Well, it’s about freaking time. EVERYBODY seems to have the bourbon aged version on tap and I couldn’t find the non barrel aged version anywhere. I finally found it at Wild Wolf Brewing Company. Pours a clear dark brown color with a thin creamy tan head. Decent head retention. Aroma of bready malts, caramel and dark fruits. The taste is bready malts, nutty notes, caramel, dates, honey, stone fruits and a hoppy finish. Medium bodied.

Had this at the NOVA Fall Brewfest. Poured a dark orange/red color with a small off-white head. Aroma was notes of barrel, wood, vanilla notes, some spice character and some citrus peels. Flavor was a bit more barrel than I expected it to be, but after the initial sip, I found that the barrel subsided and the other flavors took over. Sweet caramel notes, spice notes, plenty of earthy notes, and some wild yeasties. I wonder how this one would taste after a few more months.

Served on draft at the brewpub. Pours a clear dark brown color with red highlights. Thin creamy tan head. Decent head retention. Aroma of roasted malts, pumpkin, cinnamon, earthy notes and faint brown sugar. The taste is roasted malts, pumpkin, cinnamon and a spicy finish. Medium bodied and quite drinkable. Nice beer.

Clear gold pour with a white head. Sweet malt aroma that carries both honey and some spice. The flavor is lightly sweet and very clean, with enough hops to keep it crisp. Easy drinking, effervescent.

Mostly clear dark yellow with an average white head. Mild esters, some banana, not much clove. The flavor is lightly sweet, not much here for a hefe. Thin watery.

Pours a clear medium brown with ruby/copper tones under a small off-white head. Aroma of light sweet fruit and yeasty bread dough. The flavor is lightly sweet on the front with some hop bitterness in the finish. Interesting beer.

Tap at Gingerman, pours golden orange with nice citrus and yeasty nose. Tastes of Belgian yeast, grapefruit, fruity, ginger, bubblegum, and bourbon. Pretty tasty but a touch thin on palate.

Bottle @ Dan’s house, courtesy of arminjewell. Pours a slightly violet, reddish appearance with a nicely carbonated, tan head. Quite floral, a bit juicy, lightly boozy, light cranberry aroma. Tangy berry, light whiskey, vanilla, a little juicy, herbal flavor. Kind of tasty but nothing overall special.

Crisp, clear amber coloured body with a bit of a copper glow and a thick, rich, dense four centimetre tall tan head - very nice. Aroma of hay, grass, yeast, honey, apples, pears and a bit of funk - but not much; fairly nice and herbal/airy. Medium-bodied; Strong yeastie flavour at first with an earthy and barnyardie maltiness with a definite alcohol kick, some pleasant pear/fruity sweetness with a herbal and grassy bite and some good complexity on the back end. Aftertaste is fairly complex with a good biere de garde barnyardie and yeastie kick and some sweetness that lasts at the end, all with a herbal and grassy freshness. Overall, a nice beer for the style and once you drink this, you can differentiate this and a saison immediately. Nice to sample and might make me try more from this brewery, but perhaps not when they aren’t cheap. I sampled this 75 cL bottle purchased from Arrowine in Arlington, Virginia on 19-September-2012 for US$11.99 sampled at home in Washington on 27-September-2012. Cork States: Best by March 2013.