Historic check-in

6.8

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

Wetherspoons Victoria 2 Nov 12. JDW festivaløl. Svart. Lavt mokkafarget skum som fester seg litt til glasset. God sjokolade/lakrisaroma. Smaken er røkt lær med litt sjokolade.

7

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

One-third pint glass served on a sample tray from cask at JDWs Victoria Station. Devil black body, good lacing down the glass. Fine aroma of dark fruits. Roasted dark malts in the flavour profile strengthen by blackcurrants. Dark bitter ending. Medium bodied. Enjoying stuff (London, 02.11.2012).

8.9

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5

[Cask at the Monks Retreat (JDW), Reading] Black with a moderate tan head and a light fizz. A big fruity berry flavour up front is followed by lots of coffee, then some ash and charcoal that is (unlike some stouts) not too overpowering. In fact there’s a lovely balance between the upfront sweetness and the bitterness from the heavily roasted malts. But the big winner here is the mouthfeel - rich and velvety smoothm and oh so easy to drink. For a beer of this strength it’s pretty dangerous how quickly it goes down - and how much you want another one straight away afterwards. A truly wonderful stout, marvellous stuff!

8.1

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Cask @ JDW Becketts Bank, Leeds 1/11/12
Black, thin tan head, some lacing
Aroma of deep soft roasted malts, chocolate malts, sweet rich dark mellow malts
Taste - mellow dark rich malts, soft rich roast, chocolately, smooth, touch of toffee, slight dark fruity malts underneath, really well balanced, alcohol well hidden, great flavour
Palate - soft carb, medium body, oily, smooth texture. Finish as main flavour. really smooth nice mellow soft chocolate malts
Overall - Superb stout - great to see such a good beer on at the JDW festival. I was pleasantly surprised by this - a fantastic UK brewed stout

8.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Cask at Willow Walk, London. It pours jet black, with a medium tan head. The nose is coffee, roasted malt, toast, toasted sesame seed and light smoke. The taste is rich roasted malt, light charcoal, coffee grinds, light acidity, toast, ash, touch of dark fruit, dark chocolate, burnt toffee and toasted sesame seed, with a dry, roasty finish. Medium body, soft carbonation and velvety mouth-feel. Rich, robust and full flavoured. Not particularly complex, but massively drinkable. A truly great stout.

8.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

cask at SOrder ... deep black ... thin tan head ...soft lovely deep chocolate nose ...soft dark chocolate ... light bitter roast ... light charcoal .. big roast malts

4.6

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 3 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 3.5

Probably a bad keg given other ratings, but this felt strong to be enjoyed.

7.6

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

(Cask at Rake, Southwark, London, 25 Nov 2011) Black colour with frothy, beige head. Malty, roasted nose with notes of dark chocolate, coffee and dark berries (blueberries?). Malty, roasted taste with coffee, chocolate, liquorice, dried fruit and raisins. Balanced coffee bitterness in the finish. Medium body, with a touch of sweetness. Very tasty and nice. Excellent stout.

7.2

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 9

After taking red eye from New York to London and running all over town site seeing on no sleep this first beer of European adventure vacation was well deserved and delicious. Popped into a random pub not far from tower of London and had on hand pumped cask. taste is of bitter coffee, ash, leather, and dry malt but in best possible way. taste is slight bitter with nice full body.