It pours out of the bottle a brown/red color with a purple hazy bottom. There wasn’t any head even after several aggressive pours. The lacing is very light and spotty. Some sediment at the bottom appears. The smell has some dark fruits, malts and a light roasted chocolate. The taste has the hops come out pretty strong with some nice malts coming in to play. The palate is medium with a subdued carbonation on the tongue and mouth, moderately drinkable. Overall, I liked this for me, and its good for style as well.

I believe this was a bottle from 2010. Aroma has lots of malt character. Some caramel, toffee and raisin. A hint of oxidation showing with some honey an a touch of wet cardboard. The hop character is quite subdued with just a hint of a dank, woody hop note. A hint of a chocolate character as well. Light alcohol note. Pours a rather cloudy brown with some amber highlights. Thin, slightly off white head that recedes to a thin layer. Slight lacing and moderate legs. Flavor starts with sweet caramel and toffee with a hint of a cracker note. A light roast and burnt toast flavor present as well. Some sweet fruitiness - raisin and plum. Medium spicy alcohol flavor in the finish. Moderately strong bitterness, but quite balanced with the alcohol and malt. A touch of hop astringency. Light woodsy hop flavor. Mouthfeel is medium full bodied with medium carbonation. It's a bit thin and watery though. Alcohol warmth is moderate. Astringency is low but present. Overall this is a good barleywine but nothing amazing. It has a $5.99 price tag on it and for that price this bomber is a steal; I imagine it costs more now. The hop character has mostly faded away but there was still a bit to the beer. The oxidation is starting to show, but in a decent way - more honey than wet paper. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

12oz bottle-tight offwhite-hazy gold. A-citrus/pine (soapy), 2nd lt/med malt. T-pine hops with a weird bite, 2nd lt/med malt-caramel.

Thanks to Bruce for the opportunity to try this one. Pours a solid dark brown/black color with a smallish off white head that quickly dissipates to a cap. Smells of roast caramel and ash with a spicy earthy menthol aroma that I assume is spruce. This beer smells a bit oxidized or maybe that’s a mix of spruce and pumpkin. The flavor is a bit spicy and roasty. Herbal spicy menthol hits up front followed by a roasty caramel and toffee. This finishes with a long lingering bitterness that seems more intense than just hops. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a roasty bitter mouthfeel. This one is certainly out of the box, but it really didn’t work all that well for me. The pumpkin is almost non existent and the spruce adds a harsh bitterness that I really couldn’t get into.

Pours a deep golden/amber color with a smallish off white head that quickly dissipates. Smells of caramel and brown sugar with a touch of ethanol, and sweet almost herbal aromas wafting from the glass. The flavor is sweet and dark sugary and caramel like the aroma promised, but with a solid shot of dark sweet fruits as well. Medium body with a light level of carbonation and a sweet almost syrupy mouthfeel. Decent enough beer, but seems caught somewhere between a bock and a barleywine. Confusing but drinkable I guess.

Slightly hazy copper coloured body with a light orange glow and a nice, relatively fast-dying tan head. Aroma of alcohol, yeast, coriander seed, curacao, full oranges, tons of wheat and a lot of nice sugars. Full-bodied; Strong yeast and wheat flavour at first with a lot of orange, curacao, coriander seed and a bit of a banana and bready type flavour. Aftertaste shows a bit of the yeast, some sugars and a hint of bubble gum - very nice. Overall, relatively potent and a nice beer for the style - good flavour and a nice subtle difference than most other trips. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Liqour Outlet in Boonton, New Jersey on 09-September-2012 for US$5.55 sampled at home in Washington on 30-October-2012.

Location: 22 oz bottle from Buy Rite, 10/18/12

Aroma: The nose is lightly smoked malts, a little caramel, peat, and some wood
Appearance: This one pours a murky brownish-orange color with a small beige head
Flavor: The taste is a little smokier then the nose, but otherwise similar, it is also light-medium sweet
Palate: The body is medium, it feels a sticky and a little smooth, with a fairly soft carbonation
Overall Impression: I thought this was a pretty decent smoked beer, but it didn't have a ton of depth to the nose or the flavor. I liked this one, but I just can't really find a reason to go much higher then middle of the road rating-wise.

Deep burnt copper coloured body with a two centimetre tall off-white head and more loose sediment than i’ve ever seen in a beer before - this one is a pure colloid. Aroma of bright grassy and herbal hops with a hint of grapefruit, a decent amount of yeast and some light sugars noticeable. Medium-bodied; Assertive grassy and grapefruity hops with a very mild and perhaps light malt backbone, more of a single IPA than double, for sure. Aftertaste has the grassy and lightly herbal hops with a little malt, some sweetness and not much else - no depth nor complexity. Overall, more of a single IPA (which is fine by me), but still lacking in depth and malt backbone with no complexity at all. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Liqour Outlet in Boonton, New Jersey on 28-May-2012 for US$5.55 sampled at home in Washington on 14-October-2012.

22 oz. bottle, pours a clear coppery orange with a medium foamy beige head with good retention. Aroma of toasted bread, biscuity malts, and mild piney and resinous hops, though rather mild on the hop character. Flavour of faded, muted piney hops, lots of caramel malt, toasted bread, and some wood. For a fresh bottle, this is surprisingly muted on the hops and features a much heavier caramel malt backbone without the often-accompanying sweetness from more malt-heavy IIPAs. Rather lively carbonation for the style, more so than I'd desire from an IPA. All in all, solid but with obvious flaws.