2.9 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
JDW Spring fest - Rochester. Sheps EKG hop character - good nettle fresh bite. Malt has a slight toffee note, but is otherwise unremarkable. More like MasterBrew than Spitfire, but not as good as either.
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Cask (handpump) @ JDW - The Paramount, 33-35 Oxford Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, England M1 4BH.
Clear medium to dark amber color with a average, creamy, good lacing, fully lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, toasted - caramel, toffee, light hoppy. Flavor is moderate to light light heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a long duration, fruity. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat. [20100425]
2.7 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 10/20
12th April 2010. Clear amber beer. No head, low carbonation. Semi dry palate. Dry malt and then some balancing bittering hop that is orangey. Mildy bitter aftertaste. An unremarkable US beer reproduced in all it’s unremarkableness in the UK. What was the point again?
3.6 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
UPDATED: MAY 24, 2010 1. Cask Handpump at the Penny Black JDW, Northwich 13/04/2010
Big hop aroma. Golden amber coloured and hoppy with citrus and pine flavours. Bitter and slightly dry in the finish.
2. Cask Handpump at the Paramount JDW, Manchester 25/04/2010
Big hop aroma. Amber coloured hoppy and spicy with a pine flavour. Hints of dryness and bitterness in a nutty malt finish.
2.5 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 9/20
[Gravity cask at Back of Beyond, Reading] Amber. Tastes of green leaves and earth with a slight tingle of spice and a hefty, mouth-numbing bitterness. Felt it had more than a hint of the Shepherd Neame Fremlins Bitter about it, which made me wonder if either Sheps copied this for their own festival beer, or if Sheps actually had more influence over this brew than Goose Island (I haven’t tried the original Honkers Ale, so can’t compare on that basis). Either way, I disliked it.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Hand pulled cask at The Moon And Sixpence (JDW) Hatch End. Copper brown with a healthy off white head. Good resinous spicy styrian goldings with caramel/toffee malt base. I tried this a few times and found it rather variable.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 12/20
Pint at JDW Newcastle. Interesting and tasty ale, sweet banana and malty flavours with a grainy earthy background and a lightly bitter straw like finish. Decent.
2.6 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 10/20
Cask at Victoria Wetherspoons, London. An amber coloured pour with a slight head. Fruity aroma. Tastes of caramel, malt, slight hop taste, pretty bland really. Maybe this was not a good sample but I was expecting so much more.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Cask handpull at County Hotel, JDW, Ashford. Great condition. Lovely head. Yes cheese yeast aroma, it’s ok, got great character, but not sure I like it that mcuh. Decent best bitter, good hop on finish. It’s like Sheps Kent’s Best but a bit hoppier, good lasting bitterness. Plenty of yeast character.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Cask-conditioned at the Commercial Rooms (JDW), Bristol 13/04/10. Copper coloured with a slight white head. Sweetish malt aroma with a touch of fruit. Flavour had a touch of caramel with grassy hops and moderately bitter finish. Ok.
3.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 12/20
Cask at JDW Hounslow beer fest. Coppery with a largeish medium-fine light beige head and loads of green hops on the nose. Lots more green herby hops in a chewy malty body, then a bitter astringent finish. It’s nice, but perhaps a bit too reminiscent of the other Sheps beers.
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