 AmEricanbrew (702), Greenwood, Louisiana, USA
Mar 3, 2008 Dark brown with a slight tan head. Aroma is cotton candy sweet with grassy hops and alcohol. Full bodied and very smooth. Big malt taste is sweet, earthy tobacco, but no peat flavors. The 10.9% is noticeable but does not get in the way. Has a cloying finish with roasted earthy malts and tobacco. Enjoyed this one on May 12 2007...(( The barrel aged versions of this brew at Brouwers Wood Fest Dec ’07 were mind bending. ))
bitbucket (1311), Kirkland, Washington, USA
Feb 3, 2008 Bottle, courtesy one of skoi’s housemates? Pours incredibly dark brown with a solid and lacy tan head. Dark fruit, smoke, leather and molasses nose. Medium body and light carbonation. The taste picks up all the notes from the aroma, and maybe adds a bit of raisins and chocolate.
after4ever (1580), Brier, Washington, USA
Jan 28, 2008 22, foiled. *Damn*, Tony, you rocked this one all the way around the block! This beer has about a year of bottle age on it for these notes. Nearly black with electric ruby highlights. Very brief, very thin tan head. Molasses, black bread, brown bread, chocolate, and raisins on the nose. Body’s on the high side of medium. Soft carb. Chocolate, molasses, the breads, raisins, and plums on the mid-palate. Long sticky sweet finish. Sooooo good. Have to guess that this one is peaking right now.
Oakes (6556), Miami Beach, Canada
Jan 6, 2008 Somewhat murky amber. Heavy caramel nose, with some roast and chocolate. A panoply of aimless dark malts, with too much booze. Muddled yeastiness...one of those experiments you know they just had to try, but that doesn’t mean it’s worth getting excited about.
Old_Mr_Crow (938), Seattle, Washington, USA
Dec 28, 2007 Bomber.
Pours a dark brown with a nice tan head. Powerful malty aroma, extremely earthy, slightly sour, hints of smoke. Nice! The flavor disappoints somewhat, especially through the midrange that comes on too aggressive and sour for my taste, the alcohol a bit too forward and the malts driving a bit too hard. The close is gorgeous, though, gentle peat and smoke and earth. Thick, somewhat hot mouthfeel.
I like the beer, and I appreciate very much how well it’s crafted. But in the end my complaint is that I don’t know that the whole package merits its 10.9% alcohol. These flavors don’t need to be over-the-top intense to be enjoyed; the best flavors are in the details of finishing tones and the best aspects of the aroma the subtle nuances. I could see a 6% version of this being an absolutely world-beater. At 10.9%, we get a beer that is good but beaten down by its own aggressiveness.
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