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Sampled on Tap at 1702, Tucson AZ; 2008 JLS Release
This beer arrives with a brown tinged, tan colored, creamy textured, one-finger thick head. The beer is a very dark brown color and quite clear. The aroma smells of chocolate / cocoa and toasted malt up front and once you start to dig around, some notes of pine and citrus. As the beer warms up a bit the hop character becomes much more noticeable in the nose and actually ends up on equal footing with the malt in the aroma.

The flavor is so much more hop focused than I expected (based on the aroma at least); there is a ton of bitterness, lots of pine flavors and notes of candied citrus peel. This is definitely a bit green in its hop intensity, a bit astringent, but still nicely balanced for a very hoppy beer (e.g. it doesn't get too harsh). This is really an super hoppy IPA that was brewed with dark malts. There is a touch of roasted, toasty grain and maybe a touch of chocolate that struggles to be noticed through all of the hop character. This is quite quaffable with a light-medium fullness that is just enough to carry the hops.

Quite a tasty beer, enjoyable if you have a hop-hankering and the dark malt adds a light, other-dimensioned note to what is otherwise a hoppy IPA.

Served In: Pint Glass