Additional notes 08/18/23

2022 Vintage, still a 12oz bottle.

Another beer that I never thought I would ever see again, but here we are thanks to the internet (Tavour). 2022 vintage still coming in at 13.5%.

No head to speak of which is expected, but interestingly in contrast to the notes below.

This definitely isn’t as smooth as the 2+ year old 2008 version in 2011, but this has to be around a year old I would think (depending on bottling date) so it has still had some time. There’s quite a lot of tobacco and leather wrapped around the sweet sheer notes.

Glad I went back to try this if for nothing more than completeness, nostalgia and chance to revisit an old-school brewer, but this is a little too one-dimensional and aggressive for me this days.

Original notes 01/12/11

2008 vintage. 12 oz bottle.

Big thanks go out to finewinemike for the chance to try this as part of my Secret Santa 2010 box.

Pour is a dark brown, muddy affair with a huge, well retained coffee colored, ice-cream styled foam that eventually falls away to give a light foam.

Nose gives a fairly predictable sherry like note, but to be honest it comes with a little oxidative, mustiness that takes the edge of a little.

The tastes do something similar. A sweet, very light Madeira note dominates, but again a slightly oxidized, alcohol element cuts across the finish. there is even a noticeable last minute dash of acidity that confirms the oxidation. Not troublesome, more surprising.

The finish introduces the best part of the beer for me. I get some distinct pepper amongst the sherry and oxidized elements and it works well. Very interesting, very good but if I’m honest it did not live up to the (massive) hype,