Fight Night Beers

This past Saturday was Fight Night, which means its a good night to sit down and have a couple of beers. Unknowlingy there was a theme to the beers I had on Saturday.
Sam Adams Griffon's Bow: The second beer I've had from Sam Adams small batch series, this one is an oaked blonde barleywine. Notice that its oaked and not barrel aged. It weighs in at a hefty 11.5% and pours an orangish golden color with a quarter inch of just off white head. The nose is perfumey, notes of honeysuckle, pineapple, toasted malts, and maybe just a hint of oak. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, a good level of carbonation, slightly sweet up front, almost but not quite cloyingly so. Honeysuckle, melon, but finishes dry. Some alcohol, white grape juice flavors, an oaked white wine characteristic. There is a lack of depth to these flavors though that keep it from being really really good. Instead its ok, something worth picking up, but not one I would go out of my way for again.
North Coast Grand Cru: A new beer to the Texas market from a brewery that we've had in the state for a long time and one that makes some outstanding beers. This is a bourbon barrel aged beer made with agave nectar and weighs in at an even heftier 12.9%. It pours a hazy pale golden color with a thin white head. The nose again is perfumey with notes of honey, melon, pale malts, more oak on this one then the last. There are more phenolic notes of alcohol in this beer than the last as well. Great level of carbonation and again sweet up front, melons, honeysuckle. A rich beer, but its very bright, nothing is lost in its richness. Effervescent almost. This has an almost ice wine character to it. It finishes very dry. As it warms notes of peaches, vanilla, nectarines, even a slight tartness that rounds its character out. There is so much depth to this beer its unbelievable. I really enjoyed this one, and I think this is what the Sam Adams beer was trying to be. They are both very similar styles in certain respects, Sam Adams version was almost there, North Coast's was there and then some.

Stone Old Guardian Belgo

Not surprisingly I enjoy Stone's some times over the top beers. They push the limits of being off balance, but occasionally I want that explosion of hops, or booze. One of my favorite beers that they make is their barleywine Old Guardian. Very boozy when young, it ages incredibly well. Starting this year, Stone is doing something a little different. Along with their Russian Imperial Stout they will be releasing version brewed with Belgian yeasts, a little twist on an old standby, that I was excited to see at my local Spec's. Its all the same ingredients before with the exception of the yeast used, which as we've seen with Saint Arnold's moveable yeast series can change a beer significantly.
The beer: This one weighs in at a very robust 12% and pours an orangish amber with a thick off white head. The nose is full of fruity esters, white grapes, peaches, a bit of boozy notes. A full mouthfeel, fruit yeasty notes up front, followed by some malty, caramel, toffee notes, some alcohol burn on the back of the throat, then ending and lingering with resinous citrus-y hops. As expected, this one needs some time. Its boozy. Big flavors which is what I expect from Stone: yeasty fruity esters, booze, hops. A bit on the sweet side, but as it lingers and warms, notes of white pepper show up lending some spiceyness to the beer. Its a sipper to be sure, and I can't wait to see how this one changes over time. A good beer and one recommended to pick up if you enjoy big beers.

The Tale of Two Ruffians

If you've read this blog any amount of time you know I have a soft spot for Colorado beers. This is mostly due to my wife being from there and me having had a chance to taste a lot of beers from that state, including some that aren't available in Texas. This is one of those days, where I'm comparing a version of a beer that we get in the state against one we don't. Old Ruffian is Great Divide's barley wine.

09 Old Ruffian: The specs: 10.2% and 90 IBU's, bottled Dec 10 2009. This pours a brownish color with a thick dense head of taupe colored foam. The nose is full of malts, toffee, treacle, caramel, and hops along with a bit of alcohol. A creamy mouthfeel, malty up front then slammed with citrusy hops at the finish. With the next sip you get notes of toffee, caramel, raisins, before finishing even more resinous, sticky. Lots of grapefruit notes, hops are very prevalent but there is a strong malty presence here that does bring some balance. This one gets a B+ from me.

