4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20
Cask at the Eastbourne Beer Festival, 9th Oct 2008. My beer of the festival. Very dark brown with a line of foam. Cheese and roast malt on the nose and in the taste too, along with lots of chocolate. Lovely and dry too despite the sweetness - a great dry stout.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Cask at the Wenlock. Some stale aroma, nicely aged. Soot and grass combines. A bit odd, but nice!
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Cask at the White Horse, London. Pours rich brown with a small, bubbly, off-white head. Toasty malt aroma, some wood and berries. Medium sweet flavor, some musty malts, leather, dried fruits. Medium bodied with fine carbonation. Finishes with some dry wood, fruits, leather. Not bad.,
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Cask at the Prince arthur (JDW), Fleet. Dark mahogany in colour with a reddish glow and a dense coffee coloured head; aroma of rich roasted malts and toffee; more roasted malts in the mouth with a touch of burnt toast, not too sweet, but rather thin; the finish is dry and biscuity.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Cask (gravity dispense) at Battersea Beer Festival, February 2005. ST might have thought it presented like a stout when he had it, but it certainly didn’t here. Slightly hazy, deep red colour. Some burnt malt in the aroma, but quite restrained. That left me quite unprepared for some weird shenanagins on the palate. The flavours are all over the shop - rubber, roast malt, dry wood, wine gums and caramel. Noticeably sweet to start with, but a bit of lactic sourness creeps in on the finish. For all that, the mouthfeel is quite soft, tending towards thin. Somehow, and rather surprisingly, it all works quite well. But I’d call it an Old Ale.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Cask-conditioned at the Charles Dickens, London SE1, 27/01/10. Deep, chestnut brown with a slight, off-white head. Malty aroma, with a touch of roastiness and dark fruit. Flavour began with a lick of sweetness, more roasted malts and a decent bitter finish. Enjoyable.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
500ml bottle
Caramel and roasty aroma. Palate smooth and sticky, also spicy - xmas spices and clove. Not an old, a christmas beer - some raisins and treacle. A touch of chocolate. No huge character, but no huge caricature either. Nice.
3.2 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Handpulled cask at JDW Harrow. Dark brown with an off white head. Malty with subtle roasted notes and a dry hoppy bitter finish. Rather nice.
3.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
A Mes rate. Gravicask at Chelmsford Winter Beer Festival. Very dark chestnut brown with no head. Good fruity malt with some good roasted coffee notes. Nice enough just a little unbalanced. Chalky and earthy finish. Not bad, not great.
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Cask at White Horse Parson’s Green. It pours very dark brown, with a thin off-white lace. The nose is leather, wood and smoke. The taste is wood, leather, smoke, treacle, dark fruit, vinous notes and salted meat, with a dry finish. Medium body and soft carbonation. Ok.
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