Ok, so its way too soon for winter…but the spicy, dark fun beers of the season run together a little :P I grabbed this bottle while waiting for the train in Evanston; Samuel Smith has a large line of great beers and this is one I’ve never seen before.

Brewery Hometown: England

Appearance: Sharp, clear, orange. Standard head with good lacing, off white. Bottle is fun and big. 550ml of waaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrm.

Aroma: Lightly spicy, caramel, malts. Complex melody of spices delivers all-around hardy presence but with a pleasant sweet tail. I am really enjoying it.

Taste: Woah! Strong. The alcohol content isn’t remarkably high but this has a strong initial kick, slightly bitter. Further sips show a sweeter side, but it can tend to be slightly watery (may be your thing if you like strict English ales). Definitely warming, that % is kicking in well :D

Alcohol: 6.0%

Drink one or all?: Came in a 550ml bottle…drank it all of course

Cost: ~$3.50

Overall: 16/20 A-ok, not spectacular