09 Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Ruffian: The Specs: 10.0%, 90 iBU's aged in Stranahn Whiskey Barrels. Hand numbered and I have bottle 375 of 1188. The beer pours a dark cloudy brown with a much thinner head of taupe colored foam. Malts and treacle, toffee, with undertones of oak, vanilla, and bourbon. Hops are very subdued here. Creamy mouthfeel, very little carbonation, some notes of wet cardboard that indicate some oxidation of the hops. Lots of caramel, vanilla, oak and bourbon, again very little hop flavor here. A little boozy. A little disappointing. I was really hoping for a bit more of hop flavor, but the hops have mostly left. A good beer though that gets a B from me.

Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 10

Its been almost year since the last Divine Reserve was released, but finally the time has arrived. As always actually getting your hand on some Divine Reserve is part of the fun and if you want to hear about it head over to Lushtastic for a good story (read the comments!). However this post is not about the hunt, but the beer. DR 10 is an English Barleywine based off of the winning recipe from the Big Batch Brew Bash as brewed by Chris Landis. This Barleywine weighs in at a very hefty 11%. Lucky for me I was able to obtain 2 six packs, but I also headed downtown on Tuesday the release day to try it on draft at Anvil Bar and Refuge which is what my tasting notes are based off of.
The Beer: Served in a tulip glass this beer poured a ruby color with a good sized taupe colored head. Caramel, and sweet malts, mild hops and some alcohol are on the nose. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, very sweet and malty, and a good deal of hoppy bitterness. Earthy, spicey instead of citrus-y grapefruit, I'm not sure what the hop varietal is, but its definitely not your NW American hops. It leaves a resiny finish though. Some notes of cherry as well. Very hot alcohol flavor, raw and young the beer definitely needs some age to it. Its got a great base and the beer is good and drinkable now, but I think it will be amazing in a couple of years. I'm not going to give my final grade on this one yet as I don't think its at its best right now. I think this beer has some great potential though.

Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Jack and Ken's Barleywine

Today's post bring's us the 3rd installment of Sierra Nevada's amazing 30th Anniversary Beers. For those keeping score at home, so far, we've had the Fritz and Ken Stout, and the Charlie, Fred, and Ken Helles. Each of the anniversary brew's are collaborations between Sierra Nevada owner Ken Grossman and a pioneer in the craft beer industry. The newest beer is not brewed with just anyone, but with someone many call the father of Microbrewery Jack McAuliffe. Mr McAuliffe founded a tiny little brewery in California called New Albion Brewery in 1977. The brewery operated until 1982. Mr. McAuliffe wasn't brewing any extreme beers by today's standards, instead it was full flavored beers, mostly English style ales. Back then that was extreme, it was such a change from the American Adjunct lagers that were pretty much the only thing available. Unfortunately the demand on Mr. McAuliffe was too much, the money wasn't coming in and New Albion was closed. Neat fact: The brewery equipment made it's way to Mendocino Brewery. Since the closure of New Albion, Mr. McAuliffe has stayed out of the public eye, however he did help Mr. Grossman in the brewing of this beer, a Black Barleywine.
The Beer: This Black Barleywine weighs in at a hefty 10.2% and pours a very dark brown with a thick taupe colored head. Hoppy on the nose, citrus peel, grapefruit, roasted malts, sweetness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied. Massive hop flavor, a grapefruit-y punch if you will. It follows with a tartness, milk chocolate, then slams you back to earth with tongue saturating hoppiness. There is a sweetness in this beer, caramel-y, almost notes of creme brulee, some fruity notes, but yes it is the hops that leave the lasting impression on this beer. This is a great beer, so far my favorite of the three. This one gets a strong A from me. Here's what the folks at BA think.

Real Ale Sisyphus

I always look forward to the release of Real Ale's outstanding Barleywine. So much so, that I immediately go out and buy a bunch of bottles so that one day in the future I can do a multi-year vertical and see how well these things hold up. But that tasting is for later, today we talk about the most recent vintage of Sisyphus.
The Beer: It pours an orangish copper with a good dense head of off white foam. The nose is hoppy, citrus, grapefruit, raisins, malty. The mouthfeel is full bodied, hoppy, grapefruit peel, balanced with strong caramel malty flavors. Raisins, vanilla, toffee, almost a bourbony quality. There is a slight metallic taste to the beer. Sticky. It works towards balancing hoppy with malty sweetness. I must say that this vintage is not my favorite, but I will be interested to see how well this holds up. This one gets a B from me.

