I swear the moment I openned this bottle I had the strong smell of banana and sure enough, the initial flavor is extremely sweet, bordering on fruity, with banana notes. Copper colored body with a whispy white head. If you can get beyond the sweet flavor there is a touch of malt to this beer. The finish is clean and lighter than one might expect. I have never desired a beer flavored with banana but if you have, then this is not bad.

Sampled at the RBSG ’06. Clear brown body that makes a thin head. Malt aroma, some oxidation present. Sweet over all, with just a touch of bitterness. A bit thinned out.

Sampled at RBSG06. Hazy brown color with a thin off-white head. Sweet caramel aroma. Sweet caramel flavor with an astringent edge.

Bottle. Amber color with a nice head. Hoppy and caramel. Strong malty flavor, not bad, but pretty standard.

Bottle @ Spuyten Duyvil, how do they get their hands on all this stuff? My first Newport beer poured into a wine glass. Color is brown, tanslucent but cannot see through the beer. The aroma is light malty mixed with alcohol. Sweet, yet light malty taste. Too one demonsional overall.

A decent example of the style - loads of chocolate and caramel - some roasty qualities - however, an almost artificial, heavy sweetness in the finish kind of ruins the experience - not too bad, though.

Clear amber color with a thin creamy white head. Aroma of dark malts and molassas. Dark malt flavor with some caramel and molassas.

Pours pale orange into a shaker. Small bubbled head with nice retention. Slight chill haze. Citrus and pine notes. Up front citrus/dairy balance with sweet hop finish. Not sure about this one. Imperial taste....but too sweet to really be an IIPA... almost like a barleywine?

2006 bottle shared with OldGrowth on 3/5/06
Thick, lightly yellow-flecked white head shows fair retention, but little if any lacing. Liquid is quite clear, and a rosy-coppery orange color, with just a slight more red tones than in most double IPAs. The nose is just a huge burst of heavy floral-resinous hops, quite bitter, with little touches of dry fruits (nectarines, apricots) and some light munich-like malts. Quite one-sided, the malt just comes off as dry/sour, while the hops just bombard you with the aforementioned floral-resin. The flavor is more of the same. Tons of high-alpha acid bitterness, stinging acid on end, dry and unbalanced, with little malt sweetness. Grainy munich malt never seems to be able to balance an already heavily dry, bitter hop assault and this is no exception. Some light breadiness builds as well as a mix of crystal and pale malts, but the hoped-for sweetness as it warms never really appears (some light stickiness is about the extent of it). Moderately watery texture, average carbonation and just not enough malt. White grapefruit and orange rinds build on the end. Alcohol is well-concealed, yeast is not apparent.
Not trying to single out Newport (because almost all brewers do it), but this beer is a prime of example of how hopping the hell out of a beer just dosent cut it. Anyone can throw a ton of hops in to a beer. Russian River, AleSmith and Pizza Port show that a beer can be every bit as hoppy as the next guy, but also balanced and complex.

Bottle shared with Muzzlehatch on 2/18/06
Foamy, light tan colored head is wispy and receding to cover and ring. Clear from having settled, with sediment on the bottom and a very deep milk-chocolate color with lighter tan/graham cracker tints. No lacing as the liquid recedes. The nose is heavily oxidized, but with such fat, sweet malts, a sweet sherry and madeira character is born. Quite strong, with light notes of anise, baker’s chocolate, dry toffee, salt, soy and vanilla syrup flavored coffee. Some over-ripe plums and earthy barley notes as it warms, with a tart currant-like snap on the end and a dusty yeast. The flavor is still remarkably sweet, with chocolate covered raisins, light prunes, maple syrup and a dry, papery note on end. Heavily oxidized as well, but the malt plays off it well. I do get the light metallic/b-vitamin like notes on the finish, almost a dirty penny or nickel sort of thing, but I’ve tasted it before in other malt monsters that have sat for a while on yeast and don’t see it as a flaw (the alternative, filtering the beer, would prove far worse, IMHO). Very low carbonation by now, of course, with a slippery, and nearly creamy texture. Alcohol is warming, lighlty evident, but otherwise well-integrated in to the flavors for such a high amount. The flavor and nose are a bit dull, overall. It’s challenging to make these old, malty barleywines taste or smell lively, but a little bit of lactic notes can do the trick, or perhaps some more roasted barley bitterness. Something needs to balance it, anyways because, as is, it’s more just a sugar and yeast novelty.