Brewed 08-08. Pours a hazy, dark amber with a moderate, off-white, pillowy head which leaves a very small frothy layer and leaves nice lace. Nose is incredibly boring with light vanilla, light bourbon oak notes, some caramel sweetness. The flavor seems oak-aged as well (vanilla, oak) but has some sour citrus notes which I do not remember at the Brewfest; offputting to say the least. Palate is medium, nearly lively, and drying but still somewhat velvety. What the hell? I had this at the 2008 Brewefest in Fort Collins and it was good, but the cutrus notes are like a spoiled milk. Oak-aged I assume but maybe the bottling is bad???

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy medium amber. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted grain), lightly hoppy (apricot, resin), with notes of soured/spoiled fruit juice, bile. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter, unclean. Medium to full body, velvety texture, lively carbonation. Whee, more infected beer from Trinidad. Hope they get a handle on that.

22oz Bomber Batch #1 Bottled 3/08 Another bottle received in a recent trade with russpowell, thanks Russ! Just as the name suggests this Trinidad’s Imperial Red ale pours a shade darker then amber with a slight chill haze. A fingers + worth of ecru head grew on the pour and eventually settled to a solid cap and left some quality lacing on its way down. Each drink leaves sheet lacing that slowly falls back into the body. This beer still smells a little green even though it was bottled back 2 months ago. The maltiness comes through with a bit of sugary sweetness and caramel. It’s funny but this beer almost smells like it was oak aged. There’s vanilla present and a bit of damp oakiness when I swirl and bring the head back up. The label states this is a bitter hoppy brew but the hopping isn’t very noticeable in the nose, as a matter of fact all I can really pull out in the way of hops is a slight herbalness that doesn’t really go that well with the malt. I expected a big hoppy red ale like the label describes but get something much different. I didn’t care for it much at first but as I drink, and start taking it for what it really is, I start to really enjoy myself. Caramel leads the way with a slight sweetness from the crystal malts. The hops are almost non-existent but do bring a touch of spiciness that the alcohol intensifies. The barrel aging-like characteristics are in the flavor as well and are what make this more enjoyable. I have no idea where it comes from but vanilla shows up here and there along with the slight oakiness. This is a pretty good beer all things considered. It’s funny but the mouthfeel seems a bit sticky upfront but then moves quickly to a lighter quick flowing body. There’s a slight alcohol heat on the swallow that dries out the tongue a little. A bomber is enough for me but I’ve come to appreciate this beer as I’ve worked my way through. It’s fairly easy drinking for the weight. My first sample from Trinidad and while I think there are certainly some flaws I like the flavor of this beer. According to the label description I don’t think it’s anything like the brewers intended but it turned out to be a decent beer. Thanks Russ. 5/07/08

I did not like this. A big beer, nice red color, sweet odor, very unbalanced with an off putting taste combination.