Midnight Owl
Castle Rock Brewery in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England 🏴
IPA - Black / Cascadian Dark Regular|
Score
6.90
|
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Strong, Dark & Hoppy. This big complex beer has notes of liquorice & toffee leading to a balanced hoppy finish.
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7/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 7
Cask at Pickled Pig, Stafford. Pours a dark reddish-brown with a small scummy creamy head and good lacing. The aroma is mainly roasted malts and chocolate plus some hints of biscuits. In the mouth it is briefly sweet before becoming quite bitter. Flavours are initially roasted malts, liquorice and dark fruits plus some hoppy hints. Traces of alcoholic strength and black wine gums come through later leading to quite a dry finish. This is decent.
Tried
from Cask
at
Pickled Pig at the Bankhouse
on 23 Feb 2026
at 14:15
7.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Dark brown with a ruby hue and a creamy/frothy off-white head. Dried fruit on the nose, sweet and fruity with a hoppy dry bitterness
Tried
from Cask
at
The Trackside
on 11 Nov 2023
at 14:40
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Cask, half pint. @Ale Wagon, Leicester (UK). 16/02/2023 [#5.824 Global - #610 England - #1 Castle Rock Brewery (My English brewery #184)] Pours dark brown with a lacing tan head. Aroma: roasted malts, burn caramel and liquorice. Taste: roasted malts and dark fruits. Very mild hops. Sugary mouthfeel. Next one please!
Tried
from Cask
on 27 Feb 2023
at 09:41
6/10
Tried
from Cask
on 14 Jan 2023
at 14:20
8.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 10
Texture 10
Overall 7
Pint of cask at the Bishop's Finger in Smithfield. It looked gorgeous in the glass with a good head that lasted to the end. The taste was all about the roasted and toasted malts that were perfectly balanced by the bitter hops. This is a true "English black IPA" and I really got what the brewery has done with this. The mouthfeel was rich because of all the malt, but nicely cut with those bitter hops. It helped that this was in perfect condition, but this is one of the best beers I have had in a pub for a very long time. A perfect start before meeting friends in the Italian wine bar next door to drink vast quantities of red wine.
Tried
from Cask
on 07 Dec 2017
at 02:25
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Tried at the 2017 Nottingham Beer Festival. Black colour with a beige head. Malty and light fruity aroma and taste light sweet jammy. Nice.
Tried
on 14 Oct 2017
at 05:41
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Cask (gravity) @ NWAF 2015, National Winter Ales Festival (2015), The Roundhouse, Pride Park, Derby, Derbyshire, England, DE24 8JE. [ As Castle Rock Midnight Owl ].Clear dark brown color with a small to average, frothy - fizzy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, roasted, caramel, toffee notes, nutty notes. Flavor is moderate sweet with a average to long duration, sweet malt, dark malt, caramel. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft to flat. [20150213] 6-3-6-3-12
Tried
from Cask
on 10 Dec 2016
at 12:24
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Cask gravity at White Cliffs Beer Festival 2016. Black beer deep ruby lasting beige head. Malty beer not too roasty. Some good dark fruits. I rather liked it if a little one dimensional. Jammy fruit
Tried
from Cask
on 05 Feb 2016
at 11:46
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Cask handpump, The Chequers, Oxford, Saturday 30th January 2016 Pours black with a light beige rim, Hops fine but not overly hoppy, good fruitiness, a touch of dark sugars. Nice. A6 A4 T7 P3 Ov13 3.3
Tried
from Cask
on 31 Jan 2016
at 00:40
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Cask. Deep reddish black colour with a creamy small head. Aroma is liquorice, mild toasted notes as well as some slight floral and ripe fruity notes. Flavour is ripe fruits, mild spiciness, some liquorice as well as quite big on the hoppy (bitter) side.
Tried
from Cask
on 16 Mar 2015
at 04:07