500ml bottle from Ken Warne local shop, Darlington. Gusher out of the bottle. Black-brown colour with a reddish tinge, tan foam head leaving lacing and nose of malt, roast, dark fruits. Flavour is malty, dark fruity, slight citrus, with coffee, dark chocolate, roasted notes, bready and earthy spicy bitterness. Medium bodied, soft to medium carbonation, dry roasted earthy bitter finish. Quite drinkable.

Bottle at the End of an Era tasting at ABC Beers, Den Haag. Poured a clear dark reddish brown with a thin off white head. The aroma is light caramel malt, woody resin hop. The flavour is moderate bitter with a light watery resin hop bitter palate and a lingering bitter finish. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.

Bottle @ final old style THT. Clear brownish color, average sized beige head. Aroma is malts, caramel, chestnut. Taste malts, caramel, chestnut, lightly bitter. Average body and carbonation. Almost as good as the other Dark Lord.

Bottle as Mr. George. Pours a mostly clear dark brown color with some red. A medium beige head. A sweet toffee cocoa nose. The flavor is more toffee, toast, some fruit. Pretty simple and easy.

Bottle shared. Pours dark brown with a tan head. Aroma of fudge, toffee, dark fruits, milk chocolate and light spice. Flavour is over moderate sweet and light to moderate bitter. Medium bodied with very soft carbonation.

50cl courtesy of and shared with Kermis. Thin creamy tan head. Clear deep burgundy pour. Some aniseed in the aftertaste. Quite decent

Modern porter from this classic and renowned English brewery, from a 50 cl bottle with historically themed label; not to be confused with Three Floyds’ legendary imperial stout of the same name. Pale beige, thin, moussy head dissolving rather quickly but retaining well on the edges; colour a very dark purplish brown, still transparent. Very malty aroma, impressions of caramel, very strong cookie dough, dried plums, smoked bacon, black tea, liquorice, dried leaves, raisins, cloves, bark, maple syrup, toasted bread, blackcurrant, vague tobacco accent, perhaps a hint of soy sauce. Restrained candied fruit sweetness in the onset, brief and volatile, subtle salty touch, soft carbo (perhaps even a bit undercarbonated even for this style) and somewhat ’flat’ and thin body as a result, multi-layered maltiness, very caramelly, smooth and slick, sweet, toasted, light chocolatey and subtly smoked accents as well as a very soft and elegant, rounded wheat malt sourishness in the background; no real roasted bitterness, herbal and tea-like, earthy English hops in the finish providing some balance. Pretty straightforward beer, centered around the malts with little else, but well-made, no off-flavours and the bittersweet caramelly malt character is surely very enjoyable if you’re a ’malthead’. Closer to a brown ale than to a real porter if you ask me, though.

From a pint bottle shared at Ryan’s, brought from UK with the "Dark Lord" label. No serious beer drinker would confuse this withs the FFF DL, but this is not bad -- a very drinkable mild English porter, heavy on the malts and smooth in the finish.