UPDATED: MAR 8, 2019 July 28th, 2015 - Moving to one of the sweeter beers of the day is the Demolition Derby. It's a lighter auburn color with little head, and a hugely sweet smell of graham cracker, and honey. And then there's some skittles and strawberry frosting, making it just a touch too sweet. The body salvages this with a heavy weightiness, and more of the strawberry frosting flavor. It gets large and a little scary after a few sips, imitating something more like a dessert beer.

Sample on tap. Golden colored pour. Aroma is sweet and earthy. Flavor is sweet and okay.

On tap @ Rattle N Hum. This is a mild cloudy looking goldenish one with a medium sized mildly lacing bright white head on the top that’s trying it’s best to leave minimal lacework down the glass. Smells quite good this. It’s both sweetish and a little candy like. Ripe sweet fruits, some melon hints, traces of dry licorice and freeze dried straw and raspberries. Some alcohol also detected in the aroma. Like it a lot. Lots of flavors here. I get the wine sweetness blended with mild okay tannin. It’s also quite fruit in the taste. Thick and oily on the texture and it’s just below average and really small prickling on the bubbles. Soft honey finishes this off with a really warming sensation down the throat. 21.06.2015

After quite a few delicious Bear Republic beers in a row, this was a bit of a disappointment. The flavor is probably the hoppiest I’ve had in Old Ale. But it’s also kind of nutty, like Brazil nuts, which I don’t like at all. Eh.

UPDATED: JAN 17, 2017 Draft at Bru Craft. Clear rich butterscotch pour with a slim amount of beige foam. Feels like an aged Barleywine. Pleasant sugary aroma. Complex toffee notes. Buttery caramels. Molasses. Sulfured apricots, plums and cherries. Oak. Vanilla beans. Treacle Blonde leather. Just enough spicy hops to bring interest to the smooth finish.

Sampled at Meridian Pint, pours a clear butterscotch color with some sudsy, white head. Nose is interesting, caramel, butterscotch, some candied orange peel, marzipan, some blanched cashew, hints of melon, that orange wine you find in Eastern Europe. The Hungarian oak lends a very interesting note to the nose which is followed up on the flavor. Not quite vanilla, but more than just a flat neutral oak, a little buttery, some butterscotch, caramel, fortified wine, over ripe melon, toffee. Some bread and biscuit here too, orange as well. Full bodied, buttery and a touch tannic. Really interesting.

Draft pour on tap at the brewery (Healdsburg, CA). Pours a nice rich glowing amber hue, s bit darker, faint haze in certain light but largely transparent body. Frothy whitish head atop dies to a ringer, laces solid enough overall. Aromas present punchy citrus hops, lemon and grapefruit meet a kiss of tropical fruit, bitter florals and fruity chardonnay. Mellow oak, a bit of caramel and Biscuit meet bread, more potent grapefruit, a good dry hop essence. Initial is soapy, citric, a bit pithy with mellow spice, subtle oak and chardonnay fruit elements. Bitter florals, touch of Biscuit, bready malts. A nice potent hop presence leaves a good flavor but a fleeting bitterness as the chardonnay barrel goes to work. A bit of oak, earth, punchy hop life holds on as we travel through. Impressive nose and pour, good flavors and flow, subtle spice, lingering hops and barrel. Fun stuff.

Initial notes of caramel and toffee. Flavor had a little bitterness and the oak/wine shines a little more there too. Good, interesting brew.

On draft at Snallygaster 2015. Pours a clear copper with an ecur head. Nutty aroma. Flavors of toffee. Smooth finish,

Lots of barrel and caramelized melt. Pours brown with decent head. Bittersweet finish. Too okay. Tap.