Appearance - 5 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5

Cask at Wellington, Brum. Opaque chestnut brown. No head. Aroma is sour with underlying malts. Flavourwise it's similar with added caramel. Light-medium bodied. Slick. Soft carbonation. Long dry slightly astringent finish. Off or just twiggy trash?

Historic check-in

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Cask at Butlers Bell, Stafford. As Woodforde’s Admiral (at least I think so, pump clip was black and difficult to make out) Poured the classic bitter brown with a generous frothy cream head and good lacing. Quite a strong nose of malt and nuts. In the mouth it is initially sweet, but some bitterness creeps in later. Flavour is dominated by malts along with grains and biscuit, plus a hint of ginger. Finish is fruity with some bitterness. This is a good solid ESB – rather nice.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6

Bottle. Poured amber with an average size slightly fluffy off-white head. Aroma of malt, fruit, caramel, slightly toasted and bready. Medium sweetness and bitterness. Moderate body, slight watery texture, soft carbonation.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Bottle thanks to allmyvinyl. Appearance - a lovely amber with a decent head. Nose - toffee and red fruits. Light orange peel. Taste - toffee, biscuits and tangy fruit. Palate - light to medium bodied with a creamy yet tangy texture and a long dry tangy finish. Overall - nice ESB.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

500ml bottle thanks to my big brother. Pours clear red-brown, thin white head. Aromas of red fruit, hazelnuts, mixed peel. Taste is fruity, light malt, light soapy bitterness. Not bad.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Cask @ The Olde Sun, St Neots. Light to mid brown, clear. Full white head. Toffee/caramel and alcohol in the nose: smells stronger than 5%. Multi-layered taste: the initial sweetness masks an intense bitter edge. Apparently now only available during the Christmas period, so seek it out while you can.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Bottle conditioned: 500ml’s best before the end of Oct 2012, some 5 days away. The beer is 5% ABV and was poured slowly @ home into an Abbot Ale glass tankard. No sediment left the bottle in my gentle pour: clear, bright, chestnut reddish body, the head a full covering of white foam which hung around for the duration of the tasting. Feels and smells like a ’winter warmer’ sort of beer, rich, woody and Christmassy. The malts are roasted and full flavoured in the aroma and taste, toffee being the main maltiness I got. Fruity hop notes in the mix as well, a liquid toffee apple with extra candid fruits as the beer warms in the glass. The actual body depth isn’t that heavy or full, but the flavours carry the beer nicely and the 5% ABV sits well overall.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Cask @ JDW Inverness
Copper amber..clear..thin white head...some lacing
Aroma of fruity malts and berries
Taste of caramel malt..some biscuity malt...fruity berries...hint of blackcurrant...hedgerow hops...hint of yeast...fair amount of flavour here
Palate...soft carb...some sweet fruitiness....light bitter
Finish - same as main flavour but more intense...some biscuit malt and yeast in the tail
Overall - Solid quite fruity premium bitter with some depth in the flavour

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5

Cask at the Lord Moon of the Mall (JDW), Whitehall. Not much going on with this - amber gold with a thin cream head; no noticable aroma; grainy body, sweet fruity flavour; and no real finish.