~ Second Tasting ~
September 10th, 2003
(6 Months, 7 Days)
Click on a photo for individual Tasting Notes

Steve Wagner President & Brewmaster	Lee Chase Head Brewer	Greg Koch Chairman & CEO	Arlan Arnsten Vice President of Sales	Chris Cochran Marketing & Promotions

Steve Wagner President & Brewmaster Appearance: A nice light brown with a slight haze. Aroma: Spices, sweet malt and fruity yeast notes. Flavor: Complex dark malt flavors balanced by spices and a dry, slight phenolic yeast flavor. Palate: Soft on the palate yet full-bodied with perfect carbonation. Finishes dry. Overall: Still tastes young (but great!) and should get even better as it ages.

Lee Chase Head Brewer Appearance: A nice brown (deep) color, long lasting foam, and tight small bubbles. Aroma: Peppery-spice with lots of yeast aroma, clean and enjoyable…a little malt? Not a tremendous dark malt character but enough to help dry out the character. Flavor: Medium bitterness with an upfront spiciness. A little bit of alcohol in the exhale. Palate: Medium-ish mouthfeel…soft on the tongue with a lingering bitter spiciness. Overall: Nice spicy aroma that really comes through in the flavor, especially the first sip. A phenolic yeasty character with a bitter/pepper tingling that lingers on the tongue. Brown color comes around in the end, but I didn’t get so much of the dark malt flavor in the actual drink – it came through later.

Greg Koch Chairman & CEO Appearance: A light hazy brown. Aroma: Mellowing oh-so slightly. Still bountiful with fruity, pepper notes. Flavor: Woah. Palate hasn’t mellowed yet, but seems to have dried out a tiny tad. Roasted malts are a plush carpet laid over tacks and rocks of spiciness and hops. It doesn’t hurt to walk on it…it actually feels therapeutic, but the tacks and rocks are definitely not obscured. Palate: Really pleasing mouthfeel --- seems a bit rounder. Very delicious. Overall: I’ve been saving my personal stash and based on this tasting I think I might open one in the next six months. Still going to hold on to most for the years down the road since I have 10 left (No, you can’t have any).

Arlan Arnsten Vice President of Sales Appearance: Deep amber-brown – nearly crystal clear (undisturbed bottle?) with a low, tan head Aroma: Aroma: Low-level spiciness and pepper with a nice hop presence in the nose. Flavor: Sweet and peppery up front with the flavor of yeast…fruity flavors have diminished since last tasting. Hop flavor and bitterness apparent which makes for a nicely balanced beer. Palate: Full mouthfeel with a nice tickle from the carbonation Overall: Wonderful beer – dubbel, I think not! Should we open a brewery in Belgium? Maybe Justine Henin-Hardinne could be on our next tasting panel.

Chris Cochran Marketing & Promotions Appearance: A nice amber-brown (like root beer) with a decent head and super clear until yeast/sediment added into glass. Aroma: Aroma: A very sweet and pepper-spiciness mixed together nicely with the yeast character. Flavor: Almost at a loss for words; it’s complex, intriguing, and very interesting. Mild hop presence (little bitterness), sweet, with the malt character coming through as it warms. Palate: Pleasant well-balanced mouthfeel (medium/full) with great carbonation level. Overall: Contrasts nicely with the ’02 version. Still tastes “immature” so it should only improve from this point on – looking forward to trying it in 6 months when it’s one year old.