Odell India Barleywine

This small brewery from Fort Collins is quickly becoming one of my favorites. We are unlucky enough to not get it here in Houston, however I try to pick up a couple of bottles of their beer whenever I am in Denver. Per Odell Brewing's website this is a cross between a barleywine and an IPA. I'll raise my glass to that.
The Beer: It weighs in at 9.7% and 65 IBU's. It pours a light caramel color with a thick dense head of off white foam. Very hoppy on the nose. Citrus peel, resiny, malty, toasty, caramel, malts. The mouthfeel is full, almost sticky, chewy, caramel, sweet, HOPS (yep capitalized), grapefruit marmalade, syrup. Super hoppy but with tons of deliciously sweet malty backbone. Gorgeous lacing along the glass, with plenty of patterning along the inside of the glass. There is an earthyness to this beer that brings to mind a good English barleywine. Notes of toffee, bread pudding. Jammy with bits of white pepper. One interesting thing I notice as the beer warms, the finish weakens. The up front flavor still tends to slap you across the face, but the finish is more watery, with just a bit of lingering hop resins. This one gets a B+ from me. Here's what the folks at BA say.

Nogne Barleywine

Another day another post on a barleywine. Unintentionally this week's theme has become barleywine, and you know what I'm OK with that. This particular one is from the Nogne brewery out of Norway. Just like here in the states, home brewing interests inspired two friends to start their own brewery back in 2002. They are very proud of their beer, and each bottle is subtitled with the motto - "The Uncompromising Brewery." Nogne has become incredibly popular over on this side of the Atlantic for making some amazing beers, some unique, some strong, all very good. Unfortunately as of right now they aren't imported into Texas, but I was fortunate to get my hands on this bottle of theirs. Their barleywine as some interesting history. The recipe was used to celebrate Nogne's 100th batch, but it was only available in small batches. The brewer's noticed its incredible popularity and decided to release it commercially (lucky for us!).
The Beer: This one weighs in at 10% and 80 IBU's. It pours a very dark brown with a thick taupe colored head. The nose is figgy, hoppy, citrus, and really rich malts. The mouthfeel is rich, chewy. Loads of hops, citrus, earthy notes, figs, and raisins. Notes of warm dark bread, toffee. Creamy, bourbon like. Vanilla notes. Its warming, but not from the alcohol which is hidden pretty well. Tons of dark concentrated fruits like prunes, raisins, figs, hints of citrus peel. Citrus peel bitterness lingers through the finish. A wonderful barleywine that gets an A from me. Here's what the folks at BA think.

2009 Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine

A friend of mine is from the Wisconsin area and over Christmas he was able to visit some of his family. He is also a fellow craft beer lover (as well as an amazing home brewer), so he brought back a slew of beer to share with me. Most of those were New Glaurus beers (posts on those later I promise) but there were some from other WI breweries as well, including this one from Central Waters Brewery out of Amherst, WI.

The Brewery: Before I get to the beer, a couple of notes about the brewery. First just from the initial look at the website you can tell they are not just your ordinary brewery. Like many others (namely New Belgium) they have an intense interest in doing things environmentally friendly and have recently installed 1,000 sq ft of solar cells in addition to other environmental things that they do like radiant floor heating and energy efficient equipment. The brewery started in 1996 in an old Ford Model-A dealership, a few years later however the original owners sold the brewery to the current owners Brewer Paul Graham and a home brewer Clint Schultz. They worked hard to keep not only the solid list of beers already being brewed but to expand into some more interesting offerings. Their list of brew's looks pretty solid, especially the seasonal offerings. Some like the one today are aged in bourbon barrels, however I am unsure of which bourbon.

The Beer: This 2008 GABF Gold medal winner weighs in at 11.5%. It pours a rich amber brown with a medium sized tan colored head. Notes of bourbon, oak, vanilla, caramel, and some nice floral and earthy hops, along with figs, raisins, plums, oh my. The mouth is rich and chewy with little carbonation. Oaky, vanilla, slight notes of bourbon on the finish. Dark fruits like plums and figs. Charred oak is evident as well adding an interesting depth to the beer. Caramel and hints of alcohol show up after another sip. Very malty. As it warms the bourbon flavors become more pronounced along with notes of cherry. Warming it almost becomes sherry like. A wonderful beer that gets a very excited A- from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine

