Orange with a white head. Citrus and lemon in the aroma with light sweetness. Flavor is very citrus and earthy with a nice biscuit malt profile. More bitter than I expected. Pretty solid and would be nice on a warm summer night.

Full of plesant fruits and caramel malts. Has a toasty, near roasted, malt profile that adds meters of depth. Solid and easy to gulp (if that is your thing). The raisins kick in as it continues to warm. Very tasty.

A reddish brown bock with a thin off white head. In aroma, a sweet mineral caramel malt, musty and dusty. In mouth, A smooth sweetish bock, nutty chocolate filling the mouth, nice. On tap at Boston Beer Summit, April 16 2011.

Bottle at Oliwer Twist in May, 2011. Black with a small tan head. Dark chocolate, salt, some licorice and notes of roasted malt. Quite good but not as heavy as expected. The alcohol was well hidden.

Sample, draught, trip to the Boston Beer Summit with Luc Bourbonnière, savoured on April 16 2011; eye: copper with a reddish hue, clear, no effervescence, tiny ring of beige head; nose: malt, light nutty, light dusty, slight fruity; mouth: malt, light nutty, light dusty, slight fruity, nutty finale with presence of caramel, medium body, good carbonation, mildly sweet, lightly cloying texture; overall: correct FRANÇAIS Échantillon, en fût, voyage au Boston Beer Summit avec Luc Bourbonnière, savourée le 16 avril 2011; œil : cuivrée avec une teinte rougeâtre, claire, pas d’effervescence, petit anneau de mousse beige; nez : malt, léger noix, léger poussière, très léger fruité; bouche : malt, léger noix, léger poussière, très léger fruité, finale en noix avec présence de caramel, corps moyen, bonne carbonatation, moyennement sucrée, texture légèrement toquante; en résumé : correct

Bottled at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Lightly hazy amber, rich lively head. Striking aroma of lychee and kumquat. Sweet with near full body and clean, rounded mouthfeel. Lots of biscuity malt, some alcohol induced pineapple esters. The bitterenss seem balanced, thanks to the full sized body. Good stuff!

Draught at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Hazy pale amber, minimal head. Lots of sweaty grapefruit in the nose. Fairly dry with clean mouthfeel and solid body. Some biscuit ymalt, lots of bitter orange and soap. Long resiny bitterness. Solid but unremarkable IPA.

Pours a dark brown with a bubbly tan head that dissipates quickly. Smells of chocolate, brown sugar, floral hops, and a bit of spicy yeast. Taste is roasty chocolaty molasses with a hop bite that is followed by an acridic bitter finish that makes this one unpleasant. Carbonation is a touch on the high side, mouthfeel is bubbly, body is medium. Its good until the finish then it just kinda gets ugly. I couldn’t finish this one.

Pours a slightly cloudy orange/amber color with a bubbly white head that doesn’t stick around very long, but leave lots of sticky lace on the way down. Smells of pine and citrus, some caramel and brown sugar in the background. Taste is much of the same. Malty with a resinous citrus hop bite and an astringent almost phenolic finish. Carbonation is a bit high, mouthfeel is resinous, body is medium. Not that hoppy for an Imperial IPA! Except for the finish I thought this was a pretty good IPA, but that astringency killed this one for me. 4.5/4.0/3.0/3.5/3.5 Re-sampled 5/12/2010 Pours a clear orange amber color with a smallish bubbly white head that dissipates quickly. Smells of pine and citrus, a hint of mineral and a bit of a caramel malt backbone. Taste is pine with a hint of citrus and a smattering of caramel and brown sugar. Syrupy mouthfeel, medium body and carbonation. This is a really good IPA. I still think its a stretch to call this a DIpa. This sample tasted much better than the last and gone was the astringent harsh bitterness that I remembered. I still think McNeil’s bottled product sucks for consistency, but this time I got a good bottle. My score reflects this sampling.

Nice surprise today at the store 3 new bombers to try. Pours a slightly cloudy amber color with a creamy white head that dissipates quickly. Smells of malt and butter, caramel and maybe some floral hops if I squint, close my eyes and inhale. Taste is sweet malts, caramel, toffee and butter. Very little hops in the aroma or flavor. I had to call my wife over to verify that I wasn’t nuts, but there is very little hops to be found. Medium body and carbonation, sticky mouthfeel. If they had called this a bitter I would have scored it much higher. An IPA this is not. Maybe there was some mix up at bottling time, but I have to assume that this is supposed to be an IPA. If I try this again I will re rate.