draft from church key. brownish pour. a bit of a yeast funk and floral with spiciness

On tap at Churchkey. Pours a deep brown with an earthy brown head that lasts throughout the beer and laces. Aroma has light roast and Belgian yeast with a touch of date and dark grains backing. Flavor has slightly chalky dark grains and dates with a hint of roast and Belgian yeast supporting.

Draught @ Local, NYC. Cloudy reddish brown with very small frothy off-white head, sweet caramel aroma, medium carbonation, medium bitter spicy caramel taste with ginger, nutmeg and cloves, dried fruits, thin body, long finish. Very much Belgian!

Draught at Birch and Barley: pours mahogany with a small head. Aroma is lightly roasty, spicy and yeasty. Surprisingly one-dimensional. Lightly sweet. Toasty. Lightly spicy. Meh.

Draft at The Sovereign in DC. Poured a relatively dark ruby red brown color with a small off-white head. Aroma was yeast, plum, dark fruity notes. Really nice, holiday spices, allspice, winter spice. Pleasant roast.

Draft at York River Landing. Deep brown appearance with a thin white head. Aroma of spice, dark bread, and yeast. Flavor is very straight- forward. Dark bready pumpernickel base, mild subtle spice, with a zesty finish. Body is on the lighter side and crisp.

Draught at the Dive Bar, 1/30/16.
Mildly hazy, dark amber-mahogany body is topped by a light beige head that is small and fades to a ring (looks exactly like the beer pictured).
Dried fruits (cranberry, raisin, cherry and such) in the nose give some poignancy and also a little vintage feel to it, with vanilla, earth, black pepper and very light toffee. It’s certainly not sweet or heavily malty and does lean on the yeast esters, which is appreciated. Alcohol mixes with the esters to build intensity but the finish just sort of lingers. Mildly fruity, with definite earthiness and musty, damp cellar.
This is a bizarre beer. No way around it. Doesn’t have the maltiness that many Christmas saisons have and yet it’s not thin or light. The "wet stone and leather" suggestions from the commercial deScription may sound a bit ridiculous (moreso the wet stone) but it’s definitely got something like that going on. It’s like a wet rock with some moist earth on it also dipped in black pepper. The fruitiness quite boisterously keeps this thing from being just one big musty mess, but it’s still quite challenging. Medium-low carbonation wtih some slickness and some breadiness to the texture. Strong, but yet not sweet or alcoholic. Definitely interesting and unique and one I don’t feel I’ve wrapped my palate around despite having a full glass.

Kind of odd. Some light smoke aroma here. Pours murky brown with OK head and lacing. Light bitter finish. Not a huge fan. Tap at Churchkey.

4 oz pour on draft at ChurchKey. Reddish amber with off-white head. Aromas of dark fruit, caramel, malt. Tastes of dark fruit, citrus, caramel, light spice. Medium body with a dry finish.