Whats Brewing 2014. Red dark brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is red wine, alcohol, sugar, oak. Flavour is red wine, alcohol, sugar, oak, dried fruits. Boozy beer , but also a nice warming one.

Cask, at What’s Brewing. A brown beer, lightly unclear, and more or less headless. It has a vinous aroma with a light touch of acetone. Chocolate, more like cocoa actually, some dark dried fruits and a touch of dark sugar too. The flavor is quite sweet, with a healthy dose of alcohol. Red wine, cocoa, prunes and some dark sugar. Full-bodied, warming and soft on the palate, the carbonation level going well with this kind of beer. Lasting finish. Sure, it’s a bit too warming, but it’s a delicious beer I was stupid enough to have several glasses of. Rating: 8-3-8-4-16-3.9.141031

Bottle. Very close to one year since I drank the cask edition of this beer, I found the time to look closer into the bottled edition. It looks more or less the same, except it has a cute little beige head on top. Some lacings too. It’s vinous on the nose, more rounded than it was a year ago, even some months ago, and rather complex. Cocoa, red wine, prunes and raisins, some alcohol, a woody scent and some brown sugar. It’s sweet on the palate, not unexpected considering the ABV, but it’s far from cloying. The alcohol cleans up quite a bit. Red wine, cocoa, dark dried fruits, dark sugar and some tannins and vanilla-ish wood in the flavor. There’s bitterness present, but very subdued, and it feels only lightly warming on the palate. Full body and a very smooth carbonation. Chocolate, roasted notes, dark dried fruits, red wine, alcohol and sweetness in the finish. Certainly a beer that did well from a year of cellaring, and of course it looks more sexy from a bottle than from cask. Just wonderful this one, just wonderful. 151029