Holgate Double Trouble

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

I have cellared this for about 3 years. Really been looking forward to seeing how it's developed. Firstly pours a lovely, clear amber. Lots of fizzing as expected for a beer that's been cellared.. But, there is still a bit of a head, which sinks to a thin foam. Plenty of bubbles. There's some suspended particles still in the bottle. I'll tip them out in the second glass, turning it cloudy, of course. Aroma of molasses, musty malt. Some fruitcake (citrus rind, raisins, dates), touch of amontillado nuttiness. Some burnt toffee also. Perfumey flavours of licorice, musk, pepper, nutmeg. A complex hint of wooden cigar box. Very light hop flavour. A rounding sweet finish not too dissimilar to a Pedro Ximinez.. Nice creamy mouthfeel. Touch of alcohol warmth, and a slight bitterness finishing it off. I find that age tends to diminish hop profile, while adding oxidised components to the maltiness, for good or for bad. In this case, the oxidative notes (sherry nuttiness) really round the beer out. This is a lovely fire side ale.