(On tap) Clear, warm amber golden with an off-white head. Lightly nutty nose. Medium body, discreet malt profile and a very dry, hoppy finish. 170307

(On tap) Clear, amber golden with an off-white head. Fresh, citric aroma. Medium-bodied, lightly caramelish malt character and then a crispy dry, grapefruitish bitterness. A decent IPA. 170307

(On tap) Ever so slightly hazy amber golden with a small, off-white head. Lovely slightly citric hop aroma and a tad of caramel. Medium body, completely dominated by dry and solid, citric aroma hops. A decent APA. 170307

(On tap) Slightly hazy, golden beer with a small, white head. Vague, floral aroma. Rather ligh in body with sweetish malt accents and some floral notes of aroma hops. No bitterness. 170307

Cask at Blue Point cask fest - apa you say? nay! - amber color out of the hand pump, with a rather large head that spilled over the sides of the glass, leaving a sticky residue, warning me to expect loads of sweetness - it was there alright, but the copious amounts of herbal hops kept it from becoming cloying - some fruitiness through the middle, mostly apricot and citrus - herbal tea qualities on the back end - dry, earthy hops throughout - this brewery certainly isn’t great, but their beers are severely under-rated.

Draught tulip at Hop Devil Grill on 1/13/07
Dark, black chocolate colored body has hints of caramel and milk chocolate notes. A moderately dense, dull-tan head, flecked with greyish-beige sits atop at about one finger in height. Moderate retention, though once it begins to fade, it fizzles to a ring. Little to no lacing.
Straightforward chocolate malt notes mix with the caramel malt to produce a sweet, chocolatey, moderately roasty start to the nose. Smooth and silky on the nose, it fills up the senses well. Bits of dry vanilla and lactic buttercream notes creep in with old, ash-like black malt notes sitting on the finish. The sweetness dosent seem overdone, and rather it’s quite well balanced by the vanilla, sweet/sour buttercream and very dry ashiness. But I’m not quite sure those are the flavors I’m looking for, especially the ashiness, which casts a dullness over the beer and gives it a slightly stale feel in the nose. Minor fruitiness, cherries and light plums, emerge after warming and perhaps the dullness is cast back somewhat. No alcohol noted in the nose.
Sweet caramel is tempered immediately by a light lactic note. Prunes and dark chocolate notes are well-integrated in to the flavor as well, sitting piquantly in the background. Butter toffee (can’t seem to dodge the sweet buttercream notes which aren’t wholly pleasant) and more vanilla creaminess swell about the palate with very tame roastiness that keeps the balance on the sweet side. Extremely soft, velvety palate is by far the best quality here. Unfortunately, there is a strong soy-like presence on the end, signifying some oxidation of the dark malts. It’s a rather nutty, chewy blandness, which, when intertwined with the ashiness, leaves a slightly unpleasant finish. No alcohol noted in the flavor and the soft carbonation and velvety texture makes it quite drinkable. Not sure how old this one is, no doubt it has some age on it. Interesting and mostly well-made, but the finish and some of the buttery-sweet malts need looking in to. Not overdone in any way, though, so that’s always a plus.

No I didnt have this at the HDG even though this was being served. An old rating I was saving until I got to compare it to a newer batch but after the SH IRS, I was not going for it.

Notes from Barcade, Vintage, 2004, Draft
Pours black with a small head into a goblet. Aroma is sweet and perfume-y with a slight prunish alcohol. Taste is sweet chocolate, alchy raisons and a bit of a bitter bite. A bit thin and a bit watery for me though.

Tap at HDG Daze of the Devil - quite an impressive black body, with a frothy tan head - bittersweet bakers chocolate, plum, and a slight vinous quality in the aroma - medium-bodied, and not as complex as I like my imperials, but still quite tasty - only moderately sweet, with coffee bitterness complimented well by notes of black cherry and anise - this early promise, sadly, leads to a rather thin finish, with little more than the bitterness lingering on the palate - still much better than a lot of imperials I’ve had lately.

Tap at Spuyten - a solid porter - nothing much to say about it, really - medium-bodied, with a nice dry, roasty character - notes of chocolate and a hint of toffee - I would order this again.