Amazingly this is the first review for NINE YEARS of the cask version of one of the country’s top milds. I’ve drunk it several times in the past (and surely more recently than that) but this time it was Cask at Petersgate Tap, Stockport. Pours almost black with a small foamy cream head and good lacing. The aroma has chocolate malts and a hint of blackberries. In the mouth it is sweet and creamy but with a little underlying bitterness. Flavours start with malts and dark fruits and expand into milk chocolate and a hint of biscuits later on leading to a fairly fruity finish. This is decent and lives up to its reputation.

I’ve not had alot of Mild Ales but this was the best of the ones I have had. Would really like to try more. Loved this one!

Old rating from 2014 - 500ml bottle, pours dark brown with a beige head. Aromas & tastes of chocolate, caramel, hints of spice & malt. Medium body. Smooth finish

Bottle from September 2011 Bottle from New Beer. Sat in the fridge for an additional month. Poured into a rounded tumbler. I refrained from using a straw this time. I've become quite lazy this summer. Color is sort of like ebony. Near black, with rich, reddish-orange veins. Lasting light sand-colored mushroom head that leaves grimy blotched lace that probably won't rinse off without some Palmolive. Smells like chocolate wafers & wet potting soil. Subtly sweet & earthy. Bitter sweet, slightly charred grain. Though only mildly bitter, there is a decent amount of acid upfront that drags along with it some underachieving bitter-green hops. It eventually makes way for a softly sweet wafery middle-end, though that itself, suddenly seems quite minerally. The end rides out on that mineral aspect, along with some char, & regurgitates a bit more acid before it's all done. Alcohol isn't a factor, & I don't feel myself yearning for a shot of bourbon on the side. Carbonation is stronger then expected; small, prickly & sharp bubbles. Body is non-existent except for a dusty, almost chalky texture. Sort of like those over fortified fruit juices that don't quite run smooth. Overall a decent beer, but not worth the import price($5) unless I could find it absolutely fresh. So my ignorant opinion is thus: It tastes like a diluted brown ale. /shrug

Syrupy, sugary aroma with some roasty bitterness. Sugary flavor, though not too sweet, with notes of espresso. Thin but very tasty. Malt character. Good beer!

From Jul 2008

I got this in a trade with getkrunkhoe. Thanks Carlos!

This pours a dark brown with reddish hues and a very small head of foam that leaves the scene almost immediately. Just a ring around.. the glass left but it does have a little lacing.

The smell is pretty darned nice! I get some dark chocolate, some fruit, some caramel, and some roasted malt.

The taste is very nice as well! Good dark chocolate with some caramel brings a sort of ying yang with the sweetness/bitterness and there's some good dark fruity flavours with a touch of plum and some toffee. The more I sip, the more I notice the chocolate and that's making this son of a gun very tasty and very drinkable. Hell, 3.4%abv....I could drink quite a few of these, for sure.

It's light bodied but not as light as I thought it would be. Carbonation is close to medium, and it finishes on a slightly sweetish note.

This is my first real Mild Ale and I tell you what. I am now a fan! Great style and I envy the peeps in the UK for having a lot of them to choose from.

Bottle sample at a tasting at the Beer & Beyond shop. Thanks kerenmk. Dark brown. Aroma of malt, caramel, nuts, toast, dark bread, minerals, vegetal notes. Sweetish flavor with malt, toast, nuts, caramel, minerals, bitter finish. Medium-bodied.

Cask Alexandra Derby. 10/09/16. Not much of an aroma. Deep and dark. Drops a point for lack of head. Sweet and sour. Soft. Enjoyable.