12oz bottle. Pours a bright, clear golden orange color; perimeter of white bubbles at the edges of the glass; patchy lacing. Solid presence of candy sugar, dried caramel (some oxidation at this point), and residual citrus and earthy bitterness in the aroma; despite having certainly lost a ton of hops, the malt core remaining in the nose is quite nice; like an aged, light-bodied barley wine. Loads of sweet dried caramel, candy sugar, dried oranges upfront; good levels of carbonation; decent amount of viscosity in the mouth, a touch of warmth, and solid levels of bitterness (earthy, citrus, some floral notes); soft edges, good depth in the malt character, still balanced, though certainly not the hop bomb it once was (this is my only experience with the beer); I imagine this to be remarkable fresh; it’s still very enjoyable and pleasantly composed with age behind it. Lengthy finish, with relaxed bitterness: earthiness, candy sugar, and some dry toasty malts.

Poured from an old 12oz bottle generously shared by kmweaver. Mostly clear orange copper colored body with a small white/tan head. Nose has a big, stinky, dank, wet orange hop note, no doubt tempered by age, and moving more towards a nutty, old orange and cardboard/bran character, dampened hops on top of some chewy malt. Flavor is resinous, old oranges, little to no apparent oxidation noticed, not the typical wet cardboard at least, but some sort of wet, nutty, orange fruit and honey flavor. Texture is resinous, oily and properly thick, and there’s little to no bitterness left after all this time. Sweet, sugared oranges and pine needles in the finish, it’s still quite delicious. I have to compare back to 2003 when I had Frank on draft at the GABF (too far gone for a proper rating), and I remember it being unbelievably dank, vibrant and thick, with a smooth-but-rough bitterness throughout. Quite different now, but still really good.

Courtesy of kmweaver. Cloudy amber body with a small beige head. The nose is rich caramels and toffee, citrus and floral hops. The flavor is moderately sweet, moderately bitter with grapefruit, tangerine, lots of caramel and honey. Medium/full body is soft with light carbonation.

Bottle, courtesy of Dr. Bill. First 2/3 of the bottle pours pretty clear. The bottom one-third is sludgey. My sample came from that 1/3 so that’s most likely affecting my rating. Aroma is soapy. Also basil, mint tea, and forest smells. My sample is phenolic and slightly acrid in the back of the tongue. Not in its best form.

<b>Date:</b> 04/17/2005<br /> <b>Mode:</b> Bottle<br /> <b>Source:</b> Trade<br /> <br /> hazy orange, whispy head, aroma of sweet grapefruit sprinkled with sugar, perfect creamy body, nice sweet malt with a citrus nugget, just enough hops to balance with a light bitter finish, estasy in a glass<br /> <br /> <b>Aroma:</b> 9/10; <b>Appearance:</b> 5/10; <b>Flavor:</b> 8/10; <b>Palate:</b> 7/10; <b>Overall:</b> 17/20<br /> <b>Rating:</b> 4.1/5.0<br /><b>Score:</b> ***4<br /> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /> <i>The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.</i><br />