Rerate from tap at FB. Clear Bright deep golden, golden cream. Dry leafy hops, grass, a hint pine. A bit chalk, pilsneriish finish., 6 3 7 3 14 From Tap: Tasted it when too cold. Dark amber hue. Nice full, hoppy taste. A bit like lemon ice tea.

Very dark but not opaque. Slight shade of garnet showing through. Huge creamy dark tan head, lasts forever with heavy lacing. Rich malty aroma with caramel notes, plus some cinnamon and spicy hops. Smooth presence up front, a little sharp and tangy with medium roasted flavors. Predominantly dry. Heavy mouthfeel and strongly bitter finish. Like their porter, there's an almost plastic-like aftertaste but not as pronounced. Still, a finish twanginess is not altogether pleasant.

Rerate: Cloudy yellow color (if you swirl the sediment in). Crisp and somewhat citrusy (lemon) with some body, and more flavor (mostly a zesty maltiness) than most clean American wheats. But still, as a clean American Wheat, it is somewhat bland, and lacks distinction.

2002 draught. Probably one of my least favorite styles of beer, but Sierra Nevada does a good job. had it on tap, and it was good. Had a good round malt character, good bitter notes, with an even character and of course. . . hops.

2002 draught. Wow, hop_sing really liked this one, i better try it again, but i had it on tap and was left thinking. whats so special about this? just another good AIPA. seems like SN ran out of ideas for this one and just made a modest traditional AIPA. certainly nothing wrong with that though. 6/3/6/3/12
Draught 4/16/05Been a looooong time since I had this last, so was interested to see it on draught at American Flatbread. Chewier, caramelier malt than I recall, with juicy hops flavor and light yeast nuances. Yes it is well made, but perhaps a touch two-toned (juicy/floral hops...caramel malt). But I like juicy, flavorful hops much more than I like beat you over the head bitter hops. Medium-full body. Golden-amber-caramel color, white head, some retention. Creamy mouthfeel. 7/4/7/4/14

1999 bottle sampled in 2002. The 99 was almost perfect. not too malty for a barley, good classic hops and amazingly not syrupy at all after 3 years of sitting. A wonderful beer with a smooth palette. 2003 sampled in 2003. Way too new. Tons of bitter hops flavors dominate the palate, there is some toffee sweet malt that needs to develop still. Alcohol not overpowering. Good clean flavor, just needs lots more cellaring. Another barley with super potential.
Fresh 2005 draughtPerhaps it’s just me, but this one seemed far less complex than I remembered, though maybe it’s just too young? Surprisingly, the hops didnt blow me away, and there was ample caramel malt and light residual sugar to balance. I much prefer this aged, but this 2005 is much better fresh than was the 2003. A bit thin towards the end. Dropping it a couple of points (1 in flavor and 1 in overall) but some more aged samples are always in order.
2006 bottle fresh. Rather straight-forward caramel toffee with good old pine/citrus hops. Quite a bit less body than I remember, seemingly somewhat more filtered. Gets a bit sweetish/syrupy and then peters out on the end. Flavors are true and good, if somewhat less complex than the best of the best, but the mouthfeel needs work.

01 in bottles and on tap (4.8 rating:8/5/10/5/20). Unbelievable. I remember thinking after my first sip. Was that really what i just tasted? I cant buy/drink enough of this. Just amazing complexity, good trailing bitterness, great reddish amber hue, wonderful balance. One of my favorites. 2002 bottle (02 rating: 7/5/6/2/11). Arg! theyve ruined it! Theyve added way too much hops this season and it has lost its complexity. I realize this is an IPA. But it is a winter/holiday beer and I have appreciated the more-than-onesided flavor of not just hops, that it had in previous years. I did not even enjoy drinking it, but that is probably due to my disappointment. Hopefully next season will be back to superb. ---------------------- 2003 bottle and draught Well it’s less than superb and still a far, far cry from 2001 and back (from what I’ve heard before 2001). On the positive side, it’s better than 02. They’ve added back some decent malt, but nowhere near as much, nor does it have the nice chewy texture. The complexity is still lacking and the beer seems thinner all around with the flavor nowhere near what it was. Better luck next year I guess (03: 7/5/7/4/14). 2004 bottle Ah, much better, we’ve gotten rid of the over-the-top and unbalanced bitterness. Much more easygoing, lower acidity, with a soft malt balance. Much more a traditional American IPA. Lots of bread notes (honey wheat) and some toffee and toastiness. 7/5/8/5/16
2005 draught Quite dry and very bitter and acidic this year compared to some other recent years. The malt complexity still hasnt returned to what it used to be. Seems to have that lackluster texture as well, gets a bit too watery on end. 7/4/7/3/13
Nov 2006 draught Nice, this is much improved. Good balance between hop bitterness and flavor, nearly-creamy mouthfeel shows light sugars. A tinge of crystal malt sourness/bittersweetness creeps in and is not too pleasant to my tastes, but there’s lots of big fruity/leafy hops and not so much pine. A very good year and I’ll be happy to drink more this year. Something like 7/5/8/4/15

Wow i can never find this beer, the two times ive had it, it has been an absolute pleasure. Maybe could use a bit more flavor. Goes down easy though, and has a great wheat taste. Pours with a rich golden yellow color, and has a low level of carbonation which was a plus. Rerate. After trying more wheats, this one just dosent impart enough flavor. It is too dry and could use more flavor, though I guess it's not trying to be a German wheat