UPDATED: FEB 1, 2024 $ 8.99 for 500 ml bottle from Emerson's taproom , Dunedin (19/03/22) : Copper red colour , soupy , tiny rim of bubbles ... mild aroma of spices & creosote ... flat palate , past it's best , balanced , spicey .

500ml bottle, 2017 vintage. Pours dark brown with an off white head. Cinnamon, nutmeg, biscuit, chocolate, red fruit, dried fruit, bit of banana. Quite a light body doesn't suit it great. Nice.

500ml bottle. Pours dark copper. Aroma fruit cake, honey and metal. Taste is cloves straight off the bat. Its a touch sweet, again like fruit cake. Very minimal bitterness. Good body and not too cloying or heavy but still, not that drinkable. One to share on a cold night Id say.

500ml 2017 vintage Dark brown/black with OK head. Aroma is spice/brown sugar. Sweet palate with notes of nutmeg, cinnamon and raisin and a smooth finish. I’d best describe this one as Liquid Hot-cross Bun. Yummy.

2014 vintage. Pours deep dark ruby red, almost opaque, with thin off-white head. Aromas hit immediately of sweet cola, carrot, juicy raisin and nutmeg/cinnamon spiciness. Flavour is very similar, with distinctive cola aspects, something I’ve never tasted in a beer before, but it works splendidly. Like the description says, very reminiscent of hot-cross buns. Mildly bitter aftertaste with cola coming through again. Delicious, will definitely be drinking again!

Aroma, first hit was like a long-forgotten chewy, orange-flavoured sweet from childhood. Put me off a bit, it was so sugary. Then the spices came on, like they say, hot cross buns, cola, cinnamon, nutmeg, some vegetal I can’t put my finger on. Taste is same. Full mouthfeel, now with raisins and christmas flavours. Very cola-like finish. Much more enjoyable than I expected.

500ml bottle (2012 vintage). Appears hazy deep brown with reddish highlights and a firm cream-white head. Aroma is spicy with notes of cinnamon, cloves, orange peel and raisins on top of dark chocolate malts and alcohol. Palate is smooth and rich with the complex flavours of the nose coming through nicely before a dry spicy bitter finish. Body is fullish with a just right carbonation. A superior strong spiced ale from this admirable Kiwi brewery.

Bottle from Slowbeer. Dark brown, aroma of cola, dried fruits, caramel. Light sweetness, taste of spices and cola with slightly harsh bitterness. Not one of my favourites.

Bottle from bottleshop in Dunedin. Aromas of cola, caramel, dark fruit. Taste is sweet, with bitter notes, long length. Palate is velvety, and medium bodied. Dark brown, with a thin head.

2012 Vintage: Dark, slightly hazy color with a fairly dense head that slowly fades. Sparse lacing. Toffee and gingerbread aromas and complex quad-like malt driven flavour and silky thick mouthfeel -Rated via BeerBuddy