Red Hill Brewery Christmas Ale

Nice looking beer; caramel hue and a thin persistent head. Nose shows rich malts and some mild brandy fruits. Quite elegant actually. Palate is dominated by fizz early and this makes the flavours hard to shine but settles after a while to reveal quite bitter and aniseed malt flavours, a lick of abv heat, and some bitterness to finish. Good beer but not in the class of the best from the house.