Flossmoor Station Collaborative Evil

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

por que?!?!? .. . pretty sure this was the 2009, it was near the end .. . Pours a deep gold tan, great foam .. . tasty, light spice and sweet wood and yeast .. . decent .. . what am i supposed to with all my great ideas? wash myself with them, because that's what soap is for...

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Tasted on tap at the Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival 12/5/2008. This Belgian Strong Ale pours a medium dark amber color from the tap. Small to medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is malt, raisins, and sweet. A medium bodied BSA. The malts are caramel and raisins. Some spices. The hops are earthy and floral. Hides the alcohol well. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet. Had this one back to back with the Fifty/Fifty version, thought this one was sweeter and a less spicy.

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

Sampled GABF 2008
This has a frothy, dark tan colored head that sits on top of a murky, amber tinged, dark brown colored beer. Wow, this smells strongly of cardamom with a mix of aromatic notes of cola, clove, an at times green herbaceous note and even a distinct hemp like notes. The aroma is also quite herbal, and I was actually a bit surprised by how spicy this was.

The herbal / hemp flavor continues on in the flavor, but there is also lots of expressive cardamom character as well as a clove-like finish to the beer. This is fairly sweet and has a chewy, rich, viscous bodied, amply maltiness to it as well. The herbal notes are interesting in their intensity; at times it is mint-like and at others more menthol oriented, but both are probably a result of the dominant cardamom character. Underneath all the spice character, and accentuated by the rich malt character, is a hidden, rich, fruity backdrop that adds notes of raisins and figs.

Once tasted, I realized this was obviously quite amply spiced. This will most definitely age quite well for quite some time, especially since the spice character is fairly intense. It is not spiced to overwhelming levels though and, despite all my focus / complaining, is even fairly enjoyable fresh, but I definitely prefer a much more subtle approach to spicing beers.