Bottle 50 cl. Pours a clear deep amber with an off-white head. Sweet burned caramel in the nose with a subtle hint of licorice. Quite a rich body, molasses and again burned caramel, discreet edge of spices with the nutmeg coming through. Has a warming alcohol finish - so really lives up to it’s name! Enjoyable. 061112

(500mL from the LCBO) Pours dark red with a fine particulate suspension and a thin white head that dissipated immediately. Aroma complex, dominated by brown sugar/molasses malts, but with dates, spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice), a bit of spiced rum, quite christmas cake-esque. Flavour is sweet malts up front, a bit of fruitiness, some chocolate, bit of yeasty funk comes up mid-palate and then moderately bitter hops dry down the beer quickly on the finish. Mouthfeel is weak to me, watery in the second half and over-carbonated with a soda-pop feel and a lack of structure and depth on the finish. Just doesn’t live up to the smell for me.

Smells like gingerbread. Taste has some spiciness, clove. There isn’t much of a leave, though - taste falls pretty flat after the initial spice. Bottle

Bottle: Poured a lightly hazy color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some light lacing. Aroma of sweet rich malt with nice notes of cinnamon. Taste is also a nice mix between some sweet rich caramel malt with notes of cinnamon and light cloves. Body is above average with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Not the most complex but well brewed and quite enjoyable.

500mL bottle shared by JoeMcPhee, poured into a copita glass. Color is chestnut brown. Aroma is British wet malts, light musky and very ESB-like. Taste is similar, I do not get any kind of spiced character but a wet and dark cold night kind of feel from it. Otherwise, average carbonation and medium mouthfeel.