Fenland Raspberry Stout

Formerly brewed at Fenland
Style: Stout
Ely, England

Serve in English pint

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Cask (handpump), Market Porter, Southwark, London, January 2007. Lets get one thing straight at the outset. I didn’t really pick up too much in the way of raspberry. Perhaps my nose was having a bad day. Elements of tart indeterminate fruit in the palate - yes. Raspberry - no. And, however, you look at it, I think that has to be regarded as a shortcoming in a beer with "Raspberry" in its name. Conversely, whilst this was predominantly dark brown in colour, there was a very noticeable red (dare I say raspberry?) tinge. There’s a good solid malt backbone - firm, if not heavily roasted and some bitterness propping up the finish. Certainly not a powerful stout and, no doubt, not intended to be. But, without a great depth of fruit, it ends up seeming just a little meek and slight. None of this is to suggest its a bad beer. I just think an extra punnet or twenty of raspberries would liven things up enormously.

(Gravity) No head. Very dark brown. Roasted scent with a hint of sugar. Some fizziness. Dry finish. In the mouth, it’s mainly smoke. Not unpleasant, but there’s little sign of the raspberries, just a slight sweetness after the smoke, revealing some cherry tartness.

Cambridge Fest. A mildly roasty and slightly milky stout. A pleasant drink, though there is no raspberry flavour, and - indeed - very little impact all round. Rather more full bodied and creamy than a mild. Slips down nicely, but leaves little impression.

Cask at the Maltings, York. Deep black with ruby highlights in the light - beautiful. One finger, small-bubble brown creamy head. Aroma is a bit slight - roasted malt, slight sweetness, a bit of tartness from fruits. Taste is nice, and surprisingly so. Roasted notes mix with milk chocolate and a light, very nice fruit note that lightens things up. Not in-your-face raspberry by any means - this could be any berry, or dark fruit, perhaps. Slight hop presence, with a moderately bitter, roasted malt aftertaste. Flavors overall are subdued but meld well together. Oh, and just the slightest, nearly imperceptible band-aid off-taste to it - glad I got a pint when I did. Palate is creamy, very little carbonation but enough to tingle the tongue ever so slightly. A treat.

Cask at Cambridge Winter Beer Festival. Ruby,black beer. Roast flavours dominate, no detectable raspberries, but pleasant enough.

Cask handpull at Market Porter, Borough. Deep ruby colour with thin beige head. Nice stout. Bit thin in mouth, but the raspberry fruit is nice, bit like raspberry ripple chocolate ice cream. Dark choc on aroma, choccy ice cream in mouth. Raspberry tingle on finish. Icy. Lacks a bit of fullness, but I like the choccy/raspberry flavours.

Cask Close to black but with beautiful ruby highlights; small brownish-pink head. Stout-like, liquorice nose, a bit like coaled wood. Very little fruityness or sweetness in the nose. Here we have a good balance: classical roasted stout flavours are mildered without becoming really sweet (let alone fruity). Only retronasal the raspberry starts to give an impression - as if from artisanal Italian raspberry ice cream. Medium bodied, no burning, very good balance. I’m pleasantly surprised - and a lot of other tasters were too.

Cask conditioned - handpump - Malt Shovel Northampton. A black coloured beer with abeige coloured bubbly head and a little pink scum around the edge. The aroma is a little roasty and a tiny bit fruity. The fruit comes through better in the taste, but it is again no more than hinted at. The base stout beer though, is very smooth and drinkable with good dark malt flavours, a little chocolate and a nice long finish. An accomplished well-balanced beer.

cask delivered by gravity at the Maltings 14th annual beer festival, York: black with ruby color at the bottom. Roasted nose with some tobacco and faint bit of raspberry. Flavored is roasted but dominated by tobacco notes. Very little raspberry in the backround. Medium Palate. Nothing Great