 Oakes (6819), Miami Beach, Florida, USA
Sep 11, 2005 Dark amber colour with light haze. The aroma hints at caramel and dark fruit. Toasty with hints of Munich malt, chewy earthiness and subtle dark fruits. Balanced and smooth.
jcwattsrugger (3793), Florida and, New Jersey, USA
Nov 5, 2007 on tap-pours an off white head and copper/red color. Aroma is medium/dark malt-sweet, fruit, slight spice. Taste is medium/dark malt-sweet, fruit, slight spice, not quite balanced.
JoeMcPhee (3671), Jackson Heights, New York, USA
Sep 11, 2005 Tap at GCBF. Deep amber colour with a sticky off-white head. Aroma is quite malty and fruity. Caramel, toffee, and a touch of berry fruitiness. Flavour is fairly thin, but shows the same lightly toasted malt, caramel, fruit and light yeasty earthiness.
ClarkVV (3547), Allston, Massachusetts, USA
Nov 15, 2007 Draught pint at Redbones on 10/24/07
Interesting to compare this one to the Anacortes O-fest immediately preceding this....This one is much lighter, more apt for the style, with a lighter tan-peach appearance and stronger beige head. Little/no lacing. Clarity is high.
A strong sweet-and-sour effect from the melanoidins is felt instantly, in the nose, with a toffee and buttercream sweetness growing steadily behind it. Fruitiness climaxes, with added hop pepperiness giving a light spicy tinge. Bread and dough soften the finish, and there seems to be a more, if very sweet, appropriate array of o-fest qualities here.
But then I take a sip and, while it’s not roasty, or strangely malted, it’s VERY sweet. Sugary/caramelly malts are plastered to the palate, as carbonation works furiously to cleanse. Melanoidins pile on, giving vivid nightmares of death-by-fruits (the hops adding to this as well). Ok, so I’m exaggerating for effect, but in the end, this one seems to fail just like the Anacortes, but for different reasons. While the Anacortes had the wrong malt notes, this one gets them right, but lacks attenuation badly. Rather crude. No alcohol noted.
harlequinn (2746), Tacoma, Washington, USA
Jan 15, 2006 This is a bit of a disappointment, not that I really had my hopes up for this one. Pours a murky dark brown, with a very earthy and somewhat grassy aroma, almost herbal. Strong bit of mustiness perhaps because this one is just a little past its prime as a seasonal, but just had a dusty mouthfeel and some dirty wet socks, and cardboard flavors. Some really subdued caramel and toffee flavors and a bitter way too hoppy aftertaste for the style. Unimpressive.
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