~ Fourth Tasting ~
February 10th, 2004
(2 Years, 8 Days)
Click on a photo for Tasting Notes

Steve Wagner President & Brewmaster	Lee Chase Head Brewer	Greg Koch Chairman & CEO	Arlan Arnsten Vice President of Sales	Chris Cochran Marketing & Promotions	Guest Taster: Toshi Ishii COO & Brewery Director Yo-Ho Brewing

(photos taken during the 08.04.03 tasting session)

Steve Wagner President & Brewmaster Appearance: A hazy, golden-yellow after the yeast swirl. Aroma: Lots of yeast and wheat notes. Flavor: Good wheat/malt balance, spiciness, and bitterness with a dry, lingering wheat finish. Palate: Full-bodied but seems to be lacking a little carbonation. Overall: I have a cold!

Lee Chase Head Brewer Appearance: Crystal clear until the last 2 ounces of the bottle were swirled and added to the glass. Light nucleation of tiny bubbles. Aroma: A delicious Belgian, spicy aroma along with a hint of fruitiness. Flavor: Bitter aftertaste (a surprise) that lingered a bit longer than I expected. A spicy/bready/yeasty flavor with a little apricot, but less than last tasting. Palate: A little low CO2 but that seems to be the case with this batch. The texture is soft and refreshing. A little high on both sweetness (read fruity/perfumy) and bitterness (maybe fro the yeast?). Overall: Tasty! More bitter than I recall, but....it's good!

Greg Koch Chairman & CEO Appearance: Poured clear and bright. Sediment at the bottom of the bottle was then swirled to add the yeast back in. Aroma: Aroma on this bottle seems slightly muted from the past tastings (from traveling?). Still, it has that classic Belgian yeast characteristic aroma. Flavor: Wow, still a strong, bright, bitter bite with coriander quite present. Strong Belgian triple-ish, but alcohol notes do not dominate the palate --- instead the alcohol notes are quite modest and in-the-pocket. Palate: See above Overall: I'm still a huge fan of this beer. I would have loved to have had this bottle all to myself rather than sharing, dammit. Drinkability is high and I predict it will continue to be great for quite some time. Keep posted!

Arlan Arnsten Vice President of Sales Appearance: Crystal clear, golden straw color (before the yeast from the bottom of the bottle was added). Low to no head evident. Aroma: Nice malt aroma with hints of apricot and spice...subtle but evident grassiness. I gauged the aroma after the tasting and noticed a pronounced sweet malt character from the emptied glass - very satisfying, try this at home. Flavor: Flavor of pepper and hops - citrus character has diminished since last tasting. Nice hop flavor and bitterness. Palate: Low carbonation yet still tickles the back of the throat. Overall: Very enjoyable. A spiced Belgian-style beer, too bad there isn't much of this left...I could use more of it for this coming baseball season!

Chris Cochran Marketing & Promotions Appearance: Very bright, clear golden color before the yeast was added into the glass with a small amount of carbonation (head). Aroma: Peppery spices and fruitiness tend to be the major players, with the malt and hops taking a back seat. Flavor: Although rather bitter, the spicy flavors tend to overshadow the hop presence. Palate: A nice, soft, smooth medium-bodied mouthfeel. Carbonation seems a little low, but not too bad. Overall: Definitely coming together with the hops and spice aroma meshing nicely...Oh yeah!

Guest Taster: Toshi Ishii COO & Brewery Director Yo-Ho Brewing Appearance: A little hazy after remains of yeast added. Aroma: First aroma is citrus. Flavor: Spiced very well, perhaps orange peel. Low esters? Palate: Soft and smooth Overall: Low bitterness, feel like it's matured. Nice balance between the bitterness, the sweetness, and the spiciness.