Orange amber ale with a thin white head. Light herbal hops and caramel nuts aroma. Good orangey Ipa with biscuitty malt, fragrant hops, pinhey notes, oily mouthfeel and good citrus notes in finale. A good IPA.Post-Mondial 2006 tasting at Goldorak.

Thanks to zathrus13 for this bottle - the cork was nearly impossible to remove, and the beer is STILL flat - syrupy, alcoholic aroma, with some notes of plum, raisin, brandy - port-like, nearly cloying sweetness - sticky mouthfeel - vinous qualities try to balance the sweetness, but come up short - brandy and grain alcohol come through strong in the rather thin finish - lingering, strong sweetness - some aging might mellow the heat, but without more body you’ll still feel it no matter what - decent, but way out of balance.

Thanks to zathrus13 for the can - Burnt copper with substantial head - moderate malt profile in the aroma, which is mostly dominated by piney hops and a faint metallic smell, probably from the can - nice, toasty, bready malt flavor, with some balancing spruce/hop flavor - medium bodied - a decent pale ale.

Orange amber ale with a thin white head. Freshly stomped grapes in aroma, not hoppy. In mouth, smooth and simple BW with light C-hops. Pleasant . At EBF 2006.

On tap at Mug’s Ale House - a servicable double IPA - woody, hop/herb nose with a hint of background malt - flavor is a bit sweeter than expected considering the hop-dominant aroma - a kind of orange marmalade flavor fights the grapefruity hops for dominance, resulting in a kind of imbalance, but a tasty experience none-the-less.

Bottle Courtesy of Buck Dich Slightly hazy redish brown. Nice durable light beige head and lasting sheets of lacing. Fruity and spicy aroma that is reminecent of its namesake as a Holiday seasonal. Dark fruit flavors and lively carbonation

Bomber generously thrown in as a bonus from Hopdog, shared with OldGrowth on 2/17/06.
Clear bottom, even after sitting in my cold fridge for almost two months, leads me to believe this is not bottle conditioned, but yet the carbonation, while rather expansive/high, is not sharp and large-bubbled, so I’m not sure. The beer is a very deep bronze colored beer, with deep tan and gold highlights, topped off with a large amount of sandy beige colored head that is fairly well-retained, but dosent seem to lace (another strike against bottle conditioning?). Nose ranges from perfumey, floral centennial hops, to hard citrusy oranges fromt he cascades with even a fair presence of spicy herbal notes from the English and European hops, though obviously the latter are much drowned out by the former. Malts are biscuity/grainiy and quite light, overall, allowing for the hops to really shine through in the aroma. As it warms, I get a strong mix of pine and oregano/dill, with a strong leafiness. The flavor begins brutally harsh. Citrus, very dry, heavy floral and dry pine notes sting at the palate as a full, yet dry and relatively flavorless malt provide ample texture. Just a very light dry caramel mixed with light pale malt sugars, and a dry, airy, expansive carbonation. The lack of malt sweetness but yet the ample carbonation and strong grainy body really provide the perfect medium for displaying a hugely hopped beer, with nothing to prevent the huge bitterness/acidity from manifesting itself completely. And it certainly does. Towards the end of the glass, the dry, acidic pine/citrus and sharp spiciness really burn going down. Unfortunately, bitterness/acidity aside, I found the hop flavor to be rather lacking. Very dry overall, without nearly any hop fruitiness. The EKGs and SGs just serve to further dry things out. In sum, hop flavor is low, or perhaps, more correctly, hop complexity is low while bitterness is immense. Airy, expansive carbonation, with an even, grainy/doughy malt body and no alcohol apparency. I would still like to know if this is bottle conditioned. I will say, if you are a hop bitterness masochist, this would be your thing.

This is the first time I have encountered this brewer. Sampled on draft at the State College beer festival this beer poured a very hazy golden color with a small white head. The aroma is sweet and has strong banana and citrus elements. The body is thick and sweet. The flavor is strong banana and citrus but has a strange sour tang on the finish.