Everyone knows I'm a huge fan of barleywine (and if you didn't the name of the blog should be a clue). I'm always on the look out for new ones, especially when I am out of town. This particular offering from DFH is one of those picked up outside of Houston. Unfortunately it's one of the few brews we don't get from this Deleware based brewery. As with most DFH offerings this one is big with a capital B.
The Beer: This one weighs in at a hefty 15.0% and pours an orangish color with a thick foamy off white head. The nose is of alcohol, hops, citrus peel, caramel malts. The nose is full and chewy, strong hop flavor up front. Notes of biscuits, marmalade, syrup, strong alcohol notes, but it doesn't ruin the flavor. This one unexpectedly is over the top, flavor wise. All flavors are intense, not just the alcohol. In the finish there is an unexpected smoothness that keeps this beer drinkable. A sipper for sure, but still something that over time gets better, smoother, like a good bourbon, which this beer has some notes of. Soul warming on a cold night. Great beer, really enjoyed this one and it gets a B+ from me. Here's what the folks at BA think.

Brooklyn Monster Ale

Brooklyn Brewery is known for making great traditional style beers. Brewmaster Garret Oliver strives to make old world style beers. From their East India Pale ale, to their Weiss beer, they represent great examples of traditional styles. Well this is not only true of their standard styles, but their seasonal beers as well, like this barleywine.
The Beer: This is Brooklyn's barleywine and weighs in at 11.0%. It pours a burnish copper color with a thin off white head that quickly dissipates into a thin line. The nose is malty, caramel, a little bit of alcohol, fruity. The mouthfeel is full and malty, with some alcohol notes. Caramel, raisins, apricots, brandy-ish. There are some metallic notes, something almost brackish to the beer. Not sure what it but its off putting. There are some strong alcohol notes here, that I hope will settle out as this beer ages. Right now this one gets a B- from me. Here's what the folks at BA think.

Mikkeller Big Worse

We've been introduced to the greatness of the nomadic gypsy brewery Mikkeller with their tremendous Breakfast stout not to long ago. While that beer was not available in Texas, this one is. Big Worse is their Barleywine style beer and its brewed at the De Proef brewery in Belgium.
The Beer:b This one weighs in at 12.0% so you know this one is going to be a sipper. It pours a hazy chestnut brown with a thick taupe colored head. The nose is malty, dried fruit, figs, earthyness, toffee. The mouth is silky with very little carbonation. Rich dark fruits, sherry like qualities. Notes of figs, prunes, raisins, toffee. Incredibly its pretty easy drinking hiding its high alcohol, but its richness keeps it being a sipper. Some hop bitterness at the finish, not as much as an American Barleywine, but more than an English version, somewhere in the middle. It gives it a nice punch of bitterness against the richness of the malts. As it warms, you get some spiceyness, bourbon like qualities. Simply an amazing beer. This one gets a strong A from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Deschuttes Mirror Mirror

If you know this blog you know that I am a huge fan of barleywines and I am always on the look out for new ones to try. That includes looking for them when I am out traveling, which is how I came across this one, picked up while I was in Denver for the latest GABF. This barleywine is a souped up version of Deschuttes popular Mirror Pond ale. Also 35% of the beer is aged in oak barrels.
The Beer: This one weighs in at a hefty 11% and pours a brownish amber, almost red color with a thick tannish head. The nose is hoppy and very malty, almost syrupy. There are notes of oak, dark bread, vanilla, caramel. The mouth is thick and chewy. Citrusy hops, marmalade, apricot nectar, oak, vanilla, and caramel are all there in various declious quantities. As it warms it becomes an even more complex sipper with an almost bourbon or sherry like quality to it. Shockingly very little alcohol in this beer. Notes of oak help balance the swtrong flavors of malt and hops in this inbcredible beer. This is surely one of my favorites and gets a strong A from me.

