Sweet tasting up front, a bit viscous and chewy, though it is not cloying. Flavors of savory prunes, raisins and a fruity nutty note come through up front. The beer finishes with a mix of toasted malt, spicy phenolics and higher alcohols as well as a touch of tamarind like fruitiness and light tartness. Flavors of brown sugar, caramelized fruit, toffee, rum-soaked sugar and even a sort of cinnamon note (not really but something evocative of this spice). Spicy notes of clove, perhaps a hint of ginger, some pepper (from the medium carbonation as much as anything), a touch of cardamom and a smidgen of mace.

The second pour of this brew yields a much more aromatic nose that takes on a very savor, concentrated malt and fruit character in addition to the rich spice notes mentioned previously. The flavor really develops a richness induced by the concentrated malt / raisin notes, but it is accented heavily by the underlying, fermentation derived, spice and fruit character. I really like the savory, lightly tart tamarind note that this beer has to it.

This has definitely improved over last years vintage; I think this will age better and is currently much more integrated and drinkable. It still is not quite at the level I expect from this brewery though.

First Release Sampled multiple times
Total is equal to 3.7 8/8/7/8/6
Pours with a frothy, initially half-finger thick, darkish, amber-tan colored head. The beer is a brilliantly clear, dark, purple tinged, ruby color when held up to the light, otherwise it is quite a dark, opaque, burn amber color. The aroma smell strongly of dark fruit with notes of figs, raisins and prunes all being present. Some dusty malt presence is also here, perhaps something like chocolate, but not really, perhaps more like toasted grain, or is this the signature of some blackened raisins. Some vibrant fruit notes become noticeable after a bit, with aromas of cherries and concentrated tropical fruit even.

A rich body, yet without being overly sweet. The beer actually finishes quite dry because of an astringent, perhaps burnt quality. Up front though it does have a sweetness, which accentuates a dark fruit character. Quite a bit of dusty malt character is here it sort of tastes something like dusty cocoa powder, but other times like dusty astringent grain husks. As my palate gets used to this beer it loses some of the sweetness, and even picks up a touch of acidity (is that roast / dark grain derived).

After stories of people getting off bottles of this, I can say that I have had four of these now, purchased from three different parts of the country, that have not been off. Having said that, this beer could use a bit of work. It is not at the level of excellence that the last bottle of MOAB that I had was."

Aroma: 7/10 Appearance: 8/10 Mouthfeel: 8/10 Flavor: 8/10 Overall: 8/10

Final Rating, by Style: (3.9) Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 750ml @ $0 Unit Cost: $0 per Pint