750 ml bottle with a date of 1/22/13. Snifter shows a hazy amber gold with thin lasting head. Aroma is fruity yeast and dusty malts.

Flavor is lightly fruity with candidate sugar, apricots and a light spice toward the finish. Even after the cellaring I still pick up a slight alcohol note. Lighter body with chewy, yeasty texture. Big yeast presence. Overall no flaws yet pretty forgettable.

Batch 1, April 2013, 750mL bottle drunk 4/6/14
Nicely bright copper-auburn body is topped by a medium amount of tan head that recedes fairly stedily to cover.
Really nice mix of soft acetic and malic acids in the nose, with light prunes, raisins and soft wood tannins taking some of the punch out of the acids. Reserved black cherry flesh-like notes and even just a touch of grape-like fruitiness. Works really well with the moderate acidity, light wood and caramel. Very easygoing. No alcohol noted.
Some light acetic acid in the mouth followed up quickly by light vanilla and caramel sweetness. Lots of wood tannin gives a very chewy texture and carbonation is mostly tight and engaging keeping the mouthfeel mostly light and not allowing too much of the tannin to build up. Very nicely attenuated, though with 9 months in the barrel, you’d expect it to be so. Perhaps just a little too tannic, which dulls the brightness just a bit too much. Some diacetyl is rather apparent, especially as it warms, but it dosent detract too much as it sort of works with the barrel character. Good. Could probably come out of the barrel quite a bit sooner.

Draught at Deep Ellum, 2/27/14
Dark mahogany body is topped by an off-white head that is small but moderately well-retained.
Light chocolate, hazelnut and just a touch of coffee in the nose with a touch of creamy-sweet pale maltiness and very little hoppiness. Maybe just a touch of pepperiness. No flaws or alcohol.
Smooth, almost chalky-like texture has some oiliness to it and low to medium carbonation. Malts are well-attenuated, leaving some caramel, chocolate and very light roastiness to it. Extremely clean and with no heavy breadiness and very little sourdough-like flavors that I find in a lot of examples. Nor is it chocolatey sweet or overly filled with coffee. Wonderfully well-balanced and drinkable. Just a touch of earthy, peppery hops add a bit of dryness while there is some minerality to it as well. I’d prefer a bit more hop dryness, just for a little bit more balance to the malts. But otherwise, this is a very nice dunkel and tastes quite authentic.

Pours hazy gold into a tulip. Marshmallow aromas. Dry with sweet biscuit and yeast front to back.

Pours gold into a tulip. Bright white head with little retention recedes to skim surface. Marshmallow and herb aromas. Medium bodied with spring flowers and band-aid front to back. Dry lasting funk finish. I like this one.

Pours deep hazy gold into a tulip. Soapy head with little retention recedes to mottle surface. Banana and yeast aromas. Soft with bitter banana peels and sour bandaids front to back.

Bottle from Downtown Wine and Spirits. Pours a solid black with a small but long lasting foamy tan head. Smells of chocolate, caramel, and spice with hints of roast, clove and pepper. The flavor comes through with chocolate caramel and light pitted fruits. Lots of bread and yeasty phenols as well as a hint of ethanol. Medium body with a spirited level of carbonation and a bubbly slick mouthfeel. True to style and more carbonation than I enjoy this beer is pretty good but I would have liked a bit more caramelized sugars and dark fruit flavors.

Pours mahogany into a tulip. Off-white head with excellent retention recedes leaving sheet lacing to coat surface. Sweet caramel, roasted nuts and bread aromas. Sharp and thin with hot caramel and chocolate upfront turning to dusty roasted nuts and earth in the dry lasting finish.

Sampled at EBF. Pours a clear orange with some creamy, white head. Nose is boozy, bubble gum, candy, pineapple. Flavor is very sweet, candy sugar, pineapple. Full, sweet finish.