Ayr Doctor Hornbook

Brewed by Ayr
Style: English Strong Ale
Ayr, Scotland

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Bottle 750ml. w. swing top.

[ Trade by cgarvieuk ]. Clear medium orange colour with a small, frothy - fizzy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white to white head. Aroma is moderate malty, flowers, moderate to light light heavy yeasty, fruity, coriander notes. Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration, fruity, flowers, belgium yeast, spicy. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20120812]

Bottled@chriso. Golden colour, small white head. Aroma is fruity, floral, citrusy, pleasant stuff. Flavour is fruity, floral, citrusy and quite dry notes. Pleasant citrusy aftertaste.

cask at cloister ... golden amber .... thin white head ... soft malt ... light fruit nose ... some chocoate and light roast ... nice full mouthfeel ... quite fruity ... this by far the best and only one to come close to the stout feel ... ome soft orange ... juicy ... thats really nice ...

Bottle at Bruce’s, London - big thanks to Paul for this exceptional beer. Pours clear, bright gold with a fine, creamy head. Nose has some bread, dough, hints of wheat, coriander. Medium sweet flavor, lots of white bread, some citrus rind, hay. Medium bodied with fine carbonation. Sweet finish, mild dry white bread, hay, some orange and lemon. Very tasty. Drinks well for the ABV. I like it.

Cask, half at The Cloisters. Amber coloured body, filmy layer at the top. Sweet citrus fruits to the nose. Blended flavour of sweet orange fruits and caramel malts, noticeable alcohol. Good, however, rather too sweet and a bit heavy to drink (Edinburgh, 14.04.2012).

As most of the ratings suggest, everyone gets stuck on the name. That creates confusion and prevents you from trying to appreciate the beer for what it is. This is not a stout in nearly any sense. It’s a strong ale, perhaps. Golden with a head of large-form bubbles. Sweet, some citrus, the abv comes through in the flavor. And as the alcohol kicks in in the mid-palate, a strong medicinal note emerges, with a sickly sweet finish. Not very good at all. (cask at the Scottish Real Ale Festival, Edinburgh, June 2012)

On cask at Cloisters. Pours a golden colour with a barley wine style aroma of caramel, candy sugar, pine and alcohol. Similar flavours with alcohol fairly present . Mild carbonation and an oily mouth-feel. Definitely made me think of a barley wine more than a stout.

750ml bottle from Appellation Wines. Golden yellow colour, big foamy head. Cereal biscuit & tropical fruit aroma. flowery biscuit citrus flavour. Bitter aftertaste. Not sure about the "blonde stout" or English Strong Ale classification. It is more like a Belgian Blonde. Nonetheless it is still a good beer.

25 June 2012, bottle. Yellow, clear, some steady bubbles. Nose is lemony and yeasty. Thin body and slightly fizzy. Really sweet, moderate alcohol, lemon meringue. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

[750ml bottle, Appellation Wines, Edinburgh] Launch of Dr Hornbook in 750ml swingtop bottles. Brilliantly clear lemon yellow beer, with a very quick-dispersing head. Leaves only a lacing almost immediately, together with rising carbonation. Sweet banana and toffee aroma – banoffee? Surprisingly thin for a 7%er, but it’s very smooth in terms of mouthfeel, and hides the alcohol really well. On the flavour - orange, honey, glucose and maybe some of the added coriander come out. It’s pretty complex, and would no doubt be great after sitting for a couple of months (was only bottled seven days ago). All told, a really nice beer [28052012]