Handpull cask at the Pilgrims Progress, Bedford. Reside brown, with a creamy beige head. Fruity aroma with redcurrant, wood shavings and a touch of astringent resin in the aroma. Taste is jarringly bitter, almost medicinal, throughout the sip to the long finish. It's pretty good but a bit lacking in balance for me.

Cask at the Fieldhouse, Monkspath, Solihull. Poured a clear reddish brown with a big creamy frothy off white head. The aroma is sweet malt, red berry fruit. The flavour is light sweet, light bitter with a rich, smooth, fruity, light spice, hop bitter palate. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.

Cask @ Shakespeares Head (JDW), Holborn WC2. Pours a slightly hazy amber red color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty caramel aroma. Fruity malty caramel flavor with weak hoppy hints. Has a fruity malty caramel finish.

Cask in the Glenmoriston Arms Hotel. Pours copper red, nose is light citrus, toffee, taste is similar.

Cask at the Halfway House, Edinburgh. Pours deep amber with creamy off-white head. Roasted malts and fruit in aroma. Roasted malts, caramel, toffee, bit spicy.

Cask at the Happy Man Autumn BF, Englefield Green, 11/10/13 - last birthday rate! Lightly hazed reddish amber with a thin off white covering. Nose is bready malts, fruit tang, biscuit. Taste comprises much the same good malt backbone plenty of toffee, less fruit apparent. Medium bodied with soft carbonation, subtle bitterness in the closure. Decent enough bitter.

Cask at the Cleveland Arms - London. Pours clear brown with a thick, lasting creamy beige head. Lots of ripe orange in the nose, some pine, bready malts. Light to medium sweet flavor, plenty of pine, light caramel, brown bread, ripe orange. Light bodied with fine carbonation. Great condition. Subtle resins to finish, further dark ripe orange, bready malts, hints of pine. A decent beer made excellent by the Cleveland Arms. I shudder to think how much better this beer could have been if Arjen Robben hadn’t just scored the winner.

Aroma: Malty with dusty, earthy hops.

Appearance: Ruby red body with a thick white head. Great lacing.

Taste: Hoppy zing. Slightly earthy taste. Very well balanced and moreish.

Palate: Medium body with an oily texture. Light carbonation fizz.

Overall: As always with Orkney beers, great balance.

On tap @ Sunninghill Hotel, Elgin. Pours dark copper with a nice head. The nose is biscuity with just a hint of malt bitterness. The taste is dry malt with just some biscuit notes. The palate is medium in body and texture but with a dry astringent finish. Overall, disappointing compared to the bottled version.

My local Wetherspoons (like most) was having a ‘Scottish Week’ around the ‘Burns Night’ date and on 26th Jan 2012 I popped in and had a couple of pints: the second one being this fine beer. First had Red MacGregor at a CAMRA festival (GBBF) many years ago: not had one since joining this site though. Hand-pulled pint into a UK sleeve, the beer is a clear ruby red colour: on top a full head of foam, cream-coloured. Good lacing hung to the glass side as the beer level sank, the beer was in a good condition and you could tell. The nose is a real mixed bag: malts and hops vying for attention, each coming to the fore and reducing again as the beer goes through the warming process in the glass. The taste is also a fine blend of flavours: sweet malts and fruit/citric hop notes joined at the hip by a mini yeast presence that gives the beer that fresh and natural feel to it. Easy drinking beer, the alcohol just about apparent although the mouth feel and body carry it nicely.