Green Flash Barleywine 2009

The weather is turning ever so slightly cool here in Houston and that means fall. It means some of my favorite seasonal beers. Octoberfest style marzen's, Pumpkin beers, then as the weather turns even cooler I'll get to winter warmers and barley wines. There are some breweries especially US craft's that release their Barley wines during the summer, these are normally not as malty as English style ones, but hoppier almost like an Imperial IPA. It is with these thoughts that I reached out for this release from San Diego brewery Green Flash. You may remember that I was able to get the 2008 vintage last year and thought it rather delicious so you can imagine my happiness when I saw this years available.
The Beer: This year's vintage weighs in at 10.9% a little more than last years and pours a shady chestnut brown with a quarter inch head of off white almost taupe colored head of foam. The nose is potent, I could smell it well before lifting the glass to my nose. It smelled of toffee and treacle, bread pudding, hops and grapefruit, citrus, figs. Just like last year's I could bury my nose in this all night and never be disappointed. Yet I had to stop if for no other reason than to taste. The taste now that was joy. The mouthfeel is chewy, creamy, tongue coating hops and flavor. Yes hops are at the forefront for this is an American Barleywine after all. Notes of citrus peel, toffee, treacle, breadpudding caramel, sweet malts, fruity estery yeasts. A bitter finish is complimented by an ever so slight not unpleasant alcohol burn. The hops are resiny along the tongue and linger well beyond the finish. It was a great beer tonight with sharp cheddar cheese, and my bets are that this one ages magnificently. This gets a B+ from me.

Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 6

Thinking about the imminent arrival of the newest edition to Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve series made me thirsty. What better way to quench my thirst than to see how a DR was aging. Divine 6 is a barleywine. I've posted on this beer twice before. The original post was on June 12th so yes this beer is slightly over a year old. When I tried it a second time in October of last year it had aged pretty well, but how would it do now? I was eager to find out. As with everything I've cellared I am using my wine fridge keeping it at slightly cool temperatures of 55-60 deg F.
The Beer: As a refresher this one weighs in at 10%. It pours a cloudy chestnut brown with a dense good sized taupe colored head. The nose still shows that those hops are still strong, but there is a rich maltiness with hints of caramel, vanilla, butterscotch, figs, and raisins. The mouthfeel is chewy, hops are still strongly present, but the other malty and dark fruit flavors have become stronger as well. There's an earthyness to the beer along with flavors of caramel, butterscotch, figs, rich vanilla bean, and a complexness that gives this beer an almost bourbon like quality. Its smooth and worth taking the time to sit down with some good cheese, a good book, and sip. If that doesn't make you content I'm not sure what will. Not only has this beer aged wonderfully, it has a lot more time to age. Drink now, drink later, either way you won't be disappointed.

Rogue Old Crustacean 2008

This may very well be my last barleywine of the season. As the temperature warms I find my self turning away from these heavier styles and reaching for something else. I won't say no of course, so I'll just say, we'll see. This is part of Rogue's XS series which all come packages in a big black ceramic bottle with a swing top. All this pretty packaging increases the price significantly to 16.99, so not a drop in the bucket. So whats the inside like?
The Beer: The bottle says 110 IBU's and 11.5%. It pours a very dark cloudy brown with a thick head of tan colored foam. The nose is full of malt and fig flavors. Some hops and espresso, fudge cake even. The mouthfeel is syrupy. There are flavors of toffee, raising, molasses, figs, dried dark fruits, and of course an abundance of hop resin. Bitterness really is the hit here, with the other dark fruit flavors taking a comfortable back seat. With warming there are flavors of dried fruit peel, cinnamon, and the beer takes on a more sherry or bourbon like quality. Really a high depth of flavor here. Even as it warms and other flavors develop the hops are always there and always in force, leaving resin coating the insides of my mouth. However taking everything together its a really wonderful combination of sweet malt, rich dark fruit flavors against the bitter bitter hops. A really fine beer, that under normal circumstances I'd give an A to, but with a beer that's this expensive you have to take that into consideration so I give it a slightly lower A-. Definitely worth the price, but its hard to buy multiple of these to see how they develop over time. I've said my piece, here's what the folks at BA think.

