Sampled from the tap with Sarah. Pours a clear brown with an off white head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has a good amount of roast and dark grains backed by oats. Flavor has a nice roast note backed by oats and dark grains.

Sampled from the tap with Sarah. Pours a hazy yellowish gold with a white head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has a light grapefruit note with backing light grains and a hint of light fruit. Flavor begins with flora and grain but has a nice growing light fruit and citrus.

Sampled from the tap during Vday festivies with Sarah. Pours a clear amber with a gray head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has notes of bread and cereal with a hint of citrus and grass. Flavor is similar with a strong malt note backed by grass and a slight nuttiness.

Sampled from the tap at the brewpub. Pours a hazy pale gold with a white head that starts and remains at the edges. Aroma is full of wheat and earthy grains. Flavor is similar with earthy grains and wheat. Unremarkable.

Sampled from the tap at 2011 FOBAB. Poured a deep dark amber brown with a cream head that dissipated to the edges. Aroma had a good amount of sourness with some acid and light cherry notes. Flavor was full of tart cherries with a good amount of acid and some backing deep grains.

Draft @ FoBAB 2009, Chicago, IL. Pours a dark brown almost black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty caramel and chocolate aroma. Roasted malty caramel flavor with hits of dark fruit and some hints of oak. Has a roasted malty chocolate and caramel finish with some weak hints of vanilla and oak.

Draft Sampler. The version currently on tap is listed as 7.2% abv on the beer menu. End of my sampler tray, so no head left here. No as soul-killingly black as a stout, there is some warmth to it. Big chocolate smell. Taste shows it is a great dessert beer. Like the Terry’s Orange Chocolate, only darker and sweeter—I had to resist the urge to smack the glass on the bar counter. No bitterness here, just some residual notes of coffee malt. They should keep this around more often to work out the flavor. Might be great in a bourbon barrel.

Draft Sampler, as "Hackett." I get a big coffee smell as soon as the glass gets near me. Appearance is black, with a thin layer of tan foam after sitting around whilst I finish the lighter beers in the sampler tray (ain’t that always the way with a brewpub’s stout?). Taste brings up dark roasted malt, with more coffee, and cocoa nibs. Roast malt taste is solid, but it’s dry character adds nicely to the package. I liked it, what can I say?

Draught sampler: Clingy head over an enticing copper IPA body. Smell shows a nice bit of hop to it. Taste shows it is not a hop bomb, but it’s very nicely laid out; lemon and pine with some English hops in balance (that’s what I thought before I saw the description, so I’m actually improving my palate!). A nice combination of US and UK style.
Nitro sampler: Toward the end of my sampler tour, this still shows a star-shaped bit of foam in my glass. Carbonation is a little firm for a nitro, but pinprickly and enjoyable. Nitro gives the caramel malt more room to play

Sampler at the pub. Cloudy American Wheat appearance. Smells shows banana esters that are more at home in a hefeweizen than an American wheat. But slightly higher hop levels are appreciated. Some ale fruitiness further down. Finish has a bit of sweet roll dough to it.