Oil black with a small brown head. Licorice and toffee dominate the aroma. The body is full and has a reasonable complexity, and the mouthful is thick.. almost oily. Shows some charcoal in the finish, along with a light bitterness, the alcohol is well hidden. I’m pretty sure best extra is better than this.

Absolute black with a thick brown head. Similar to the Best Extra (of course), with roasted almonds, licorice and burnt toast, but also a sweet toffee. A good balance in the flavour, with the burnt bitterness complemented with some rounded sweetness. Perfect level of carbonation, leading off a well rounded palate. Best after 27/09/03, this bottle has shown it handles ageing well. Very good brew. Re-rate: As both an Australian and a fan of Foreign Stouts I’m probably a bit biased, but I think this is one hell of a beer. Having it with my scraped together home-made pizza I get an amazing hazelnut flavour. With a great aroma and ’drink me’ flavour, this would have to be my desert island beer....

[bottle at LCRBM] The aroma is burnt malts, coffee, some dark fruit, and a little smoke. thin body, touch of bitterness.

No#70. Im at number 70 already wtf. Aroma is burtn malt with dark fruity notes kickin in and coffee too. Taste is very similar though thin, with a fizzier palate than what i wanted.

No head (left); nearly black beer with some red highlights. Burnt malts, burnt liquorice, burnt-sweet taste, does that exist? Liquorice, moccha, faint cigarette ash and a discreet, but (dark sugar) syrupy sweetness. Slick & syrupy, well bodied. Chocolate in the aftertaste. I had expected MUCH more from this. 6 months didn’t do it much good. Mind you, it was not served in ideal circumstances, but all the same. Thanks to the Londoner Aussies for bringing this rare bird!