Cask at the Birmingham beer festival 2012. Light straw yellow pour with a big bubbly head. It didn't look great I must say so I wasn't expecting much. The aroma was a bit skanky. It smelled like stale malt from an old brewery. Lord only knows what hops they used, but it didn't taste so good. It was rather sour with very little else to excite my tastebuds. I like sour... I really do, but this just wasn't so nice. I'm starting to think that Hop Back are losing their way. I only ordered a third of a pint but struggled to finish it.

Bottle-conditioned, 500ml brown bottle best before 6th March 10 drank and reviewed 15th Feb 10. Poured into a vase shapped pint glass. Extremely lively, the beer gushed out and filled the glass with foam, a light pilsner coloured beer sat below the giant pure white foaming head. The body was also pilsner clear and bright, very strange for a UK real ale to be such a truely light colour. It took four carefully tipped pours to empty the bottle, so excited it was to get out. Each time the head just bellowed up. The aroma given off seemed grainy and grassy, with nutmeg as an afterthought. Light in colour, light in flavours also, refreshing enough, but not warming or full bodied, it came across as weak and watery. If I’d liked the taste I’d have said ’delicate flavours’ but it didn’t float my boat and is a poor impersonation of the cask version which I’ve had many times (but never reviewed). I’ve visited the brewery with the CAMRA Investors Club and been treated royally, this beer was superb there, but the bottle-conditioned one has let them down somewhat. The bottle has had to withstand some large temp variations while in my garage, but I can’t believe it has made much difference to the beer, no others have ben effected so far.

Cask @ Bon Accord. Clear golden colour, off-white head. Aroma is slight cooked vegetables, bit of citrus. A bit unpleasant. Flavour is vegetables, bit of caramel, dry cookie. Slightly bitter finish. Really not well.