This offering from Southampton pours a dark red closing in on brown with a powerful tan head that leaves a cascading body dark and georgeous! The smell upon opening the bottle is very sweet smells of caramel and roasted nuts come to mind. Brown sugar, vanilla, blood orange?, citrus, huge upfront hop presence. The taste.....wow! brown sugar, dark fruit, plum, figs, oily bitterness and a small alcohal presence in the mouthfeel which also has a smooth port quality. The finish has a heavy fruit malt backbone balanced with spicy hops and has a very smooth aftertaste considering the alcohal.

750 ml corked and caged bottle. Pours to a deep caramel to chestnut color, with a rocky, white head, and a lively carbonation. The nose on this beer is very nice with lots of good dark, sweet, and carmel malt aromas paired with some estery, fruity aromas. The palate is firm, with good carmel, sweet, and nutty malt flavor, paired with tangy, estery fruit. The lively carbonation of this beer works well in my opinion, and lifts some of the cloying maltinesss off the palate. This beer finishes with more malt and fruit, and then ends a touch warming. Really well done old ale, that strikes a nice balance between malt and fruity esters. Well done beer.

Big thanks to luiss for this one. Pours heavy ruby with 3-finger khaki head. Aroma of heavy vinous fruit, caramel malt, cobwebby earthy peaty chocolate, some sweet plum, molasses, and even a twinge of aged cheddar cheese. The flavor is like a medium bodied cabernet at first, with caramel malt, earthy notes, plus plum, blackberry, cherry, and even some cognac at the finish. The palate is dense, complex, well balanced, and just outstanding. Get ya some, even if you have to rive to Luiss’ house!

Bottle. Wow is this beer coming into its own now or what? The flavors jump out at you. Full on dried fruits and vineous. Ok the other hand if you closed your eyes, you’d swear you were eating a Mounds bar. Plenty of caramel, burnt sugar an molasses if you’ve got a sweet tooth.

bottle. compliments Maxxdaddy. great bottle. mahogony pour with thin frothy light tan head. raisons and dried cherries, nutty malts, liquorice, yeast aroma. medium body, robust flavor, excellent balance. rich maltiness, carmalized sugars, rich subtle chocolate, figs and raison, maple, and mild spicy finish. Truely excellent beer.