Pours black with a ruby veneer and a shiny brown head that quickly dissapates. Reeks of bubble gum and tastes of velvety malts, lacquered wood, alcohol, raisins, and lime. Deliciously strange.

Looks good in my glass.Smells fantastic. Multiple flavors from start to finish. Strong and flavorful. Great with Scandinavian stew (Selyanka) Very Good!

GBBF, Trade Day, 2008 Gravity cask. 3rd beer. My first three beers of GBBF 2008 were all very tasty, and with a few exceptions, were really the beers I enjoyed the most. This was rich and smooth with an awareness of alcohol, but not aggressive. A lovely beer.

Cask (gravity) @ Great British Beer Festival, GBBF 2008, Earls Court, London, England SW5.
Clear dark brown black color with a small, virtualle none head. Aroma is heavy malty, caramel, alcohol, dark fruity. Flavor is heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily - creamy and very smooth, carbonation is flat, finish feel is moderate alcoholic. (050808)

My Bottom Line:
The sweetness of licorice, hazelnuts and earthy figs is intelligently offset by amiable roastiness in this most creative and elegant sipper of a strong ale.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A film of foam floats atop the blackened dark brown.
-The prickly carbonation enlivens the heavy, nourishing body.
-Alcohol is not too present in the flavor profile, as is customary with DFH high gravity ales.
-A wooden dryness is felt in the finish.
-A link with the Imperial Stout family is hard to miss; I find this to be a compelling twist on this highly popular style.

Bottle.