9th March 2015
Old Fountain. Cask. Hazy deep amber beer, no head. Palate is smooth and dry. Very modest carbonation. Sweetish malts, some caramel. Mildly sticky marmalade. Mild tinned fruits. Trace of smoke. Finishes light and semi dry. Mild bitter linger. A bit tired and stodgy but by no means awful.

Cask at the Old Fountain - London. Pours unclear russet with a creamy off-white head. Lots of Belgian yeast in the nose, candi sugar, lightly toasted bread. Medium sweet flavor with some ripe banana, leafy hops, grainy bread, prominent Belgian yeast. Medium bodied, lightly chewy, with fine carbonation. Sweet finish with toasted candi sugars, more yeast, bread, ripe fruits, some bubblegum. A bit flabby overall.

Cask at the Lyric. It pours clear pale brown with a decent, bubbly white head. The nose is earthy, spicy, wood, leather, leaf and some sweet stone fruits. The taste is bitter-sweet, woody, leather, caramel, light spice, pepper and dried fruits with a firm, dry finish. Medium body and fine carbonation. Despite the name comes across as a spicy ESB. Works pretty well for me.