Notes on previous iterations (2011) here.

Dirty brown dubbel pour. Nice head. Doesn’t last long of course, but that’s appropriate for the ABV. No lace, and only a thin ring around the extremities of the beer.

Appropriately enough there is an initial burst of alcohol laden dark fruit. After that things get very interesting. There’s some spice in the beer that seems a little gingery and of course with some licorice. It feels dark; molasses and figs maybe. That’s the thing about this beer, it always feels unrelenting and feels a little acrid. That’s not the best word, but there’s something about the beer which brings some burned charcoal amongst the sweetness. Mid-palate is sweet and increasingly tangy with warmth with more spice than was initially present.

Thinnish mouthfeel (considering the size of the beer), with a light burn of alcohol in the far back-end but that is never harsh. It’s drinkable, but in some ways it feels even bigger than the advertised 11.1%

This realtively young vintage still seems a little harsh, but that’s hardly surprising given the nature of the beer. As I reported on the 2011 version, a decade on thsi beer made it amazing, If I had another, I’d wait.