6.4

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Old rating - A 500ml bottle from my trip to West Sussex last autumn. Pours a near black with a off white head. Aromas & tastes of dark fruits, malty & hints of smoke. Enjoyable.

Historic check-in

6.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle from the Toast Companions boxDark brown pour, small white head. Aromas of cocoa and cream, slightly bitter coffee. Taste: dark bread, hints of coffee, cream and chocolate, pleasant bitter aftertaste

5.1

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5

330ml bottle as part of the Toast Companions box. Pours clear amber with a beige cap. Aroma: malty, caramel, toffee. Taste: light sweet & moderate bitter, toasty malt, caramel, toffee, light earthy coffee. Light body with moderate carbonation. Astringent finish. Quite meh.

7

Bottle from Waitrose. Pours a dark brown colour with a tint of red and a thinnish creamy beige head. Aromas of milk chocolate and a hint of nuts. Taste is again more milk chocolate and nuts with some roasted malts. There’s an earthy hop on the finish with a touch of cardboard. Nice lacing on the glass. it’s nice enough and stays true to the style.

7.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle from Redh. Appearance - copper to amber with a creamy beige head. Nose - burnt toffee, treacle and almost molasses. Something nutty too. Taste - treacle, smoke and nuts. Palate - medium bodied, rich sweet middle, dry and smoky finish. Overall - liked this one.

6.5

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle from RHS Wisley shop (we're those annoying people - seemingly the majority now - who have no interest in flowers and just want to give the kid a run). Aroma is initially sour but creamy chocolate then dominates. Opaque chestnut. Bubbly foamy off-white head soon develops pattern baldness. Medium sour fruit. Underlying earthiness and veg. Some sweetness into the finish. Some low key spice. Light-medium bodied. Slick verging on creamy. Fizzy carbonation. Dry finish. It's enjoyable enough and, I guess, different from a bog standard gold or bitter. However it's still somewhat boring. And, annoyingly, the chocolate from the aroma fails to particularly translate into the taste.

6.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Bottle from somewhere. A nice fruity malty aroma. mahogany black colour. malt prominent but not too heavy. slight stout smoke. Drinkable.

6.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

500ml bottle. Gluten Free. Reddish dark brown colour, beige foam head leaving lacing and roast malty aroma. Taste is roasty malt, dark fruity and milky, caramel, chocolate with earthy coffee bitterness. Medium bodied, soft carbonation, dry tangy roasted bitter finish. Quite drinkable.