close to 10,0% abv. I sampled this wax-sealed, 37,5 cL bottle purchased from Spec's Liqour in Dallas, Texas on 01-September-2015 for US$6,62 sampled at home in Washington, a bit more than 4 years later on Christmas Eve, 24-December-2019. Brewed: 05-Feb-2014 // Purchased: 01-September-2015 // Sampled: 24-December-2019