Odeeds bottle he shared with me: Nose of citrusy hops and caramel malts; amber with a small white head; flavor of hops, caramel, and citrus with a nice hop finish.

Draft. Rich amber beer with an off-white head. Apricot/summer fruit and pine aroma. Resiny/fruity (summer, some citrus) flavor with some sweet malt backing. Big resiny hop finish that lingers.

(Bottle 65 cl) Clear, dark amber with a small, off-white head. Nutty aroma. Dry body with notes of caramel and nuts and a somewhat crude bitter, hoppy finish. 240206

Bottle. Dark brown beer with a reddish tinge and a small cocoa colored head. Roasty/chocolate aroma with sweet malt. Sweet malt flavor with some fruitiness. Nothing harsh - easy to drink. Nice balance.

Cask at O’Brien’s, San Diego. Dark amber. Aroma of lychee and cherry. Sweet and full bodied with clean mouthfeel. A major hop monster, backed by solid amounts of malt, the mouthfeel is however a bit mellow. The finish is sugary with punishing bitterness.

Draught at the Pizza Port (Solana Beach). Clear golden. Fruity with notes of melon. Sweet, and somewhat perfumy with clean mouthfeel and straight forward malt character. Medium bitterness. Lagerlike.

Draft - This one’s easy to drink with some decent malty flavors, but it’s really too light on flavor all the way around. The puzzling part is that it calls itself a pale ale and yet lacks the assertive hops characteristic of that style. I wanted a pale ale and ended up disappointed.

2005 bottle from DarkElf, consumed on 12/30/2005. The pour brings forth a rich coal brown/black body, with light notes of burgundy hinted at on the edges. A large light-tan head rises quickly and for a minute, appears as if to stick around, but upon some agitation from picking up the glass, it quickly begins its descent to a light covering. Being quite filtered, there is no lacing present. The aroma is a dark plum and chocolate, with gentle roast adding vigour to the lazily sweet chocolate notes. Light buttercream keeps thing soft and broadens the sweetness when just in time, light floral hops arrive to add a touch of balance. Crusty brown bread on the end, but overall a very chocolate-creamy experience, with a coffee backdrop that somehow manages to get itself involved in the sweetness. Dipping in to the beer, the tongue is coated by rich chocolate malt creaminess, fair amounts of black coffee, though none of the bitterness expected from that comes through. Light hints of roast, touches of earthiness and bits of fruits touch upon the palate (raisins, plums, figs). The hops struggle to find themselves amid the sea of chocolate and cream, managing only to add a leafy, green, perhaps lightly herbal note, barely any bitterness. The creaminess keeps the body honest, fighting back the effects of filtration, though the forced carbonation is a bit too stiff. In the end, the chocolate seems to envelope all, and the sweetness overloads the palate. No alcohol noted, medium-full body.

2005 bomber from Herbjones, consumed on 11/23/05 with SuIIy. Clear copper with rusty peach tinges. Large initial white head is very well retained, foamy and light creating huge clumps of lacing on the glass. Plenty of bubbles rising. Smells of floral hops, honey and a bit of light fruitiness (oranges and tangerines). Light touch of pine trees and some slight caramel notes. Flavor shows caramel and toffee, light pale malt sugariness with light, moderately bitter piney hop flavor. Moderate carbonation, while forced, is not sharp or prickly. Though the body suffers a bit from filtration, the flavors are perfectly executed. Caramel and highly flavorful hops play off of each other, while light fruitiness continues to add complexity. No alcohol notes present. I think the extreme freshness of this beer really aids its presentation. Mountains of lace are confusing, as filtered, force carbonated beers never tend to lace well. No stale, or papery-dry notes from the filtration. Not the most complex example, but flawlessly done. Thanks, Bob! 7/4/7/3/13

Draught at the Kinsale, 12/23/15.
Pretty close to what I remember. Too much malt appearance with plentiful bitterness and average-to-low actual hop flavor. Nothing compelling whatsoever. Fine, but very plain/forgettable for a flagship IPA from a West Coast brewery. Should fit great in AB Inbev’s portfolio! Score is for most recent sample.

2005 bomber from Herbjones, thanks Bob! Consumed on 11/19/05. Deep auburn-amber and clear. Low to moderate head retention on the off-white/beige head. Smells fruity and hoppy (oranges, light cherries). Clean yeast. Touch of spiciness and then poorly expressed, hard-feeling crystally malts. Begins with a fair amount of fruitiness and some medium-dry caramel. Light touch of sour, munich-like grains and moving towards a mix of softly citric hops and deeply toasted grains. Medium to medium-light body. Comes across quite dry, but not exactly undermalted. Light hop complexity. Very similar to the Avery ESB I just had, and in general, this company seems fairly similar to Avery (going on their low gravity beers that I have had). Rather hard, no yeast apparency, quite filtered. But the carbonation is not heavy. Little touch of wateriness, and some spotty lacing (very minor).