UPDATED: NOV 5, 2022 Amber colour, big pillowy head. Aroma of sweet malt, toasted grains. Taste is sweet, malty, with some nice big bitterness. Enjoyed.

UPDATED: JUN 20, 2022 Bouteille oubliée depuis 3 ans. Liquide orangé ambré transparent avec mousse courte et légère. Nez caramel, poire, orange et agrumes. En bouche, on retrouve le nez avec une touche céréales bien marquée avant d'avoir une amertume à l'ancienne et à l'anglaise, je suis fan !!!

UPDATED: MAR 20, 2021 Old rating from 2014 - 500ml bottle from the brewery, pours amber with a large white foamy head. Aromas & tastes of orange, citrus, lemon, apple, pear, honey, crackers, earth, grain & malt. Medium body & carbonation. Sweet & well balanced yet slightly tart, medium bitter finish.

UPDATED: JAN 16, 2021 Аромат весьма хмелевой, немного пряностей, немного травянистости, листва но не горькая, намеки на кожуру от цитрусов. Цвет полу темный, больше коричневый, пенка средняя. Вкус на уровне, все сбалансировано весьма. Ощущаются хмеля европейские, травянистость снова, но не сильная. При глотке сухость, немного вяжет язык. Горечь есть но не сильная. В целом все ровно.

UPDATED: NOV 25, 2020 500ml bottle from Sainsbury’s, Epsom. Pours clear amber with a white head. Aroma of malt and biscuit. Malt and toffee taste. Bitter finish.

UPDATED: OCT 22, 2020 500ml bottle brewed in England at 5.6%. Crystal-clear copper with a small stable head (pour carefully, don'tcha know!). Tangerine peel and a little sweet dough malt, some interesting (herbal?) facets to the aroma - quite unusual. Moderate carbonation, rich mouthfeel. Was waiting a long time to try this famous IPA, and despite fears it would be mass-produced modernised muck, it's actually not at all bad. Nice flavours of caramel in the doughy-cum-bready malt, developing cereal character; a little herbal dry bitterness in the aftertaste, just avoiding becoming metallic, and some (light) orange peel/pithy hops upfront. Remarkably similar to Samuel Smith's excellent India Ale. Discernibly less rustic and old-fashioned in makeup (as opposed to flavour profile per se); you can tell this wasn't brewed in stone Yorkshire squares, to put it that way - but it's a worthy second-fiddle, with decent complexity and a couple of interesting notes all its own. That coming from a beer brewed by Coors, I'm not complaining one bit, although I can easily imagine this was better in its heyday. Still, a thoroughly decent old-school English IPA, in a different vein to, say, Bengal Lancer or Old Empire (I'd prefer Sam Smith's India Ale and Fuller's Bengal Lancer to White Shield and Old Empire in these two styles of English IPA respectively - but the two 'understudy' beers in this comparison are both worthy brews, merely being overshadowed by excellence). If you see this on the supermarket shelf, there's really no reason not to try it. Great companion to a curry and all. Sampling the last 50ml or so with sediment poured out, and it's not bad at all. Rare for yeast in beer to be this...yeasty. Real marmite vibes.

UPDATED: SEP 9, 2020 500ml bottle. Pours amber with thick, lasting head. Syrupy mouthfeel with plenty of malt taste and orangey hop. The taste has changed over the years as the beer has been brewed at different locations. Overly sweet, cloying.

UPDATED: AUG 6, 2020 Historical tick which I am adding as a rate so that I can see the impact it has on my stats. 500 Beers To Try Before You Die. From the now closed West Byfleet Wine Rack. Was not overly impressed.

UPDATED: FEB 26, 2020 Aroma : Toasted sweet caramel maltiness, toast, light soft fruits, light grassy/earthy note. Taste : Decent bittersweet balance, subtle spicy tingle in the finish. O.K. beer but not a standout

UPDATED: JAN 19, 2020 Aroma of fruits, malt, grains and hints of citrus and spices. Amber with a white head. Medium + sweet and medium + bitter. Medium + body with average to soft carbonation. Bitter and dry finish. Overall a very nice English style IPA. A well balanced and complex brew.