The beer is a very, very dark brown with an aroma that is strong and malty. It is a sweet and cherry malt, and the smell is so strong that it makes its way from the table beside me to my nose very nicely. The smell is growing on me. The head is pretty meager, and it goes down quickly to an incomplete blanket across the top. It leaves little lacing, but experience tells me that it used to be there.First sip is as thick as a vault door. It is smokey and fruity with the cherry taste very noticeable. The malt is grainy and still really, really thick - like drinking a milkshake. Other flavors are too subtle for a sip, but it's clearly pretty complex. It gives the impression of being very sweet, that's for sure.
A full quaff reveals a tip-in of sweet malt and cherries. There is a background of pan-seared brown sugar and honey. That's right - pan seared - no a wok or some crap like that. The middle hits the roof of the mouth with a bitter brush and carbonation edges. Toffee abounds in the continuing sweetness of all this precious malt. The finish is waves of sticky, sweet malt - just one after the other. The sweetness stays on the lips even as the bitter end of each wave grows more and more pronounced.
Bottom Line: The beer is a very strong tasting lager. I remember being more of a fan of this beer when I was younger, but it still has quite an appeal.
3.25/5
