My first real Mead rating - aged 1 year -- so lets take it from there...Pours honey amber into a Snifter. Bright white head skims rim. Honey, clover, cinnamon and alcohol aromas. First sip is dry and crisp apple soaked honey with a lasting sour finish. Second sip is crisp apple-soaked honey and full sour honey. Thought meads were supposed to be sweeter and less cider-like, but enjoyed this concoction nonetheless.

Bottle courtesy of Sammy: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a nice foamy head with some good retention and some good lacing. Aroma of dry coffee is dominating. Taste is a mix between some dry coffee with some light roasted bitter malt. Body is about average with some good carbonation. Well done apart from the fact that it might be a bit too dry.

1 month-old bomber drunk on 5/23/07
Man I hate to have to write this one, but despite this stuff being flawless, dry-hopped and unfiltered/unpasteurized (three traits that generally go ALONG way in my book), I wan’t too impressed. And ironically, it was because of the unfiltered/bottle conditioned and dry-hopped character of the beer. Looks perfect, of course, as do most of their bottled beers, but even from the nose, you get a hint that something is a bit "off". It’s powerfully pungent, not really acidic or bitter in the normal PNW sense, but just resinous and dry. Think somewhere along the lines of SA Imperial Pils, though more dry than that and not as powerful. Herbs, grass, lemon, lemongrass and fresh hay all show of liberal dry-hopping, but that typical kolsch-yeast character, very mineral-rich is retarded by the hops. Some crisp grains make brief appearances (a bit of toasty and bready malts) but are also inhibited by the resinous pungency.
In the flavor, it’s even more apparent, and sad to say, the tight, brisk carbonation exacerbates the problem by flinging apart the malt and pronouncing the hop character. But yet, the full carbonation gives it a sense of a full body, which is undesirable for the style. It’s just too green, resinous and dominating. Almost like a bitter herbal gruit. It creates a lot of tackiness and fatigue on the finish, with late dough and minor honey suggestions somewhat discernible below all of this. Leaves an oiliness on the palate as well. No alcohol or flaws, but a Kolsch needs to be indentifiable as such, this is just a massively hopped, vague golden ale.

Bomber - cloudy bronze pour, with a frothy eggshell white head - doughy/bready aroma, with notes of yeast, vanilla, apricot, orange and bread pudding - soft, low carbonation, with a slightly oily mouthfeel - the doughy hints from the aroma come through first, followed by touches of butterscotch and caramel sweetness - the hops abruptly intervene, balancing the beer out - cherry, vanilla and light citrus fruits arrive late - the body thins out a little in the finish, but the grassy, earthy, herbal, almost spicy hops add enough character to make up for this - quite a solid ESB, and one I’d love to try on cask.

Bomber from Julios - hazy strawberry blonde with lots of fizz, but very little head - very sweet, honey, mead-like aroma (I say mead-like because I don’t really think this is a mead), with notes of rose and grain - the carbonation is abrasive at first, but mellows out once the beer has been sitting - quite tart and acidic up front, with a dry, cider-like character - this is followed by some grain/wheat and sweet honey flavors - a bit more grain and an alcohol burn at the finsh, along with some wine grapes and a lighty, malt-like flavor - this stuff doesn’t know if it wants to be a mead, a cider, or a beer - as a result, the palate doesn’t know what to do with it, either.

late 2006 or early 2007 bomber drunk on 2/16/07
Wow is Muzzlehatch’s review spot-on for this one. I could pretty much say the same thing, word-for-word. The texture is most certainlly easygoing, comforting, but with a little yeast slickness (despite decanting very carefully). Definitely sweet all the way through and exactly as Barry says, a bit underfermented. That’s ok, most of the unpleasant notes I associate with wortiness are not too present here. Just seems like a bit of simple sweetness, slightly tacky. But the hops are wonderful. Dry, earthy, lightly spicy at times, giving a peppery balance to the sweetness. Low, natural carbonation is somehow a bit too loose, though a touch of wateriness comes through on the end (which is appropriate for the style). Apricots, tangerines and nectarines are sweet and fruity, mixing with the creamy pale malts to produce very soft, flavorful notes. Dry hopping is always much appreciated and it shows here. Close to greatness, a bit more attenuation and less yeast in the bottle would do the trick. Alternatively, I’ll buy another bottle and see if this will dry up with another couple months of conditioning. Very possible. I got the cherry-vanilla that Barry noted too, what the hell is that? Probably a sign that the beer isnt fully conditioned/fermented. Some type of unwanted bi-product.

Reddish brown ale with a thin white head. Light sweet malt aroma, and sweetish malt in mouth, with nutty notes. A bit cloying for a brown, and light bodied. On tap at brewery , Feb. 10, 2006.

Dark reddish amber ale with no head. Cloying maple vanilla fudge aroma with light apple notes. In mouth, sweet maple malt with notes of vanilla beans, light timid hops and rather plain medium bodied. A boring barley wine. On tap at brewery , Feb. 10, 2006.

Cask at GBBF Dark amber. Good hoppy nose, dry herby finish, quite like this without it being outstanding. Some orangey fruit