BlackForestCO (819), Fort Collins, Colorado, USA Aug 26, 2008 Bottle. Poured a clear golden color with a light orange tint and a thick, pillowy off-white head that left nice lacing. Aroma consists of sweet oranges, grapefruit, tangerine, light lemon, a hint of resiny pine, and a soft caramel malt peaking through. Thick, lightly sweet entry with some undertones of soft orange, tangerine, and mango transitions into a resiny, piny explosion with a moderate bitter astringency that ands a bit of a metallic taste and tends to take away from the natural hop flavor and bitterness. Beneath this astrigency there is actually a soothing caramel maltiness that comes out, but it is overshadowed and lost quickly. Perhaps this beer can only be truly enjoyed on tap at the brewery. A bit of a bummer, maybe I will try it once more to see if these characteristics are consistent. EHopper (274), Minnesota, USA Aug 22, 2008 Tried on vacation in CA. Great clear amber orange color. Bright citrus aroma. Pervasive bitter "aftertaste" that starts before you even have a chance to taste this beer, than continues long, long after your last sip. The only flavor I got was sour grapefruit, pine, and metal. The bitter was was so heavy throughout I might buy again as a oddity. swoopjones (1862), Buffalo, New York, USA Aug 22, 2008 Bottle. Trade with TytoAnderso. Pours a A orangish golden color.Huge sticky, resiny piney hop aroma. Almost frighteneing. Big hop bite in the taste. Almost bordering on harsh but not quite there. Great sticky hop mouthfeel. Very well done gottalottaibu (242), charlotte, North Carolina, USA Aug 20, 2008 golden orange with a big head. big aroma of pine and citrus. smells as sticky as it tastes. chewy hop flavors with a nice malt sweetness floating throughout. finish was was definately bitter but not as harsh as expected. none the less, love the over the top flavor but definately did a job on my palate. wish I could get it here. chronictonic (399), Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, USA Aug 19, 2008 dark orange gold color with a sticky, rocky white head. resiny sweet aroma with major pine sap. Hop bite is very astringent - bitter, piney and VERY long lasting. Almost unpleasantly long lasting. Maybe my palate is getting tired of these big beers, but this is not a 99. It’s like death metal from Norway - there’s nothing subtle about it. BrotherGrendel (545), San Diego (La Jolla), California, USA Aug 19, 2008 Appearance is a crystal clear mild orange with a big sticky head that sustains and moderate lacing. Aroma is out of this world, the freshest of pine resin, swaths of citrus (lemon zest and grapefruit), and a backbone of pale and caramel malts. Flavor is initially bitter pine hops balanced out with sweet caramel and bread malts, opens up to sour grapefruit and light bubblegum, finishes bitter with moderate alcohol warming. Palate is thick and chewy with moderate carbonation. This is paradise for hopheads, plenty of dry and bitter to last the night, tons of flavor, the aroma is out of this world. This is from a super fresh batch and just can’t get over how good it tastes! Beaver (587), Fort Collins, Colorado, USA Aug 18, 2008 22 oz bottle. Pours a hazy golden orange with a smallish creamy white head that laces the glass some.
The aroma is sweet caramel malts, some melon, piney hops and alcohol.
The flavor is hops, hops and more hops. There’s a little sweet malt and maybe a touch of fruit initially. That is quickly taken over by harsh, resiny, charred hop bitterness that lingers throughout the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation and slightly syrupy.
Overall, this is the biggest hop bomb I’ve ever had. It’s completely unbalanced towards the hops. Unfortunately, I didn’t really care for the flavor profile. It seems like overall bitterness was targeted and it’s not that great to me - just a charred bitterness with none of the fruits or pine that I normally like.
WinoInTraining (104), Longmont, Colorado, USA Aug 16, 2008 Oh yeah, Hop Syrup. Clean and clear color, golden caramel. Ample head, sweet, piny nose. super hop. Creamy and soft texture, but with a quite bitter finish. Definately pine resin, bitter, bitter. Lingering. Hop heads unite!
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