This lovely bottle of beer was my present from my CAMRGB Secret Santa.
I am spoiled.
It’s four years old, opened with a pop and a volcanic head that needed a bit of taming, and it smells of sherbet fountains, apple cores and honey.
Earthy Delight glows a sunny orange and fizzes with life, almost as though it’s wanted to get out of that bottle for all these years and is now a little over excited.
The malts here are gooey and sticky and heaped with mouth filling toffee and caramel, and there are herbs and spices galore with popping peppercorns and snapping mint and thyme.
The hops are woody and tinged with lemon rind and lime leaves, a little lavender and a good blast of lovely bready Belgian yeast that goes all metallic and clean against your teeth.
All this and a chest warming alcohol, raisins soaked in rum, roasted chestnuts and pine nuts and some lovely crisp cereals, before the finish goes fresh and tingling and super dry.
This is a Victory beer the likes of which I’ve never tasted before.
Thank you Secret Santa, whoever you are.