Bottled (BB 12/2005)
Coppr brown, small off-white head. Nose has fruity hops and also yeasty notes. Mildly hoppy, medium-bodied. A bit sweet, English-type session ale.

(Bottle 35, 5 cl) Amber, slightly hazy, small creamy head. Very malty with pronounced notes of caramel. Very sweet actually - the whole way through. In it’s basic structure this is not so different from an IPA, just completely without the hop-bite. 250505

2005 bottle. I wonder what were the choices given to the brewer that he chose a brown ale??!! I can just imagine. . ."Well, it’s time for you to choose a beer, would you like to make a Trippel, dubble, maybe a Double IPA or a barleywine, how bout an Imperial Stout or a Dortmunder??" "I think I’ll brew a brown ale!!!" Haha, whatever. . .His choices were probably more like, "brown ale, pale lager, APA, IPA". Ok, ok enough of that.
Pour is a clear, dark, chocolate brown body, very fine bubbles rising rapidly to form a one-finger off-white head, with no lacing, and little retention. Aroma of light yeast, toffee, minerals and soft milky chocolate. Hints of flavorful, fuzzy, earthy green hops as well. Flavor begnis full of toffee and chocolate, light, sticky molasses/brown sugar and lots of crystal malt on the finish. English hops are flavorful, and quite restrained, little to no bitterness. Some mild fruitiness, a bit of nuttiness and touches of buttercream towards the end. Medium body with no wateriness. Pretty hard, filtered American mouthfeel, too much carbonation at first. For all of the full flavor, it’s only moderately complex. Well-made but very safe, as jay says.

Thanks to Matta for this one! Good tan head that forms over a deep Garnet colored body. Clean yeasty aroma with some light malt. No faults, no surprises in the flavor, just clean light sweetness with an uneventful palate. Decent but this stays in very safe territory.

22 oz labeled "limited release" must be a winter 2004 bottle. Pour is a clear ruby-orange-mahogany, quite a layered color effect with lasting light beige head, that is very creamy and thick, but with virtually no lacing (filtered). Smells of dry breadiness, light roast and toasted malt, caramel, hints of cherries and candied oranges. A little bit of stale cardboardy-mustiness. Flavor begins quite sweet and sugary. Basic caramel and toffee malt flavors with some English yeast fruitiness (cherries, plums, stawberries). A subdued roastiness goes well with the creamy sweetness, but could be, perhaps, a bit more assertive. As it warms and breathes, some of the sugary thickness recedes and leaves behind a lighter, mroe chocolatey and fruity concoction. Hints of spice and English-like hops (dry, soily, slightly bitter). The creamy malt sweetness is reserved for the finish now, which comes alive with depth of flavors (caramel, brown sugar, cake icing, Godiva liqueur, chocolate covered cherries, cinnamon and allspice). The longer it warms and breathes, the more I enjoy it. Medium-full body with a lightly creamy mouthfeel despite the seemingly high filtration. No alcohol apparency.

Orange beer with olive shine; yellowish-orange head, not lasting. Creamy nose, bit dull, spicey. It’s definitely Fuggles; with some decent American hop in this concentration, aroma had gone trough the roof. Snif. A bit honeyish. Quite bitter taste, but uniform, unidimensional. Just a little crystal malt, toasted maybe underneath. Bitterness diminishes gradually, fading with no new aftertaste. Bit burning MF, light to medium bodied. Empty palate for an IPA. Timid, apart from the bitterness. Americans, leave the Fuggles/Goldings and above all the Maris Otter to the Brits. There’s enough of that dead-boring stuff around.

2005 bottle. Very strong yellow-gold appearance, not watered down looking. Slight copper-brass tone to it. Lightly hazy with a moderate amount of head, fairly well-retained. Aroma of wheat, light soap, a touch of sour yeast and a bit of light vienna malt. Grainy huskiness in the flavor, with a smooth torrefied wheatiness. Crisp, lightly citric hops and a good deal of body, relative to style. Very drinkable, refreshing, no off-flavors. Peppery carbonation, a touch of honey, drinkable to the extreme and light-bodied, but not watery.

2004 bottle. Clear golden body, with a slight orange tinge to it. White head is not long retained. Aroma has a dirty, soily hops smell, but overal, not very strong (even from a tulip). Begins with a little bit of light caramel and honey and you quickly get some light fuzzy, leafy hops bitterness and flavor. It’s fairly dry and only a little bit juicy. Lots of bitterness on the end, but the hops flavor never really gets intense, funky, smoky or terribly flavorful. Medium body, no wateriness or thinning, but it’s not real full to begin with.