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

Can from Winerack at home after Christmas. Dark reddish brown pour - nearly opaque. Tan head. Aroma is very smokey and sharp strong dark fruit and berry. Taste is sharply bitter, salty soy, smoke, leather, red berry, dark fruit, alcohol, warm. Very much what it says on the can but still unexpected. Palate is medium heavy with mild carbonation. Not my favorite flavor profile but quite well done. The cherry and smoke comes through profoundly.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

Pours black, small tan head.Nose shows delightful smoked malt, plenty of roast, chocolate and liquorice along with bready malt.Flavours include smoked malt, bready melanoidin notes, soft liquorice and roasted malt. Almost tastes a bit peat-like.

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

355ml can. Pours black with a translucent orange tinge. Smoke, wood, dark chocolate, orange peel, caramel, cherry liqueur, super smoky. Thick body. Tasty.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 9

From a 355ml can on 21/11/2017. Pours a deep, deep brown with a small head. Has a chocolate and caramel nose featuring some light smoke. Very sweet with chocolate, caramel, raisins and dates, followed by some wood, more light smoke, with a sneaky rye bitterness which just takes the edge off the sweetness. Finishes slightly spicy and warming, The palate is a bit syrupy and the carbonation moderate. Champion beer at the 2017 Craft Beer Awards, which may have been quite a reasonable call. Really nice stuff.

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

Can. Dainton are clearly under the thumb of Big Rye. Very dark brown with a beige head. Aroma of brown sugar, sticky smokey glaze, raisins, bread, mild spices. OK, but not very defined. But that works better on a sip: sticky and smokey bread, dried fruit, then it dries out and turns to bitter with coriander and pepper. Wood but no smoke at the end. Maybe it’s _too_ well defined on the palate - those facets seem a bit disparate where you want them to flow from one to the other. Could it use being a bit less clean? But it’s pretty tasty and both justifies and holds the booze well.