Fat på Bishop Arms.Smak och doft av malt, choklad, kaffe, sirap. Söt och rund med trevliga julkryddor i eftersmaken. Lagom besk.

Flaska från SB.Ensmutsbrun lätt grumlig färg, lågt skum. Stor malttung doft av mjölkchoklad, kaffe och sirapslimpa. Även smaken är lite råsöt och maltig och känns inte helt färdig. Ett år i källaren är nog att rekommendera. Fina drag av mjölkchoklad och sirapslimpansmaken funkar bra till julmaten.

New Beer Distributors, NY 330ml ($3): Pours a reddish brown with barely any head. I don’t think this bottle is old as this was just put on the shelf. Maybe it didn’t travel too well. Aroma is caramel, malt, and a bit of chocolate syrup. Taste is somewhat sweet. Some mild hoppy bitterness. Toffee. Meh.

Sample @ SBWF 12, as Julnarren. Amber colour with a small head. Malty caramel aroma. Flavour is sweet with some bitterness.

33cl bottle from Melgers, Haarlem Ok white head. Hazy amber pour. Slightly sour taste, doesn’t taste like an ESB and doesn’t look like one either.

Deep dark brown, smoke tinted brown body with a very thin deep bright white head that fades very fast - interesting look to a beer, I don’t think i’ve ever seen one like this - definitely not an esb at that! Aroma of pale malt, yeast, raisins, pit fruits, a touch of alcohol and some nuts and earth. Medium-bodied; Nice effervescent kick at first with a solid malty backbone, some light cherry and stone fruit flavours with a bit of an earthy kick at the end without any bitterness. Aftertaste shows a herbal flavour with a little spruce or pine and some solid spices. Overall, an interesting and complex beer in every sense of the word - nice to try and solid, although for the price, there are better options in the complexity department. I sampled this 33 cL stubby bottle purchased from Oliver’s Beverage in Albany, New York on 18-November-2011 for US$7.99 sampled at home in Washington on 22-March-2012.

33cl bottle. Cloudy brown colour with minimal and quickly diminishes tan head. Nice lacework on the glass. Aroma is moderate malty, nutty and caramelish. Flavour is sweet at the beginning with a final moderate bittery. Sweet on palate, with dry fruits hints and some orange traces are also present. The aftertaste results bready, dense on palate and bittery with an average duration. Carbonation is medium. Body is medium to high. Texture is oily.

Draught @ City Pub on December 3. Pours deep wooden brown with a thick gray head that dissipates while leaving some trace on the glass. Smell is malty sweet with sweet fruits and lots of Christmas spices like cloves and cardamom. Taste is malty and has a roasted, almost smoked, character to it. There’s also figs, dates, cloves and ginger. Finish is malty sweet.

Bottle for first cool day of fall. Pours a cloudy root beer colored brown with almost no head. Nose is of dark fruits, leather, and lemon peel. Tastes of figs, cherries, currant, caramel, leather, tobacco, earth, light spice,cola, and slightly tart. It’s called a special winter ale but fine for fall

Julnarren Bottle from State Line. Pours reddish brown. Off white head. Nose/taste of cocoa, chocolate, candi sugar, barley and hops. Medium body. Sweetish finish. I wouldn’t call this an ESB. Not sure what it is.