XS Old Crustacean
2002 vintage. Dark copper. Aroma of cherry cola and caviar. Intense, earthy, minerally malt flavor. Mellow hops well-integrated with the malt. Alcohol burn. Some very dark fruit, like chinotto (dark bitter orange) and very dark toffee, overlaid with bitter herbs. A slight hops aftertaste. The hops are no longer identifiable as typically American varieties. If you like barleywine, this is the ne plus ultra. 24 April 2011 2004 bottle --- 7 years old. Smells of rich munich malts, bourbon, cough syrup, wine-like. Flavor is rich, malty, syrupy, bourbony, and sugary, with an intense bitter pine finish and a strong bitter pine, resiny hops aftertaste. Somewhat reminiscent of Gale's Prize Old Ale, but without the wild yeast notes. Smooth, not boozy, and perfectly balanced, which says something about how intense and perhaps out-of-balance this beer is for the first six years.