After 3 days in the fridge I decided that it had plenty of time to "chill out" and was ready to be tasted.
I poured into my favorite glass (from my original meeting with Swen) and walked outside to take a good look at it.
It's dark and sexy, and very clear (no haze). When held up to the light you get a wonderful glow and it takes on an amber hue to it - but just a bit.
It smells to me of general malt sweetness with touches of chocolate and coffee. The taste is smooth and finishes a bit dry (to me) with those same hints of chocolate and coffee. I was a bit nervous that it was going to be really roasty, but it's not.
I think there is a bit more bite than other browns that I've had. I'm not sure if that is due to the hops or the dark malts but that's not a complaint either.
I find this to be very tasty and I can see why it's well liked. I think it's approaching the line of my roasted/coffee tolerance but I do like it. I could see having this on a cold night and being a good gateway beer to ease into porters/stouts or Black IPAs that have more toastiness to them.
Thanks for sharing and I'll toast to what others have said: well done!