Cask. Might actually be a different beer, full naming was "Briess Sponsored Full Sail Pale" Golden, no head. Very hoppy, hopbail nose, ginger; Liqueurish quality with rather little hopflavour left but balance seems righted. Served way too cold, hence nearly aggressive burning MF. Rather good, surprising hoppy onset, gettin lost in the way.

Bright orange-copper with no head. Bit of plastic coloured malts and breakfast cereals. Very discreet but tasty coloured malts. A bit of hops, leafy. Light bodied but not empty, some bite. Pastry in the aftertaste. It’s very low profile if I describe it, but it’s actually quite agreable.

Draught Very clear copper; no head. Grapey, dry hoparoma’s, some slight milky/lactic hints. Bitter starting, but malt-mellowing taste. Sweeter maltbacking doesn’t prevent it from appearing a lot watery, however. As indicated, a bit thinnish with pretty little body. Hop oils and ditto slickness, running into the aftertaste, of course. If this is an Imperial, the empire is running out.

Bottle. Copper color with a noce off-white head. Citrus and herbal aroma with some malt. Citrus hops with caramel malts. Some graininess.

(Bottle 35,5 cl) Pours a neat, clear fully golden with a handsome, frothy, off-white head. Very fresh nose with some citrusy acidity. Light-bodied, dry and tart but also quite refreshing. No bitterness. Tasted at the Oklahoma Beer tasting March 06 hosted by mjames and lilannie. 250306

(Bottle 65 cl) Vintage 2003. Pours a hazy, very orangey amber with a small, rough head. Nose full of caramel and aroma hops. Full body with sweet caramel and some lovely fruit esters. Lightly aromatic, hoppy finish. But somehow appears a little tired. Tasted at the Oklahoma Beer tasting March 06 hosted by mjames and lilannie. 250306

(Bottle 65 cl) Pours black and opaque with a creamy, beige head. Distinct roasted malt, oak and bourbon in the nose. Medium body with lovely roasted malt and accents of chocolate. Lots of bourbon in this but markedly less than in the Imperial Stout Bourbon Barrel Aged version. Has an underlying tartness and almost no bitterness. Tasted at the Oklahoma Beer tasting March 06 hosted by mjames and lilannie. 250306

Bomber from BrockLanders, shared with OldGrowth on 4/6/06
Deep, coal-grey flecked, rich beige head almost immediately runs for cover and sits at a ring on edge. Brown soy sauce-like color with a smattering of chartreuse thrown in for good measure. Filtered, I suppose out of some necessity. Force carbonated, thusly :(
Hmm. Well in the nose I get: Bourbon. Bourbon. Bourbon, more bourbon and finally, more bourbon. Not vicious or overpowering in the sense that it wards off everything else, but it just dosent seem like there is much else. Weak, even, with notes of soy and oxidation. I suppose, upon warming (we let the bottle breath for a good 10 minutes, open, before pouring) and further breathing, there is some roast and light vinous quality. Bit of vanilla, but that’s from the bourbon. Wow, this is severely lacking in malt character (no hops either) and weak, to boot.
Flavor is bourbon, again, with light chocolate. Light bit of German chocolate cake produced from the sweet malts and the bourbony coconut character, but it quickly peters out, suffering from the heavy filtration. The texture becomes near watery and the malts fail to provide ample substance. It’s certainly on the low side for rich, thick texture and in my mind, that just dosent cut it for a bourbon aged beer. Further/extended breathing shows chocolate, fudge, earthy/crunchy malts and some dry, blanding barrel character. Just seems old and tired, with oxidation slightly apparent. Snappy alcohol, however, and deadening tannins build up and won’t let the finish just fade in to the sunset. Very little malt depth. I have very little patience for beers that lack beer and replace it with bourbon, not to mention the sad body and texture. Charred wood, coconut, some black malt, but, it’s mostly bourbon.