24/10/2013. SHAKESPEARES HEAD, Africa House, 64-68 Kingsway, LONDON, WC2, England (WETHERSPOONS)

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Cask at spoons. Aroma of roast coffee, Taste is chocolate up front, very dry, bitter coffee finish.

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

Cask at a JDW establishment - in think the Metropolitan Bar in London. Pours dark brown with a foamy, off-white head. The aroma holds coffee and burnt chocolate. Medium sweet flavor, moderately roasty, with some coffee ice cream, burnt bread and earth. Medium bodied with fine carbonation. Good coffee and baking cocoa finish. Good balance, nice depth. Well done.

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

Cask-conditioned the Commercial Rooms (JDW), Bristol, October 2013. Near black with an off white head. Chocolate aplenty, some toasty character and a dryish finish. fine.

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

Cask at JDW Bishop Vesey; dark brown pour with tan head, roast coffee aroma, coffee taste roasted malts and a hint of sweet chocolate.

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

Cask @ Pilgrims Progress (JDW), Bedford. Brown-black, almost opaque. Smallish tan head, decent cask carbonation. The aroma is malt, smoke and tar. Initial bitter, almost acrid taste. Fades to bittersweet with some sour notes, then a balanced finish. Feels more like a dry stout. Starts out a bit unsure of itself but settles over the course of the pint. Thumbs up.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

Cask at the Square Bottle (JDW), Chester. Black with a thick beige head. Rather thin for a stout. There’s some chocolate and coffee and roasty malts, but they’re fairly muted, and I’m put of by some metallic notes in the finish.

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

Cask at JJ Moons (Wetherspoons), Ruislip Manor. A black coloured pour with a medium beige fluffy head on top. Roasty, malty, chocolate aroma. Tastes similar, roasty, malty, chocolate, some dark fruit and a little bitterness at the end.