Cask at Craft 100. It pours deep brown with a small off-white head. The nose is earthy, musty, toasted brown bread, leather and light oxidized notes. The taste is toasty, earth, bitter-sweet, cocoa, charred stuff and a touch of caramel with a dry finish. Medium body and soft carbonation. OK at best.

Draft at Craft 100 April 2015 - London. Pours clear brown with a light, creamy tan head. The nose holds aged cocoa, toast, earth and grains. Medium sweet flavor with some old pine, brown bread, dry caramel. Light bodied with fine carbonation. Moderately sugary on the finish with some more toast, dry chocolate, aged fruits. OK, just doesn’t seem terribly fresh.

2nd April 2015
Craft #100 fest at Clapham. Cask. Clear dark amber beer. No head. Tangy caramel malts, mild dark fruits. Little floralness in the light finish. Wishy washy.

Bottle from a farm shop near Evesham. Brown with a thin beige head. Glorious rich chocolate and fruit aroma with a little roasty malt. On tasting there’s an annoying prickly fizz which rather hides a velvety smooth mouthfeel. Lots more chocolate and sweet raisins and cream sherry and rich malt with a hint of smoke in the creamy finish. Hides the alcohol very well and goes down dangerously easily. Fantastic mild, one of the best I’ve had. Kudos to the brewer.

Cask (Nottingham Beer Festival 2014) - Dark brown with orangey tinges. Roasted malt, nuts and cocoa in the aroma. Malty and biscuity taste with cookie dough, chocolates and walnuts. A nice strong mild.

Gravity dispense at Beer In Hand, Worcester, 17/10/13. Murky mahogony brown with a thin light tan covering. Nose is tarte fruit, treacle toffee, earthy. Taste comprises light cocoa, liqourice, toffee, earthy, tangy fruit. Medium bodied, moderate carbonation, tarte almost lactic fruit tang in the finale. Interesting strong (anything but) mild ! Not sure if this was past its prime as the fruit seemed very bitter vergeing on sour, it was drinkable enough though no great in the style!

Appearance: Clear dark ruby color with a fine off white head. Good lacing.
Aroma: Malty and fruity.
Palate: Medium + body. Slightly sweet and an ok bitterness. Average carbonation.
Taste: Malty, nutty and fruity.
Overall impression: Nice tasty strong mild ale.
Personal stats: Bottle from a trade with tommann.

English County #40

This beer is named after the late Mr W Mucklow, the last brewer in Bewdley (1912) before the new brewery opened a few years ago. The brown 500ml bottled conditioned beer was poured slowly into an Abbot Ale glass tankard (Aug 2011) some four months before it’s best before date. William Mucklow brewed a sweet dark Mild in his day, the recipe now also gone, this brew is trying to replicate that long forgotten formula. Very dark brown in colour, the thin tanned head soon left the scene and nothinmg sat on top of the moody looking brew. Just a hint of a necklace around the liquids edges. Sweet molasses and roasted/toasted malts hit the nose, chocolate esters coming through as the beer began to warm in the glass (this beer should not be refrigerated anyway). The taste/flavours were almost identical to the smells, with the chocolate becoming stronger as my taste buds became used to the intermix of flavours. Some suggestion of plums and mixed dried fruits (like in a rich cake) also appeared in the aftertaste. Good depth of body, the alcohol content sitting well within the brew and complimenting the flavours nicely. A lot better than the first beer I reviewed from this brewery (thank goodness).

500ml bottle. Pours a dark ruby brown with a medium head. Aroma is sweet raisin, toffee and sour woody notes. Taste has raisin at the front and a sour raisin and woody finish. Thin for the strength.

Bottle from The Hop Pocket, Bishops Frome, Herefordshire 28.11.10 Pours conker brown maybe a little lighter with a light beige head, excellent clarity, good looking beer. Big on chocolate straight away with a fizzing bitterness, soft in the mouth, tangy, fruity with the chocolate (quite bitter cocoa) really showing, there is some sweetened liqourice also present. Very nice beer. A7 A5 T7 P4 Ov14 3.7