Bottle via a trade. Rating is from a practice BJCP Scoresheet. Scored as a 14B. The numbers in this rating reflect ratebeer’s hedonistic scale and not my judging numbers.
Aroma: Initial impressions are pine sap, molasses, rotten orange and caramel. Light notes of tropical fruit and tangerine. Some fruity esters. Malt aroma is a bit too prominent and ranges from a nutty astringent note to a sticky sweet syrupy caramel. Too sweet. Hops are a bit faded or otherwise overshadowed.
Appearance: Deep bronze hue with a persistent off-white head. Hazy appearance. More than a few shades too dark for the style. Less caramel (or other dark malts) would be to style.
Flavor: Bitter, tangerine and citrus notes from the hops. Hops appear a bit faded. Rotten oranges. Very malt forward at this point. Hop flavors are low or have faded. Light esters. Lingering bitterness and an astringency in the finish.
Mouthfeel: Some astringency from the grain that is a bit harsh. Lingering bitterness. Not quite dry enough (unfermentables are a bit too prevalent). Carbonation is medium to high and supports the body well.
Overall impressions: I feel that this beer is not quite as fresh as I could hope, but I still see problems that would appear in a fresh sample. The beer is too sweet, and is too malt forward for the style. Cutting back on the caramel malts would yield a better beer stylistically and address the problems of sweetness, color and body. The hop aromas and flavors are not as strong as I would like, but the bitterness is spot on.

Hazy copper with a lasting rocky white head. Aroma is sweet malts, biscuit, toasted, a bit of fruit. Medium bodied. Flavor is toasted biscuit, cardboard, little hop flavor but a noticeable bitterness. I’m wondering if this is an old bottle but, since there is no date on the bottle there is no way of knowing. Oh well.

Maltier than I had expected, though it was rather full of hops. It was nicely bitter, sweet malts, citrus. Full bodied with lively carbonation. A decent pale ale.

22oz bottle-Thanks crizay-pours a tan head and black in color with red tint. Aroma is roasty/chocolate/nutty-dark malt, 2nd earthy hops. Taste is roasty/chocolate/nutty-dark malt, 2nd earthy hops. Lively carbonation.

Bottle - thanks to bigmmartin. True to the label, pours black like oil. Topped with a small, creamy brown head. Aroma is roasty, chocolate, and tangy with some floral hops. Sort of a tangy sweetness. Taste has a little bite to it, roasty with espresso and bittersweet chocolate. A little bit on the sweet side, but more of that tangy/hoppy/baker’s chocolate kind of thing helps. Ends with some roast. Not to shabby, but a bit sweet for my taste.

22oz bottle pours an oily, opaque black with a thin, slightly off white head. Nose is toasted bread, oats, light coffee. Flavor is sweet, oats, brown sugar, coffee, molasses. Full bodied, sweet finish.