Malty sour with prominent dark grape character. Bit too sour and a bit too throat burning. Solid US sour.

Draft. Black beer with a light brown head. Bourbon and chocolate aroma with rich malt. Toffee and bourbon flavor with vanilla and molasses. Fuller bodied. Molasses and toffee lingers with bourbon and light spice. Alcohol noticeable.

750ml bottle thanks to Steve. pours out black topped with a small tan head. nose is big roast malts vanilla barrel spice nutmeg molasses bourbon. taste is more of the heavy roast big sweetness vanilla coffee molasses and the nutmeg.

12oz bottle pours with a nearly clear deep gold body that supports a thin dirty white head. The modest aroma offers up tangerine, cantaloupe, pineapple and then a thin blend of garlic and earthy tea. The taste delivers pineapple, cantaloupe and tangerine that gets both juicy and bitter. To midway it picks up floral hops, spicy garlic and then a thin ring of pine like resiny hops. This has a bit of a different hop profile, at least that’s how it seems, and it’s working pretty well. I’d drink this again, no problem.
Earlier Rating: 4/1/2012 Total Score: 4
Bomber pours hazy deep gold with copper hues and tan head. The aroma offers up spicy hops, some bitter smelling floral hops, earthy hops and then a bit of a soapy like sensation. The taste delivers bold spicy hops and then is found running into some resiny bitterness that takes on a pine hop like note. Into the finish modest sweet malts come to the surface to help ground the hoppy goodness. Solid IIPA.

Poured from a bottle. Aroma is nutmeg forward with lots of maple, and dark chocolate. Lighter vanilla notes with some balanced bourbon notes. Light roast character. A very cake like aroma. Hints of oak. Pours jet black with a thin, dark mocha head that recedes immediately and disappears. No lacing and sheets of alcohol. Flavor is rather sweet with lots of chocolate and some lighter roast notes. Quite a bit of nutmeg and maple syrup. Lighter vanilla notes with a bit of bourbon and faint oak. Medium light bitterness, mostly from the nutmeg, with some light alcohol spice. Very dessert like. Mouthfeel is full bodied and somewhat silky with almost no carbonation. Low astringency and medium low alcohol warmth. Overall, a much better stout than I was expecting and probably the first one with nutmeg that I enjoyed. Only a hit of bitterness from the nutmeg. Nice alcohol notes. Very dessrt like beer.

Can pour from Wally’s. Aroma can be smelled from over a foot away. Effervescent light yeast like a sparkling wine, mild cracker/biscuit malt. Appearance is clear golden yellow with mild sparkle, finger width fluffy white head with poor retention and trace lacing. Taste is mild sweet cracker malt with noble German hop slightly metallic bitter. Palate is medium bodied with thin texture, soft carbonation and mild bitter/tart finish. Overall, fitting for the style but other than being eminently quaffable doesn’t have too much else to recommend it.

[1/30/16] Bottle sample at the Encomium bottle share, after RateBeer Best awards ceremony at Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel in Santa Rosa. Thanks everyone who shared bottles! Chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, lots of nutmeg. Sweet, a bit boozy. Very nice but too spicy.

[1/30/16] Draught at Sprengers Tap Room in Santa Rosa. Clear deep golden. Nice citric and mildly tropical hops aroma. Dry and bitter flavor with fruity hops. Medium-bodied.