3.2 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Handpulled cask at the Duke of Hamilton, Hampstead. Ruby/brown with a thick off white head. Malty and spicy with just enough hops in the finish.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Half pint, hand pulled in the excellent ‘Castle’ (Cambridge in 2011). The Adnam’s owned pub had 8 different beers of their own available in cask form, so half pints were the order of the day.
Dark amber to chestnut in colour, with a white foaming head.
Brewed with Maris Otter, Chocolate and Amber Malts: the smell was always going to be malty and it certainly was. The hops used are Boadicea and Chinook but they don’t appear in the aroma at all.
The taste was of a fruity malt loaf with a slight bitterness from the hops towards the end.
The 4.5% ABV sits nicely within the brew making the beer easy to drink, a pleasant enough Christmas beer without ‘setting the world alight’.
3.2 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 12/20
JDW, Hackney during the North London Line crawl. Malty - deep and tasty in Adnam’s style. Nice.
2.6 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Subtle aroma and subtle sweet taste, which is more pleasant when it lingers.
3.2 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Tasted this in the Crystal Palace, Glasgow (JDW) in December 2010. Cask, handpump dispense. Crystal clear ruby red in colour with an off white creamy head. Slight hop prickle in the short aroma. Good lacing and pleasant creamy mouthfeel. Pale malts give a digestive biscuit note with dark berry fruit, damsons and sultanas. Slight hint of liquorice in there. Spicy hops are present in the bitter aftertaste. Moreish finish with hazelnuts and sherry fruit notes. Tastes like an old English ale. Another good session ale from the Adnams portfolio.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Cask (The Regal (JDW), Cambridge)
6 Sweet fruit-coctail childrens sweets, ruby grapefruit and peach. Lots of bubblegum.
4 Very deep red, small scummy head, was from a sparkler.
6 Some apple retronasals, rich roasty almost treacly sweetness. I think I even got some ginger initially, but that didn’t return.
4 Smooth palate, very soft carbonation. Finish has some subtle bitter hops, but they feel a bit muted.
13 Adequate tasty bitter, nothing special.
2.6 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 9/20
20th December 2007
Dark beer. Very dry palate. Lingering bitterness. Sublte undertone of orange and Christmas pudding. Okay.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Cask Conditioned handpump Cordwainer Northampton. A dark amber to chestnut coloured beer with a white head and lacing. House yeast and fruity malts through this. A touch sweet and Christmassy but pretty ordinary really. Didn’t get much in the way of hops.
2.8 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Cask @ Henglers Circus, JDW. Amber - ruby red colour, off-white head. Aroma is toasted malts, fruits, chalky. Flavour is some roastiness, fruits and light sour. Mediocre.
2.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 9/20
UPDATED: DEC 11, 2010 Cask @ The Hengler’s Circus. Mixed fruit aroma. Medium brown colour. Sour mixed fruit flavour. Sour aftertaste. Not great.
2.3 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 10/20
Cask at the Central Bar, JDW. Pours dark amber with a big, foamy, off-white head. Faint toasted malt aroma with light nuts. Moderately offensive flavor, with very little sweetness, some faint bread and plastic, and unpleasant, earthy bitterness. Light to medium in body with almost no carbonation. Bland, not tasty finish. There must be something wrong here.
|
