Cask at Brazen Head - this was the first beer of the afternoon for me, and it did NOT get me off on the right foot - semi-cloudy, rust-colored beer - faint aroma of damp wood, cheap whiskey and stale malts - very thin body, with nutty, slightly sweet caramel flavors from the brown ale that I could barely taste - the barrel beat all the life out of this beer - the flavor was dominated by wood, with tiny hints of booze - it pretty much tasted like I was, literally, sucking on the inside of a bourbon barrel - somewhat sour character in the finish that didn’t taste intentional, but actualy made the beer a little better - not good - not good at all.

Cask pint at Redbones on 4/10/07
Small, light beige head is moderately retained. Medium to medium-high clarity on the body is nearly bright, with a copper-garnet/auburn color.
Wow, bourbon anyone?? Holy shit. This is so full of bourbon it almost smells smokey. Holy crap. Lots of dry, harsh wood, some molasses and tons of phenol-like spiciness. Tea-like astringency, vanilla and coconut. Yes, it seems like I’m describing a bourbon.
Flavor is just unapproachable. All bourbon. Intensely harsh, sour, smokey, and alcoholic. Only the barest hint of sweet caramel to give a touch of sweetness. Tons of chewy tannin. Come on, are you kidding? This is one of my favorite breweries, but this barrel was either WAY too fresh and not primed properly or they just left it in WAY, WAY, WAY too long.

Clear golden coloured body with a very thin and soapy white head. Aroma of cardboad, old malt, stale hops, soap, corn, oranges and a light dusting of coriander seed. Light-bodied; Decent stale hop flavour up front with a good malt backbone showing alcohol, caramel, a bit of nuts and even some herbal tastes. Aftertaste is mostly bittered from the hops, but also shows some malt and nutty tastes. Overall, not the worst APA i’ve had, but certainly not one of the better ones. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Oliver’s Beverage in Albany, New York on 27-March-2007.