30th Anniversary - Jack & Ken's Ale
A: Pours black with two fingers of tan head which recedes into a thin layer with decent lacing S: Some caramel and roasted malt notes at first followed by lots of orange and citrusy hops. There are some dark fruits like figs and dates undernearth. T: Lots of flavors going on here. Sweet, sticky caramel malts up front with a blast of the orange, citrusy hops. There are some dark fruit flavors in the middle, but the finish is bitter and roasted, like burnt coffee. There's a decent alcohol burn on the finish as well. I have to say, these flavors do not meld well and clash quite a bit, leaving a confused palate. M: Medium-thick body and carbonation, it's pretty creamy and the roasted malts keep it from being too sticky sweet. O: Overall, I'm not very impressed. There's just too much going on in this beer, like it can't decide if it wants to be an imperial stout or a heavily hopped barleywine and the result is a bit of a mess. I think a "black barleywine" could potentially succeed, but in this case the flavors just clash too much.