5 Seasons Kartoon Brune

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Pours a cloudy, almost opaque mahogany with a fluffy tan head. Strong aroma has overtone of molasses and some good hints of hops. Lively flavor is sharp and malty with hints of caramel and both bitter and sweet ribbons through it. Texture and finish are smooth and pleasing.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

Tasted at the February Nor Cal Beer Tasting. This Belgian brown ale poured a deep brown color. Medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is fruity, spicy and sweet. A medium bodied Belgian brown ale. The malts are fruity and sweet. Seems a bit more spicy than fruity. Very lively carbonation. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly spicy.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

NorCal Feb '08 - Not sure if I've ever had a beer from 5 Seasons (always thought there were only 4....maybe the 5th season is beer season) but this was okay. The beer looked to be bottled by the brewery, no lable just a tag that says it was bottled in 2005. The beer pours out cloudy rich brown body, two finger head. A bit of fruitcake in the nose, caramel, light fleshy fruits, maybe some honey. Mouthfeel had that overcarbonated feel I don't enjoy in most Belgians. Flavor is suprisingly piney, with a nice touch of spiciness that overlays the pine. Spices take over about mid-palate with a clean nutty finish. Nice beer.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

A reddish brown appearance. A faint caramel and nutmeg aroma. Lots of caramel present along with some brown sugar and bananas. The finish was yeasty and slightly alcoholic.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

"Noogfest 06". The aroma was malty and a bit spicey with some figs or raisins coming through. The appearance was a brown-reddish to walnut in color with a tan head on top that was full and carbonated. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied with nice malty complexity and had good balance with a wet palate. The flavor was malty, of raisins and figs, and had some peculiar hoppiness to it. Overall, nice example of the style here and not a bad Belgain ale.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Good not-quite tan head leaves nice lacing. The body is cloudy and a dull dark brown. The aroma is fairly spicy with balanced alcohol and esters. Good flavor. There's a surprising hoppiness backing up the spiciness and the malt. It's a noticeable hop bitterness but not overwhelming. I can see why this won the Beglian-Style Ale category at the Georgia Craft Brew Challenge this year. You couldn't ask for a better example of the style. Man I wish growlers were legal in this state. As a side note, the beer is served in a tulip glass with no logo. Served on the cold side. Definitely gets better as it warms, but the flavors are strong enough that if you're too impatient to let it warm, you won't have wasted your time.