hazy amber color. Huge piney hoppy nose. The mouth is very hoppy, but solid backbone with lots of pale malts, excellent balance, excellent execution. Superb IIPA on draft at the brewery.

Bomber. Aroma is roasty, like good coffee, pussy, like good pussy, wet river rock. Pours deep mahogany with a one finger beige head with good retention. Taste is lightly sweet, roasty, a little smoky, nutty, earthy, finishing lightly bitter. Perfectly creamy mouthfeel with average carbonation. When it comes to winter warmers, this is top of the line, although I prefer the bourbon barrel version.

2013 vintage. Aroma has a nice dark chocolate character with some light roast. Medium light roast character with moderate bourbon and light oak notes. Medium dark fruit with prune, plum and raisin. Some toffee and caramel notes. Pours dark brown but not quite black with a small, thick mocha head that recedes fairly steadily to the edges where it lingers slightly. Flavor has a nice strong dark chocolate note with light roast and moderately strong bourbon character. Some dark fruit notes of plum and prune with some raisin character. Medium bitterness. Light caramel and moderate toffee. Some medium light alcohol spice in the finish. Mouthfeel is medium full bodied with medium low carbonation. Low astringency and medium low alcohol warmth. Overall a pretty enjoyable beer. The malt character is not as complex as it could be, but the bourbon character is super well integrated with malt and works really well. Nice bourbon character with some decent dark fruit notes.

Bottle with huge thanks to glkaiser, not only for sending it to me, but for pointing out that I was an idiot not to already have it on my wants list! Scary thing is that this precious gem fell out of my fridge a week ago and landed right on the wax top. It blew all the wax off, but the cap seal remained intact, and I let it settle till now. Little did I know how blessed I was that it didn’t shatter. Anyway. Pours opaque black with a medium creamy black head that sticks around and leaves very nice lacing. Aroma tells you immediately that you are in for a treat - bourbon, chocolate, molasses, roastiness, dates all mingled together. Flavor is rich, decadent, only light to medium sweet with an offsetting medium bitterness. Lots of bourbon and wood, but not overpowering. Rich and chocolatey, with only a very light astringence. This really came together well, with all the notes playing a beautiful melody with no harsh edges sticking out anywhere. Full body, creamy mouthfeel. One of my all time favorite beers. Moar.