Bottled. Bronze colour, creamy head. Lychee like hop aroma. The extreme amount of hops are balanced by a solid malt body. Sweet, dominted by the hop flavours: lychee, peach and grapefruit. Lingering very bitter finish.

Sampled at the Ohio Labor Day gathering, provided by Styles. October 2004 bottling, bottle #252/400. Coppery red body, thin off-white head. Caramely aroma with some pine and grapefruit notes, bready. Caramely, lightly fruity body with earthy and piney hops, some spiciness. Medium-bodied with rich malts and hops. I believe the use of American hops stymied what the brewers were aiming for here.

Very vinous aroma with red wine. Sweet with fermented fruit. Unfiltered for sure, because my last sip contained something in solid form about the size of a quarter. I like sediment, but this is going a little far. Fairly heavy but very easy to drink due to the smooth body.

Bottle Pours a hazy light golden orange witha large dense beige head. Lots of clinging lacing. Very sharp up front pine like hop aroma. Flavorsa were not as hoppy as I expected but apropriate for the style. Not much of a malt backbone but a nice flavor overall. Palate was rich and smooth and there was a quite sharp bitterness at the end.

Draught at AIBA, Melbourne. Dark brownish amber with rich, creamy head. Lychee aroma. Medium sweet and fairly light bodied- Pleasantly hop aromatic with a salty finish that holds medium biterness. Not spectacular or overpowering in anyway, but thoroughly well balanced and made.

Clear amber body, thin off-white head. Floral, herbal and strong hops aroma with caramely malts, also notes of pine. The strong hops carried over to the body with a very bitter citrus rind finish. Biscuity, caramely malts were amped up just enough to balance the hops. So standard an IPA though...Thanks Bill (batkins) for the bottle!

2003 bomber. Flashlighted tested opaque. Black with a deep tan head that fizzes to the top and quickly disippates. Lace clings to the edges. Aroma is pretty decent for a dry stout, ok, better than decent, the fact that I can smell alot of roast and a hint of dark chocolate says alot. Very aromatic for its style. Flavor begins with a big dry bitter roast, moderately oily with dark chocolate in the background. Quite carbonated unfortunately, very much so, even after letting stand and warm for a while. This seemed to detract from the body and texture, making for a not-nearly-as-creamy-as-hoped-for experience. Flavor was big and bold, that was a plus, but I thought the body was only medium, not wonderfully complex either. Some decent, bitter hops on the finish, with an almost cafe au lait flavor. A solid, fairly flavorful beer that has no major flaws, with my biggest complaint being the sharp, carbonated texture. I bet this would gain quite a few points on draft. 9/5/7/3/14
2004 draught Same wonderful appearance, dark brown/black, very deep and opaque with a creamy light beige/tan head. Aroma, even on draft out of a shaker is phenomenal. Still the best, and most powerful aroma I’ve encountered on a dry stout. Chocolate, light roast, almonds, and a barley-like lacto creaminess. On draught, the body was very full, while the flavor played catch up. Very roasty and dry, but still has some good dark chocolate notes. Low hops apparency and a much smoother, creamier palate than in the bottle. Aroma, appearance and a strong, flavorful body are all highlights here. Perhaps a bit lacking in the complexity department. But still, there is an obviouly large amount of malt and unmalted barley in here giving it more oomph than your average watery irish dry stout, and I applaud that. 9/5/8/4/16

Leftover from the Chicago Real Ale Dinner at Rock Bottom Chicago. Yes, I broke my Lenten abstenence from beer just for the Real Ale Fest. A dark brown, almost murky body beneath a bubbly, clingy brown head. Smell is enchanting. Has an appropriately "cask" mouthfeel, low carbonation. Slight roast coffee notes among the roasted malts, and a bit peppery and smoky. Would have thought this was low in alcohol, but the second one the bartender gave me knocked me over. Not extreme in the Edmund Fitzgerald sense, but pleasant.