Bottle from Nina’s Edinburgh
Ruby red brown, clear, frothy dense off white head
Aroma - Soft sweet caramel malts, soft spices, touch of grassy hops, touch of fruity berry, mellow aroma
Taste - Caramel malts, some sort of dull orange malt , tangerine pith, soft fruity malts, some bitter hop comes through towards the finish. Bit hard to describe.
Palate - Soft carb. medium body, quite smooth, the medium carb seems right for this beer, creamy malts, smooth mouthfeel. Finish - quite bitter, quite long fruity malt bit spicy and dry linger
Overall - Reasonably good beer was interesting but didn’t wow me

Found this hiding in the back of my cellar, probably from 2010. Aroma is dominated by caramel and toffee notes. There is a touch of roast to the beer as well, but this is mostly caramel. Some sweet raisin and fig notes also. There is a touch of sherry and cardboard which isn't too surprising. Still quite a lot of pine resin hop notes but the citrus isn't there. Pouts a deep burnt amber with hints of ruby. Thin light tab head that steadily recedes until only a thin layer remains on top and that persists. Some light lacing. The flavor starts out a bit flat and one would almost swear they could taste the water. Once you get past that though there are some nice caramel and toffee notes with a touch of roast in the background. Similar raisin an fig fruitiness. Hop flavor is very subdued with just hints of pine resin. Medium light bitterness. Low alcohol spice in the finish. Not much oxidation in the flavor; I guess those oxygen fixing caps work pretty well. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Low alcohol warmth and no astringency. Overall this has held up surprisingly well. Definitely not my favorite beer or style, but it's a pretty good amber ale. Good balance of malt character, but the hops have started to fade. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle from Cotteridge Wines; hazy amber/red pour, off white head, fresh hop aroma, taste is citrus hop with some pine, malty backbone, soapy mouth feel, good hoppy American amber but no hint of Xmas other than Santa of the bottle.

650ml bottle shared with Joes and Dutchdrebus. Hazy red color with a medium sized lightly beige head that lasts for a long time. Smell malts, lightly bread, lightly dough, some sweetness a bit resembling a barley wine. Taste malts, lightly sweet, nice bitterness, lightly some fruityness. Quite like it. Medium carbonation, medium body.

Bottle @ joes thx to benzai. Clear copper colour with a small white head. Smells sweet, barley wine, cattlefeed, hay, barnyard. Tastes malty, barley, sweet, some hops.. It’s quite thin though. Could use more body. Low on carbo.

12 ounce bottle. Pours a hazy amber red color with a medium-sized fluffy beige head. Toasted malt nose with noticeable spicy hops. Soft toasted malt flavor upfront. Some resiny hops as well. Nice peppery hops that finish this brew are subtleand tasty.

355ml bottle from Appellation Wines. Pours amber with a decent head. The nose has a real earthy, root vegetable, aroma. In fact it’s generally very farmyardy. The taste has more of the earthy notes, going into dry leaves and undergrowth. The palate is complex but very astringent on the finish. Overall, this is quite a tough beer to get into but it grows on me.

22 oz. bottle. English pint shows a nice ruby, amber color with soapy head that stuck to the glass all the way down. Nose is a solid amount of caramel covered resin hops. I wouldn’t say this is a highly hopped ( maybe the huge DIPA’s have distorted my palate?) but the hops certainly come through the malt. Medium in body with decent medium bitterness. Overall really well balanced. If I see this on draft, I would order one. VERY respectable seasonal offering from Rouge.

65cl bottle @Kaisla, Helsinki 12/12/12. mahogany color, thin white head. intense aroma of bread, plums, raisins, barley wine style somehow. Flavor then is much weaker, malty with lingoberry juice, light hoppyness. Light body. Sourish berries in finish. Quite refreshing.

Bottle. Creamy off-white excellent mostly lasting head. Amber colour. Moderate malty and heavy hoppy aroma. Heavy bitter wonderfull flavor. Long heavy bitter finish. Creamy palate.