Bottle from Whole Foods Bowery. Pours brown red with a light tan head, when whirled. Heavy aroma of american barley wine, without an excessive amount of hops. Taste of raisins, black currants and plums. There is quite a lot of smokeyness in both aroma and flavour, in a blind tasting I would have guessed on a whiskey cask.

Bottle from Healthy Spirits, SF. It pours clear amber, with a decent white head. The nose is toasted malt, gingerbread, hot-cross buns, caramel, toffee, fig, currant - not much port! The taste is caramel, toffee, cinnamon bun, port, dark sticky blackcurrant, bramble, toast and alcohol warmth, with some bitterness in the finish. Full body, moderate carbonation and thick mouth-feel (but not cloying). Nice port flavour. Good balance.

Bottle thanks to Sarah! Pours a hazy amber with a small gray head that starts and remains at the edges throughout the beer. Aroma is full of sweet grains and caramel with a nice backing port note and a hint of peat/smokiness. Flavor begins with the port and is quickly joined by strong caramel with a decent amount of peat in the finish.

2009 bottle (I think I have also had a 2007 before as well, but lost the notes). Pours with a muddy, orange-brown body with a small, just off-white head that fades rather quickly, but leaves a ring on the side of the glass. Some alcohol legs, no lace. Strong aroma from a far. Specific notes are musty, brown sugar, vinous, raisins, strong malt profile of toffee, bready, cookie, caramel. Hints of fig, candied dates, very intensely vinous. Estery. Port, sticky. Some light alcohol. No hops. Brown sugar, light hint of baking soda. Flavors are also musty, woody, nutty, husky, tobacco, brown sugar. Very earthy notes. Cigar. Woody, very estery and caramelized. No hops. Slight astringency and smokey note (phenol?). Port, caramel, toffee. A bit sweet, bordering on cloying. Dark fruit, raisins, fig, dates, toffee. Big syrupy mouthfeel, warming but the alcohol is well hidden. Light carbonation. A bit unbalanced. I cannot get over the smokey, musty flavor; leaves the beer a bit unappetizing.

2015 bottle at Bob's Bar (01/11/19): The bottle pours a hazy dark mahogany-brown color with a thin off-white head that recedes quickly to a sparse outer ring. Spotty lace. Aroma of dark fruit, wood, yeast and malt. Full-bodied with flavors of rum raisin, yeast, caramel malt and oak. The finish is boozy with a port wine and raisin aftertaste. Pretty good overall. Cask version at Winking Lizard’s 3rd Annual Real Ale Fest (03/26/11) - 2.4: The beer is a hazy orange color with a minimal white head and nil lacing. Ripe fruit and malt in the nose. Medium body with a vegetal and vinous character, with notes of pungent malt and yeast. The finish is dank and fruity. This was the beer available in limited quantities at the event, and I am happy they poured small amounts. Not very enjoyable for my tastes.

2008 vintage. Pours clear copper color with thin off white head. Aromas of caramel, vanilla, wine and alcohol. Sweet caramel and wood flavors with some wine. Full body with almost no carbonation and a syrupy mouthfeel.

Brown bottle, 275 ml, purchased at Bangor Wine and Cheese on August 17 2010, savoured on November 12 2010; eye: caramel, hazy, beige head that disappears completely, minimal effervescence, no lacing; nose: alcohol, caramel, light fruity; mouth: alcohol, caramel, slight fruity, malt, ash, alcohol warmth, ashy finale with presence of alcohol, medium-full body, below-average carbonation, rather sweet, liqueur-like texture; overall: correct FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 275 ml, achetée chez Bangor Wine and Cheese le 17 août 2010, savourée le 12 novembre 2010; œil : caramel, voilée, mousse beige qui disparaît complètement, effervescence minime, matière en suspension, pas de dentelle; nez : alcool, caramel, léger fruité; bouche : alcool, caramel, très léger fruité, malt, cendré, chaleur d’alcool, finale cendrée avec présence d’alcool, corps moyen-corsé, carbonatation sous la moyenne, plutôt sucrée, texture liquoreuse; en résumé : correct