Garton Brewery Reviews

Beese	3.5 Garton Liquid Lobotomy Cask at The Watford Beer Festival on 08/11/2007. Had this about a month before the brewery closed, and I’m pretty sure the only time I had anything of theirs. Hard to believe this was their flagship beer, but it was a really nice stronger stout. Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Beese	2.2 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask at The St. Albans Beer Festival on 27/09/2007. Disappointing and just way too sweet and the booziness was not well balanced. Friday, January 31, 2020
tombyars	3.5 Garton Chocolate Frog Tasted this at the Troon Beer Festival in October 2007. Cask, gravity dispense. Dull muddy black in colour with a thin white head. Dusty black malt evident in the long aroma with bitter chocolate present. Surprisingly thin mouthfeel and poor lacing. Dark malt complex gives maltloaf base with strong roast coffee notes. Sweet flavour of bournville chocolate, treacle fudge and dates come through. Very slight hint of earthy hops but this is soon lost in the short aftertaste. Finish is still sweet with treacle toffee and chocolate dominating. An interesting old fashioned chocolate porter but lacked body and complexity for its strength. Interesting though. Monday, December 19, 2011
tombyars	3.4 Garton Liquid Lobotomy First tasted this at the Paisley Beer Festival in April 2004. Cask, gravity dispense. Dull black in colour with a thin tan head which quickly disappeared. Strange sickly note of parmesan cheese, long in intensity. Slick very thick oily texture in the mouth and no lacing of note. Dark malt complex gives a dusty burnt toast note which soon fades to give a strong roast coffee bean, bitter chocolate, liquorice and burnt treacle toffee in the thick mouthfeel. Earthy hops just barely detected in the very short aftertaste. Finish is smokey and dry with peat, old leather and dessicated molasses giving an impression of an oyster stout with imperial strength . Could only manage one pint of this but worth trying for the smell alone! Monday, December 19, 2011
madmitch76	3.5 Garton Liquid Lobotomy 19th October 2007 Warning! Early amateur rating! Draft at the Brew Wharf mini beer festival. Dark beer. Treacly with mild carbonation and a fruit pudding tang. Not bitter. Dangerously drinkable! Saturday, January 8, 2011
madmitch76	3.9 Garton Chocolate Frog 28th September 2007. St Albans Beer Fest. Fruiy and zesty in a worcester sauce sort of way! Not bitter. Very drinkable and I kept pushing this beer on to other people! Monday, December 7, 2009
DJMonarch	3.7 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask Stillage at the GBBF Earl’s Court, London 08/08/2007 Roast aroma. Small tan head. Dark strong in alcohol and fruity with a crisp and bitter lasting chocolate roast finish. Friday, June 19, 2009
chimplechamp	2.9 Garton Chocolate Frog casktroon beerfest- strong tart and chocolate taste. especially tart. it must be off. because it is really, tart. smells malty sour fruits. a bit watery, and fruity. biggest letdown of the day. Saturday, November 10, 2007
Rastacouere	3.4 Garton Chocolate Frog Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense *Appearance:* Body: Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 3 Light Brown(1)->Pitch Black(5) : 4 Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 2 Head: None(1)->Large(5) : 2 Off-White(1)->Dark Brown(5) : 2 Lasting: 2 Lacing : 2 Nitro : XX *Aroma:* Intensity : 4 Yeast : 2 Bread : 3 Apple : XX Tropical Fruits : XX Ink : XX Tar : XX Olives : XX DMS : XX Malt : 4 Biscuity : 2 Burnt Toast : 2 Caramel : XX Nuts : XX Pumpernickel : XX Cereals : 2 Coffee : 3 Dark Chocolate : 4 Vanilla : XX Grapes : 3 Blackberries : 2 Cherries : XX Hops : 2 Noble(1)->American(5) : 2 Leafy : XX Floral : 2 Lemon/Lime : XX Grapefruit : XX Orange : XX Herbal : XX Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX Notes : Earth : 2 Wood : 2 Mint : XX Smoke : XX Soy : XX Bourbon : XX Anise : 2 *Flavor:* Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 4 Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 4 Sourness : 2 Lactic : XX Bitterness : 1 Complex : XX Length : XX *Palate:* Light(1)->Full(5) : 2 Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 2 Clean : XX Sharp : XX Watery : XX Oily : 1 Chalk : XX Astringent : XX Alcohol : 3 Mineral : XX Oxidation : XX Metallic : XX Comments: Easy-drinking for a beer of this size. A tasty, fruity and strong porter with great flavour extraction. Monday, October 29, 2007
