Bottle at RBESG 2007. Amber colour. Pretty normal with thin malts. Not that great to be honest, but it couldn’t have been too bad as I gave it a goodish score.

Bottled at RBESG ’07. Hazy amber. Tart buttery nose. Sweet and medium bodied with soft mouthfeel. Some lemony sour malt and grain. Low bitterness.

Draught, 20 ounces, savoured on April 20 2007; eye: black, opaque, inviting creamy beige head, lacing; nose: roasted malt, cocoa, vanilla, dark chocolate; mouth: roasted malt, vanilla, cocoa, chocolate, nice creamy finale in roasted malt and showing an enjoyable acridness, a bit dry, medium body, slightly oily texture, average carbonation, lightly lactic, a bit of acidity, served too cold but unfortunately more enjoyable to drink when it was colder than a bit warmer FRANÇAIS En fût, 20 onces, savourée le 20 avril 2007; oeil : noire, opaque, mousse beige crémeuse invitante, dentelle; nez : malt torréfié, cacao, vanille, chocolat noir; bouche : malt torréfié, vanille, cacao, chocolat, belle finale crémeuse en malt torréfié et montrant une âcreté plaisante, un peu sèche, corps moyen, un peu mince, texture légèrement huileuse, carbonatation moyenne, légèrement lactique, un peu d’acidité, servie trop froide mais malheureusement plus agréable à boire froide qu’un peu plus chaude

Brown stubby bottle, 341 ml, savoured on April 16 2007; eye: cognac, no effervescence, tiny white head, clear; nose: nice scotch malt, grapefruit, nice hops; mouth: nice caramelized malt, scotch, nice cutting hops, grapefruit, nice dry hops, finale is somewhat dry in caramelized malt with a nice cutting bitterness, medium body, lightly sweet, mildly bitter, not much carbonation, grainy malty texture; overall: nice discovery FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, « stubby », 341 ml, savourée le 16 avril 2007; oeil : cognac, pas d’effervescence, petite mousse blanche, claire; nez : beau malt de scotch, pamplemousse, beau houblon; bouche : beau malt caramélisé, scotch, belle amertume tranchante, pamplemousse, beau houblon sec, finale en malt caramélisé avec une belle amertume tranchante mais sèche, corps moyen, légèrement sucrée, moyennement amère, peu carbonatée, texture maltée granuleuse; en résumé : belle découverte

Brown bottle, 341 ml, 2005 vintage, savoured on April 26 2007; eye: black as Elvis’s hair, opaque, really nice creamy strong coffee head, no effervescence, lacing; nose: nice roasted malt, fresh bread, cocoa, chocolate, pepper from the alcohol; mouth: in that order, creamy, velvety, roasted malt, pepper from the alcohol, cocoa, chocolate, lightly lactic, nice bitterness that is present throughout but plays as the second fiddle but supports all other tastes, finale in a nice roasted malt with a chocolate milk side to it, lightly acrid and acidic, lightly sweet, mildly bitter, medium body, oily texture, average carbonation; overall: really nice FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 341 ml, version 2005, savourée le 26 avril 2007; œil : noire comme les cheveux d’Elvis, opaque, très belle mousse crémeuse de couleur café fort, pas d’effervescence, dentelle; nez : beau malt torréfié, pain frais, cacao, chocolat, café, poivre de l’alcool; bouche : dans cet ordre, crémeux, velouté, malt torréfié, poivre de l’alcool, cacao, chocolat, légèrement lactique, belle amertume qui est toujours présent en second violon et qui appuie les autres saveurs, finale en beau malt torréfié avec un petit côté lait au chocolat, légèrement âcre et acide, légèrement sucrée, moyennement amère, corps moyen, texture huileuse, carbonatation moyenne; en résumé : très bonne

Short-lived amberish head over foxy-amber beer. Very fresh, flowery hops nose with a touch of limepeel, lunaria, nectarine and garden herbs. Rather British hops flavour (despite it being Chinook...), quite bitter, with a touch of astringency in the finish; flowery, tad metallic finishing. Quite refreshing, smooth, but on the negative side, a bit light, short of empty finish, even if that’s not really a screaming shame at 5.5 % ABV. Quite good, if a tad bitter IPA. Which probably means its not unlike the historical originals - if only it were as alcoholic and malt-backed as those probably were. Txs to Canada’s most famous beerwriter!

Bottle at LCRBM 2, Kulminator, Antwerp, Belgium - Many thanks to Mike (mds) for this one!
Totally black body, not transparent. Caramel-brown, creamy head. Good lace. Aroma of fine malts, spices. Moderately bitter, lightly sweet initial flavour. Lightly bitter, lightly sweet finish. Not bad, but not splendid either. Lacks some complexity.

LCRBM2. Black with dark beige head. Really nice dark malts, charcoal too. Intense in mouth, bit sour. Liquid smokey charcoal. Smooth though.