3.5 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Draft. Ruby beer with a low off-white head. Low roasty/malty aroma. Roasty, chocolate flavor with grapefruit bitterness. Nice balance. Fruity bitterness lingers. Medium body.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
UPDATED: MAR 8, 2009
Date: September 15, 2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Summits - Sandy Springs
Appearance: muddy brown, thin frothy head, nice drippy lace
Aroma: well hopped chocolate malt aroma with citrus and earthy hops
Flavor: lots of bitter hop flavor, a fleting hint of grassy character, dark malts with a bit of chocolate, it’s all about the hops with tons of complex hop flavor and a long bitterfinish, a trace of carmel sweetness eventually shows up to try and add some balance and manages to pull out some more chocolate character instead
Date: April 15, 2007
Mode: draft
Source: summits
rich dry dark chocolate with tons of earthy hops, touch of citrus tries to balance but instead makes a unique complex brew
Date: December 29, 2007
Mode: draft
Source: summits snellville
Aroma: sweet chocolate and pine aroma
Flavor: more of the citrus hops coming out in the flavor, touch of pine is out of place, good balancing sweetness this year brings out even richer chocolate, too much pine lingers like the spruce in OSA until it starts to get addictive, a slight bit of dyactyl shows in the second pint and is the second Rogue beer to show it
Date: May 30, 2008
Mode: draft
Source: summits woodstock
Aroma: dry chocolate aroma with the pine still in the background
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor up front, roasted malt and earthy hops keep it dry, the pine is still very spruce like
Date: July 25, 2008
Mode: cask
Source: summits woodstock
Appearance: muddy dark amber
Aroma: dark caramel aroma with lots of earthy hops
Flavor: tons of hop flavor on a dark caramel malt base, brown sugar sweetness, lots of earthy hops to balance the sweetness and more, long bit
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Draft at Eugene City Brewpub. Brownish pour with ruby highlights. Decent tan head. Aromas were citrus hops with pineapple and some cherry. Very hoppy on the flavor. Some dust and alcohol on the finish. Not bad.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
UPDATED: AUG 26, 2007 Draft at The Sanctuary in Iowa City. Poured a murky brown color, nearly opaque, with red-orange highlights. Head was thick and khaki with an almost orange tint. Retention and lacing were great. Intense grapefruity hop aroma. Whiffs of caramel and light brown sugar tried to break through occasionally, but were weak in comparison. Dry on the tongue with a sudden thunderclap of sharp hop bitterness up front. The assertive bitterness is felt throughout. To say that it lingers would be an understatement. It clings to the tongue and mucous membranes like grim death. There is an accompanying strong grapefruit flavor. Not much malt flavor other than a touch of burnt toffee. The alcohol flavor was as subtle as the malt, cowering under the weight of the hops, but I began feeling its affects less than half way through the pint glass. Ample alcohol to be sure. Hops, hops, and more hops.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
On tap at The Sanctuary 08/04/07. Hazy deep red with brown highlights and a one finger creamy head, good retention. Best lacing I’ve seen in a while as well. Nose of pineapple, grapefruit, and pine needles. At this point, that’s all I can smell, and that’s just fine with me--maybe a bit of caramel is hiding in there. Flavor adds burnt toffee and stronger pine that’s getting to the point of spiciness. Nice. Lots of bitterness in this mother that lingers until the next sip. Bitterness peaks at a 7 (out of 10). The alcohol is barely perceptible through all the hops. Burps citrus rinds and caramel. Medium body with light to moderate carbonation. After this warmed up a good deal, burnt toffee is more evident in the aroma. A very fine beer indeed.
4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
UPDATED: JUN 7, 2008 On tap at Issaquah brewhouse then ceramic bottle in June 2008. Amazing! Fresh spicy hop nose, thick heavy caramel balance. dark chestnut brown, slightly sandy head that clung to the glass. this really is incredible. there’s an amazing complexity to the caramel, roasted, bread, and raw grain base that puts up a great fight before succumbing to the tingly spicy dense hops. next time i drink this, it’ll be along side some of my other favorite ASAs. at 20 bucks a bottle, maybe i find this better than it is because of its price.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Draft at Piper’s Creek. Pours deep grainy mahogany brownish/black with a dense, moussy dark tan head. Big sharp resiny bitterness asserts itself immediately on the nose.Thickish, grainy body with firm carb and biscuity underlay. Washes of resiny bitterness in every direction throughout the quaff. A bit one-dimensional with the overweening hop, but tasty.
4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Pours a dark brown with ruby highlights and a tan head that leaves a little lace on the glass. The aroma has some chocolate but is big and bold with citrusy hops. The flavor follows the nose: big, spicy, citrusy hops combined elegantly with sweet roasted malts with hints of chocolate and caramel. Wow! This was an amazingly balanced beer - great big citrus hops but meticulously balanced by a lovely malt backbone. On tap at the Issaquah Brewhouse.
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