Clear brown, very thin head.Vanilla nose.Vanilla fore, possibly blackberry mid, malty and mildly hopped finish

Hazy orange-tinted golden colour with a super-dense co2 injected white head. Aroma of super cascades-just like Hop Ottin'! Light to Medium-bodied; Sharp bloody taste of metal with a nice hoppy flavour with a missing malt background. Aftertaste clean-some citrus and hops show though, not much through! Overall, a decent APA, lacking comparing to the pleasant aroma though! I sampled this twelve ounce purchased from Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits in Washington, D.C. on 29-December-2003.

Poured a nice, clear red-brown, with at thin light tan head. Sprucey, grapefruity aroma on the pour. The first few sips were akin to biting into a pine twig- spicy, floral hops were dominant. Grapefruit notes as well. When the beer warmed, the malt complexity really developed, with woodiness and dark fruit competing with a touch of chocolate and a hint of spice. Started out like an IPA and finished like a nice Amber. This interesting combination worked for me.

Pitch black in colour with a dense thick brown head. Aroma of cherries, dark chocolate and some roasted malt. Medium-bodied; Watery mouthful-but still full of flavour. Dark chocolate, cherries and coffee nuances are felt throughout the taste. Aftertaste bland but showing some of the malty and 'dark' tastes. Overall, actually fairly respectable for the style, a bit watery, but shows tremendous flavour regardless. A nice find and a good beer to try! I shared this 65 cL bottle purchased at Chevy Chase Wine & Liquors in Washington with JonR888710. I sampled this one on 29-November-2003.

2003 Vintage:
Great amber colour with copper highlights and a thin dense off-white head. Aroma of caramel, strong malt and a bit of spices. Medium-bodied; Assertive hoppiness with a fair spicey/sweet flavour-very nice! Aftertaste similar to a hoppy scotch ale! Overall, fairly nice-definately worth trying! I bought this twelve ounce bottle from Norm's in Vienna, Virginia and sampled it on 21-November-2003.

(draught) Medium-strong tea colour; dark creamy head. Rather hoppy nose with a slight cookie smell as background. Tast is hoppy too, well dosed on enough crystal)like malts. Very hoppy - very USA - finish. Well bodied. Nice 'ESB', maybe a tad heavy on the USA hops.

2002 Bottle: This beer is a ruddy brownish-amber with a medium light tan head. Decent lacing. Aroma is lightly spiced with cinnamon, along with a little vanilla, malt and caramel. Fairly rich body with a nice spiced blend. Flavors of nutmeg, malt, caramel and even a little bit of hops. The finish is a little sharper than I would have liked but overall this is a good beer.

Golden colored, full of particulate matter, and topped with a white head. Honestly, did somebody pour grapefruit juice in my glass? Citric, bitter, acidic notes are notable in the aroma and dominate the flavor. I can almost taste small pieces of grapefruit. The aftertaste is actually sour due to this pale's one-dimensional nature. I thought the Arrogant Bastard was a grapefruity beer, but this one blows the old standard out of the proverbial hops and malt water, and not necessarily in a good way.

An amber body with a thin white head. Aroma is slightly floral and caramely, and the flavor is nicely balanced, caramely, almost sweet malts and some floral hops. Plenty of carbonation (the previous reviewer may have received a bad bottle). Tasty and well-balanced. I definitely agree that this amber has barleywine characteristics.

02 bottle. Black pour with some white head on it. Nice and dark. Has a deep root/floral aroma, with some spices. Initial taste is big and spicy. Spices are mainly licorice and some coriander. A dry vanilla is also present. Some maltiness in the body is pleasant. Overall this is a great winter beer, however it is more on the herbal/french liqueur spice side and has a less complex body than my favorite anchor special ale. It is a great beer though with tons of body and character. Not as flat as I would like out of the bottle, but then, I am generally comparing this to all the anchor I have had on tap.
2003 bottle. Gone is the weird slightly astringent herbal spice flavor. I dont miss it. In is the lovely cherry malt with other soft fruits. But even more exciting, there is a beautiful subtle hops presence that builds up slowly and lingers on the finish. It’s one type of hops, can’t quite put my finger on it. Hmmm fuggles maybe?? it’s damned good. nice to see an improvement. 8/4/8/4/16
08-09 bottle/draught Wow, what happened to this guy? Been a while, but this is more like the summer solstice than what the winter used to be. Sticky, candy-corn and caramel-like sweetness with some raisin and apple flavors?? Weird. Some hoppiness (green, fresh, floral notes) and light spicing help balance some of the sweetness, but it still comes off too mushy-sweet and very muted overall. Rating is for this version.