7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
A dark red beer, with an off-white head and moderate lacing. Strong apple aroma, with darker fruits evident. Apple and raisin flavors overpower traditional "twigs 'n berries" notes.
Tried
on 10 Dec 2003
at 23:36
6.6/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Clear dark color, short dying head. Aroma of roasted malts, fruity. Taste is of roasted malts, rye, bit fruity, nothing special. Dry and bitter palate, as we expect from an english style.
Tried
on 04 Dec 2003
at 15:50
8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Dark brown, has some ruby tinges and some darker maple browns. Transparent and filtered. Small light yellow head. Smells great, full sweet coriander, some herbalesque hops, and a touch of light scottish malt. And the taste delivers for a beer of this high rating. . .Yes, I love it. Oh wow do I like when super-hyped beers deliver. The best part is the body, I keep waiting for it to peter out and it just stays and the flavor keeps coming. Lots of coriander but it is balanced supremely with hops and a good spicy malt. Complexity entails a nice subtle smoked peat, some lighter sweet cherries. Finish is delightful, flavor climaxes into spice, fruity malt and a wonderful even hops. Full bodied, no carbonation problems. no alcohol apparent. Worthy of its spot and more. Maybe just a touch too much coriander on the finish, slight astringency problems. nothing major. Still wish they wouldnt filter these beers. If this beer would continue to ferment in the bottle it would be the best beer produced. big statement but I belive it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Nov 2003
at 19:31
9.4/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9.5
Aromas of molasses, oranges, and wheat. Black, medium sized moderately rocky head. Tremendous flavor. Milk, oranges, and coriander. Exceptionally thick and heavy. Very well balanced. The abv is not noticeable. I could sip this all night.
Tried
on 08 Nov 2003
at 19:21
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
The aroma is sweet and malty with notes of smoke. The color is very dark brown and it has a small dense light brown head. The flavor is very sweet chocolate with underlying notes of malt, bread, and roasted malt. Great flavor - and great palate.
Tried
on 24 Oct 2003
at 16:48
8.6/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Very dark brown colour with a slight ruby tint when held real close to a light. Medium sized tan head of small bubbles tops the beer. Strong aroma of coriander (of course), malt, yeast, curacao (orange peel) and a bit of chocolate. Medium-bodied; Strong malty flavour with very noticeable hints of the spices, chocolate and a slight sweetness. Aftertaste bittered from the malt and the chocolate but not too much dealing with the spices at all. Overall, a great beer and one that should be had by everyone! Bottle says: best before June 2009. I got this 33 cL bottle in a trade with great guy: Matt A. (Mabdoney)...Thanks again Matt-A great beer to start out my final year at college!
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Sep 2003
at 19:44
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Pours a muddy blackish brown color with some dark burnt orange tinges. Small if any head that is a similar but lighter brown. There is no cloudiness and the bottle had no sediment in it. Why did they filter this? Aroma is of sweet malt and not overly strong. Some nice alcohol notes. Smells old and mature. Begins very flavorful with plenty of sweet malt flavor that you would expect from a scottish ale. Nice alcohol tones with a grainy earthy texture. Alcohol is well masked and there is a bit of a scotch malt flavor and some dark sugary fruit flavor. Body is medium. There is a peculiar dry salty flavor as the finish approaches. Finish is balanced and fairly round, with no acidity and little sweetness. A pleasant lingering malt/alcohol flavor on the finish, but other than that, quite uneventful towards the end. A good beer, to be sure, and one that I will try again.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Aug 2003
at 13:01
6.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
Dark ale with little head and a lightly hopped aroma and flavour. A very plain ale.
Tried
on 08 Aug 2003
at 14:20
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Clear but very dark black color, short head. Aroma is roasted malts, coffee, milk, bit spicy. Flavor of roasted malts, oatmeal. Quite bitter coffee finish. I'm quite disappointed with the UK top brews...
Tried
on 19 Jun 2003
at 23:32
7.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 7
Dark, coffee-like, or exotic polished wood. Thin but dense yellowish head, fine pearling. Thick, soupy, celery aroma, even celery-salt like. There's definitely celery-taste in this, and not just a bit (DMS?). It's even annoying, and the coriander, the other aroma, seems to strenghten it. Warming up, the coriander seems to take over more and more. Thick, rich and chewy mouthfeel. Some alcohol and quite some esters retronasal. Sticky feeling afterwards. As if you've eaten something. I ought to find this great, but I'm searching for the fatty-rings on my soup, sorry, beer.
Tried
on 12 Jun 2003
at 12:25