EBF 2007 - one of the less graceful barrel-aged beers of the fest - after a bad experience with the old v, I was hoping for redemption - this was a little better, but not by much - viscous, you bet, coating the mouth with heavy, bourbon sweetness - alcohol burns the tongue and throat, but because of the heavy bourbon character, this is almost not a problem - a bit boozy - notes of port and oak come through to add a bit more complexity - this beer was a real smack to the palate, but not in an entirely good way - too brash and overbearing.

Cloudy gold appearance. Very nice herbal hop aroma. Flavor is bitter hops, which linger on the palate, and combine with citrus to make this a better than average ipa.

2006 bomber shared with SuIIy on 1/18/07
Dark, near-black body shows a bit of dark mahogany on the edges. Medium tan head is only one-finger high and recedes somewhat quickly to partial cover….Kind of odd, you usually get better retention from PP (though this is the first stout/barleywine sort of beer I’ve had from them so what do I know). The head can be coaxed up again with swirling, but never remains long. Little/no lacing to be had either. Clarity is medium; despite my best efforts to leave the thick layer of sediment at the bottom, the beer is just dark and thick.
A delayed onset of slightly fruity, rather bitter and citric hops allows time for grudgingly sweet malt notes to waft up. Dark chocolate brushed with light char and almost creamy-sweet milk chocolate notes combine with a fine balancing act as a hint of cherry-vanilla can be found as well. Green, juicy but also rather heavily bitter hops finally come and soak in to the malt well. Interesting combinations of fruit (cherry, orange, apple), heavy pine/citrus and chocolatey-sweet malts produce a fairly domineering, but interesting aroma. A bit of ashiness dries things out on the very end, with notes of bitter cocoa, but enough residual sweetness makes it easily bearable. Medium-high strength of aroma, quite sniffable, but the hops sure give a big jolt initially. Dosent seem very focused and I’d be surprised if the brewer’s intentions were to toss a bunch of fruity and bitter hops in to different dark malts and lots of base malt and see what happened. But regardless, the overall excellence of brewing at Pizza Port wins out and no flaws or any real problems are encountered. Little to no alcohol heat in the nose relative to its strength, maybe a touch of dry vapors after warming.
Not quite as sweet to begin the flavor, a lightly gritty dark malt character scrapes at the palate lightly, while cigars, cherries, dry cocoa and vanilla all explode in every which way. Residual sugars do catch up and soften the texture a good deal, whle providing some creamy sweetness that is much needed, as the hops are very bitter and challenging. Citrus and light pine, quite dry and strong attempt to overwhelm the malt balance. Much of the acidity is soaked up, but some is left in excess and bites at the palate. Char reprise on the finish, with plenty of hops (bitterness and flavor) and light caramel breadiness. With warming, I find a lot of cherry and vanilla, quite enjoyably so, but the hop wallop fatigues the palate and dosent seem to die down. Alcohol rather apparent by the end.

Bottle, part of a stellar package sent to badnewsbeers by cquiroga. Murky sediment-laden orange-brown body, thin-medium buff head. Aroma of tropical fruits and other citrus, emphasis on mangoes and grapefruit. Sugary malts pair nicely with the complex fruity nose. The flavor was a surprisingly quick hit of grapefruit rind, followed by an indistinct, long, thin bitterness. Leaves me a bit wanting in its palate. The aroma is the highlight here, but it’s still a nice beer.

Pours deep mahogany into a snifter. Head quickly subsides to nothing. Chocolate and alcohol aromas. Sweet (dare I say viscous) caramel and molasses with lasting slightly bitter cocoa/alcohol finish.

Thanks to beer_Hawk for sharing this one at our Nashville Tasting! Pours clear dark amber with a fleeting head. Musky earthy hop aroma comes easily accompanied by plenty or sweet malt. The flavor is bold, assertive hops with a dryness that builds into a long finish. Well done use of blend of an American hop blend, but this will have to take back seat to the memory of the old Frank.

Bottle. Blackish beer with no head. Chocolate aroma with sweet malt and vanilla. Rich malt flavor with chocolate, coffee, roast, and bourbon. Lingering bourbon and malt. Noticable alcohol. Full bodied. Nice complexity though I’d like the roast to mellow a bit with some aging.

2006 bomber drunk on 11/11/06
Large, bottle conditioned white head slowly recedes to half a finger in height. Striking pure yellow-gold with only a dash of light brass. Clumps of lace are left on the edges. Clarity is high with a large amount of medium-sized bubbles coursing upwards constantly.
Bitterness is immediately noticeable in the aroma. Strong grapefruit and dry orange notes comprise most of the aroma. A pinch of pineapple and some soft melon notes, probably from the simcoe, while there is a definite catty/lemon-nectarine fruity dryness (how’s that for a descriptor) that I associate with amarillo. But still, juiciness is kept in check, too mush so, IMHO, by the high bitterness, tending lightly resinous on the end and just too full of the monotonous grapefruit. Some light dough is evident, not sure if this is yeast or malt driven, but the malt seems otherwise quite clean, some fluffy vanilla wafers and lots of honey. Medium to medium-high aroma strength, no flaws, of course, but nothing overly unique or characterful here.
Very, very bitter is the flavor. The texture is supportive, with a soft, honey-dough roundess and tight carbonation that helps break apart any potential syrupiness, but alpha acids build up heavily, with brusque, leafy, astringent white grapefruit taking over the beginning and middle and transitioning in to a heavy pine resin on the end that nearly burns the palate. Light alcohol heat evaporates the malt softness and leaves the finish perilously close to watery in places. Along the way, some pleasant fruitiness, mostly peaches, nectarines, tangerines and things of that nature, are encountered, but the attractive balance of Hop15, with the heavy focus on aroma/flavor hops and almost no focus on IBUs does not seem present here at all. Still very well-made, but just rather punishing. I agree with Darkelf, it’s hard to believe this is really this mediocre, so I will definitely be revisiting. 6/4/6/3/12

Long overdue revisit, on draught at Worden Hall, 1/25/17.
Not at all the resin and bitterness bomb I recall. Actually nicely malty and fruity with pleasant juiciness and a very soft, supple texture. Very much what a West Coast IPA could and should be, IMO, with enough bitterness to satisfy, but a strong maltiness to balance. Score is for this iteration.