Pours pitch black with a brown, sticky, roasted-looking head. Aroma is really intense: red wine, old fruits.. First touch with lips feels like drinking melted dark chocolate. Flavor reminds me of complex and full-bodied red wines, dark chocolate, coffee, dark old fermented fruits. Alcohol tastes and feels clearly but not in a bad way. Smooth, full-bodied, complex, delicious palate. This is the best stuff I’ve tasted so far.

Bottle. Pours motor oil black with a small brown head and fair lacing. Aroma of burnt malts, coffee, chocolate, alcohol and a hint of leather. Rich flavor of dark malts, bitter dark chocolate, roasted coffee, licorice, and lots of strong alcohol. Full bodied with a huge booze alcohol finish.

Aroma is more restrained than I had expected. Bitter and burnt notes like espresso coffe and licorice. Appearance is somewhat dissapointing - midnight black as expected, but almost no head. Medium lacing. Taste is extraordinary, almost like a good matured port. Vinous, with lots of licorice and coffee. Sweet notes, and a lovely espresso breathe-through...Palate is mediocre - not as big as I’d expect from a beer this big. Somewhat oily and syrupy. Don’t get em wrong - this is an extraordinary beer all told - it’s like a glass of coffee and licorice infused vintage port. This would be superb with Christmas Pudding! I’d better go and buy some more to keep in for December - and next December, and the one after that.

(Bottle) Pours black with a dark brown head. The aroma has a graceful roastiness from the malt with tones of dark creamy chocolate and cocoa up front but there is also some room for burned notes of coffee, tar, liquorice, rubber and caramelized brown sugar. Sugary with notes of dark caramel, dark syrup, honey and molasses. The alcohol is present but quite soft for 17.5. Light grapefruity, floral and orange-like hops in the background. Undertones of earthy tobacco, soy, blackberries, prunes, dried figs, caramelized almonds, liqueur and port. The flavour is heavily sweet, cloying and very sugar/honey/dextrose-like. Not even the massive and complex burned/roasted malt and bitter hop profile can balance this. Tones of dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, liquorice, coffee, orange, grapefruit, flowers, shellfish, blackberries, prunes, mead, liqueur and sweet port. The mouthfeel is smooth and oily but a tiny bit too sticky. Light carbonated. Well disguised minty alcohol. Medium to full bodied. A sipper.

Bottle: The aroma is pretty intense and consists of molasses, chocolate, black licorice, burnt notes, dark fruits, and definite alcohol. It pours black with no transparency and a small brown ring for a head. The flavor starts with a big sugary sweetness with some black licorice. It finishes with some black coffee bitterness, some burnt notes, and alcohol. The alcohol is definitely noticeable, but I didn’t find in as overbearing as some. Full bodied with an oily mouthfeel.