The Magician

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled on 9/26/2014. Pours moderately hazy deep red/copper color with a 1 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of caramel, toast, toffee, biscuit, light nuttiness, raisin, plum, fig, apple, light chocolate, herbal, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast ester, and light earthy hop notes; with good strength. Taste of caramel, toast, toffee, biscuit, nuttiness, raisin, plum, fig, apple, light chocolate, herbal, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Slight earthy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, toast, toffee, biscuit, light nuttiness, raisin, plum, fig, apple, light chocolate, herbal, grass, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice robustness and complexity of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast ester, and light earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/yeast balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a smooth, crisp, and fairly creamy/bready mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice Irish red ale. All around good robustness, balance, and complexity of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast ester, and light earthy hop flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

Bottle at the 15th Richmond Ratebeer Gathering on 07/16/2011. Clear reddish body with a small frothy off-white head. Slightly tart fruit and caramel aroma. Tart fruit flavor with some caramel. Medium body with moderate carbonation.

Bottle. Chocolate, roasty nutty, and caramel aroma. Deep amber with a small beige head. Charred toast, nutty caramel, and roasty bitter flavor, as well as some tartness. A strange collections of flavors that don’t quite come together for me. Medium body, soft carbonation. I agree with others about most of Shorts’ label art., and this one is especially bad.

Draft. Raisin, chocolate caramel, and earthy root aroma. Amber with small head. Sweet caramel malt up front with mildly bitter ginseng/gentian finish. Complex.

22nd February 2012
Hazy dark red - amber beer. Little pale tan head. Light crisp palate. Semi dry. Sourish citrus on a caramel malt base. Minerals. Finishes with a carbonated sting. A bit clunky, especially for Shorts.

Bottled. Reddish brown colour with a small slightly off-white head. Aroma is sweet malts, some mild hops and quite floral notes as well. Flavour is sweet malts with some fruity and wooden hops as well as some herbal notes. Mild spicyness in the finish as well.

355ml bottle from the fridge at Cask Pub & Kitchen, Pimlico. Brown-reddish body. Frothy fawn-coloured head, fast diminishing. Mild aroma of earthy malts and dusty hops. Taste of pumpkin and ripe fruits. Bittersweet ending. So and so (hotel room, London 30.07.2011).