Medium amber with just a bit of haze under a frothy off white head. Aroma of caramel, yeast and some faint spices. The spices come on in the flavor and finish. Some dryness in the finish after a sweet malt start. Not bad, but I’ve had pumpkin beers with more to them than this one.

Deep brown with a rocky off white head. Caramel and yeast aroma is very rich and inviting. The flavor is nutty sweet and goes over the tongue with a full roundness that really pleases. A very well done brown ale that is worth trying.

Deep amber color accompanies a puffy white head. Fresh clean aroma of citrusy hops over a solid malt foundation. The flavor is citrusy, piney and well balanced. Big A’s little sibling. Well done IPA.

Very pumpkiny in the nose, including the lovely spices that go along with pumpkin pie. Color isamber-orange, and the beer has a rather large head. Flavor is full of spices with plenty of pumpkin in there. One of the better pumpkin ales I’ve had.

2004 bottle. Medium orange/copper/auburn color, with light white head. Aroma of heavy spice, lightly hopped and just a hint of brown sugar. Flavor is spicy and a bit too watery, with the pumpkin flavor coming in too sugary for my tastes. Like a kolsch or something with pumpkin pie spice added. Slight bitterness and astringency on the end.

2004 bottle compliments of Eyedrinkale (thanks!). Pours a deep purple mixed with dark mahogany brown. Big creamy beige head. Aroma is intense and filling. Plums, elderberries, blackberries, lightly bittersweet yeast and a semi-sweet roast. Lightly fruity bitterness as well. Maybe I got a particularly good bottle, but wow is this stuff underated. Starts out with a huge rich velvety feel on the mouth, tons of fruity yeast (blackberries to the extreme) with flavorful hops and lightly sweet roasted notes all combining to produce a marvelously balanced flavor (if tending somewhat on the sweet side). I will say that I did detect the ethanol right after my first few sips, but after drinking more, I dont notice it (I seem to detect this in a number of their beers). Flavor makes its way through a big body of caramel, sticky toffee, rich maple and more hops goodness. Ends with citrus masked by yeast and sugar. Carbonation is low and provides for a rich, luxurious body. The flavor and richness of the brew are astounding, but I will admit to being disappointed by the lack of any peat-notes, smokey or otherwise, perhaps could use a bit more dryness somehow. The hops, while not to style necessarily, provide great flavor.

Slightly cloudy orange coloured body with a thinnish off-white head. Aroma of slightly past cascade hops with some floraly and grapefruity hops also. A bit of sweetness in the mix, in addition. Medium-bodied; Strong assertive hoppiness with little else. Completely one-dimensional in overpowering hoppiness-no malt nor other flavours. Aftertaste bittered from the hops-thats about it! Overall, a nice try-definitely less than expected and an insult to the brewery. I sampled this 12 ounce bottle purchased at Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York on 04-July-2004, Indepedence Day!

2004 bottle. From my oversized snifter this thing is just pitch black. I held it to a bunch of different lights and looked at it from all angles. Black. Huge creamy mocha head and a small amount of fine sediment at the bottom of the bottle. I’m going to start off by talking about the flavor because this beer is about one thing, black malt. Wow. It dosent come on heavy at first, but it’s definitely dominant even from the start. Bitter, black roast coffee. I’m thinking, "I’ve never done it, but I bet sucking on coffee rinds kinda tastes like this." It’s not all coffee, roast and bitterness though, there is some lingering sweetness that peeks in, probably some light chocolate malt. Rich and bitter it remains, with some black licorice notes as well. On the finish, I detect some alcohol mixed in with the extreme bitterness. Hops are done right, in its defense, making a big but not ridiculous appearance (or is it the bitterness from the roasted malt? the bitterness comes at you from every angle). Towards the end of the bottle and after the beer has warmed fully, the black malt takes over completely and it just gets out of control. My last few sips as I polish this off are all black, bitter, burnt notes. The mouthfeel really saves this one though, adding a smooth, creamy, medium-full body, with only minimal carbonation. It naturally follows that the aroma would be quite weak, as black malt does not tend to be a friend of powerfully full aromas. It’s a good roasty, lightly chocolatey aroma, but not what it should be for the force of this beer.

Time to re-rate this one. $1.50 bottle from Trader Joe's. Pours cloudy medium golden with a small soft beige head. Aroma is floral hops, citrus, urinal cake. Flavor is bitter citrus peel: grapefruit mostly, but also floral hops, urinal cake, caramel malt, resin. Good, not as highly rated as I rated it 14 years ago (good god).
Original rating from 2004: 8,4,7,4,15 for a 3.8.Lovely cloudy deeper amber. Light smells in the nose of grapefruit, and flowers. Malty and hoppy, too many malts in this IPA for me to go crazy for it, but very nice to drink... I will have more of these.