This is for the 2002 version, drank in about 2006 (?!). A vicious pour that produces giant bubbles that aren’t all that appealing to look at. The nose shows great depth of milk chocolate, ginger, coriander, anise, fermenting wort. The mouth goes even further with slight smokey notes and whiskey shows up. Very malty, off sweet. The whiskey continues to the end and finishes almost like a great scotch. Age helped this beer a lot. Fantastic.

Bottle from systembolaget. Dark brown /copper with faint beige head that leaves lacing. Nutty aroma and taste with lightly burnt caramel, malts and some dark fruit. Solid.

33ml bottle, callared since 2007. Interesting nose of poached pears with cinnamon under the cap. In the glass, it follows with a malty barley wine smell, with just a little bit of phenol from aging. Color is deep brown to black with just a tiny ring of foam at the edge. Taste starts of with a very thin, non-carbonated mouthfeel. Well, that’s the UK style, I guess. An old recipe meant to be experienced, perhaps, from cask. It does get pretty warming after I put my goblet down. But it could also be due to age. Can hold that against the brewer, since this did have a "Best Before June 2011" on the label. So I try to adjust. Spice is not as prominent as it might be. Sediment at the bottom, but it stays in the bottle, no yeast to decent like a Belgian beer. Still, an interesting experience with a histroical beer, and I’m happy to have had it.

Shared 500 ml bottle. Best before June 2018. Dark brown with a short-lived off-white head. Aroma and taste of malt, dark fruit, caramel, earth. Didn’t think it lived up to its reputation...

Ruby red, clear, low head. Dried fruit aroma. Sherry like and raisin taste. Small bubbles lingering.