Lovely, clear deep chestnut brown pour as hoped for. Off-white head is good, but retention not great with only a little lace.

Nose and tastes offer requisite, sweet malts with again plenty of depth. Brown sugar and toasted malt. There’s nothing unexpected here, and just about everything that you would want.

Pretty light in the mouth with easy drinking, but in turn I like a bit more oomph in the mouth in the style. Finish and aftertaste are sweet, but there’s an unusual thread running through this whole beer of some level of earthy hops. Not what one would expect at all, but there is a definite element here which kind of adds to the depth and interest.