On tap at the Fenway location, 5/9/2005. Dark black color, small, creamy white head, low retention. Aroma of black malt, oily roast, quite a good deal of lactic notes and some caramel. Flavor is oddly quite burnt, yet also incorporates the lactic quality. Oats give it a smooth mouthfeel, but there is a strange burnt rubber and chalkiness that don’t go well together. Dark, burnt hazelnuts, soured cream and a bit of sweet malt. Body was medium, with no real wateriness, but the flavor is just off.

On draught at the Fenway location, 5/9/2005. First, the facts. This is an ale described by the brewer as "malty sweet" with tea and lemon extract used in the fermentation. It is served on ice.
Ya, so talk about unique. I really gave this one a chance and was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it is served with ice, I almost couldnt believe it. An iced-tea colored beer (light amber-gold) with a foamy white head, some retention. Aroma of lemon, tea and honey, quite herbal and much like iced-tea. Flavor, though full of tea and light lemon acidity, does have a strong maltiness. The ice dulls any real complexity, but you can tell there is more here than just tea and lemon flavored nothingness. Body, before the ice melts, is actually medium, with some honeyish consistency, bits of caramel perhaps. Little bit of yeast apparency and then a lemon acidity finish. Strange, strange experiment, but I give them credit for it.

Cask January 2005 Canal St. Bright rusty yellow body with some light orange/copper tints and a thick, creamy white head. Fruity, almost candied citrus notes greet the nose, while there is also some sweet caramel. I always prefer drinking American style IPAs on cask, as I think it helps cut the hugely dry hops bitterness. This is no exception, as the creamy body adds much sweetness and the hops are kept under control for the style. Sweet caramel (much like their Hercules Strong ale) mixes with citrusy American hops. Quite juicy, with a good medium to medium-full body and very low carbonation. Aside from the novelty of it being on cask, there is nothing particularly exciting here.

On draught January 2005 at Canal St. A slightly hazy orange-amber body with a small white head. Aroma of yeast, earthy malt and very dry, almost grassy hops. Flavor is lightly crisp, but has a smooth, almost fruity bouquet of flavors emerge as the body wraps itself around your tongue. Not watery or light at all, for the style. Sweet and buttery malt mixes well with the crisp yeast and lightly dry hops. A very good representation of the style. Very drinkable.

On draught January 2005 Canal St. I thought this thing was dark brown? Oh well, must not have remembered what it looked like, but I do remember the flavor and aroma. Smells strong of nutmeg, light vanilla and some sweet caramel. Hints of citrus as well. Flavor is rich and spicy, with a big caramel and chocolate sweetness, plenty of ginger and cinnamon (tastes more like nutmeg to me). The mouthfeel is rich and creamy, but with a bit too much carbonation. Bit of thinning on the finish, but an otherwise coating, thick body, which helped stop the tobasco sauce that I was practically drinking with dinner.

On draught January 2005 at the Canal St location. Deep golden with caramel/honey tints and a firm, off-white head. Fairly clear. Smells of sweet caramel and powerfully bitter, high alpha American hops. Flavor is beyond unbalanced. This is all hops, with some sweet caramel malt in the background. Citrusy bitter hops at the start, middle and finish. If I had this out of a bottle, I would have poured the rest out. The malt in the background isnt even interesting. It is just sweet, sticky and pure caramel flavor. Full body, is one of the only things this has going for it.

AOBF 04 Draught. Good light raspberry red color with some lighter oranges. Good beige head and lacing, and decent cloudiness. Aroma is fresh and inviting. Lots of soily, earthy hops, probably some centennials and maybe fuggles. Not a tremendous amount of PNW hops so that was a nice change of pace. Flavor is bold and body is medium-full. No wateriness or thinning. I can’t believe it, but this is the first double IPA i’ve had fresh on tap. And what a treat it is, a nice coarse, lightly gritty mouthfeel complements of the unfiltered quality. The hops take center stage but are backed up by a good supporting malt, which is dry and lightly toasty. Some light red fruit flavors, quite earthy and just very fresh tasting. No astringency as Steggie points out. I’m very impressed. Not the most complex double IPA, nowhere near, but still very well-made and wonderful when tried fresh.

Finally get to try this again. Man has it been a long time. I really enjoyed this last time I had it and it actually beat my expectations now. Very fruity nose has much of the California hop bouquet. A bit of dry, grainy maltiness creates some hardness in the nose that cuts the hop nose off a bit short, but the start is delightfully full of cherries, magoes, limes, sweet grapefruit and more. Medium to medium-high strength of aroma as well.
Hops continue their dominance, but again, the malt is well-balanced and provides light caramel sweetness. Some mouthfeel problems from the malts used, as it ranges from a bit dry to a bit too sweet/sticky. But the low carbonation was excellent and the beer was flawless. Cool.

Draft. Dark amber color. Very thin tasting and not much else to it. The best thing about it is it's appearance.

Draft. Nice hop flavor and nicely balanced. It's nothing outstanding, but easy to drink