Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Hazy gold with a small head. Aroma is citrus fruit. Taste is also citrus fruit with hints of pine and peaches.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5
Hazy amber-orange with a three-finger head. Not what I expected. Aroma was pine resin, spruce and a little citrus. Taste was the same. Just average.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Slightly hazy, yellow in color with a two-finger head. Aroma is tropical fruit. Taste is also tropical fruit.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Dark amber-gold with a two-finger head. Aroma is dough, bread like a pretzel. Taste is like a pretzel.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Can. Cloudy gold in color with a three finger head. Aroma is orange. Taste is mostly orange with hints of grains.
Appearance - 2 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Tangerine nose. Clear piss yellow, thin head Dry orange, corn underneath. Light body, eaay carbonation.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9.5
Notes from 11/21/2008. My favorite of the night during the VSK event at The Blind Tiger. Spent the better part of two hours sipping on my glass. Deep porter-like pour into a 12oz tulip. A inch & change of Ovaltine head atop a deep black & brown body with russet highlights. At first this was total disappointment. Just bitter coffee grounds in taste & smell. Stuff was too damn cold to get anything out of it. Had a different beer & let this one sit, eventually amassing a nice lineup of tasters to ponder. Once it warmed up considerably, it had so much going for it. Scents of smoke & chocolate malt, marshmallowy vanilla, & stollen-like bread & macerated fruit notes soften & spice up the alcohol. A bit of coffee & licorice that I just couldn't shake off near the end my only complaint. It all translated from my nose to my tongue & back. I have no idea what elderberries taste like, but the end result is delicious. Slightly milky, carbonation is soft, but just enough to keep it moving with interrupting the experience. I'm not one to usually praise Captain Lawrence. The only year round recipe I really liked he tweaked, & I felt these seasonal bottles always brought more hype then drinkability in the end. This one is very good though, right there with the Cuvee as the best stuff I've had from Pleasantville.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Notes from 1/6/2009. Poured into a standard Pleasantville pint glass. A dark ebony in color, not the richest stout I've seen. A even head consisting of a mellow blend of tan & gray. Gooey lace. Aroma of coffee creamer, burnt nuts, earth, & considerably easy on the coffee. Something a little spicy & zesty like... clove? Intensity is on the reserved side. Taste is of charcoal, resiny hops on top of the expected bitterness from the roast. Oats. A little leathery maybe. A quick, almost tart edge of sweetness in the middle. Resin & charred remnants on the finish. Feel is a little slippery on the tongue, but not before applying a hearty amount of carbonation. An extremely light body. Lacking a touch of dryness that keeps it from being constantly at your lips. On the milder side of coffee beers, & no where near the intensity of big & ugly espresso beers like my personal arch-nemesis Hitachino. ...and that's why I like it. :)
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Another rating into the void! Hazy orangeish, bright lemon aromas, but more tropical and piney flavors. Decent balance. A hint of booziness but otherwise surprisingly drinkable for the strength.
