4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
16.9 oz bottle purchased at Oak Tree. Pours a nice deep dark black with a super huge light brown foamy head. Aroma starts off very nice with notes of chocolate liquorice, mollasses, raisin, dark fruit, alcohol, roasted malts and grain. Medium to full bodied with good carbonation and some noticable alcohol warming. Flavor of chocolate, mollasses, grain, slight citrus. Really nice beer that leaves great lace and really "warms" you up.
4.4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
500 ml bottle. Colour very dark brown, nearly black, with a brownish head. Aroma is roasted malts, coffee, liquorice and spices. Strong and full flavour: roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate. A bit smoky aftertaste with plenty of hops. An excellent beer, many thanks to janir for bringing me the bottle!
4.4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20
16oz bottle courtesy of Knightly Spirits. Pours a deep black with a rich tan head. Nose is deep with caramel, mollasses, smoke and coffee and some spices I can’t quite identify that give it a real "christmasy" sensation. Crazy lacing on the glass. This is a monster of a beer, its quite similar to the Orkney Dark Island but with a much fuller mouthfeel and a noticable alcohol burn. Mollasses, smoke, coffee and caramel all war with a light hoppiness that keeps this thing from being TOO malty. This is really well balanced and incredibly tasty. Perfectly carbonated. By far the best "winter" or "chrismtas" ale I’ve had. Awesome.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
(Bottle on 2008-02-03) Very dark. Roasted malts and spices in nose. Spices in taste along with roasted malts. Pleasant but perhaps a bit too spicy.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
2007 bottle, batch 301. Pours a very dark brown (almost black) colour with a beige head. Aroma is spices (ginger and clove) together with some chocolate and liquorice. Flavour has some chocolate sweetness. Notes of spices (ginger and clove again) - you do feel the alcohol, but i don’t mind. The finish is roasted coffee beans and some liquorice with a meduim bitterness. I really do prefer this one to Underlig Jul (since the spices are more well-balanced in this beer)...This is bottled christmas!
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20
Head is creamy and beige. Color is very dark brown, almost black. Aromas are salty liquorice, roasted malts, lots of hops. Roasty malty flavor with chokolate, liquorice and nicely hoppy. Alcohol can be felt but it doesn’t taste at all. Full-bodied, smooth and sticky palate.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle. Pours a deep dark brown with a thick head excellent glass retention and some sediment. Taste is malty sweet molasses and brown sugar. Very thick and smooth beer.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 15/20
The cap just finished exploding off my bomber. Poured foamy and tan all over my desk. When it finially settled down, it poured nearly black (very dark brown) with tan head and chunkies in the bottom. Aroma is spice, smoke and chocolate. Mouthfeel is thick (very nice). Nice malt up front with a smokey finish blended with molases and caramel. Nice finish, I would maybe want just a little more flavor up front. I was expecting something a little more bold. I still really like this brew though.
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