Early 2006 bottle (educated guess) drunk on 3/22/07 at the Stuffed Sandwich
Had this baby while waiting for a 1987 and 1996 Anchor Old Foghorn to warm up/breath. Head is small, buttercream colored and fades pretty steadily to partial cover and ring. Body is a straw and copper yellow with light sunny orange highlights. Clarity is high, with light carbonation running through the liquid.
Kind of a sweaty hop and grainy malt combo in the nose. Perhaps a bit of munich or caramel malt? There seems to be a moderate amount of breadiness and a very light acidity, though that could just be the hops. The graininess of the malts seem to overly dry things out and the bready character takes things to an almost astringent level. But some late honey-vanilla notes, joined by a small dose of light caramel, seem to save things. Floral and mossy hops continue on and seem rather oily, sticking to the end of the aroma. No flaws or alcohol noted, medium strength of aroma.
Definitely German in nature, with some tettnang like spiciness and perhaps spalter earthy/mossiness. It’s very oily and sticky, almost like what I would think hop extract would taste like. It’s layered upon breadiness and dry caramel, with grainy base malts edging out what would be a more desirable malty-smooth consistency. Honey and vanilla ara again present, but all the earthiness and breadiness seems to win out. Moderate carbonation, with a not particularly substantial mouthfeel (moderate filtration obvious). No flaws however.

12oz bottle pours out a dark gold topped with a nice white head. A great aroma and tast of hops. pretty good for a IPA from Alaska. O ya what is up with the surfer on the bottle???

Bottle: Pours a clear golden color with orange hues. A large white head lasts a while and some sticky lacing. The aroma is very solid; a blend of citrus, floral, and piney hops. Taste is a bit lacking. The hop intensity is rather moderate, some malty sweetness and a twinge of lager. It tastes more like a half-n-half of IPA and pale lager. The taste simply doesn’t follow the nose.

LIght malt aroma with a hint of something - but what? LIght amber gold color with no head. Starts with a light rush of malt, medium mouthfeel that thins, then a thin sweetness, and enough hop follows to balance the malt. Not a huge amount of either, but more substantial than many American versions of the style.

My 200th. Vintage 2005. Pours oily black with molasses highlites and almost no head. Aroma is smokey sweet. Roasted malts, smoke, caramel, and chocolate dominate. The flavor starts with campfire smoke, then goes to roasted malts and molasses. The smoke isn’t so overpowering that it gets in the way of the rest of the flavor. It finishes with a bit of dry bitterness. The body is a touch on the thin side, but has a nice smoothness to it. I really enjoyed this brew.

Bottle: Very dark brown pour with large, frothy tan head and some moderate lacing. Literally looks like a perfect sweet stout. Nose is malt, light coffee, and roastiness. Taste is a very well balanced medley of cocoa, coffee, roasted malt, and molasses. No outstanding flavors, but a basic stout blend that is extremely well done.

Dark brown and small, diminishing brown head. Sweet aroma of chocolate and a hint of roasted malts, perhaps some smoke. Very sweet flavor with notes of chocolate and caramel. Very slight bitterness and roastiness in the finish. Medium body. Watery. Comfortable mouthfeel. Moderate carbonation. Above average despite excessive sweetness.

2006 Bomber; Nose of Smoke!, Kind of like smoked jerky; and some light chocolate; dark but clear brown with a small ivory head; flavor is dominated by smoke with some very light coffee and chocolate accents.

Bottle from Ralphs, Palm Springs, CA; Nose of spices, pine, and some malt; orange with a small off-white head; flavor of spicy cinnamon, caramel malt, pine, and cream in the medium body.