Notes from June 2009 Graciously shared this past weekend amongst a few new & old acquaintances. :) Pours a muddled black into my glass mug. Thick tan head. Viscous. Smell is of fibrous greens, medicinal herbs, dusty/charred malt, & dry hay. Taste is full of tobacco, coffee grounds, & bitter/bark-y wood. Malt component tastes like nearly burnt chocolate. A little vegetable-y as well. Finish felt a bit itchy. Pasty feel. Left hoping for some more familiar cedar notes. Sadly hyped. Didn't get much satisfaction out of this one, but I like the idea behind it, & would try my luck again.

Notes from April 2011 Way past 5 o'clock. Hate playing from behind. Rounded pint glass. Couple inches of heavy, cream-colored head over a clear, orange amber body. Even rings of lace as the mound subsides. Smells of resin, dew, & sticky sweet & sharp(though slightly grainy) toasty malt. Taste is way drier then I had expected. More sharp rind then resin, paired nicely with a toasted middle that doesn't have much residual sweetness. Finish is rind & bittergreens that linger on for some time, to the point where it gets to be unpleasant. Actual hop bouquet doesn't deliver anything special in my opinion. Website says they dry hop with Simcoe, but only related thing that comes through for me is urea; shame. Touch oxidized, no BO/BB date on the bottles that I can see. CC sixers don't usually sit on the shelf for very long up here, so it's probably the wood that I'm misinterpreting. Carbonation is right there. Constantly frothy as well. Light body, & I'm grateful. Drier finish is a plus. Alcohol hurts just a bit, but I'm a puss. Beer has great texture, but I'm not digging the hops. Average rating, but if the individual parts were configured a bit differently... :)