Cask at JDW Briar Rose; light copper pour with foamy white head, faint grapefruit aroma, taste has some citrus hop mostly malt. First rate of RB Black Country Beer Bus.

500ml bottle from Morrisons. Amber with a billowing head at first that soon subsided; imeediate aroma of tired grassy hops when opened, dispersing to reveal stale malts; lacklustre malty taste; but with some reasonable English hoppy bitterness to liven up the finish. So I foresee a poor start to the AShes, but a final victory against all odds!

Clear 500ml bottle, best before June 2007, drank March 2007. The label claims it is a Pale Ale, although from its colour, aroma and taste, I can see where my friend Yau thought it an English Bitter when he added this beer to beerfly. Poured into a Palm tulip glass (twice), it looks a pale bitter, terracotta orange, clear and sparkling, a small slightly off white head soon dispersed to a thin wisp of nothingness, a little collar round the glass and a blob in the centre. The label said serve it lightly chilled,so I did, this effected the aroma, although a heavy hops and yeast smell came out the bottle before I poured the first half, that soon went and nothing replaced it until the beer began to warm in the glass, toffee esters arrived, but no great aroma to this beer. A little fizzy and dry, bitter too, with a metallic feel, strange combination, which I struggled to enjoy. As the beer warmed, the metallic taste got more prominent, not good! Dry and metallic aftertaste, not what I want to feel after each mouthful. This beer was on special, 5 pints for £5.00. I am glad I didn’t pay a lot for them, 4 to go!

Cask at the Bridge, Kingswinford. Pours amber with a thin head. Aroma is citrus hops. Taste is thin, some citrus hops to start, mostly caramel malt.

500ml bottle. Pours orange with no head. Aroma is sweet, slinky caramel malt. Some fruity malt to start. Skunk in the aftertaste.

[500ml bottle shared with Dave - cheers!] Pale amber, moderate white head, moderate yet soft-feeling fizz. The distinctive Marstons bitter, sulphurous minerality (which I personally dislike) jumps out at first, but is soon softened by a little spice and grassy, lager-like hops. A growing sweet fruitiness leads to a dry finish with a nice soft chalky mouthfeel. Better than I expected.

(Cask at Penderel’s Oak JDW, Holborn, London, 6 Aug 2009) Pale amber colour with frothy, off-white head. Malty, fruity nose with dried fruit and dusty hops. Fruity, malty taste with notes of biscuity malt, apricots and dusty hops in the finish. Below medium body, sweetish. Refreshing and drinkable, but hardly exciting.

Cask handpull at The Pheasant, Ashford. Pulled through a tight sparkler, so hard to tell what this is like. It was fine, a solid enough bitter with a bit of dustiness to the hops and a little biscuit character to the malts. Drinkable with my lunch but did not excite me enough to have a second pint.

Cask at the Kingston Arms, Cambridge. Amber with a thin white head; orange citrus aroma; orange fruit flavour; deep earthy bitter finish. Not bad.