Multiple samples at OBF; this was my favorite of the fest. Dark amber with good head. Doesn’t blow you away w/ hops, but pure citrus and pine comes through beautifully. Very mild bitterness while still giving me the hops I so love. Don’t get the low ratings on this one, but whatever. I’d take a keg of this at home.

Pours a hazy amber color with an off-white head that quickly dissipates. Leaves some lacing. Smell is grainy, lightly hoppy, with some toasted flavors, green vegetables, and some sulfur. Taste is rather watery at first, but it does have some grapefruity hops that come through briefly. Also some toasted notes and sulfur in the taste too. Medium carbonation and body. I’ve been delightfully surprised from some of these lesser known Cali IPA’s, but unfortunately, this wasn’t one of them. Thanks to doubleo for the bottle.

12oz bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar. Pours brown with reddish highlights, thin white head, specks of lace. Smells caramelly, red fruit, malty sweet with some slight oxidation. Tastes malty and red fruit sweet, slight oxidation, not much hop flavor to me. Medium body, ok carbonation.

01-Jul-08 (12-oz bottle: Purchased 27-Jun-08 for $1.59 at the Pizza Port Bottle Shop in Carlsbad, CA) The nose is toasty, grainy, husky, and off-the-charts caramely with a faint, but pleasant hop aroma in the background. As caramely as the beer smells, it’s less sweet than expected. Caramely malts still play a major role here, but the beer is dry, toasty, smoky, and even a little roasty. A touch of hops in the finish adds light bitterness, but unfortunately, the beer shows a fair amount of huskiness, more so than in the nose, and the resulting astringency may be what is triggering the perception of light roast. On the palate, the beer is medium in body and carbonation, but slightly astringent from the husky quality, though this is minor enough to only be a slight distraction. Amber-brown in color with good clarity, and the off-white head rises to half an inch before settling to a wide ring. A loose patchwork of stringy remains on the glass throughout the session. Aside from aforementioned huskiness, this is quite a nice amber ale, bold, enjoyable, and balanced. Not your typically boring amber ale. Unfortunately, the husky flavor of spent grains needs to be cleaned

On tap at OBF 2008--Poured a deep amber-chestnut body with medium beige-tan head. Bold, hoppy, floral nose. Grapefruit bitter, creamy, sweet palate. Nice malt spine beneath the hop top. Lingering citrus and sweet malt notes. Yum.