zebracakes (972), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Oct 13, 2006 Bottle thanks to CMUBEERMAN. Pours dark ruby with off white head. Aroma is coffee, hops, molasses, caramel, hops. Flavor is caramel, molasses, hops, coffee, and pine. Delicious.
msante79 (218), Illinois, USA Aug 19, 2008 750ml Bottle. Big thanks to Kegbear for this one. Pours dark reddish brown with thick light tan head. Huge aroma of sweet malt, caramel, dark fruits and alcohol. Flavor was sweet yet complex. Flavor was big with sweet malt along with caramel and dark fruit. Big alcohol warmth along with sweet and sticky mouthfeel. A fine brew that could be great with some age. thenick (538), North Bellmore, New York, USA Aug 17, 2008 Bomber, shared. Pours a heavy and deep ruby-brown with a large and lacy tan head. Aroma is largely caramel and dark fruit, though I detected molasses, coffee, and slight wood characteristics as well. I was surprised to not find any of the heavy grain characteristic so common in Scotch ales. The flavor is an assault on your senses, with a velvety smooth texture throughout. You get heavy malt, chocolate, and dark fruit on the front, dissolving into hop bitterness at the end. There is a noticeable alcohol burn in the aftertaste, but it doesn’t take away from a powerful and world-class offering. Praetorian (42), Los Angeles, California, USA Aug 15, 2008 Updated: Aug 16, 2008Dark red-brown in color with a large, light brown head with great lacing. The aroma is of caramel, chocolate and dark fruits with notes of coffee, oak, and molasses. The flavor is slightly hoppy and chocolatey with a strong alcohol backbone and a coffee undertone. Mostly sweet with a bitter finish. The texture is creamy. A very enjoyable ale with a very complex and aggressive flavor. I LOVE IT! chrisafari (75), Orange, California, USA Aug 11, 2008 Pours dark brown/red with a nice tan head. Aroma is dominated by a wonderful punch of carmel malt. There is also alcohol and roasted nuts in the nose, with a hint of hops. Flavor is alcohol, malt and a very nice aftertaste of apples. Very good! One of my favorites! hellbilly (837), scottsdale über alles, Arizona, USA Aug 8, 2008 pours a dark hazy ruby brown with clumps of yeast floaters and a cafe au lait colored head. lots of sweet grain in the aroma... wood, caramel, earthy spice, very mildly smoky, some unidentifiable fruits and a bunch of alcohol (which eventually fades just to show up in the flavor). it kinda smells like a snickers bar?... the first sip is rather uneventful but leaves behind an aftertaste of tons of whole roasted coffee beans... i’m really diggin’ the aftertaste! the palate is super malty but it’s without a whole lot of sweetness to muck up the flavor (thumbs up!)... golden raisins, buttered cinnamon toast, rich grain, nutty, toffee, chocolate cream, a tiny bit of smoke, nice level of acidity and a bitter spiciness (from alcohol, malt or hops?) on the finish. full bodied with very low carbonation. smooth velvety mouth feel. nice balance of rich/malty -vs- spicy/dry and it just gets better as the night goes on...
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