Bottle generously donated by the brewer and obtained via my colleague Marie, thanks very much for this one! A gentle and sunny afternoon in late September is probably not the time to have a winter ale, but I was too curious about this to wait for three more months... From a 65 cl bomber with nicely decorated label. Light gushing, but fortunately not too violently so. Pours a deep hazy burgundy brown-red colour, warm and attractive, under a lacing, medium sized, light yellowish white, moussy head with good retention. Aroma jumps into the nose with a truckload of melting brown sugar and cocoa nibs, along with hints of cinnamon, medlar, warm toasted bread, plum brandy, banana liqueur, sweet sherry, hazelnut paste, ruby port, marmelade, thin gooseberry sourness, clove- and slightly varnish-like phenols - the sweet and spicy, seductive bouquet of a rich, English style winter ale indeed. Some maderisation is already setting in too, but only to add complexity; this is clearly a beer which ages graciously. Rounded, sweet onset, residual brown sugar but not cloying at all, counterbalanced with a light fruity tartness (brambleberry, passionfruit); banana and candied orange flavours are there as well. Mouthfeel is soft and creamy, with medium carbonation. A smooth, oily, caramelly and nutty but also notably oxidized maltiness ensues, adorned with spicy hints and leading to a finish which brings some drought to further balance the initial sweetness; there is an earthy, lightly peppery hop bitterness doing its work, as well as a very light kind of lactic tartness, but too subtle to call it infected. Warming alcohol balances on the brink of astringency in the end and spicy phenols finish it off retronasally. A lush, elegant winter warmer, in which the ’overdose’ of sugar has fermented out very well, leading to a well-controlled sweetness with delicious liqueurish effects here and there, accentuating its English old ale affinities. Lovely example of the style!

On tap St. Augustine's, pours a deep dark mahogany / brown with a small tan head. Aroma brings out toasted malt, cocoa and bready notes. Flavour is quite bready, with toasted bready malt, cocoa and thick sludgy, almost fudge-like notes. Super thick palate. It doesn't seem much like a porter as much as a fudgy dessert dark beer. Decent but a little off the mark.

Draft - Light cranberry juice. Bright clear red with a small white head. Sweet, sour, lots of Berry notes and very juice like.

Draught at St. Augustine’s, Vancouver
Ruby color, quite clean, with small pink head. Moderate acidity, light fruity presence, impression of bready malts in the background, light lemony character in the final. Not bad, but chaotic, and not particularly interesting.

On tap at the Alibi Room, pours a hazy red with a tiny head. Nose is quite citric, ascorbic and acidic, but not overly strong in any element. Flavour is moderately tart, with fairly high acidity, some tart berries, and ascorbic notes. Decent attempt, but this really isn't very pleasant. Seems like an accident as these flavours are harmonious or clean. Needs work.

For some reason they’d blacked out the barcode on this beer at the liquor store but I ain’t complaining. Still trying to keep up with the explosion of craft brewers in B.C., they’re like flies, buzzing around all over the province. You find em here and there, for better or worse, and I hope all of them get their gonads together to bring forth great brews that will keep people coming back. So this pours a beautiful pink with huge head, kind of like a rosé wine with pink foam on top. The aroma is berry and barnyard funk - giving me a hint into a time past, that when I lived in France and frequented Belgium drinking those beers of fine balance. It’s an esoteric mix to get it right, between the fruits and the grains and the yeast, but suddenly there it is, a lifetime of memories coming back with one whiff of this beer. The flavour is an odd mix however - overtly citrusy with a hint of wheat funk to dull them, the utopia I was dreaming of while smelling this fell apart into a rather too common mix of flavours once it was sipped. A little too sweet and cloying, there’s no finesse to the equation. This one was destined for greatness but fell when it counted. but at least my memories came back.

On tap at Barley Brothers. Pours a clear amber red with a near white head that dissipates quickly to the edges. Aroma is full of sour red fruit with a bit of raspberry and a touch of oak. Flavor has a nice sour red fruit note with a bit of acid and a light oakiness.

Draught at Vancouver Craft Beer Week 2015; 5.8% ABV
Hazy blond color with small head. Very nice aroma, citrusy, fresh, sour, with distinctive elderflower. Not too dry, with nice mix of lemon and lactic acid, light residual sweetness.
This came out balanced, interesting.

Draft - Nice light tartness with notes of grape and citrus. Clear gold with a decent white head. Light tartness and some grape. Simple but nice.