3.1 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20Had this on cask. Pours a black colour with a thin light tan head. Aroma of kopiko coffee sweets, coffee and toffee. Mocha flavour with some coffee and caramel malt. Fair CO2 prickle. Yeasty finish and a coffee linger.
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
[500ml bottle from Wyevale Garden Centre, Bicester] Black with a terrifyingly large and expanding beige head - like the Magic Porridge Pot! A little prickly fizz. Charcoal at first, followed by some chocolate. The charcoal mellows into a pleasant roastiness. A bit thin perhaps - I’d imagine it’d be better on cask. OK though.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 13/20
500 mL bottle from the Vale Brewery into a pint glass at home. Black beer with a decent bubbly head on it. Lovely chocolate and vanilla aroma, with a hint of golden syrup. Sweet with bitterness, lots of malt and some treacle, very nice indeed. A nice surprise of a good beer. A bit sticky though, so not a session beer.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Had this porter in the Three Judges, Glasgow in March 2003. Cask, handpump dispense. Jet black in colour with thin tan brown head. Rich coffee bean aroma with good smooth mouth feel and decent lacing. Black ,roast and chocolate malts evident. Robust body with chewy dark malt complexes giving a bitter plain chocolate flavour with coffee cream sweetness. Slight hop prickle noted in the short bitter aftertaste. The dry bitter chocolate flavour continues into the satisfying smooth finish. An excellent session porter.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Gravity cask at the Pig’s Ear 2011. Pours ruby-brown with a bubbly, white foam head. A bit of dry chocolate and moderate roast in the aroma. Flavor is medium sweet with a nice roastiness. Light chocolate notes. Medium bodied with fine carbonation. Lightly dry finish, some cocoa, faintly lingering roasted malts. Not bad overall.
3.1 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 12/20
A - Smokey molasses, coffee and caramel
A - Almost black with thick creamy head
T - Roasted bitter with slight sour
P - Full and creamy
O - Guinness anyone?
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
Cask at Windsor Locale festival 2011. A black coloured pour with a medium beige head on top. Sweet, roasty coffee aroma. Tastes malty, sweet, chocolate, caramel, liquorice. Very smooth. Probably the best beer that I’ve ever had from Vale.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Hand pulled at the Old Contemptibles, Birmingham. Slightly disappointing Porter. Reasonable and very smooth tasting, with a bit of Camp Coffee. Not enough flavour probably.
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Draught at Haymarket Bar. Pours dark, almost opaque with a purple/red tinge. There is a slim but nice head. The nose has dark burnt chocolate. The taste has bitter chocolate and burnt coffee. The palate is rich in structure and texture but it doesn’t clean at all. Overall, this is a good beer but sickly after a while.
3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 11/20
Roasty with a slight chocolate hint. Bitter finish. It’s decent but not particularly complex for a porter.
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