2 years old. This beer has some of the most gorgeous packaging I’ve seen in quite some time; bottle, label, the whole presentation is thoughtfully and elegantly executed, worth mentioning solely because it’s so rarely worth mention at all. The pour is a pretty, hazy orange with soft pink hues. Thick, creamy, very well retained beige foam leaves alarmingly thick lacing on the glass, accented nicely by even thicker rings within. A lovely fruit and earth aroma is so nice it stops me cold. notes of peach, hay, cream, florals, sugar cookie dough, the pinnacle of fresh caramel(odd, this is two years old), melon, vanilla, light cinnamon and hints of light yeast residuals. Alcohol is incredibly well masked. An absolutely breathtaking aroma, marvelous in all its facets, certainly the best nose on a Bière de Garde I can recall running across. The flavor takes a moment to facilitate a yearning for, but once that happens it’s nearly as captivating as the appearance and aroma. Yeast blasts through first, along with a surprising heavy tartness, both unexpected and welcomed. This is followed by medium to medium-high sweetness, nil bitterness, very low acidity and a writhing earthy complexity. Caramel notes are more subdued in the flavor due to an addition of grassiness. The finish is smooth, soft and leaves fresh caramel and earth lingering. The mouthfeel is exceptionally smooth with velvety carbonation and a lightly sticky medium body. What a wonderful beer!

2005 bottle sampled July 2008. <br /><br /> Stunning, stunning, stunning. Beautiful deep amber brown, glowing - only a hint of a head. Big complex nose that cmes out even more deeply in the flavor, incredible how much is going on here. Caramel and finely aged hops almost like a barleywine but without any of the heaviness; smoke and deep malt like a scotch ale. Wood, a bit of pepper, a little bit of dark fruit, again those well-aged hops &#40;in a good way&#033;&#41;. Pretty flat mouthfeel but this is a minor quibble. In general, a very unusual and at 3 years of age absolutely outstanding beer. The age served this one well and I think timed it well. I’d be interested to try it fresh but I bet it was near its peak just now. <br /><br /> Splendid and I would say sorely underrated on the site.

Oct 2005 bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy/fizzy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy medium to dark amber. Aroma is moderately malty &#40;caramel, cookie&#41;, lightly yeasty &#40;cobwebs&#41;, with bright notes of tangerine, peach, cantaloupe, lesser notes of black tea and earth. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium to full body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly carbonation. A veritable fruit bomb! After nearly two years? How is this possible? It’s nearly jaw-dropping, more so because of its age...I fully expected being majorly disappointed, and I’ve not been a big fan of Pelican so far, but damn...this is absolutely fantastic. And surprisingly seems to still have more life left in it. Major kudos to the brewer.

<i>80/450</i>... Poured a hazy amber color with a small, creamy, off white head, that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of citrus fruits, light spices, earth, and some mint leaf. Taste of caramel malt, yeast, light grass, some citrus fruits, bandage, and some sweet malt. Finishing with light hoppiness. Thanks for sharing this hopdog!

2004: Pour is hazy deep reddish amber with a nice dense tan head...smell is very sweet with some light fruits and some malty tones...flavor is sweet up front with some definate toasty malt coming all the way through to the finish...some dry but sticky maple flavor to the finish...great mouthfeel...full and fizzy...