16 oz can, picked up at Cost Plus. This one is very easy to find in the PNW every winter, and I guess I had just always assumed I rated it at some point. Considering the 7 year hiatus on ratings, I feel like everyone that will ever rate it, already has. I'll check back next winter to confirm, and will update this rating with my findings. Solid winter warmer, so I'm not surprised it comes back year after year. Bold toasty malts with a spicy note lingering late. It has a bite, but its easier than 9.5. Caramel and bran notes. Slight pine like bitterness. Picked like the warmest winter evening possible to crack this. Would love this outside in the brisk Christmas time.

Deep amber red color. Frothy whtie head. Light oranges, piney, hoppy nose with a hint of toffee and milk chocolate. Clearly a PNW winter warmer. Smooth rich mouth with lots of toffee, milk chocolate notes balanced by sufficient hops. Toffee Oranges and piney finish. Very enjoyable.

Draught at The Local, Bellingham, WA; 6.8% ABV
Hazy dark amber color. Caramel brew, moderately sweet, solid but with no other quality. Simplistic.

Brown with a tan head. Toasted malt profile, light dark fruits, toffee, slightly woody. Thick, smooth body. Finish has light bitterness and a faint boozy heat. The alcohol is very well hidden. Solid.

On tap at the Porterhouse, pours a clear amber with a small beige head. Aroma brings out christmas spices and light bready malt. Flavour brings out light Christmas spices, caramel, and bready malt. Well-balanced and cohesive. A nice Christmas ale.

I think I remember this beer being a thing. Like it was special and sought after or at least awaited by the beer geek crowd. This beer and the brewery have seem to be forgotten at this point. I picked up the beer for $1.75 for a 12oz bottle, seems like a fair price. Poured into a Blvd tulip glass. Color is dark ruby with a small head. The beer is clear but the dark color makes it look thick. Bottom of the bottle is crystal clear. To call this an English Strong Ale is a stretch, this would just be an American Strong as far as I am concerned. Its got a good deal of sweetness with lots of English tea and wet caramel biscuit. The biscuit becomes a bit burnty in the flavor as well. Lots of hops around but thankfully the bitterness is low (I loath caramel and high bitterness). This would have been very fun a decade ago. Now, its a fun memory.

Sample at the brewpub. This brew is a clear dark amber color with a medium off-white head that dissipates steadily to an outer ring. Strings of lacing on the glass. Aroma of roasted malt, caramel and fruit. Medium to full body with flavors of caramel malt, ripe fruit and a bit of vanilla. The finish is sweet with a bready malt aftertaste. Decent all around.

Dark, muddy brown coloured body with a very thin tan oily head. Aroma of alcohol, roasted malt, pit fruits, cherries, raisins, caramel and a hint of nuts. Medium-bodied; Assertive roasted malt at first with a very good sweetness from raisins, pit fruits, plums, cherries, all with noticeable malt and nuts behind. Aftertaste showing a touch of spices with a little alcohol warmth, but definite sweetness to go around. Overall, a nice and relatively complex beer, full of good flavours - a step down from a Barley Wine, and this is a good thing. Definitely worth trying if you can find it! I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Pear Delicatessen in Seattle, Washington on 11-February-2013 for US$1.70 sampled at home in [the real] Washington on 26-February-2013.

12oz bottle from Total Wine
Appearance: Pours cloudy brown with a big frothy beige head and lots of sticky lacing
Aroma: Toasted malts, nutty, spices and some hot alcohols
Taste: Toasted malts, caramel, nutty, spices and bitter citrus in the finish
A nice winter beer, easy drinking.

Pours a nutty dark brown. Shades of amber. No head. Roasted and smoked malts come chocolate. Sweet brown sugar. Spices.