DonMagi	3.4 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask at troon beer fest 07. Im almost certain that this was infected or else had been vented for a good few days too many. Aroma throws tart dark fruit at you, bitter dark chocolate. Taste is again very tart and sour, a serious mouthfull, my god the body is like cheesecake. Monday, October 8, 2007
fonefan	3.2 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask gravity @ GBBF 2007, London. Clear dark black color with a small, virtually none head. Aroma is moderate malty, dark chocolate, licorice, roasted. Flavor is moderate sweet and bitter with a average duration. Dry and licorice sourness. Body is light to medium, texture is watery, carbonation is flat. Wednesday, September 5, 2007
oh6gdx	3.9 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask@GBBF2007. Dark brown colour, brown head. Aroma is chocolate and roasted malts along with some hops. Flavour is very roasted malts and some slight hints of cooked vegetables. Actually makes s quite nice balance in this one. Aftertaste is long, and contains roasted malts, some hops and some slight hints of dark berries. Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Christian	3.2 Garton Chocolate Frog Black with a small tan head. Fruity and grassy aroma with only a hint of roast malt. Roast and grassy flavour, the herbal note actually reminds me of a herb illegal in most countries except Holland... Sunday, August 26, 2007
RoyceH	3.4 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask, GBBF 2007. Completely black, thin tan head. Nose is soapy sweet alcohol malt. Quite manageable nose, but overburned malt in the mouth and dry roasted malt is overpowering. Some sweet alcohol. Finishes dry and malty, hides alcohol well. Tuesday, August 14, 2007
dnas2	3.7 Garton Chocolate Frog (Cask, gravity, at GBBF ’07) Roast chocolate scent. Porter appearance, with a thin head. Slightly carbonated. Sweet, roasted. Raspberry jelly and chocolate came to mind. Slightly bitter with a dry end. Odd but nice. Tuesday, August 14, 2007
jbrus	3.9 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask@GBBF07. Salty, smokey, sweet chocolate aroma. Black color, light brown head, good lace. Sweet, chocolate, salty and hints of coffee in the flavor as well. Soft mouthfeel. Alcohol well hidden. I could have a pint of this again, but because of the sweetness a little colder would be nice. Monday, August 13, 2007
MesandSim	3.8 Garton Chocolate Frog A Mes rate: Gravicask at GBBF. Black and tan appearance. Dark chocolate and slight funk. Very delicate alcohol but nothing that gives the impression of 8%. Bitter chocolate finish. Lovely palate. Jolly tasty stuff. Sunday, August 12, 2007
duff	2.6 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask@Ealing BF. Lots of sweet diacetyl straight away. caramel, strawberry, buttery, with a light acidity. Noticeable alcohol, which is warming and makes the sweetness a bit more sickly. Tuesday, July 3, 2007
harrisoni	4 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask gravity at Rare Breeds BF 2007. Black with brown edges, lasting bubbly tan head. Just really intense choc, velvety. Very tasty. Doesn’t taste of 8%. Not like an impy stout, more like a very strong choccy porter. I liked it so much I bottled a half pint and took it home with me. Saturday, June 2, 2007
cgarvieuk	4.1 Garton Chocolate Frog Slighyly hazy black, toasted malt nose, rich smooth roast malt, deep fruit cherry and blackcurrent, little chocolate deep complex and smooth Friday, June 1, 2007
TheGrandMaster	3.4 Garton Liquid Lobotomy Half pint gravity fed from the cask at the Ealing Beer Festival, poured a dark brown. A chocolate and alcoholic malty aroma. Alcohol and malrt in the mouth as well, but very pleasant. Saturday, May 19, 2007
