 greenhorn1 (359), Eugene, Oregon, USA
Mar 1, 2008
12 oz bottle from BottleTrek.com. Pours a murky straw color. The beer is very different, very strange. There was an overwhelming spice flavor and aroma, which I identified as peppery. It also tastes like gnawing on a piece of wood, but somehow it works. There is a sweet spicy bitter finish. This rating is a bit convoluted, but I am not sure how to rate this one. It was not my favorite, but I gave slightly higher points for the uniqueness.
HomeBrewHawk (112), De Soto, Kansas, USA
Jul 25, 2008 2002 Vintage, Oak Aged. 12oz bottle. Appeared to be bottle conditioned. Served in a Duvel Tulip. A little over carbonated, probably due to the age. Huge, big bubbled head filled the glass. Hazy dark gold. Fruity aroma with some toffee malt and a little hops. Complex aroma. Medium bodied. Flavor is fairly understated. Very smooth mouthfeel. Malty sweetness and a bit of hop bitterness. Some wood comes out in the finish. I would have liked to taste it a bit fresher. Good beer.
jzzbassman (672), New Albany, Mississippi, USA
Jul 8, 2008 After a hazy amber pour, the aroma is quite peppery and astingent. Cedar is apparent in the flavor, which makes for a different herbal hop bite that is really pleasing.
cmillward (143), Orlando, Florida, USA
Jul 5, 2008 Bottle. Pours a ruddy amber, hazy with a small white ring of head around the edge of the glass. The aroma of this leads off with cedar followed closely by citrusy/floral hops, some hay and toasted malts. Flavorwise this has a strong hop intro, a touch of honey, wood, spicy, then a nice bitter finish. Very dry, the tannins from the cedar cask add to this, seems a touch funky too. Very quaffable, this is a magnificent beer. The cedar and the spiciness mesh well with the hoppiness to create a fantastic left-of-center IPA.
csbosox (946), Prairie Village, Kansas, USA
Jul 4, 2008 ’02 bottle. This beer is the oak aged version, which disappoints me a but, since I have never had a cedar aged beer, but it is pretty cool to see a 6 year old bottle on the shelves. This one was a bit of a gusher. Amber colored with a one fingered head. Aroma is sweet malt, yeast/vanilla, spicy and earthy hops, and a bit of wood. Taste is caramelly and woodsy, with a fair amount of both tannins and hops bitterness. The hops and the wood do seem to be complementary. This is a pretty interesting beer, one that I don’t think I would want to drink all the time, but for a 6 year old IPA, it is impressive.
SpudClampDawg (901), Jasper, Indiana, USA
May 23, 2008 12 oz bottle: Ruby amber pour with a frothy head that wants to settle immediately. I get alot of barrel aging in the aroma. A nice barleywine-esque peppering of hops tries to combat the oakiness. Sweet caramel lies beneath. More rindy hops balance the sweet body. Again, wood takes over and adds a great complexity here. Interesting.
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