From a ’head brewers choice’ 4 pack. I remember seeing the cask version of this a hell of a lot in the 1990’s just as I started my transition from lager tops to quality beer. I remember most of the places I sampled this in fucked up the storage of this beer and it ended up stinking and tasting like rotten eggs or even ’sulphur’. Thus began my association between this beer and Pedigree Chum dog food. Luckily enough the half arsed attempts to keep this beer back then didn’t turn me back to the dark side and perseverance has led me to where I am today. With all these past shenanigans in mind I tried my best to sample this ale with an open mind.... Amber pour with a white head. Malts, toffee, caramel with just the faintest note of sulphur in the nose. Light fruit and malt flavour. Hoppy, fruity finish.

0.5L bottle, classic clear light copper colour, small light beige head, herbal aroma with brown sugar, something fruity, and a hint of bee wax, flavour of caramel and a hint of bread, with a medium hoppy bitterness and a light and short bitter aftertaste. Quite drinkable but not too interesting.

Bottle. Clear amber color with a small white head. Aroma of malt, sulphur, toasted notes, a bit of bread, light graininess and a bit of slightly herbal, slightly metallic hops. Flavor is sweetish at first with some malt and continues to a bitter spicy/earthy hops finish with metallic notes. Light to medium-bodied. So-so.

500ml bottle. Pours dark orange with a small, off-white head. Aroma is faint, bread and dried fruits. Dried fruits to start, then there is some bread and a malty, bitter finish. Ok, but nothing special.

[500ml bottle, gift from Maureen & Dave] Amber, moderate white head, slight to moderate carbonation. Sweet vanilla, bready malts, a little citrus. Earthy bitterness possibly just fails to balance the sweetness. A hint of sulphur, and a dry woody finish. Looking back on my reviews, I seem to have hated the old version, but this was surprisingly good.

Bottle, Sainsbury’s. Amber colour, white head. Aroma has caramel and nuts. Flavour has caramel, some fruits. Average.

A little confusing with this one - it’s in a branded bottle that says "Limited Edition, England Vs Australia 2009" on the front. ABV is 5% so I’ll assume it’s this recipe. Head was okay but not fluffy enough, colour is good and I like the bubbles coming up. Has some fruity aromas and also a lot of wateriness coming through. Taste is nothing special, slight bitterness at the end but more wateriness. Taste of bread and hops, no real barley to my palate. Not so great.

500ml bottle from Morrisons. Very similar to the 4.5% ABV version, with perhaps a hint of alcohol burn in the finish. Amber with a rapidly fading off-white head; quite highly carbonated; the Marston’s trademark sulphorous aroma; some mellow woody flavours from the oak barrels. Still a splendid everyday beer.