Pours a dark brown color with a slight reddish tint. Medium beige head and thin lacing. The aroma is malty and chocolaty. Medium-bodied and very smooth and toasty throughout. The flavor is sort of a hybrid Doppelbock and Porter. Coffee, malt, caramel and chocolate are all present. The finish is lightly bitter roasted coffee and sweet malt. All in all a well-balanced and easily drinkable beer from New Holland.

Looks like it’s Michigan’s turn to figure out if this beer is divine or not. Phi pours a deep red-brown (almost like a dark red wine), topped by a medium light tan head. Aroma is toasty with toffee and a touch of cheerios and earthy hops. There seems to be a bit of discussion as to how to classify this beer, so I’ll add my take. Phi seems to fit somewhere between an Old Ale and English Strong Ale...of course, it is apparently a lager. That said, this is a very ale-like lager, with toast and toffee balancing the sweet caramel/fruit flavors of the Munich malts, finishing with a nice, earthy, toasty bitterness. Most strong lagers have a syrupy, bulky mouthfeel, but Phi is lighter on the tongue and is crisply carbonated. Alcohol is well-hidden but makes itself known on the tongue after a few sips. Reminds me a bit of another beer in the "High Gravity" series, Dragon’s Milk. Worth the wait.

2005 edition.This year’s recipe appears to be different, and that’s not a good thing. The body is much lighter (hazy light orange with a thin cream-colored head). Aroma of fermented fruit (peach, white grape, apricot) and wet hay. The flavor is a rather nightmarish concoction of reeking fermented fruits (same as above, with some apple notes too), caramel, and toast, combining to form a medicinal, syrupy morass from which little redemption can be pulled. Finishes sickeningly sweet and a touch leathery. Underfermented and highly disappointing. The 2005 version may warrant a separate listing.

5-3-5-2-10 (2.5)

Bottled. Amber colour, average head. Soapy, hoppy grapefruit aroma. Dry with clean mouthfeel. Grapefruit & apricot jam in the finish along with salty licorice and a healthy dose of of bitterness. All focus on the hops. Technical perfection, but lack of soul.

Pours a nice copper with big white head. Flavor is a nice crisp hop bite with the usual citrus tang. Flavor is a bit subpar and nopthing really stands out. Ok but not great.

This beer is an opaque dark brown (almost black) color with a medium beige head that dissipates slowly. Thin curtain of lacing throughout the glass. The aroma is very roasty, with coffee and dark chocolate. Medium-bodied and closer in consistency to a Porter than a Stout. Roasted coffee at the forefront, with molasses, chocolate and some hops in the flavor. The finish is mildly bitter and roasty. Overall this is a pretty good Stout, but it is lacking richness.

This brew is a lightly cloudly brownish amber color. Medium light tan head and fair lacing. The aroma is a little musty with hops and citrus. Medium-bodied with hops, pine and citrus flavors. Kind of mild on the hops scale but a decent flavor profile altogether. The finish is bitter and lingering, with a touch of grapefruit. Overall a fairly worthwhile IPA, despite lacking punch.

As a full on beer geek, I am a little leery when a beer label brags about using a single solitary hop and just one malt. However this beer is not too bad at all, despite its simplicity. Pours a pale golden color with a miniscule off-white head. Thin lacing. Ther aroma is lightly hoppy with a pinch of citrus. Light-bodied and dry, with a back-to-basics hops and malt profile that is a refreshing flavor. There is also a tiny bit of fruitiness. The finish is crisp and dry. This beer won’t win any awards but I appreciate a straightforward easy-drinking beer that actually has flavor any day.

Sampled at From The Vine beer tasting Jul 9th, 2004: Pours a slightly cloudy amber color with a medium off-white head. Thin lacing throughout. The aroma is difficult to detect, light toasted malt and a hint of citrus. Medium-bodied and generally smooth, with malt, caramel and a bit of hops in the flavor. The finish is mildly bitter hops. Unfortunately the beer just doesn’t seem to be trying very hard to distinguish itself in any way. Passable overall but not really worth coming back to.

Sampled at From The Vine beer tasting Jul 9th, 2004: This brew is a bright yellow color with simmering carbonation and a thin white head. Thin lacing as well. The aroma is lightly spiced with some citrus. Light-bodied and crisp, with spices, citrus and toasted malt flavors. The finish is mildly bitter hops and citrus again. Fairly easy to drink but it doesn’t really stack up against the many exemplary beers of the style that are readily available.