Sample at the brewpub. This little brother to the Big Wednesday pours a lightly hazed yellow color with a medium thin white head that dissipates steadily. Top ring of lacing on the glass. Aroma of wheat, mild hops and yeast. Light-bodied and moderately spicy with wheat and bitter hops flavors, along with some yeast. The finish is sweetly spiced with a lingering hoppy flavor. Seems a little disjointed but decent overall.

Sample at the brewpub. This beer is a dark brown color with a thin, compact and creamy light beige head that diminishes steadily. Sheet of lacing. Aroma of malt, grain and dark fruit. Medium, smooth body with sweet malt, caramel and mild hops flavors. The finish is roasted malt with a touch of chocolate and lingering hops. Overall a decent session beer.

Sample at the brewpub. This brew pours a lightly hazed yellow-gold color with a wispy bone white head that diminishes quickly. Spotty lacing on the glass. Aroma of tart fruit and malt plus some grain. Light-bodied with a bizarre malt flavor that didn’t make much sense until learning what style of beer this was. The malt flavor has tart fruit and vegetable notes as well as some yeast. The finish is malty and spicy with a grain/corn aftertaste. While I am not well-versed on Malt Liquors, I did not enjoy this one much regardless.

Sample at the brewpub. This brew is a clear golden-orange color with a wispy off-white head that dissipates quickly. Thin spotty rings of lacing. Mild hops and bready malt in the nose. Light-bodied and clean with equal parts hops and malt flavor plus a touch of spice and wheat. The finish is mild with a lingering hops aftertaste. Slightly above average overall.

Sample at the brewpub. Pours a clear golden color with a thin white head that burns away pretty quickly. Spotty lacing on the glass. Mildly hoppy aroma with touches of honey and wheat. Light, clean body with light hops and spice flavors along with a bit of grainy malt. The finish is lightly bitter and leaves a lingering fruity hops. Better than expected overall.

Draught at ABF on 6/16/07
A brownish-strawberry colored beer with darker beige and auburn hues. Off-white head is full and retained well, leaving light lacing. Clarity is high.
Very malt forward in the nose (and flavor), plentiful pale and caramel malts jump at you with a sticky, vanilla-meets-caramel note that is dried by some crackery/bready notes and fruity yeast esters. It remains quite sweet, though, with light hoppiness adding leafy, lightly citric and herbal qualities. No alcohol or flaws are present. Medium strength of aroma. Gets more succulent in the hop department as it warms, but cookie dough and bready caramel notes further intensify the maltiness.
Fruity malts and light earthy character from the toasted malt provide a potential balance to the strong vanilla-cream-cookie dough sweetness, while light lemon-flavored citrus hops provide some bitterness. Very strong texture from all the malt, and a medium amount of carbonation, giving it a creamy consistency. Breadiness on the finish is moderate, and builds up to add dryness, but the malt sweetness is probably a bit too dominant, at least in my opinioin. Certainly this is a malt-focused style, however, so I can hardly call it a major complaint. Citrus and tangy herbal notes combine with bready-sourdough like toastiness to lend some much-needed acidity to the palate, with warming. No flaws, nor alcohol noted.

750ml bottle from MI2CA, sooo many thanks. Shared at BCTC, different label than picture. Pours dark brown with a thick, surface covering lacing. Aroma is burnt toasty, some prune and chocolate. Is got that aged feel to it but sill seems very lively on the nose. Taste starts off with light black bread, then comes some chocolate maltiness and some alcohol that works very well, adds some fruitiness. Some cardboard in the age and a lot of sweetness.

Draught samples at ABF on 6/16/07
Very soft, lightly hazed pale-lemon colored beer with gold tints and a large, white head that is retained well and laces strongly.
Very crisp and dry are the hops, focusing on citrus mainly, but not your typical, boring candied orange and grapefruit cascade medley. Rather, it has bits of juicy tangerine aroma, with a very strong lemon zest note. Almost reminded me of concentrated lemon juice. Probably some amarillo in it, mixing with the cascade or whatever C-hop they used. It’s done well, and the dryness dosent have to fight through much sweetness, nor any medium malts. A true San Diego Pale Ale in every sense. Bitterness brings some zip to the finish as well, and there were no flaws/alcohol detected. Medium-high strength of aroma.
Soft pale malts are dextrinous and give a medium body, while bitter, lemon and grapefruit rind hoppiness slowly spreads out on the palate. A strong juiciness is present, giving more flavor than bitterness, eventually, as well as plentiful lemon-lime suggestions and typical, though not overdone, orange. Nothing heavily resinous here, nor was it overdone in bitterness. Not overly complex in malt, with mostly pale malt sugars providing light honey-vanilla and a bit of cake-icing-like sweetness. Quite dry overall, and very drinkable, with ample carbonation that helps accentuate the more delicate citric qualities of the hops. No flaws.