2025 vintage.

Mid to light brown body with a decent head that comes with the aggressive pour. Retention and lace are consistent with the ABV.

Definitely feels ‘wintery’ than some in the series, but has some cranberry notes. Plenty of alcohol here, as there was back in the 2013 vintage. The beer gives a slightly vanilla, fruity note with some oaky barrel-like tastes in the back-end. Finishes surprisingly dry in the aftertaste. Alcohol lingers and is drying in the back-end too.

On warming, the vanilla comes through a bit more, although perhaps it is just fruit based sweetness rather than the oaky element. Remains somewhat paradoxically sweet upfront, and drier in the back. Mid-palate is a more complex mixture of the two.

If I’m honest this is quite thin, or at least it doesn’t have a huge presence.