Pours a cloudy brown with a huge creamy tan head. Nice story on the bottle as well. Aroma is very malty. Flavor is very bready and fruity. Makes me think of banana bread. There is some alcohol in the finish but not its mostly hidden quite well. Fair to good but its missing some spice to it.

22 oz. "Bottled 10/16/09, rated Christmas Eve, 2009."Keeps for five years?" Maybe so, but I want to try it now. Pours brown and hazy, with a puff of light tan foam. Smell has nice complexity from a mix of malts, mostly reminiscent of their Nut Brown Ale. Some bittering hops also come up in the nose. Taste does have, yes, some temperate, brown roast malts. Just a mere suggestion of smoke or peat, so maybe some Scotch ale malt in the mix. Hops seem to tend toward the English side, with earthy and grassy bitterness, and a little bit of pepper. Other people who’ve tried it say there’s some citrusy American hops present, but I’m not sure about that. Despite being "normal strength" beer, it’s quite warming and enjoyable. I would suggest enjoying this now, and putting just one or two away for next Christmas. 12 oz. bottle, 2004 edition, rated 9/1/04.Rating 7-5-7-4-16, total 3.9. A nice nose of currants and raisins when poured. The usual thin head, but that’s not important. Deep, dark red, with a scotch-like malt profile, some smokiness of cigar tobacco and old chair leather. Slight touch of holiday spiciness, but not overdone like other holiday beers, in fact it may come entirely from the yeast and hops. A very fine beer.

Bottled. I tried this two nights after rating Goose’s "Generic retail" Stockyard Oatmeal Stout. This is a little bit tastier, but still has a pretty bitter coffee roast to it. Pours a slightly lighter tan head, but it’s more foamy and persistent. Still missing the creamy oatmeal balance, and its a little less sweet than the Stockyard. Still, very drinkable, I found myself swigging down the last half of it.

(355 ml bottle). This was my first American IPA, now available in Norway! Deep golden colour, good head. Lovely hoppy citrussy aroma. I got more pleasure sniffing this beer than I got from drinking it. Flavour is all hops (where are the malts?), dominant initial grapefruity bitterness like I expected (not unpleasant), quite drinkable, but the one-dimensional, medicinal and wormwoodlike bitterness that remains in the aftertaste is not to my liking.

Well, it looks like this one escaped my critical pen...until now. Pours deep clear red, with a thin off-white head. Woody, tangy aroma. Flavor is nutty, woody, and cracker/grassy. Brown sugar becomes more apparent as the beer warms and the beer also develops a toasty nature. Somewhat like their Christmas Ale. Relatively dry and nicely balanced. Medium-bodied. Serviceable.

2004 Draft @ Wrigleyville Brewpub. Good brownish-purple color with orange and tan hues. Decen mocha-beige head, mildly hazed. Aroma is light of sweet mocha late, some roasted bitterness. Body is only medium, but flavor is consistent and good. Lots of roast, not too sweet, with hints of chocolate, prunes, some vinousness even. Lightly bitter on the end, pleasingly so and very smoothly textured. Almost a session stout.