Moonraker
J.W. Lees in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England 🏴
Strong Ale - English Regular|
Score
6.80
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First brewed in 1950, our malty award-winning Moonraker is dedicated to a local legend. The story goes that farmers close to the JW Lees brewery once fell into a pond, attempting to rake out a reflection of the moon they mistook for a truckle of fine Lancashire cheese. This strong ale should be handled with care, but its fruity aroma and rich, sweet flavour are now the stuff of legends too.
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7.4/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Cask. King’s Head, Huddersfield. Clear, dark copper colour. Dense, lasting for ever, off white head. Aroma of booze soaked dried fruit. Notes of chocolate and spice, along the lines of cinammon, maybe. Taste is mostly sweet. Some vinous bitterness. Smooth mouthfeel. Very little carbonation on this one. Fruity, soft bittersweet finish. Decent. A bit more fizz, and I’d have liked this a lot, I reckon.
Tried
from Cask
on 08 Apr 2016
at 06:06
5.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 4.5
Not really a great beer in any sense of the word. Tangy and citrusy. Some sour plum. Maroon pour without much head or lacing on cask. Churchkey.
Tried
from Cask
on 08 Jan 2016
at 17:12
5.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5
Cask at Rustico Alexandria. Poured a chestnut brown color, clear - with a foamy white head. I’d describe it as soapy, but that’s what it tasted like - just a very mild, sweet malt, with some nutty notes to the body. Finish was a touch floral, very thin.
Tried
from Cask
on 31 Dec 2015
at 14:25
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Birch and Barley, DC cask: pours dark reddish brown with very little head. Aroma is yogurt and dark fruits. Taste is sweet dark fruits. More than plenty malty. The ever slightest bit of hop bitterness. Powdered chocolate. Creamy body. Nice.
Tried
from Cask
on 30 Dec 2015
at 20:59
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle. It’s years since I had this. Funny to think when I first started drinking that a beer of this strength was a novelty. Nose is raisins, malt, very pronounced metallic note which faded to leave caramel and brown sugar. Taste is brown sugar, sweet malts, raisins, nuts, yeast, apples, hint of vanilla perhaps, dark fruits, darker bitter slightly leathery edge to the finish. It’s very good for a supermarket beer, but not as good as the cask of my memory. I need to have it out in the wild again.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Aug 2015
at 15:07
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Cask at GBBF 2015. It pours dark brown with a decent beige head. The nose is soft, earthy, wood, leather, toasty, cocoa and coffee. The taste is smooth, toasty, wood, dried fruits, fruit cake, glazier cherry, cocoa, coffee, umami, light booze and some meatiness with a dry finish. Medium body, fine carbonation and oily mouth - feel. Not bad.
Tried
from Cask
on 12 Aug 2015
at 09:25
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle at ash’s. Pours deep brown, nose is chocolate, caramel, sugary, taste is rich, sweet, caramel.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Mar 2015
at 10:05
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Reviewed from notes.
This was poured into a mug.
Thanx Theresa!
The appearance was a semi-dark brown color with a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within about a minute. Light foamy lacing graced the sides of the glass.
The smell had a roasty nutty caramel aroma, somewhat like a brown ale. But a nice rich invasive chocolate came through with a light coffee to enliven a bit.
The taste was pretty much the same with a light added vanilla.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a fair sessionability about it. The carbonation was mostly subdued and good for the style and for me.
Overall, English Strong Ale or English Brown Ale, it doesn’t matter to me, it’s good and definitely worthy of having again.
This was poured into a mug.
Thanx Theresa!
The appearance was a semi-dark brown color with a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within about a minute. Light foamy lacing graced the sides of the glass.
The smell had a roasty nutty caramel aroma, somewhat like a brown ale. But a nice rich invasive chocolate came through with a light coffee to enliven a bit.
The taste was pretty much the same with a light added vanilla.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a fair sessionability about it. The carbonation was mostly subdued and good for the style and for me.
Overall, English Strong Ale or English Brown Ale, it doesn’t matter to me, it’s good and definitely worthy of having again.
Tried
on 26 Aug 2014
at 17:10
7.1/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Old ale by Lees, with unstable, loose head and dark reddish brown colour, hazy. Deep malty aroma of caramel, chocolate and nuts, flowers, plums, grapes, cloves, ginger, gin. Fruity and sweetish malty taste, caramelly with chocolate touches, spicy accents, warming alcoholic finish without becoming astringent. Very nice, I’d love to compare this with the bottle version.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Aug 2014
at 11:56
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
Extra bottle in trade with Theydon_Bois many thx Sir cons 2014-03-22 Göteborg AR: buttery, red fruits, nutty aroma AP: dark ruby, frothy cream beige steady head, layered curtains F: smooth, plum, caramel, wee soft bubbly, medium bitternees, wee soapy feeling,
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Mar 2014
at 07:55