From a 500ml can on 16/10/2022. Pours a very deep brown with a medium tan head. Smells of stewed and dry fruit, Christmas cake, and some light spice. Tastes, variously of prunes, plums, sultanas, cinnamon and cloves. Finishes with a moderate tart bitterness and some booze. The mouthfeel is syrupy, the carbonation average. Definitely a sipper, with the 10% no real surprise. Not necessarily my type of impy, but definitely interesting, and worth a try if you like something a bit Christmas cakey and spicy.

10/10/2022. Can from Beer Cartel. Queensland rating #10. Pours clear very dark brown with a short lasting frothy beige head. Aroma is sweet peanut butter, peanut brittle, milk chocolate, caramel, light roasting. Taste is sweet, peanut butter cup, quite clammy and rather sickly. Moderate body, oily, average carbonation. Aroma hits the mark, but couldn’t drink it all.

375ml can from Copper & Oak. Gluten Free. Hazy yellow gold colour, bubbly white foam head that quickly dissipates away and aroma of ginger. Taste is sweet, ginger, grains, warming, spice, tangy. Medium bodied, medium carbonation, dry warm gingery finish. Quite drinkable.

A very smooth double IPA with some unique characteristics. Aromas of pine, grapefruit, overripe apricot, honey and biscuit. Similar tastes with a bit of alcohol, but it's pretty well hidden. Another ripper from Aether.

Can. Pale amber. A white head is soon a small island. Aroma of old lemon, good malt vinegar, vanilla/ oak. Tart with quite mellow malty notes that's presumably the barrels,. Dry, oaky and lemony towards the end. Interesting - the mellow flavours work well with the mild lacto sourness, but I did wish for a bit of Brett as well.

Can, labelled spiced rum porter. Deep brown with a small light tan head. Aroma of dark sugars, stewed fruit, vanilla. Light bodied, lowish carbonation. Drier than guessed with just a touch of roast and coffee but a decent lick of bitterness at the spicy end.

Can. Dark brown with a 2cm beige head. Floaty nectarine and vague citrus aroma with caramel, toast and just a hit of roast. Light bodied, slightly creamy. Moderately sweet with caramel and a surprising hint of smoke (OK, now I go back for another sniff it's not that surprising) before fruit and a little pine sharpen things towards the fairly bitter end. Good, a little bit of a different take - originality always worth something.

Another ripper from Aether. Aromas of pineapple, melon and passionfruit. There's a nice mix of grapefruit, pine and tropical fruits in the mouth nice body, very enjoyable. Can from Sense of Taste, Hamilton.

Full-flavoured, full-bodied Mexican lager. Aromas of corn chip, grapefruit and even a little salsa. A nice combo of sweet and dry. Could have become a little cloying, but avoided it. Can from Sense of Taste, Hamilton.