Review Date: 7-1-2010

Upon tasting, the tongue is hit with the richness of the whisky soaked casks. The scent of peat fills the air. Fire, smoke and peat hit the taste buds. Then a dark mixture of coffee, vanilla, oak flavors, the sweetness of the honey as well as heaviness of the roasted malts come in to pacify the palate.

Review Date: 6-29-2010

Upon the first sip of this lager, I could taste granite. What an odd thing to taste in an ale. Overall, a pronounced burnt caramel sweetness comes forward, but with just enough of the hop and malt to keep it from being too sweet. The minerality and smokey rock chard wort sweetness of the ale adds the extra depth you are searching for.

Review Date: 6-29-2010

This is a powerhouse of fragrant hops. Wonderfully aromatic, a bouquet of sweet hops, almost floral in scent rise from the glass. The taste is of pure hops, green, floral, musty, stinky, slightly sweet and well integrated with very little bitterness. Smooth. What an amazing ale.

Review Date: 6-29-2010

A true hop stink bomb with the palate pleasing florals to match. It has a nice bitter finish, but not too strong, just enough to balance out the insanely floral and green tasting dark gold body of the ale. This thing has a tremendous 3 inch foamy head on it, when poured. What a beauty. That wonderful stank of hop sweetness, roasted malt, and a slightly bitter nuance. The slightly orange/yellow fruit taste, caramel, roasted hops, and a mellowing sharp bitterness that fades as you let the ale sit. Let is warm up close to room temperature to get all the florals out of it.

Review Date: 6-29-2010

The ale is very sweet, with pronounced caramel and strong cask oak flavors unfolding with each sip. Vanilla notes, some alcohol heat, an almost cherry flavor from the malt and the sugar and the wonderful oak nuances add up to an intense and dessert like ale.

Review Date: 6-29-2010

This smells like a Belgian Dubbel with lots of extras added to make it into a monster. Coffee, burnt caramel, hearty hops, bourbon deepness, chocolate malt, a little of the Belgian yeast flavor and a splash of alcohol (13%) hit the nose and the palate upon the first sip. This needs to warm up to really get the bourbon to come out. The coffee and bittersweet chocolate flavors really rise up, as does a subtle bourbon flavor. This ale is very well integrated, like Speedway Stout from Alesmith (and on the same level of quality I have to say). This is an incredible melding of flavors to create one single well designed ale flavor.

Review Date: 6-29-2010

This definitely has the funk of a good saison, but the funk has been changed from that created by specific hops and yeasts, to that of incredibly aromatic garden herbs. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme really explode from the bottle and produce a very warm and herbaceous ale that will pair well with almost any cuisine. The sage, especially, gives the ale a wonderful sweet/smokey/earthy green flavor that makes you double-take at the ingredients of the bottle.

Review Date: 6-29-2010

This is one of the best Imperial Stouts aged in bourbon barrels I have tried as of yet. The fact that this batch was brewed with coffee, vanilla and honey really add to the flavor of the mix. It smells of rich bittersweet chocolate and bourbon smokiness. The flavor is intense, slightly hot (13.1%), and full of charred bourbon barrel, vanilla, and a rich and deep maltiness not to be missed. The flavor lingers on the palate and begs to be sipped out of a chalice or wide wine glass. Enjoy this beast of an ale over an hour or two.

Review Date: 6-29-2010

This ale is best after it opens up in your glass for about 20 minutes. More caramel like flavors come out and the ale becomes smoother. Initially, this ale has a 2 inch head when poured! Huge! The color is a beautiful gold color, very nice indeed. The sip (sipping now) and smell is both floral and caramel. The aromatics are increasing, the stench is a good funky hoppy smell. There seems to be a spicy flavor or almost grapefruit rind, light/not too sweet toffee and roasted hops, with a yeasty finish that becomes elegantly bitter in the aftertaste. Lighter and slightly bitter IPA.

Review Date: 6-29-2010

The aroma is a wonderful sweetness enveloped by peated whiskey and cask oak. An incredibly well integrated ale body with nothing, not even the peat dominating the flavor profile. A mouthful of oak, aromatic vanilla, medium bodied malts, turbinado sugar and caramel and of course a streak of Lagavulin beauty radiate through this miraculous ale. One of the best ales I have ever had.