Sun Jun 26, 2005 2:04 pm
A solid "4" beer, if ever there was one. 12 oz. brown, longneck bottle. Packaged in August, but no year. I suppose it’s this year, because it’s fairly fresh, and still somewhat full of life. Poured out a deep cocoa brown color, with mahogany highlights. Medium tan colored head stayed to the bottom of the glass. Aromas are of Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Dark Chocolate, slight tobacco barn, alcohol, dark cherries macerated in rum, malts galore, some esters, and earthy hops. Tastes are terrific, especially for a brown ale. They include dark, rum soaked cherries, tobacco, dark baking chocolate, malts, slight fruitiness, and just enough bitterness from the hops to balance everything out nicely. Lingering tobacco tastes mix well with the lingering bitterness. Finishes too smooth for a brown ale of this gravity. Alcohol is well hidden in the tastes, but prevalent when you drink it. Warming and comforting all in one. One hellacious brown ale. Highly recommended.
