Bottle. Dirty orangish gold pour with a huge and frothy white head. Aromas of lightly floral hops with a touch of citrus, but not much in the nose. Flavor is juicy fruit hops with a bit of grain dustan a hint of caramel. It didn’t strike my fancy on first sip, but has grown on me as it warms a bit.

Bottle courtesy fo Not-So-Secret Santa Strykzone, thanks! Cloudy yellow color, fluffy white head. Nice aroma of perfumy citrus, pine, pineapple. Taste is bitter fruity hay and straw, lemon. Tasty.

Notes from July. The bottle pours a big fluffy hefeweizen head. From that head, my nose picks up the spiciness of wheat malt and some mostly bitter American hops, with perhaps just a hint of mango in the nose. The taste starts with a bit of lemon or other citrus. Not a lot of exotic hop character flavor, but certainly some bitterness lingers in the back of my palate. Haziness in the glass is indeed close to a hefeweizen, but is none of the bubblegum or other esters. This is a well-balanced beer that may not be a mouth burning hop bomb. Put it on the American Wheat spectrum between Goose Island 312 and Three Floyds’ Gumballhead. I think it would pair well with any main course, but I’m mainly thinking of baked fish. Its 4.6% abc won’t overwhelm your ability to enjoy food, but its hop bitterness with add some zest to a pale white meat, or a creamy cheese.

A 12oz fancy bottle, looks like 12.7 but label says 12. Thick colorful red and pink color, very thick. Bubbly champagne head fades away super quick. Aroma is berry mash with light fecal. Natural, not sour but wild berries. Strong carbonation, very bubbly, seltzer like finish. Seems to overtake the flavors. Comes off as fruit seltzer and a dry berry finish. It’s really a good fruit beer as opposed to a sour. Fun but not all too interesting.

Some lime and lots of malt. Decent balance and easy to drink. Bitter finish. Bottle in Missouri.

Pour is a hazy orange with a large white head. Aroma is a decent fruity hop. Nothing over the top but a nice melon comes off the beer. Flavor is more honeydew melon hop with a sweet malty backbone. While you do get a decent hop flavor it is pretty minor letting the malt take over. Schlafly TIPA is a better example of this style Excel really needs to start dating their beers.

Bottle pour into pint glass from Friar Tuck. Appearance is dark brown, almost opaque black, with active sparkle at sides of glass, 1/2 finger-width light brown creamy head, with fair retention. Aroma is anise, roasted malt, European hops, toffee. Taste is roasted malt just shy of ash, balance between sweet and bitter. Palate is medium bodied with light, frothy texture, foamy average carbonation, with mild rye noticeable with roasted/ashy dry finish. Overall, enjoyable with the roast going a little too far to the ashy side.

Pour is a hazy copper with a large white head. Aroma is an big old bowl of fruit. Lots of mango and papaya with even some cattiness and green onion. Flavor is more tropical fruit hops and I am definitely getting some apricot in a big way. This is hardly bitter at all. The lacing sticks to the glass like paint after each sip. A fine fruity IPA here. I just wish Excel would but a date on the bottle. This is drinking awesome now but those hops will fade soon.

12 oz bottle purchased as part of a mix a six from Friar Tuck in O’Fallon, Missouri. The date is laser printed just below the cap though was difficult to read, 044 maybe? The pour is a dark brown with a bit of Burgundy and a one inch khaki head that falls slow with big carbonation bubbles. The aroma is soft roast along with some spice rye. The taste is clean Schwarzbier flavor, with toast roast and the rye spice carrying the finish. The palate is medium bodied with soft carbonation with mineral roast and soft char in the finish. Residual rye. Nice one, well made.