Well what Brandon below me did not mention was this bottle exploded all over the place. I thought I would be ready for it but as soon as it hit I was forzen, half of it ended up on the bar. But it poured a very beautiful yellow, cannot see through it but its a great glowing goldenish-yellow. Aroma is slight barnyard funk, thick biscuit maltiness with citrus highlights. I get nice sweet pear. Taste has good English malt sweetness, cookie dough, and grape. A very light and dry finish. A very well crafted beer that has aged well so far.

Thanks to beastiefan2k for sharing this now-scarce brew - cloudy bright orange pour, with a rather thick, sticky white lace - strong fruity esters in the aroma,with floral notes and touches of honey, with an undercurrent of musty, earthy, yeasty qualities - still rather sweet (I figured the age would have made it less so) - loads of orange marmalade flavors, along with hints of apricot - soft carbonation/mouthfeel - touches of safron and light spices - light vanilla and honey - a tiny bit of oak - lingering fruity esters in the finish - a slight bit of oxidation seems to be setting in, but this still might improve for another year or so.

June 2006 bottle. Aged 8 months. Pours a bright golden amber into a tulip. Medium head quickly recedes to skim surface. Strong bourbon and oak aromas. Upfront sweet malt and a lasting bourbon alcohol burn. I like bourbon...I like tripels...quite an enjoyable melding of the two.

6 months old now, drunk in its entirety on 2/24/07
I don’t know what it is about brewers, but they almost ALWAYS release beers while they’re still too young. Well, it’s probably that they feel it’s good enough and want to get their product out there, and that’s understandable. But I had this when fresh and it was still full of yeast bi-product that I knew would come out with some further conditioning in the bottle. So I didnt rate it then, and I’m glad.
Here we are now 6 months later and this beauty pours a perfectly conditioned, bright, chestnut-auburn with some deep hickory tints and a beige head that is small, but refuses to recede past full cover. Tons of lacing and a plethora of miniscule bubbles all throughout the beer, just like champagne.
Raisins, dates, prunes and a bit of dry alcohol in the nose start things out rather complexly as succulent aromatic malts lend a light caramel flavor that is so far ahead of crystal and American/English caramel malts. Deep, sumptuous and sweet, of course, but not too much so, and it leaves just a light acidity and pleasing fruitiness. Surprisingly clean yeast has low phenol product at this point. Some pepper and very marginal clove/nutmeg-like notes. Very rich, elegant malt aroma mainly, that is quite strong and incorporates the apparent alcohol shamelessly. Light candied apple on the finish, with a light earthiness and very pleasing toffee-covered fig sweet-fruitiness.
Sweet aromatic malts, rich and soft on the palate are the mainstay in the flavor. Rich, mushy dates, lightly piquant prunes dipped in caramel and plenty of plum and raisin. Wow, this is nothing like it was 6 months ago. Exquisitely tight carbonation can do nothing but produce a most engaging, creamy, soft mouthfeel. Very light yeast notes of mustiness, wood and black pepper/licorice. Alcohol is always notable, but never coarse or domineering. Just adds a very light touch of dryness and actually helps balance the caramel-raisin sweetness. Though I dont usually like alcohol used to balance sweetness, it seems to work well here. Great beer, I now must buy more to cellar.