2008 bottle. Poured a deep dark red with a small white head. Aromas of bananas, cherries, and maple sugar. Flavors of black cherry, chocolate, and hop spice. Perfectly smooth, with a flavorful linger. An MVP for performance and price.

Amazing palate! The cherry flavor blends well with wild yeast flavors, but comes off a bit too strong with the alcohol flavor. I’m not getting as much depth or complexity as I was expecting. As it warms a bit of chocolate and oak come out, but the main flavor is still of alcohol followed by cherries. Also, I expected more cherry flavor, I have seen this much coaxed out of malt in a few imperial stouts.

Pours a deep dark copper red. Looks like Beaujolaiswith a beautiful head and nice lacing as it dissipates. The nose is licorice and candied fruit with underlying alcohol notes. Flavor is bitter with a big hit of alcohol. Not getting the cherry I expected nor much else as far as flavor goes. A little bittersweet chocolate? Definitely seems to open up as it warms.

Big bottle 2008. Smell cherry and wood. Creamy head reduces to lace. Clean sides of the glass. Deep red in color. Serioous chunks of yeast at the bottom. The bottle says to serve at 50 deg., and I should have waited for it to warm up before I started drinking it. At a crisp cold temperature it was bitter and lacked much flavor. I couldn’t taste ANY of the roundness or cherries I expected. As it warms, the flavors start to really open up. Still bitter at the front of the mouth, but there is an explosion of cherry, alcohol, and who knows what else. Enjoyable, but not amazing.

Pours a dark ruby/amber with a medium tan head. A beautiful looking beer. Aroma is rich and complex, with cocoa, caramel, and cherry flavors. Alcohol is also present. The taste has chocolate malt, hints of coffee, and the cherry lambic is also evident. Finish includes chest warming alcohol - this is a nice beer anytime, but that makes me think of enjoying one on a cold winter’s night.