3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
UPDATED: JAN 22, 2004 Re-rate. I must have been drunk the first time...Syrupy and heavy - like a Scottish heavy. Sweet malts are complemented by a bitter burnt toffee flavour. Spicy hops are present that give this beer a warming feeling - and the alcohol helps.
2.7 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Bottle. Amber colour with a tan head. Caramel malty, fruity aroma and a dry, caramel malty, Light fruity taste. Medium body and a dry hay finish.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Pours copper with an off white head. Smells earthy with some toasted malt and fruity hints. Tastes earthy and breaddy with some light fruity hints on the finish.
4.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
UPDATED: MAY 22, 2008 Rating is a composite of both a bottle and a cask rating. (However, both scored the same total.)
Cask (Kuikka, Helsinki)
Served cold, needed a long cuddle to warm it up. Very deep reddy brown, small tight persistent head. Sweet fruity malts, even when its cold, plums and raisins. Soft in the mouth, some tang of bitterness hits the side of the tongue very quickly. Soon after that, a winey aroma goes up the nose. On swallowing, a huge wave of nutty and roast malts fills the mouth. Dark resinous sticky hops bitter up the mouth and leave a lovely long dry bitter finish. Incredible brew.
Rerate of 8-4-9-4-16=4.1
500ml Bottle.
Classic English Strong Ale - delicious. Rich nutty brown colour, wonderfully soft but full fruity and spicy aroma. Caramel, cake, nutmeg, and berry fruits provide the base for the sweetness in the taste, but there’s a full well-balanced hoppy and oakey taste to cut through the sweetness, and provide the long finish. One is never enough.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Brownish amber, low carbonation provides almost no head. Very malty aroma totally dominates the old hops hints. Fruity (plums, grapes), toasted bread and roasted nuts maltiness. Notes of cake, oak, cloves, nutmeg... Surprisingly has a moderate acid bite that hurts a bit the roundness and development of the deep malt flavors. Slight smoke in the finish. Medium to full bodied, low carbonation. This is not as well elaborated as the vintages in terms of flavor balance and appears a bit disappointing to me.
4.1 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 19/20
Brown bottle is a good idea. good color. Well hopped. Very drinkable roasted without overt coffee. Some smoke in aftertaste. An example of great bottle conditioning. Nice lace and graininess. Bit of harsh bitterness but still very balanced. Some spicy malt, barelywine notes. A must try.
4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
Bottle from Whole Foods, Cary, NC. Pours deep copper with medium off-white head. Aroma corn flakes, caramel, dark fruit. Tastes malty, caramelly, with finishing fruit and nuttyness. Dense, smooth, velvety palate. Great complexity and balance. One of my great surprises of 2005.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Been lookign forward to this fellow for ages and well not what i expected, a good beer but maybe not as intence as i expected. Aroma of malty sweetish, lightly spicey fullers beer. Taste is also malty sweetness, infact theres such a great malt content here i wonder how much malt they must use. Spicey and i get the dark fruits and spicey characters, but a bitterness which i thought may have been due to it being a little to cold kicks in a bit at the end meaning its not above a 4. A good beer however i was expecting something a little more complex.
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