Bottle. Dark amber with a bare coat of beige head. Aroma of plums, pears, caramel, hints of spice. Taste is sweet and spicy with white pepper, cloves, nutmeg, ginger. Very obvious alcohol and surprisingly thin mouthfeel - it’s just a little creamy. Dried fruits, plums and pears are there but mostly compete rather than mesh with vinous and spirit notes. Lots of punchy spices and some bitterness and oaky dryness in a boozy finish. A bit further down the glass as it warmed or I got used to the alcohol the fruit and the brandy and wood worked better together. More complex but not better than ordinary Christmas Ale. If I had another bottle I’d leave it a year - there’s plenty of spice and maybe the other flavours will mellow and meld.

[12/10] Bottle, 8.3%. Cloudy amber with a fat coat of light beige head that lasts pretty well. Aroma of raisins, caramel, quinces, spices, flowers. Creamy mouthfeel with prickles of carbonation. Alcohol not very noticable. Taste is mellower than suggested by the aroma - dried fruit, light caramel, poached pears, quinces, peaches. Mildly spiced. Slightly spiced fruity finish drying out after a while. Not sure I’d call this a tripel (it’s a little dark) but it’s fine and would work for an Australian Christmas dinner if it doesn’t get too hot. [3.6] Not a dubbel either, FWIW. Like a number of their seasonals, this seems to get slightly better most years. This one is on the light side of medium bodied and has vibrant fruits and noble hops with just a little caramel behind. The spices are there but very subtle. Hits the Oz Christmas spot of "we want European holiday flavours but it’s going to be 40C" very well indeed.

Bottled. A hazy amber beer with a thin tan head. The aroma has notes of malt and over ripe fruits. The flavor is sweet with notes of malt, caramel, and over ripe fruits as well as a light note of sugar, leading to a bitter finish. A bit odd.

Bottle 330ml.Light unclear medium amber orange color with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, bread, roasted, caramel, nutty. Flavor is moderate to light light heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a average to long duration, fruity, caramel, chocolate malt notes. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20101102]

33 cL bottle. Pours hazy orange with a small off-white head. Aroma is mild fruity and hoppy. Mild citrusy hoppy and slight grapefruity. Grassy and dry into a smooth finish.

Bottle 33 cl. Courtesy of bluebetty. Pours a clear amber with an off-white head. Fruity, nutty and caramellish aroma - a wee phenollic touch. Medium body, sweeet toffee, caramel and nuts. A little licorice in the finish, very subdued hops. 021110

Tap at brewery. Very cloudy orange with an off-white head. Aroma and taste of pears, candi sugar, dough, grapes, lemon, cloves. Very easy drinking for 8.5%. A little like one of those Belgian versions of an English Ale. Also a touch of German "new wine" if you’ve had it. Refreshing and engaging, but completely unlike the last time I tried this. Bottle, same day. Tap was very cloudy, so poured with abandon. Cloudy orange, white head. Aroma has dough, cloves, cheese, pears, apricots. Fruity sweetness with pears, grapes and apricots, dough; mildly spicy finish (white pepper, cardamon, cloves, vanilla) is also quite yeasty. Very cheesy yeast. Could use just a little astringency or bitterness? Bottle (2 days later). Equally careless pour, but this one’s clear orange with a white head that fades sharply. There’s sediment, but without swirling the bottom it didn’t come out this time - is goo at the bottom of the bottle. Aroma as above, but much less cheese. Rather more spice in the taste - it’s really quite peppery. This one really is quite Duvelish.I wouldn’t have picked any two of these as the same beer. Now I can’t remember what last year’s was like. I quite liked them all, but I guess the third was what they were going for. [3.4] Bottle. Frustrating, this one. All the flavours are there and the spices are lovely, but the yeastiness of it muddies things.

Pours black with a fading large tan head.Aroma is a bit of a dissapointment at first, I was expecting more, but later on it improves. Quite sweet with plenty of treacle, liquorice and molasses. Underneath is a hint of roasted malt, coffee and smoke.Flavours are quite different with much more roasted malt, smoke and some woody notes. Alcohol follows, a little hot and powerful. Too sharp, not rich enough.Carbontion seems too high, the body is too light.

From a 330ml bottle on 14/7/2010. Pours very cloudy, with a good dose of sediment. Has a big grassy, floral, fruity aroma with a lychee like perfume. Flavour wise, there is citrus fruit and honey, with some herbal notes. All up, a very enjoyable golden ale. Red Hill is two for two so far.