Tap at Barcade - murky dark red pour, with pretty much no head - fairly sweet aroma, with hints of caramel and dark malts - astringent anf alcoholic flavor, which becomes mellowed by sticky sweetness - flavors of butterscotch, caramel, roasted nuts - some hints of dark fruit and chocolate - overly sweet ad alcoholic, especially for the abv - decent, but very flawed.

Extremely malty aroma, popped right out of the glass. Very dark brown color with almost no off white head. Flavor is malty but a heavy bready taste at the end. Very enjoyable, but not the best Scotch Ale I’ve ever had.

Bottle, at csbosox KC tasting 4/14. Bottle provided by csbosox, thanks Chris! Hazy - cloudy pour with a bunch of particulates. Tiny white head on pour. Aroma is malt, some spiciness in it. Taste is nice malt, with the spice coming through. A bit of alcohol comes through in the taste, though not overpowering.

Bottle. Golden brown, ruby like body. Aroma is sweet, pear and florals. Flavor is sweet, light, and has a touch of spice - probably clove. Overall I was not very impressed with it, though I could drink it all night if the need arose for some reason.

Draft @ Blind Tiger poured into tulip glass. Nice glowing, thick golden color, canno see through it. Aroma is great first with banana and belgian yeastiness (which I love) but then gets taken back by a grassy, cheap malt aroma as well. Taste is sweet, a bit too candi sweet even for me. Seems to be a bit off balanced. A medium-heavy body with slightly subdued carbonation.

Nice deep amber coloured body with ruby highlights and a very nice tan head that tops the beer perfectly. Aroma of metal, malt, nuts, cardboard, a bit of smoked peat and a tiny bit of cherries. Medium-bodied; Strong malty flavour with some cardboard and nuts noticeable up front with a tiny bit of cherries too. Aftertaste shows more malt with some alcohol, yeast and more metal - no cherries really. Overall, this isn’t a great fruit beer and it doesn’t show much else - so you could probably go with passing this one up. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased by my brother-in-law from Total Wine in Manassas, Virginia on 31-March-2007, right after I saw the Cherry Blossoms in Washington in 2007.

Bottle; nose of coffee and chocolate; clear brown with a medium tan head; flavor of coffee and some burnt grainess with some hop bitterness. Fairly good!

Fresh 2007 bottle drunk on 3/16/07
Cranberry-cherry juice colored body has darker cola and lighter beige tints swirled in. Clear and force-carbonated, with a feeble off-white/beige head flecked with pink. Little/no lacing.
Very acidic malic/citric acid combo produces a bright tartness/sourness in the nose, though it softens somewhat towards the end, gaining a light vanillin-like base maltiness and a bit of fruity waxiness or plastics (seem to always get this note from fruit fermentation). Darker cherry sweetness and some spicy, black pepper-like phenolics are quite prominent as well, though I like the focus on the fruit acids. Aroma is medium to medium-strong, with no alcohol perceptible and very little malt. The beer smells extremely clean other than the fruit-derived phenols. I think that’s why Belgian yeast works so well with fruit beers, as it adds some depth/intricacy to fill the void left by the overly clean American yeast. That’s ok, though, this one is simple and focused enough on the cherry acids as to be pretty enjoyable.
Fairly basic flavor is quite tart, very acidic (malic acid) and rather exposed (lack of a strong malt backbone). No doubt they didnt want much, if any, malt apparency. What’s here shows just the slightest vanilla-like sweetness and a soft hint of nutty graininess. Cherry flavor continues on the finish, atop a very light body. Creamy carbonation would really improve this beer and add a better medium upon which to display the cherry flavors. As it is now, it’s a bit bubbly/watery and thin. Still a pleasant sipper. Very clean.