Bottle courtesy of dkachur on 11/12/2010. Mostly clear dark black body with a small creamy off-white head. Sweet roast, chocolate and coffee aroma. Big coffee flavor, some roast, caramel, chocolate, vanilla and faint oak. Medium body with moderate carbonation.

Bottle. Thanks to gordioabd again! This pours a syrupy dark brown with little head. Aromas are chocolate, prune and pit fruit and sport a little bit of a wood edge. Flavor is odd, and seems to change quite a bit as this warms/airs. At first, I’m thinking it’s some sort of bizarre mix of chocolate milk and prunes... it’s OK, but seems bi-directional. Second pour out of the bomber seems to be much more alcoholy, with a a distinct soy sauce edge to it. It’s good enough in either phase, but doesn’t really hit a chord with me.

Draft pint at Bavarian Lodge. Dark brown draft with a thin head. Despite dark malts, I can still see through the glass. Clean brown ale malt smell with no telltale spices. Taste has some nuttiness of brown ale malts, maybe a tough of hazelnut. Some toastiness from the hemp, if those seeds are toasted. Plus an earthy hop spice. Not really roasted so much as grilled is the impression I have. A bit of phenol actually helps the taste out here. I can’t say what all the pieces are, just that it’s a wonderfully spicy complex brew. Some fruity ale esters to the bottom of the glass.

Key Foods, Flatbush Ave six-pack ($13) Pours a nice color with a proper looking white head. Basically, the most west coast a west coast IPA gets. Resiny hops all over the place, sufficiently bitter and plenty of citrusy fruits. Balanced perfectly well and has enough flavor to compete with the best of them. My only gripe with this is that they charge $13-$14 for a six-pack of this when all other Firestone Walker beers are a lot cheaper (especially at Trader Joe’s).

Bottle: Near black with a modest, creamy brown head. Aroma is very sweet; bourbon, espresso, and chocolate. Thick body stands out. Vanilla, chocolate, espresso, and bourbon blend together in the taste. Just a litle bit of char. Very enjoyable.

I really wanted to like this one more than I did but despite some solid elements it did not quite work for me. Shipped to me by my wife on a trip to Portland. Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured thick, black and oily with a large foamy dark brown head that lingered and left good lacing. The aroma was toasty malts, vanilla, cocoa, anise and bourbon. The flavor was almost overwhelming with bourbon - incredibly boozy. There were undertones of cocoa, vanilla and roasty malts. A strong licorice presence eventually made itself known and lingered but boozy bourbon overwhelmed everything. No noticeable coffee. Thick and full bodied. Interesting yet disappointing at the same time.

on tap at stags head. this beast was perfect for watching snowy pats bears game. Pours a squid ink black and tastes of all that is wonderful in the world including chocolate, vanilla, coffee, bourbon, caramel, dark fruits, and bourbon. slight bitter hops. really great

12oz bottle from the state wine store
Appearance: Pours crystal clear copper with a medium sized off-white head with some lacing
Aroma: Sweet malts, caramel and floral hops
Taste: Malts, caramel with a slightly bitter finish
A nice solid Amber Ale