imdownthepub	2.8 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask conditioned at Coventry Beer Fest ’07. Black with Tan head. Ooh er missus, this is a bit different. I get linctus cough mixture along with Espresso coffee. Medicinal and challenging. Some marks for trying though. Friday, April 20, 2007
MesandSim	3.5 Garton Liquid Lobotomy A Sim rate (Cask at Planet Thanet): Smells very much like liquorice and alcohol. Tastes nutty, liquorice and dark chocolate. Monday, April 9, 2007
leaparsons	2.8 Garton Woldsman Cask, Burton Winter Fest 07. Hazy orange/brown. Aromas are caramel malts, quite sweet and grassy. Flavours are sweet grapefruit and pineapple. Caramel malts. Dry on the finish. OK. Thursday, March 8, 2007
TheGrandMaster	3.7 Garton Chocolate Frog Half pint gravity feed at the Luton Beer Festival, black with a tan bubbly head. A rich and sweet chocolate aroma. A syrupy full mouthfeel, beautifully rich, some rich chocolate flavours and a long finish. Tuesday, February 27, 2007
jehoey	1.5 Garton Chocolate Frog cask at the Maltings: I’m not quite sure what everyone else has seen in this beer. came off the tap dark black with dark tan head that disappaited very quickly. Flavor was stangely something, but not really chocolate or porter flavors, and the body was less than smooth or vicorous. So overall a beer with strange flavor notes and not a whole lot to offer Sunday, December 10, 2006
Fin	3.8 Garton Liquid Lobotomy Cask at Oxford Beer Festival 2005 (retrospectively added) This was a big session with Bob aka Billy the fish who insisted that we kick off with a pint of this. Black in colour not much of a head, some roasty malty and slightly woody aromas, taste a bit sweet but with some dark chocolate and coffee edges to it great stuff, but a pint mmhh.. maybe we were going for it a bit. Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Doppelganger	4 Garton Chocolate Frog Gravity, Oxford CAMRA Festival. A silky serious black. Tan cap of head with some nice lacing. Initially a dark rum and mineral quality, follow by a light milk chocolate aroma. Well blended and soft. Roast and sweetness, coffee, milk chocolate. The rum aroma makes it into the flavor as well, but still very little alcohol presence. This is a seriously nice porter, made with restraint and balance. In retrospect, I’m kicking myself for not having brought a jug of this home. One was not enough. Wednesday, October 18, 2006
maeib	4.1 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask conditioned - gravity dispense - Oxford BF. A black coloured porter with a good off white coloured head. A massive aroma of chocolate, malt and alcohol. The taste is big and long. Chocolate, roastiness, malt and alcohol. A long finish and a really tasty beer. Tuesday, October 17, 2006
thebeertourist	3.3 Garton Old Buffer Cask at Ipswich Beer Festival. Almost black with a frothy minimal head. Strong roasted malts aroma. Bitter, roasted flavours in the lead with mellowing dark chocolate as well as some fruit. Little carbonation. An agreeable mild. Wednesday, September 27, 2006
harrisoni	3 Garton Woldsman Cask gravity at Kent BF 2006. Amber colour with bubbly off white hea.d Yeasty hop/citrus aroma, bit bready. May lack a bit of body, but good hop finish. Bit thin overall. Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Mungo	3.7 Garton Chocolate Frog Gravity cask @ Southampton Beer Festival 06. Rich chocolate, Dried fruit and malt. Slightly sweet but fairly well balanced and almost dangerously drinkable given it strength. Monday, June 5, 2006
Mungo	3.2 Garton Liquid Lobotomy Gravity cask @ Reading Beer Festivalk 2006. Sweet. Some roast and brown sugar aromas. Not enough roastiness comes through in the flavour to counter the sweet body. Wednesday, May 3, 2006
maeib	3.8 Garton Liquid Lobotomy Cask conditioned - gravity dispense - Reading BF. A black coloured stout with a slight off-white coloured head. The aroma is smaller than expected but has nice roasted malts and a smoky edge. The taste is full-bodied with excellent fruits and malts and a roasted quality. Some oil and coal. Very tasty indeed. Monday, May 1, 2006
