(Bottle) Cloudy amber brown with tiny tan head. Nice aroma - fruity and raisins with hints of cardamom. Amazing palate - full bodies, oily, sticky with fine bright carbonation. Beautiful complex taste. Starts with some fruity, raisiny, almost vinous, tang, which is quickly joined by rich caramel. There’s a pleasant hint of the alcohol, and some peppery spice followed by some decent bitterness in the finish. Excellent rich strong beer.

From a 330m bottle on 26/7/2015. Pours a cloudy amber with the barest of heads. Has a relatively muted aroma of bready and Belgian yeast. Take a sip and it’s a sweetie, with raisins, cherries, caramel and a hint of raspberry cordial. Finishes with a moderate, spicy bitterness, with just a touch of booze at the back. The texture is creamy and velvety, and the carbonation soft. A rather unusual big dessert brew but quite enjoyed it.

Bottle. Opened suspiciously quietly. Amber with almost no head, just a few bubbles at the rim. Aroma of dried bananas, bread, raisins, alcohol, spices. Syrupy, almost flat. Very sweet and boozy with raisins, scorched grains and spices. Doesn’t dry out much but there’s a fair bit of bitterness. Poor.