KyotoLefty (1459), Kyoto, Japan
| 3.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 5/10 | 3/5 | 6/10 | 4/5 | 13/20 | Nov 6, 2009 Dark, shiny copper color with reddish orange tints and a huge, ultra-fine head. Aroma of big, dry, piney hops, tobacco, and not much malt at all. Smells exactly like my third batch of homebrew. A touch of dark fruit in there too. Dry, extremely hoppy flavor, but with almost enough caramel to carry it, dark fruits, a bit of chocolate. Astoundingly bitter hop finish. Wow. Rich, full body. I don’t know about this. Very dry and bitter, but with enough interest as well. OK, but not at all what I expected from these two brewers. No balance at all. Amateurish.
espenra (296), Oslo, Norway
| 4.2 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Dec 20, 2009 33cl bottle from Barley Wine. Best before 2009-11-01. It poured a hazy orange colour with a medium big, white creamy head that settled down slowly in the glass. Aroma is hoppy, some yeast, malts and sugar. Flavour is bitter and hoppy. Notes of yeast and alcohol. It has a medium long aftertaste. A very nice beer. mastabass666 (59), California, USA
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 3/5 | 16/20 | Dec 19, 2009 Poured a murky amber, with a nice head. Aroma of Belgian yeast, fruity, grapefruit. Upon first taste, the hops are subdued but present. Tastes sweet with Belgian triple qualities. The 130 IBU’s really come through in the end, which leaves a long lasting very bitter finish MikeKeller (60), Finland
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Dec 19, 2009 Bottle @ Olutravintola Kukko, Kemi, Finland. Caramelly and hoppy nose. Hazy orange colour. Sweet taste is full of hoppyness. Smooth mouthfeel, quite nice almost full palate. I drank this with all the loose yeast from the bottle (because of the bartender). allfreej (375), Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| 4.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 5/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 18/20 | Dec 14, 2009 Bottled. Cloudy, dark honey pour. Dense tawny head. Nose is caramel malt and hop resin. Flavor is sweet caramel, dessert spices, grapefruit, alcohol, candy sugar, hop resin. Intense hop finish balances the sweetness of the malt quite well. donfardz64 (427), Wellington, New Zealand
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 3/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Dec 14, 2009 Pours hazy red/brown, big tan head. Massive hoppy aroma of grapefruit. Verging on peppery, kinda burns the nose even. Awesome caramalt aroma underlying everything.
Initial flavour is sweet malt, quickly overtaken by huge bitter hops, very citric. Bitterness builds with each sip. There is some Belgian-ness near the finish. What a wonderful fusion of American and Belgian styles. dionysus (119), Arizona, USA
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Dec 13, 2009 Bottle pours cloudy copper-orange with an decent sized off white head. Aroma smells of peach, pink grapefruit, pine, caramel, and slightly yeasty. Flavor shows the same with additional notes of citrus and spice(coriander & white pepper?). Starts sweet and finishes dry with a touch of alc. Overall body is moderate and oily with soft carbonation. It’s amazing how balanced this is considering the 130 IBU’s.
abemorsten (177), Randaberg, Norway
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 3/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Dec 13, 2009 Pours clear deep golden with a frothy white head. Aroma is fruity with dried apricot. Taste is sweet and bitter with a long and heavily alcoholic finish. Medium to full bodied with a syrupy texture. Recommended!
(Bottle, courtesy of tarjei 12.12.2009) SuIIy (1477), Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, USA
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 5/5 | 7/10 | 5/5 | 14/20 | Dec 11, 2009 Bottle. Dated A/3/09. Pours a dark copper color with a huge big foamy white head. Head recedes to a small filmy white head with lots of spotty lacing. Very cloudy and mostly opaque. Nose is heavy caramel with some sweet malt notes and hints of piney hops. I believe the hops may have fallen out of this one. Palate is big, full, fioamy and stings the palate. Flavors of caramel malts with quite a bit of resiny and piney hop notes (guess they didnt all fall out). There is a light dirtiness to it that leaves a film all over the palate, kinda chewy. Finish is quite bitter with a sting on the throat.
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