harrisoni	2.9 Garton Liquid Lobotomy Cask gravity at Reading BF 06. Black beer. Quite syrupy, but not horrible. Fine, syrupy, some demerrara sugar flavours. Monday, May 1, 2006
kook	4 Garton Liquid Lobotomy Cask @ Reading 06: Fully smooth body. Port wine, berries and light roast. Lovely stuff. Black with a short tan head. Sunday, April 30, 2006
DanielBrown	3.3 Garton Liquid Lobotomy Gravity at Reading beer festival 2006. Flat, black. Flaky, tobacco flavour. Insistent, but not the most appealing. Some strawberry. Friday, April 28, 2006
imdownthepub	3 Garton Old Buffer Cask conditioned at Banbury Beer Festival ’06. Dark brown, little head, cloudy. This never really cleared, stillaged on Tuesday not saleable till Saturday and then with a warning. Sweet strong mild, plenty of potential and would have gone well in good nick. Plenty of fruitiness and chocolate malts, I liked it but couldn’t overcome the condition faults. Monday, April 24, 2006
haddonsman	2.9 Garton Stunned Mullet Cask (gravity) at the Burton summer CAMRA festival 2005. A rather thin and washy bitter, seemed to have forgotten that bitters should be, er, bitter. Nevermind. Tuesday, March 21, 2006
DJMonarch	3 Garton Woldsman Cask Handpump at Oakwood High School, Rotherham 16/02/2002 Golden colour pale and quite bitter. Slightly dry hop finish. Thursday, February 2, 2006
DJMonarch	3.2 Garton Old Buffer Cask Stillage at the RUFC, Macclesfield 08/05/2004 Dark strong in alcohol and slightly fruity. Some dryness in the roast malt finish. Thursday, February 2, 2006
DJMonarch	3.8 Garton Liquid Lobotomy Cask Stillage at the Victoria Leisure Centre, Nottingham 19/10/2002 Black strong in alcohol and slightly rich on the palate. Some bitterness in the finish. Thursday, February 2, 2006
DJMonarch	3 Garton Goodnight Vienna Cask Stillage at the Victoria Leisure Centre, Nottingham 19/10/2002 Amber coloured strong in alcohol and slightly fruity. Some malt in the finish. Thursday, February 2, 2006
DanielBrown	3.8 Garton Chocolate Frog Hand pulled at the Wellington, Birmingham. Very strong, but as is often the case, this is perilously easy to swig. Smooth choc flavour, with some alcohol on the finish, but generally mighty good balance. Very nice indeed. Thursday, January 5, 2006
fiulijn	2.4 Garton Stunned Mullet Cask at Market Porter, London Hazy amber color. The aroma has a very light apple and yeast touch. The taste is too poor, a bit yeasty. Sunday, December 11, 2005
leaparsons	2.4 Garton Old Buffer Cask, Burton Fest 05. Very dark brown in colour. Aromas are very sweet malts with sugar, chocolate and berries. Flavours are initially sweet malts followed by lots of berry fruit and sourness. Tastes a bit unbalanced. Monday, October 10, 2005
chriso	4 Garton Liquid Lobotomy Cask (gravity dispense), Chelmsford Beer Festival, July 2005. I though this was a very good strong stout. Almost a match for the Nogne O Imperial stout sampled at the same time. Very dark, opaque, black colour. Big coffee aroma. Silky, creamy mouthfeel with more coffee and bitter chocolate. Roasty, smoky notes too. Slight sweetness on the finish, but there’s a reasonable amount of bitterness throughout to prevent it feeling stop it feeling cloying. Although it has a warming feel, the alcohol isn’t too intrusive. Terrific stuff. Sunday, September 11, 2005
duff	3.5 Garton Liquid Lobotomy Cask@Chelmsford Beer festival. Where the hell is the 8%abv??? Very well hidden indeed. Creamy, lightly sweet mouthfeel. Coffee and chocolate flavours come through as well as some licoricey characters. Touch of acidic bitterness, gives the flavour some length. very nice stuff. A good stout. Friday, July 22, 2005
leaparsons	3.4 Garton Chocolate Frog Cask, Leicester Beer Fest 05. Black or very dark brown with a small beige head. Aromas are chocolate (obviously) with sour berries and some roast barley. Flavours are sweet and fruity with smooth chocolate and roast malts. Has berry notes providing some sourness. Dry on the finish. Quite heady and pretty good. Saturday, May 7, 2005
RichardGretton	3.5 Garton Goodnight Vienna Dark red beer with a pleasant sweet aroma and a malty flavour. Overall a good beer. Saturday, December 11, 2004