A rather generous sample courtesy of Russ (brewer) at XT Brewery, Thursday 27th November 2014 (cheers Russ!) This pours a dark brown colour, very dark with a very fine sediment just noticeable. Much like the standard version the taste is erring towards chocolatey with cocoa and big ballsy malty backbone. However unlike the standard version the saison yeast here gives this a twist, interestingly the twist isn’t as pronounced as one might expect. I understand from Russ that the abv is now probably at 6.5% and the effects of using this yeast have certainly changed this beer, yes it has a slightly different fruity twang and yet it appears softer, any lingering bitterness has been somewhat blunted, hoppiness still there but quieter, its still rich, and malty beer but I also detect a nuttier edge that I enjoyed. It really is another very interesting twist on what is a very solid beer. A7 A3 T8 P4 Ov15 3.7

Cask at the Craven Arms; dark brown with a frothy tan head, coffee aroma, taste has coffee with some roast, dark fruits and a hint of chocolate.

NWAF 23 Jan 13. Svart. Lavt skum. God svakt syrlig surølaroma. Smaken er tørr frukt. Litt kjedelig.

Cask, gravity at XT Brewery Open day, Saturday 30th November 2013 I nipped to the loo get back and Russ (brewer) has thrust another beer our way to Loz. This is indeed a very interesting take on the XT 9 which in itself has now morphed into a Black IPA. We had the standard XT 9 earlier which was very fresh, wonderfully hoppy in fact more than a match for the XPA, this version however was quite different. The Oak Ageing has restrained the hops, they are still there but are calmer, not as zappy, as expected there is a softening, touch of oaky vanillayness, but then there is an added dimension with the wild yeast it has a distinct but subtle light sourness at the edge which again lifts this back up and adds a further intriguing element. It is a very good beer, if I am being honest the XT 9 standard version is still the one to beat but I do like this take on it, lovely beer. A7 A4 T8 P4 Ov15 3.8

Cask (handpump) @ The 18th Reading Beer and Cider Festival 2012, Reading, Berkshire England.Clear dark brown colour with a small, fizzy, virtually none lacing, fully diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, roasted, caramel, chocoalte, toffee. Flavor is moderate sweet and light moderate bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat. [20120504] --- Beer merged from original tick of After Nine Black Velvet on 31 Jul 2016 at 08:47 - Score: Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7. Original review text: Cask (gravity) @ 31th Pigs Ear Beer and Cider Festival 2014, at The Round Chapel in Hackney, London, England. [ As XT After Nine ].Clear dark brown color with a small to average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting to diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, roasted, chocolate, mint, spicy notes. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a long duration, malty, soft chocolate, mint, spicy, licorice notes. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft to flat. [20141204]

Cask-conditioned at the Three Tuns, Bristol 5/2/2013. dark brown with a decent, off-white head. Aroma of chocolate, yeasty dark fruits and hedgerow hops. Flavour had solid, grainy malts, more chocolate and a dryish finish. Enjoyable.

Gravicask, half pint shared with Finn from bar 3 at The National Winter Ales Festival. Cole grey coloured body. Bright naked surface. Restrained dark malty nose, hints of anise. Earthy malts, wood and a touch of tartness to the taste buds. Dry malt bitter end. Good (Manchester, 23.01.2013).

cask at NWAF ... deep brown ... thin hean ... rich woody chocolate .. little woody nose ... soft dark malts ... soft roast ... little fruit .. the wood and a little something happening

Bottle 19 of 50 ltd edition. I stopped rating October 2012 but will rate when people are kind enough to pass on beer or if I can be arsed. Consumed Saturday 24 November 2012 Pours brown with filmy head. I like XT however I think cask is my favoured way of drinking them. At £10 a bottle I don’t think this quite hits the mark, its fine, mid bitterness, quite a bit of carbonation, fruity tang, little dusty on nose. Just ok. A6 A4 T6 P3 Ov12 3.1

Cask@Reading Beer Festival 2012. Deep ambery black colour, small white head. Aroma is fruits, some wooden notes along with syrup, roasted malts and some slight ashy notes. Flavour is very similar, with some malty sweetness also being there.