Tasting notes from 2003 Harbury beer festival. Amber-brown with thin head. Sweet malt, sour fruit, and smoke (according to wife) notes. Carmel malts, sweet fruit flavours. Too sweet for my liking. Bitter finish.

Orange brown in colour. Aromas are sweet brandy. Flavours are smooth caramel with alcohol vapours on the finish. Quite a warming brew for the winter.

Looking at the festival programme, I thought that this looked as if it might be a “proper” IPA i.e one with a lot of alcohol, balanced by a massive dry hop rush. What a disappointment. The alcohol is certainly there, but the only other noticeable characteristic is a sickly, sticky sweetness. Tastes as if the sugar has not been fermented out, or it has been put into a molasses barrel that was still half full. Was it meant to be like this? I can’t think so. Horrible. Only the fact that I managed to finish it (just) saves it from a lower mark. Cask, Pigs Ear Beer Fest, East London, December 2003.

<i> Gravity fresh @ Pig's Ear Festival, East London. </i> A slight aroma of sickly vomit. Amber autumn colour. Revolting. Sugar! Grainy. Nasty foul bitterness clashing with sweetness. Dreadful.

Cask Conditioned at The Plough, Bodicote. Golden brown beer with a thin head. Rich malt flavour with apricot notes. Rich hoppy sweet flavour comes through.