Vintage 2001 bottle at The Brickskeller DC. Very smooth, mellow, poured still with a white head, less carbonation, still a very pine and citrus flavor.

2006 vintage 12 oz bottle poured light copper color with quarter inch off white head. Sweet malt, roasted malt, pine hop and a hint of spice and almond aroma. The taste is big up front pine hops that don’t subside until well after the aftertaste. About midway some roasted malts, nuttiness and hints of spice emerge. Lots of carbonation to ensure the flavor is bright. This beer grew on me and by the end it was really hitting the spot.

2003 bottle, almost 4 years old right now. Graciously provided from TBC2’s stash, thank you. When going for something special like this I like to break out the special glassware, the Tripel Karmeliet large tulip glass. The barleywine pours with absolutely no head and just a spot of lacing. Color is very dark ruby amber, almost brown, with no clarity at all. Aroma is still potent, strong sweet caramel sweetness, some resin-y piney, some fruit punch-iness mixed up in the hop profile. The taste is getting really nice, still a strong hop aspect - bitter (less than fresh of course), citrus-y, tropical fruit. Some underlying chocolate coming through and the hops have died down. Getting real nice, some tea like aspects all around. A nice full chewy body. Heft to this beer. Carbonation is medium, surprisingly with the lack of head. Leaves a hoppy fruit aftertaste with lingering bitterness. Overall, I am not a big fan of a fresh one but I also see a long life for this beer. I got another 03 which I think will peak later on, we will see maybe in another 3-4 years. 8/3/8/4/16.

Re-rate, 2009 bottle, I think this is the freshest I have ever had this beer and I am glad cause this is crappy. Yes, I said crappy. Either age makes it a million times better or it just has gotten very crappy. It is all astringent hops with no malt behind it. Eh, I just don’t like it. The burps taste good though. What happened to this beer? 6/3/6/3/13.

2006 bottle...beautiful copper color...tasty hop flavor, although not tasting too many other flavors...the texture is lightly creamy and delightful...crisp and refreshing...with a nice bitter flavor...very thin lacing and a little fruitiness in the mid-palate...yum this was my thanksgiving brew....Aroma=6....Appearance=4...Flavor=6...Palate=4...Overall=15-----2007 bottle..Hop in the aroma with malts, in an almost perfect blend for the nose....Rich copper color, cloudy off-white head....creamy full to medium body....a playful medley of hops dancing in the juice of semi-real peaches... in the aftermath, a bitter finish, but so pleasant...yum....rating reflects 07 bottle

Big thick head for this beer with a cloudy amber body (might have just been the glass that I was using though). Smells of typical malty ale with the dried fruit smell exuding from it. This beer is extremely hoppy and it seems as though that flavour seems to blur out every other flavour. ’Twas also quite bitter. Indeed it was really a very brutal ale... probably a little bit too hoppy for my tastes, but a rather good beer never the less.

Bottle. Sour orange/grapefruit hops aroma with a hint of cherry. Reddish amber with a moderate head. Strong grapefruit hops flavor up front - grapefruit stays with you for a while blending with a sweet cherry flavor for the finish. Very nice.

(Bottle 35 cl) Pours a clear, pilsener golden with a small, creamy, white head. Lightly sweet, malty aroma. Medium body with lightly sweet, malty notes and some fruitiness. A dry finish without much bitterness. Quite refreshing. 021206

12oz bottle shared at the KnutAlbert meet up at The Rake, Borough Market. Brown/amber colour with beige head. Bit of bad malt on aroma, but some nice choc too. Choc milkshakey flavour, it’s very choccy and milky in fact. SN hops are there too. It’s ok and I didn’t pick up on the puke aroma as others did.

Süffiger, süßlich würziger Beginn. Angenehme Hopfennoten, die relativ konstant bleiben. Mild, geringe Fruchtnoten. Süßlich malziger Abgang. 11/11/12/11/10/11