Cask at the bow bar... Golden amber.. Thin white lacing... Soft sweet floral fruit nose... Caramel spangles fruits.. Juicy sweet fruits

Cask at the bow bar. Pours golden, nose is peach, mango, papaya, taste is juicy fruit, sweet, tropical. --- Beer merged from original tick of Hop Hop & Away on 13 May 2017 at 08:47 - Score: 7

Canned 2.9.17, drunk 2/20/17.
Clear, pale-brass body is well-carbonated and shows a moderate amount of white head with average-to-strong retention.
The nose definitely checks out being full of light cereal grain, clean and crisp, with soft, Noble hops adding light grass and floral notes. Delicate honey sits on the finish and there’s no flaw or alcohol.
In the mouth it’s very dry yet maintains a reasonably malty body boasting light honey, chewy cereal-like touches and soft, floral hop notes. The carbonation is on-point, being tight and engaging without any fizziness or looseness. Clean, crisp and checks all the boxes. Very refreshing and drinkable. Yep, they seem to have got one right at GABF in this case. Great stuff and definitely in Aeronaut’s wheelhouse (dry, lighter, pale beers).

Draught at the brewery, 2/16/17.
Moderate-sized tan head tops a dark mahogany-to-ebony body of undetermined clarity. Retention is moderate.
The bourbon is not overly aggressive in the nose and initial sniffs yield light coconut and hints of spice that is well-integrated with the dark chocolate and light roast character. Not fudgey or overly caramel-heavy like many examples, yet nor is it hoppy or intensely fruity. Good middle-of-the-road stout that exhibits a little bit of everything. The alcohol wasn’t as out-of-control here as it was in their other strong ales.
Soft, fairly malty texture, though it runs out of steam near the finish and tapers off with barrel tannin, coconut and bourbon spice notes as well as light chocolate and dry, grainy, roasty notes. Low but ample carbonation, clean and not terribly boozy. Light fruitiness and moderate to strong roastiness lingering. Quite dry, as all of their beers are.

Draught at the brewery, 2/16/17.
Dark mahogany with light chartreuse highlights and a good clarity on the edges. Dark beige head shows moderately-low to low retention.
Grape in the nose is not quite prominent, but it’s nicely integrated with the other various fruity esters and the caramel and raisin stretches to the finish which is full of alcohol, mineral and more grapeskin-like notes. Enough Belgian yeast comes through to establish it as a dark Belgian strong ale of sorts but it’s missing the malt depth otherwise found in the style.
Again, as with all of their beers it’s fully attenuated to a fault. Nowhere near enough malt depth or suppleness/richness to balance the acidity and dryness of the grape character, phenols and specialty malts, let alone the strong alcohol. Still, with all their beers, the flavors and yeast development is impressive, just need a little more malt depth. Low but engaging carbonation and no flaw. Good amount of red grape character lingering.

Cask at the brewery, 2/16/17.
Dark chocolate brown body shows decent clarity on the edges and a small, light-tan head of moderately-low retention.
Cocoa and light, earthy coffee are notable in the nose, as well as hints of caramel and various dark fruits. Prune, chocolate and raisin lingers lightly. No alcohol or flaw.
For 7.1%, this is VERY thin and watery. Not necessarily bad, since the flavors are enjoyable, for the most part. Lots of milk chocolate and earthy, beany coffee with tons of light prune and vanilla and soft caramel hints adding light sweetness at most. Low carbonation but in good condition. I’d say it’s a great session stout except for the abv....

Draught at the brewery, 2/16/17.
Moderately hazy, bright, copper-golden body with a small, off-white head of moderately-low retention.
Again it’s very dry, highly attenuated and as such, there’s definite alcohol here (though it’s also 9%, so that obviously contributes). Grapefruit, moderate resin and some fruitiness to be had, at least though I wouldn’t go as far as to call the nose overly juicy. Lots of woody notes, dry pithy bitterness, grain and booze in the nose with light melon and pineapple lingering.
In the mouth it’s quite hot, boozy, sharp and very, very well-attenuated. Pith, marshmallow and alcohol linger yet I can’t quite write it off as it’s got a somewhat supple malt texture despite the massive attenuation. Engaging carbonation and tons of melon, apple, pineapple and grapefruit lingering.

Draught at the brewery, 2/16/17.
Light, minimally hazy, pale, straw-blonde bodied beer has a small, white head atop showing moderate to moderately-low retention.
Soft honey breaks through the light apple and dusty phenols as light vanilla and biscuit sits on the finish. Estery and phenolic, but no banana or anything bad. Nicely aromatic and of course, no alcohol noted. Clean, lots of pepper, low on the hops.
Fairly soft texture with honey, vanilla, light cracker and softer but prevalent Belgian esters (apple, strawberry, light peach). Light pepper, some graininess and low but engaging carbonation with no flaw or alcohol. Pretty straightforward but very competent and nicely dry.

Draught at the brewery, 2/16/17.
Lightly hazy, pale, straw-blonde body is well-carbonated with a medium-sized, well-retained, white head atop.
A mix of very, very dry, nelson hops with plenty of mineral and light grappa character, as well as strongly phenolic notes from the Belgian yeast. There’s definitely some light alcohol mixed in with the esters and a touch of pine/resin, as well. Having not had many of Aeronaut’s beers prior to this visit, I didn’t realize just how active and thoroughly they ferment their beers. They are all bone dry with tons of esters and phenols. It’s sort of a double-edges sword here, as the strong ester/phenol profile works well with a Belgian ale, yet the overall stark dryness really highlights, too much I think, the hop acids, graininess from the malt and sharp ester/alcohol notes.
The texture is somewhat "hard", with some huskiness to it and moderate, fairly engaging carbonation. Very light honey-like sweetness comes through with warming and there is light alcohol and strong, peppery esters on the finish. Hops seem a bit over-boiled and are have a lot of sharpness and sweat to them, though that just might be the relative lack of maltiness to soak up some of these notes.