6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Pours cloudy peach, with plenty of yeast "floaties" and a thin off-white head. Strange potently yeasty aroma- I believe nail-polish remover comes to mind. Yeast also dominated the flavor, with bubblegum, circus peanuts (artificial banana), clove, and nail-polish remover. The base has candy-like sweetness (light fruit) and is crackery. Kind of a "dirty" example but unique nonetheless.
Tried
from Can
on 09 Jun 2004
at 12:35
6.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
2003 bottle. Wow, had no idea this was supposed to be a wit. Taste seemed to have some pale malt in it, light hops, a dry straw-like flavor and not much else. Good color, just a pretty neutral amber-yellow. Bottle conditioned, lightly spicy, grassy aroma. Pretty basic, but still enjoyable during the summer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Jun 2004
at 15:16
7.4/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
2004 bottle. Awesome appearance. Bottle conditioned, completely hazy, with a rosy-red/peachy hue, light but colorful and a thick white head and lacing. Aroma is light, touch of yeast and mainly a drier, fresh raspberry puree smell. Flavor is extremely fresh and tastes exactly like raspberries, no artificial notes. Hardly any sweetness, touch of sourness from the yeast and berries, no hops perceptible. Body is light, as it should be for a light fruit ale. Amazingly drinkable on a hot summer day. Well-made, sure it could use more malt and flavor, but I liked it for what it was.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 May 2004
at 15:43
7.6/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
2004 bottle. Pours opaque black, with deep orange-brown tinges on the sides and a small, but amazingly burnt-tan head. Aroma is bitter and very much full of dry smoke. Like hickory bbq, though not sweet. Flavor is full of bitterness and smoke, though the smoke flavor is well-balanced and shares center-stage with the roast and hops. Definitely a touch of bitter hops at the start followed by a pleasing roasted barley flavor. Smoke really shows through towards the finish and there is a nice interplay of bitter floral hops with the smoke. Bottle conditioned, medium body and quite smooth for the bitterness. Dosent overdo it and is very drinkable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Apr 2004
at 12:45
6.5/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
As has been said, pitch black. Opaque, hugely bottle conditioned, AND a large deep rich yellow-tan head. Smells of blueberry rinds, not sweet at all, more like vegetables, or spices. Immediately, flavor reminds me of ginger. . .what is going on?? Is this just extremely dry blueberry extract?? How is this stuff this dry? Tastes very similar to 2004 Anchor OSA, though less spicey and a bit thinner. Coffee rinds at the start, and a hazlenut finish with some light blueberry. Mouthfeel is just plain light, some stickiness on the finish, from the barley, but nowhere near what a stout should be. If they are going to call this a stout, make it a stout, not a dark colored blueberry ale.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Mar 2004
at 13:49
7.6/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
2003 bottle. Pours extremely dark brown/black with lots of dark caramel/roasted colored head around the edges. Bottle conditioned. Small amount of head remains. Smells very oily, thick roast and lightly chocolatey, with some fresh hops in the background. Similar to the Oktoberfest in its abundant use of fresh moderately spicy hops, but unlike it in its extreme use of roasted barley. Some mild, bitter chocolate notes and some sweeter sugary flavors as well. The flavor was quite good with my biggest complaint being a bit too much thinning and some astringency from the dryness and flavor get a bit dull due to all of the roast. Good offering for sure, though. 2003 bottle aged an additional number of months. This one had the creamiest, most luxurious, velvety head I’ve seen in a while. Much more balanced than I rememeber, probably the hops flavor evening out. Rich and smooth, but still has plenty of good roasty bitterness. Seemed a touch thin on the end exacerbated by the huge bitterness, but I also drank this thing at about 65 degrees so that probably didnt help. Uppin the score on this though, it deserves it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Mar 2004
at 11:04
8.8/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
2003 bottle. WOW. Bottle conditioned, hazy, dark brownish-tan with some light oranges. Good oatmeal colored head. Aroma is crisp, hoppy (quite a bit of bitterness) and has a hint of red raspberry. Opens up with a flavor so fresh, it dosent even taste bottled. Pure, clean spicy hops, full bodied, with plenty of toasted malt goodness. No harsh dry tones, no astringency, just incredible flavorful beer. If I was rating to style, this wouldnt get many points as it is very hoppy (too high alpha hops content for a marzen) but hell, this tastes so good, I dont care what style it is. Pure milk chocolate on the finish that lingers on.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Mar 2004
at 12:07
7.5/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
2003 bottle. Very lovely hazy amber-gold color with, to my delight, sediment. yay. moving on, the aroma was not as big as most ipas. Basic clean citrus hops, quite dry and slightly perfume like. Small white head that leaves quickly. Flavor begins with a typical dry hopped cascades flavor. Less malt than I’d like but still a buttery-sweet cookie malt flavor has some presence. Moderately, but pleasingly, bitter, medium bodied, fluffy aerated texture. As it warms it improved with some sweeter orange shortbread-like flavors coming from the malt and hops mix. Good stuff, well-made, you know the drill.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Jan 2004
at 14:44
6.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Well they seem to have described it to the nail in the commercial description. Tastes like a medium light bodied amber ale with some extra sweetness and a bit of grainy/root-earthiness from the yeast. Smells like a belgian brown ale. Big orange-red color, lots of creamy amber head. Had to really strain to get tons of flavor out of it. Not terribly complex at all, but certainly quite drinkable, had lots of root flavor, rhubarb, lettuce, vegetables. A touch of sugar provided some good balance, but very thin. Interesting.
Tried
on 09 Jan 2004
at 12:38
6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
A not-too pleasant amber ale that pours an amber-orange color (surprised?), topped with a thin, off-white head. Bready, slightly fruity aroma. Flavor is caramely and rather musty, with some fruitiness and floral hops. Finishes slightly bitter. The cloves and mustiness dominate the aftertaste. Doesn't have the rich complexity or barleywine-like qualities of good ambers.
Tried
on 27 Nov 2003
at 17:03