UPDATED: JAN 12, 2022 2008 bottle shared by alexsdad06 pour opaque cola brown with minimal to no head. Nose welch's grape juice, honey, floral. Taste still some flavor, all kinds of sweet flavors then roasted malt hiding in background. Prune, molasses, honey. Interesting for 14 years old.

UPDATED: FEB 16, 2020 Aromas of bread and toffee. Fairly sweet. Little hop presence. High alcohol quite apparent. Added spices are subtle. Good, but fairly simple.

UPDATED: JAN 16, 2020 2018 bottle. beastly beer - not sure what you would call this - Barleywine? Crazy notes and flavors. Big alcohol - perfect to share with a friend in the winter

UPDATED: JUN 12, 2019 Backlog, 2008 bottle sampled in 2010 or so. Pours a deep brown, almost black shade with a medium beige head. Notes are maple, wood, saigon cinnamon, heavy spices, fruit, brown sugar, and some gross soy sauce. Maybe too old but judging by some reviews this one was always a bit weird.

Aroma is spices/cinnamon and caramel/malts. The flavor is malts, hops in the middle and a big spicy/cinnamon finish.

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 11/30/2017. Pours dense fairly hazy deep reddish/orange/copper color with a 1 finger dense cream colored head with awesome retention, that reduces to a small cap that lasts. Great thick soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining he cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big lemon, raisin, plum, fig, pear, red apple, berry, orange, coriander, cardamom, juniper, spruce, ginger, peppercorn, peppers, lavender, hibiscus, leather, tobacco, caramel, maple syrup, brown sugar, toasted brown bread, light molasses/cocoa, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance of dark/bready malt, spices, maple/sugar/molasses, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big lemon, raisin, plum, fig, pear, red apple, berry, orange, coriander, cardamom, juniper, spruce, ginger, peppercorn, peppers, lavender, hibiscus, leather, tobacco, caramel, maple syrup, brown sugar, toasted brown bread, light molasses/cocoa, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Mild herbal/floral/grassy hop bitterness and peppery spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of lemon, raisin, plum, fig, pear, red apple, berry, orange, coriander, cardamom, juniper, spruce, ginger, peppercorn, peppers, lavender, hibiscus, leather, tobacco, caramel, maple syrup, brown sugar, toasted brown bread, light molasses/cocoa, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, spices, maple/sugar/molasses, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with an great malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitter/spiciness. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and lightly slick/syrupy/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Mildly increasing warmth of 13.7% after the finish. Overall this is an awesome spiced American strong ale! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, spices, maple/sugar/molasses, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV with the mildly bitter/spicy/drying finish. This drinks like a spiced up American barleywine. So much going on, but it is perfectly balanced with rich malts/sugars and earthy spices. Nothing feels overwhelming or out of place. A really enjoyable and unique offering. Glad I was finally able to try one of these. They change the spices every year.

Very old rating found on a loose page while cleaning, possibly from 2010 RB gathering in Grand Rapids - Dark amber-brown pour. Hugely malty brew. Very sweet. There's a little bitterness there that keeps it from being cloying. Nice dark fruit notes. Full bodied.

From Jan 2008 I got this as an extra in a great trade with hoppymeal. Thanks Derek! This pours from 12oz bottle a very dark brown with about a 1/2 head of tannish foam. Still enough foam to put some nice lacing on my glass. The smell..well, I got a good whiff as soon as I popped the cap. Caramel malt and dark fruit hit my nose buds in abundance. The nose reminds me of a good English BWSA. The taste has a huge caramel malt profile and is delish! That caramel is followed by some very nice dark fruit character in the way of raisin and plum and fig. Wow. This is one tasty brew. It has a medium to medium thick mouthfeel and it finishes with that caramel malt/dark fruit goodness. Hell of a sipper in my book and the alcohol just shows up as some warming after the swallow. It's most welcome for this rather cold snowy day here in Casper. Btw, there *is* some bitterness here that I notice mostly when I swish the beer in my mouth and it's a dark chocolate bitterness. Very nice and a good balancing factor to the caramel malt sweetness. I think Bell's did themselves proud with this brew and I wouldn't hesitate to drinking this one again! Thanks again, Derek! My taste buds are very happy right now.

12oz bottles (both 2003 and 2005 vintages side by side since I thought they were different ticks) in tekus. 2003 lighter brown, 2005 darker brown, little to no head on both since they’re like 12+ years old. Aroma of sweet malts with caramel (2005 a little fuller and more dark fruit/chocolate notes), some spices, floral/bitter hops, faint EtOH, and some dark fruits. Flavor the same. Smoother texture. Interesting beers for sure, but not really my style.

Rated in 2016. APPEARANCE- burgundy red color. No apparent carbonation remaining. NOSE- sweet! Cherries. FLAVOR- very sweet, deep & flavorful.