Thanks go out to BA deepsouth for the trade.
750 mL capped bottle, yellow dot-matrix indicates a 04/14/06 bottling. 3.5 years old, DFH, THIS should be interesting!
Uncapping leads to a hint of gunsmoke and a brief “pssst”.
Amber, hazed body with a nicely formed tight, white head and some cream like lace. Very solid looking in the glass.
Nose gives off some honey, pineapple and lighter tropical fruits along with a dash of Madeira and some rum-like aromas. There is also a touch of that musty, cellar-like “old” smell which often comes with beers of this age. A definite “earthy” funky note too, but again this is age related. Alcohol is still present in all its original glory.
Many of the aromas are replicated in the taste, but the strong malt layers of bock presence make themselves very apparent as does a touch of warming alcohol in the finish. More light rum and sherry touches are intermingled with the musty notes.
Surprisingly smooth, and goodness knows why but it reminds me a bit of a nitro-pour! Very smooth, almost like a Boddington’s or John Smith’s cream flow! GULP!
Anyway, in summary this beer has managed to maintain a fairly large degree of integrity over the three and half years since bottling both in the taste & appearance department and in terms of the style. Of course, without tasting it fresh (which I would have loved to have done) there’s no way of knowing how the beer has matured and changed, but it still stands up pretty well which is a testament to the skill of the DFH name.