Very dark black with a thin off white head. Malty aroma, flavor of roasted malt and nuts. Nice beer, but not amazing.

Growler from a store, was skeptical at first because the neck was empty but when I opened there was plenty of carbonation hissing. Pours with a frothy medium head into this small hotel scotch-type glass. Leaves a sticky-icky lacing all over the sides of the glass. Aroma is lightly oily tangerine-citrus. Light sweet biscuit and caramel maltiness. It melds nicely with nothing being too strong and the most standout aspect is the tangerine hoppiness, which is really nice. Taste is very nice as well with a well mixed tropical fruitiness and English like biscuit. It really seems like a mix between British IPA and APA. Leaves an effervescent hoppy earthiness. Lightly bittered. A very soft mouthfeel. Overall a very nice IPA in a different direction than most breweries go nowadays. A nice thirst quencher that turns into a good sipper, returnable and recommendable.

A golden barley wine with a thin white head. A cloying vinous aroma with strong alcohol notes, rather simple. In mouth, a sweet light barley wine with grainy malt, not refined, rather boring. Tasted at "Montréal YeHA! Party 2006". Dec. 16 2006.

Bottled, thanks jjpm74! Darkbrown, firm head. Roasty coffee aroma. Medium dry with cocoa and butter, rounded mouthfeel. Solidly malty with notes of herbal spices and dried fruits. Salty finish.

Medium amber pour, with a lightly fizzy body and pretty much no head - aroma of cookie dough, brown sugar, molasses, and some mild winter/christmas spices (the aroma reminds me of baking christmas cookies as a kid....a lot) - a bit of sweet maple syrup up front, followed quickly by the same qualities in the aroma, dominated mostly by brown sugar, with a slight cookie quality - mild, drying spices arrive later, along with a cleaner, lighter sweetness, like pure cane sugar - alcohol warmth crops up near the finish, adding a rum-like flavor - a little thin in the finish, making the alcohol burn a little bit more than is welcome, but otherwise this is an original and enjoyable barleywine.

This appears to be a staple product at taprooms around Boston, and I can’t say I blame them - it’s rather novel (for the inexperienced), and pretty approachable - dark brown with a small, off-white head - aroma of spent coffee grounds and cream - somewhat thin-bodied, and quite bitter - some sweet cream character arrives late - the coffee flavor seems stale and tobacco-like - the overall impression is like drinking a cup of sweetened coffee that has been sitting out all day - now, I love coffee, even if it’s been sitting out all day, but for most it might be a turn-off.

2006 bomber drunk in August ’06, fresh.
This came out right around when Long Trail put out their hefeweizen and I remember enjoying the Long Trail significantly more. Not sure why I didn’t rate this one.
Very light golden, with not as much haziness as you would expect. Some tints of bronze and a small, creamy white head that slowly recedes to cover, but does not provide much lacing.
Very spicy-phenolic aroma to start with. Dry white pepper, toasted/roasted clove notes and a strong herbal hoppiness. Never gains much sweetness, certainly no rich honey-like pils malt sweetness. Nutty, fresh yeast and creamy, dry wheat make for a very mellow finish. Like the Long Trail, a very light, fluffy version, with apparent wateriness in the mouthfeel, but definitely intended. Still, the light herbal hop notes and even a bit of citric bitterness give it moderate crispness at points. Maybe just a little too dry, nutty and wheat-like for me, however. The Long Trail hefe had much more fruitiness and the citrus and herbal notes were integrated in to the sweet malts, giving a more complex flavor profile. I’m pretty sure we’ll see this one again this summer. I’ll revisit then and tighten up this rating.

Draught at EBF on 2/10/07
Syrupy-looking golden-bronze beer with large bubbles in the liquid and a thick white head that recedes to cover but provides very sticking lacing. Medium clarity, quite a bit of haziness.
Lots of sweet dough and very juicy, thick fruitiness is somewhat offset by heady, floral hoppiness. Bitterness collects on the end of the nose, but is joined by the peachy-mango-pear fruitiness. Very sweet, it seems, with lots of strong honey, bordering caramel. Mostly clean, however, and I don’t find any real metallic or dirty notes. Just a bit of alcohol sharpness and maybe a slight, slight touch of spicy phenols.
The sweet, sticky malts seem rather underattenuated, giving a sluggish sweetness that is not really balanced by the moderate bitterness. Acids and breadiness linger, while an attempt is made to form some pleasant hoppy flavors, but it’s too dry, floral and just not in large enough abundance to really pull much attention from these malts. Rather doughy on the end, with light acidity and some vanilla and honey flavors. Low carbonation. Alcohol warmth is apparent as are some toasted malts. Eh, don’t really see the draw here. Berkshire is just not an "Imperial" style brewer. I respect their beers for always being very reserved and quite balanced/low-key. This seems very forced and unrefined/unfocused.

Draught at EBF on 2/9/07
Chocolate-milk colored body is very hazy, showing only medium-low clarity. It has tan streaks through it and a light-tan head that recedes quickly to partial cover and a ring, leaving moderate lacing, however.
Gummy chocolate and vanilla cream are heavily sweet in the nose, masking the bourbon initially and only allowing it some expression towards the finish, where it’s actually quite juicy?. Can you say that about bourbon? It gives it a very fruity/acidic roundness that mixes with the chocolate and sweet pale malts to give a molasses and light coffee nose. Fresh, nutty yeast a la berkshire on the end as well, and fruity, lightly acidic and very juicy-green hops wade in to the mix. Not sure they are very at home there, as I’ve never found green, juicy American hops to work too well with chocolate and bourbon and the like. Medium to medium-high strength of aroma, alcohol well-concealed.
Bourbon is stronger in the flavor, breaking through the dense caramel-chocolate-pale malt combo of sweet, gooey, caramel and milk chocolate flavors to provide spiciness and a fair amount of heat. It dries it out well, but leaves a bit too much sharpness acidity on the end, with hops briskly adding to the acidity. They are juicy and fruity, but again, seem a bit out of place here. Not much oily/oakiness, moderate alcohol apparency, some thinning on the end, but through-and-through, a very soft, fairly deep body, with moderate to moderately-low carbonation. Nice to see the barrel character toned down from their last bourbon experiment (Kentucky Porter).

Pours bright amber into a shaker. Off white head quickly recedes. Crisp with malt front to back.