John Harvards Crooked Caber

Pint at the JH at Harvard Square, Cambridge. Clear medium maple color, small lasting creamy head...light woody, sugary nose offers little malt presence and no smoky peat or anything else really "scotch ale"-like...sugary sweet body, slight malt presence, bit of maple and oak at the end and a surprising amount of ethanol for its ABV...syrupy at first, thin at the finish...really mediocre.

2004 draught at John Harvard’s in Cambridge. Pours a medium maple wood-like brown. Small but firm off-white head. Aroma is faint, but has a light nutty smell, along with a touch of roast, chocolate and hops. The hops seem a bit high-alpha like, but there isnt much of it there, so I can forgive. The flavor is a bit thin, not terribly so, but has a dry roasty touch finished with a light nutty/chocolatey note mixed with some hops. Little to no alcohol apparent and overall, a mostly smooth, medium to medium-light body. The roast was good, maybe a hint of light hickory smoke, but nothing that’s going to really challenge the palate.