On tap at Capital Ale House - Downtown on 08/29/2008. Hazy orange body with a medium creamy off-white head. Sweet banana and light citrus aroma with some light floral hoppiness. Sweet banana flavor, floral and citrus hop flavor with gentle bitterness. Medium body with moderately high carbonation. On tap at the brewpub on 08/15/2008. Hazy orange body with a small creamy off-white head. Sweet citrus, banana, and floral hop aroma. Sweet light banana flavor, more citrus, some fruitiness. Big citrus and floral hop background, and a lovely bitter finish. Medium body with moderately high carbonation.

On tap at the brewpub on 08/15/2008. Hazy orange body with a small frothy off-white head. Sweet banana aroma with very light strawberry hints. Sweet light banana flavor with sweet citrus and light strawberry hints. Medium light body with moderate carbonation.

Huge thanks to Retorp for finally getting off his ass and cracking this beautiful Batch 1 bottle. Pours deep dark abyssness with thin mocha head. The mild aroma brings notes of dark roasted malts, chocolate, crystal malts, molasses, prunes, raisins and dates. The taste begins with dark grapes, raisins, prunes and a hint of ripe cherries. Those notes are quickly followed by wood, mild bourbon sweetness, dark roasted malts, chocolate and molasses. Very nice. I get smooth goodness with a hint of alcohol showing up into the finish.

Served on nitro tap at the brewery. This is the Dark Hollow aged in pinor noir barrels from a winery about 3 miles away with cherries and Mexican cocoa nibs. Pours a very dark brown color with the head you would expect from a nitro-tap, tan, thick, absolutely creamy and perpetual head retention. The aroma is oak, vanilla, maple, roasted malts, cherries and chocolate. The taste is cherries, oak with strong notes coming through from the wine. Some faint chocolate and warming alcohol. Tannic and full bodied. Interesting, but it doesn’t come across as nicely as the Dark Hollow alone.

This is the normal Mandolin refermented in the bottle with brett. Served ice cold at the brewery. We had a fairly calm bottle, but apparently they have had some rockets. Pours a hazy orange-peach color with a huge white head and very lively effervescence. Aroma of banana, stone fruits, caramel, bubblegum and light brett. Taste is pineapple, subtle brett, apple and bubblegum. Full bodied.

Pours a very clear ruby-brown color with a medium head, good head retention and thick lacing. Banana, clove and yeast in the aroma. Taste is banana, yeast, spicy and spicy hop notes. Full bodied and very creamy. Very nice beer.

Pours deep gold with copper core and white head. The aroma has solid notes of lighter than dark fruity esters and decent amount of yeasty spice. The taste has plenty of fruitiness like raisins, prunes and a bit of apples followed by a floral hop note. Not too much else seems to be going on except a pretty solid alcohol presence. Still nice stuff.

From my review at cvillebeergeek.blogspot.com... bottle from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville.

Appearance: How’s this for specific? The color is a clear brown-tinged ruby red. The half-finger head is very fizzy and doesn’t last long. Not very inspiring, but not totally inappropriate for the style. 3.0/5.0

Aroma: Fairly malty and slightly roasty with definite notes of spice and dark fruits. Nice, but it could stand to be a bit stronger. 3.75/5.0

Taste: Roasted malts are complemented by dark fruits and a distinct hop bitterness and oddly, crayons. And before you go on wondering how I know what crayons taste like... we all went through kindergarten once! 3.5/5.0

Mouthfeel: The malts and hops balance each other fairly well. The body is slightly on the thin side. Definitely on the thin side for the style. There is a nice alcohol warmth present 3.0/5.0

Drinkabilty: This is a nice, smooth beer with a moderate alcohol content. The point is to be a nice warming sipping beer, which it is, though I do seem to be downing this one quite quickly. A very nice effort. 3.5/5.0

Overall: This is a nice beer, though it would have been a bit nicer with more body and a thicker texture. But it does do its job. and it represents another solid brew from Blue Mountain. 3.35/5.0

Courtesy of cigarcitybrew. Pours blonde, white head. Aroma, spices, yeasty and sugary. Taste, sugary, good presence of alcohol, fruity (lemon/orange), very sweet with honey.