UPDATED: SEP 16, 2023 Bottled. Murky brown colour with amediumsized slightly off-white head. Aroma is fnutty, some chocolate, mild bitterness. Flavour is wood, some toffee, mild resiny hops,wood and some slight toasted notes.

330ml bottle. Dark brown colour with ruby glimmer and average, thick, creamy, moderately lasting and lacing, beige head. Spicy-leafy fruity aroma, notes of blue berries, dark berries in general (bramble, blueberry, black currant etc.), sweet-ish, chocolately malty basis, a touch of toffee, citrusy hoppy overtones with a touch of lime and lemongrass, somewhere even liquorice and treacle show up. Taste is initially citrusy, fruity hoppy, hints of lemon, lime and lemongrass, dark berries, bramble, plum, later more malty, hints of toffee and chocolate; slightly unbalanced, overdone (and over-hopped) and therefore somehow self-contradictory concerning style: Doesn’t stand "Mild Ale" (amongst other things) for maltiness and full flavour at low abv?

Bottled, 330ml from Tebay Services, Orton, Cumbria. Cloudy brown with cream head. Sweet caramel right from the off, heavy, plummy with a caramac background, brittle toffee notes. The alcohol shows, apricot fruitiness. A bit unbalanced for me but okay.

Catch up rate. Bottle from Rheged, Penrith. A full on sticky weird and thick sweet plummy brew. Not sure it completely works, but work a try.

Bottle from Ales by Mail, consumed at home. Murky light brown. Looks dishwater-esque. And pretty flat. Smells lovely though: fresh hazelnut with a light dusting of chocolate. Caramel and toffee. Tastes sweet and gooey. There’s a hoppy bite near the end - and a surprisingly bitter aftertaste - but my overall impression is sweet. Way, way too much alcohol in the finish. I get used to it after a while, and I have to remember that it’s not really a mind (well it’s not, is it?) and sip slowly. Enjoyable but the over-the-topness doesn’t do it any favours.

Tonaca di frate, piuttosto strana la mancanza di schiuma. Aroma fruttato, caramello. Al palato buona, tanto malto e caramello, dark fruits, dolce e amaro quasi assente. Corpo abbastanza pieno, alcol avvertibile, carbonazione bassa.

UPDATED: APR 18, 2016 At Jim/John is back tasting. Bit murky dark amber. Sweet caramel malts, sweet grain, boozy, lemon peel, light dusty, some sugarated fruitiness. Over medium sweet. Medium body, oily texture. Under medium carbonation.

Bottle at THT. Dark brown with small off white head. Lots of strong malts, sweet red wine, sherry, lots of light bitter herds and some peach, dried plums and raisins. Under medium sweet with bitter alcohol. Almost full bodied.

Bottle from Beers of Europe. Poured a murky brown with a thin whispy off white head. The aroma is rich sweet sticky fruit. The flavour is moderate bitter with some light sweet notes and a rich woody, sweet fruit, woody resin hop bitter palate. Medium bodied with average carbonation.

Bottle shared at the John/Jim tasting. Hazy brown with a ring tan head. Aroma of overripe dark fruits, toffee, caramel, raisins. Flavour is above moderate sweet and light moderate bitter. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.