Stone Old Guardian 2009

I'm a big huge gigantic fan of Stone, is that enough superlatives for you. From their ubiquitous Arrogant Bastard that one can find in almost any grocery store these day's to their Double Bastard, they make some amazing hoppy fun beers. Over the last 6 months or so we in Texas have been treated to an ever expanding line up of offerings. Before we only got Arrogant Bastard, their pale ale and IPA and that was about it. However now we get the smoked porter, Ruination, oaked Arrogant, and once in a while Double Bastard on tap. So imagine my glee when I walked into my local Spec's and saw Old Guardian, Stone's barleywine. One of my favorite styles. I quickly picked a couple of bottles up (gotta see how it ages) and brought it home to see how it was.
The Beer: This one weighs in at 11.3% and pours an orangish color with a quarter inch dense head of off white colored foam. The nose is grapefruit, citrus, caramel malts, and toffee. The mouthfeel is creamy, hoppy, Bitter with a capital B. Drinking it is like chewing on some grapefruit peel. Then notes of caramel, toffee show up and create a sense of a rich luxurious beer. Yes its really hoppy, and it sits in the mouth coating the tongue and sides. But then there is this malty sherry like taste that really brings a nice complexity to the beer. A great example of an American Barleywine, this one gets an A- from me. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.

Real Ale Sisyphus 2008

On December 7, 2007 I posted my tasting notes on the 2007 version of Real Ale's barleywine Sisyphus. It was rather outstanding. Through December I waited, and waited for the 2008 to make it my local Spec's, my only reprieve coming in late January when I was able to have a glass of the well aged 2005 Sisyphus. Where or where was the 2008? Rumors came that it wasn't going to be bottled, but those were quickly squashed, but still no Sisyphus. Finally I made it to the downtown Spec's a couple of weekends ago and what did my wondering eyes find? Sisyphus 2008! Yes! I picked up a bottle or two (ok ok, more than that) putting one in the fridge. It took a while, but I finally had time to crack it open, sit down and really enjoy this beer.
The Beer: The beer weighs in at around 10-11% abv. It pours a slightly cloudy orange along with a thin off-white head. Up front there is an abundance of hops, citrus, apricots, bready. The mouthfeel is thick and tongue coating. Hoppy, resin-y, citrus, grapefruit peel. Apricots with a lot of malt backbone. Yes hops are the king here, but its balanced. Not a lot of alcohol burn with this one, it only showed up later as the beer warmed. There is a marmalade like sweetness to the finish, really good. I'm interested to see how this one will age. The hops may start to dissipate, and the malt become more concentrated with some raisin notes or some bourbon feel to it. We'll see, as I have a few bottles that I'll be aging. This one, the current fresh year, is very good and gets an A- from me.

Two years and two Foghorns

I guess the theme this week is two. Yesterday I posted on two beers from Boulevard's awesome smokestack series. Today its taking a look at two years of Anchor's Foghorn barleywine. I've been aging last years for well, a year, and did a comparison to the fresh version. For reference here is the link to my notes on last years Foghorn when it was fresh.
'07 Foghorn: Pours a dark chestnut with only a thin film of a head. The nose is of roasted malts, molasses and licorice. Mouthfeel is thick and tongue coating. Earthy, musty, hops, cherry, figs, licorice, prunes and molasses all find a place. Slightly sweet. Aged well, I wish I had more. This year I need to buy more and age them longer as this has held up very well and I think could hold up for a couple more years. Very nice. An A-.
'08 Foghorn: Cloudy brown with streaks of red capped by a taupe colored head. Floral hops, sweet roasted caramel malts, raisins, figs and molasses all show up on the nose. Creamy rich mouthfeel. Strong hop notes, much stronger than the aged version, less of the dark dried concentrated fruit flavors (although its there its much more subtle). Notes of caramel and toasted biscuits. A fine fine barleywine, one of my favorites. This one gets an A- from me.

Avery Hog Heaven

I've had this beer once a long time ago on tap and I loved it, shocked by the hops from a barleywine. Its a year round beer from Colorado brewery Avery Brewing, but for whatever reason I've always found something else to pick up first before reaching for this barleywine. Well last week I saw it and couldn't resist its temptation.
The Beer: This barleywine weighs in at 100IBU and 9.2%. It pours a hazy brown with a thing taupe head. Malts (surprisingly) hoppy, sweet caramely. Mouthfeel is creamy. There is an abundance of grapefruity hops, and earthiness as well. A lot of citrus peel on the finish. This beer is as much of a DIPA as it is a barleywine. There is some malt notes it was my initial impression as I first sipped before the wave of hops comes crashing down on your tastbuds leaving one with that as the only impression. Very good beer, gets a B from me. Here's how the folks at BA feel.