King and Barnes Festive

Formerly brewed at Badger (Hall & Woodhouse)
Style: English Strong Ale
Blandford Forum, England

Serve in English pint, Trappist glass

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Cask Conditioned at a Wetherspoons. Dark brown red beer with a creamy head. Big malty, fruity beer with a toffee like depth to the flavour, plenty of alcohol buzz. A hefty pint early on a beer night out but worth it all the same.

First tasted this in Blackfriers, Glasgow in January 1991. Cask, handpump dispense. Dark ruby in colour with a thick creamy white head. Strong vinous aroma of plums, black grapes and floral dusty hops. Smooth creamy texture to the mouthfeel and superb lacing. Complex mixed malts give a strong robust maltloaf base with rich banoffee pie notes which pave the way to sun dried apricots and sultanas. Dusty hop resins give an earthy, almost yeasty bread flavour to the long aftertaste. Complexity continues into the finish with strong malt present in overipe banana and butterscotch notes which intensify into warming alcoholic port and oak cask notes. A wonderful example of an English Strong Ale, crafted with traditional skill and producing an array of complex flavours. A cracking beer and sadly missed.

UPDATED: APR 25, 2008 This beer was stale dated when I had it. All I was notes of cardboard and malt. Bought this a Topper’s Helena Montana about 5 years ago. Page 258 of Michael Jackson’s Great Beer Guide only 352 out of his 500 Classic Brews to go.

’99 vintage drank better than the ’98 so I’m rating that one. Cloudy blondish brown in color. No head or lace. Sourness and carmel on the nose. Tartnes is the initial taste, then a nutty, carmelly sweetness comes through to balance, with a slight rhubarb on the finish. Better than I remember tasting the last time.

Vintage 1999 from the King & Barnes Brewery: Interesting yellow-red-brown color, and I was using natural lighting to look at it. Filmy white head. My note say "edgelessly smooth," and I think I meant that this slightly thin beer had a blending of flavors that didn’t allow one to dominate. There’s a buttery, soft malt taste with a light nut bitterness and a hint of pome fruits. Not a very exciting strong ale.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/events-detail.asp?eve & Winter Beer Tasting at Delilah’s, Chicago, IL 12/10/2005<font size=-1>

(Bottle 50 cl) Rating is of the original bottle conditioned King & Barnes version at 5.3% ABV. Very dark mahogany colour with a handsome, dense head. Rather heavy carbonation. Lovely roasted malt character with some lightly burned notes. Very marked bitterness in the aftertaste. Sediment in the bottle. 010801

Bottle. D.O.P. 19 Apr 96 on the back label. Yeah, this thing is old. <P>Pours a murky brown with a fluffy tan head. Aroma? Sour vinegar. Uggh man, this stuff is nasty. This sucker is going down the drain. So much for my freebie from the local store. Time to go brush my teeth...

Bottle. Amber colour with a big tan head. Light fruity, caramel aroma and taste. Medium body and a dry finish.

Bottle. (5.3%). Sourish aroma. Almost clear golden colour. Small, stable, creamy head. Fruity flavour, a little cardboard. Bitter aftertaste. Acidic in a refreshing way, but not enough to make it a great beer.

Bottled. Clear orange coloured with a fast disappearing white head. Sweet aroma of malts, caramel, fruits and sherry. Sweet fruity flavour of caramel and hops.

Bottle, 1996! Brown clear pour. Aged sweet malty aroma, with some light spice to it. Caramel malty flavor and a little fruity. I am very impressed how it aged for a 5% 1996 beer.