3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
On tap at Magnolia. Pours a dark golden color with 1 finger creamy white head, after sipping leaves slight Belgian lacing. Smells of sweet hops. Tastes very smooth, slightly sweet, not as bitter as expected. Light bodied with a creamy finish. Overall a pleasant surprise from a man who knows how to make a good bitter.
2.2 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 8/20
Draft... Light copper a bit orange... Oranges with a bi of bo and skunk... Taste is malty water boring
3.1 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
On cask at the brewpub. Pours with a mostly clear copper body with a frothy and slowly fading white head. Aromas are bready, estery, lightly lemony, honey, light florals. Woody hop note. Flavors are bready and mildly nutty, slightly butter. Kind of watery. Some fruit esters. Minimal/light carbonation. Medium bodied, but finishes dry and a bit thin. A mineral (bicarbonate) bite in the finish.
A bit bland.
4.7 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
This was hands down one of the best cask bitters I have ever tasted. Nice cereal nose and honey color, with a pleasantly bright citrus hoppiness complementing the mild malt flavor
3.1 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Draft. Shown as Billy Sunday’s Best Bitter (4.7%). Amber beer with an off-white head. Very bready aroma. Bready flavor with malt and light floral notes. Medium body. Malt and light caramel lingers with light grain and light floral tones.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Clear golden with a fizzy white head. Strong grain aroma and taste with some vanilla malty notes and a cereal finish.
3.5 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
My Bottom Line:
Biscuity, honeyed malts are balanced out by leafy hops in this balanced and impeccable Bitter.
Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam covers the amber shine.
-This was a very well tendered cask; and the beer was served at warm temperature. All the elements to a proper, authentic Bitter were there.
-That being said, there was nothing special about this Bitter, and it would be one amongst hundreds in the UK.
-The mouthfeel is silky and highly drinkable.
-The malts are slightly caramelized as well.
On tap at the brewpub.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 15/20
On cask at the Public House at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Served on cask into a nonic. Pours a nice clear amber with a creamy off-white head that lasts quite a while. Bready aroma with light accents of earth and stone fruit. Flavor starts with a bready, crackery maltiness, followed by a bit of fruit and finally an earthy hop finish that lingers nicely. Mouthfeel is sublime. Feels like I could drink it all day. Creamy body and subtle, fine carbonation, with a crispness in the finish. The fact that it was served at a proper temperature stood out as well. I’m not buying plane tickets to England or eschewing imperial stouts just yet but the pomp and circumstance of cask ale and the quality of this one in particular was a nice change of pace.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Cask at Public House. Light amber color with a very slight haze and a wispy white head (no sparkler, which may be a first for cask beer in this area for me). The aroma has a nice nutty and toasty malt character with some peach and earthy hops. Unmistakably English yeast esters on the nose. The flavor starts out pretty malty with a light caramel thing going on. Then things get fruity and nutty. Peach makes a comeback, with the finish getting pretty hoppy in a classic English fashion of earth and a touch of fruit. Medium to light in body with soft carbonation. This seemed to be solidly malty at first, but a surprising amount of hop character came through in the finish, though it never stuck out too much. A solid bitter that is very drinkable and well balanced.
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