6.4

Appearance - 5 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Merry Christmas to beer drinkers everywhere. A small bottle, last of a three bottle selection purchased online from the brewery, the previous two rated back in the Ratebeer days. Aroma: malt, raisins, port. Appearance: opaque mulligatawny soup, no head to speak of. Palate: creamy on the tongue, boozy hit at the back of the mouth, negligible carbonation; finish is warming, long and lingering, alcoholic strength is subtle. Taste: heavily sweet with malt, rock candy, and some butter. A nice winter warmer, great mouthfeel, but far too sweet. After eleven years of cellaring I would have expected something a little more sophisticated.

8

Loads of malt sweetness. It tastes like a brewery smells. Touch of milk chocolate and raisin.

7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle shared by Grumbo: Poured caramel with tan head. Aroma is woodsy, light booze, mellow fruits. Taste is super sticky fruit, mellowed a bit, sugary, light booze warming.

8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

26/9/2020. Bottle shared with SHIG, bought at Cloudwater online store. Pours clear amber with a small bubbly/frothy white head. Aroma is woody, brown sugar, golden syrup, caramel, stone fruit. Medium plus sweetness and light bitterness. Full body, sticky texture, soft carbonation. Boozy, tingling mouthfeel to finish. Quite different to the 2017 with the woody side, and not quite as good.