jerc (3217), Toronto, Ontario, Canada Apr 21, 2008 2008-04-20. Lightly hazy orange body with a tiny white head. Strong woody character in the aroma is more like what I would expect from a chardonnay than many oak aged beer. It gave me the impression of a fresher wood note rather than a more charred oak barrel character - but I have no idea what was actually used. Anyway, regardless of how it got in there all that wood weaves its way around sweet orange citrus hops that are quite lovely on their own merits. (7+) The flavour is similar with sweet orange hops accented by a wood character that grows with consecutive sips. Smooth average to medium palate is actually pleasantly full bodied for a cask, lightly carbonated. (3+) A solid effort, the wood definitely adds an interesting layer of complexity but I’d personally prefer the un-oaked version if I am going to settle in for the evening with a few pints of it. Cask at Volo, Toronto
mabel (1673), Toronto, Ontario, Canada Aug 4, 2008 [1317-20080420] Cask. Light orange floral hops aroma with something that smells like pumpkin or pureed squash. Slightly hazy, medium orange brown with a quick creamy white head. Very sweet woody floral hops flavour with a delayed creamy sweet aftertaste. Medium body. Quite a unique flavour.
(@ Volo; Toronto, ON) GregClow (2351), Toronto, Ontario, Canada Apr 30, 2008 Cask at Volo’s 20th anniversary. Hazy sunset-orange colour. Aroma of hops, vanilla, wood shavings, and - oddly - sweet potato. Soft bodied. Flavour of a nice, citrusy IPA with mellow wood notes. Excellent balance, lovely flavour - if there weren’t a bunch of other beers I wanted to try, I could’ve stuck with this all afternoon. garthicus (559), Toronto, Ontario, Canada Apr 27, 2008 Cask @ Volo’s 20th Anniversary: Cloudy red, zero head. Zingy citrus-wood aroma. Spicey sweet flavour with a hop-whiskey finish. Nice. tupalev (2311), Toronto, Ontario, Canada Apr 26, 2008 On cask at Volo’s 20th Anniversary. Some wood, vanilla, and hops in good aroma. Hazy orange with a very small bubble white head. Tate is terrific - the wood adds a vanilla touch that balances out the hops perfectly - this really works! While the hops are no longer prominent, this turns it into a really nice sipping strong ale that tastes much stronger than it probably is. It adds a good deal of complexity to what was a straightforward solid APA or IPA. Kudos John, this experiment turned out really well - probably my favorite pint of the afternoon. blankboy (2627), Toronto, Ontario, Canada Apr 24, 2008 Cask at Volo for ’Volo’s 20th Anniversary’. Pours a hazy golden-orange with a spare white head. Aroma’s hoppy with a nice amount of oak, it’s well balanced and pleasant. Flavour follows the aroma with a well balanced flavour of hops and oak along with some citrus and an average bitter finish. Medium bodied. Well done, I quite enjoyed it.
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