3rd August 2007
Warning! Early amateur rating! Rich ale. Crisp palate. Herby aromatics/flavours. Rich beer. Alright.

330ml Bottle - Hazy amber with a foamy head. Enticing aroma with floral notes and hints of tea, spicy malt and apricot. Hoppy and slightly spicy taste with tea, peach a sweet, hoppy, spicy and slightly warming finish. Enjoyable and tasty, but I can’t really detect the fennel. Having said that, I’m no Pete Beale, so it’s hardly surprsing!! Decent beer.

RATING 3333 !!! Bottle, Darts Farm Topsham. Slightly hazy golden colour with a mid-sized creamy white head. Spicy-fruity nose. Solid malty background with shy aromatic and bitter hops that result in a lingering dry finish. Spicy middle part with a touch of fruit. You can actually taste the fennel. A good one.

Bottle (thank You, Stefan!): Golden, almost clear, small lacy head; a faint vinous touch in the hoppy-fruity nose; moderate to solid dryish bitter-sweet flavour, medium bodied; short, light and quite sourish bitter-sweet finish with a delicate hoppy touch. Not very impressive........

Bottle: Poured a golden amber color ale with a large pure white foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of medium sweet malt with nice floral undertones and some wild dry hops are also noticeable. Taste is a very delicate and refined mix between some lightly sweet floral malt with some grassy wild dry hops. Very well balance with great mix between malt backbone and hop profile with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Very drinkable and well done though even more hop profile would have benefited this beer.

330ml, bottle conditioned, bought at Utobeer and shared with Finn H. at a hotel room in Earls Court. Slightly hazy, golden-amber in body appearance covered by a tiny, white head. Smell of mild spices and juicy malts. Flavour is a quite successful mix of leafy hops, dusty herbs, and caramel malts. Dry and rounded mouthfeel on a satisfying level. A rather pleasant kick-off to the great British beer festival (London, 04.08.2009).

Bottle. Pours a clear golden color with a small white head. Has a fruity malty slightly yeasty citrus aroma. Dry malty citrus flavor with some yeasty hints. Has a dry malty finish with some fruity hints in the aftertaste.

[330ml bottle from Sainsbury’s Reading] Was being sold off half price, so thought I’d give it a go. It alienated me before I’d even opened it - the bottle says that Rick Stein wanted to create an English beer that could stand alongside the Belcian greats. Given that he’s supposed to be a firm supporter of British produce, I was annoyed that he wasn’t instead mentioning the British greats. By inference he has just denigrated the whole British brewing industry. Grrr! That aside, it pours gold with a minimal white head and obvious carbonation. There is a hint of fennel in the aroma, along with some malt, but neither of these carry through into the flavour. It’s initially sweet, with citrus sourness and soggy cardboard. Some spiciness - maybe coriander seed - with some bitterness in the rather sticky finish. Annoyingly fizzy throughout. I can see it might go well with fish in his restaurant, but as a beer in its own right this just didn’t work for me at all.

Bottle 33 cl. Courtesy of yespr. Clear, deep golden with a dense, off-white head. Aroma of malt and a little citrusy hoppiness. Good body, sweet malts and a little fruit. Lightly bitter finish. Pleasant.

33 cL bottle. Pours clear and golden orange with a diminished white head. Mild citrusy hops aroma, crisp and refreshing. Sweet malty towards light breadish. Mild citrusy flavoured with a smooth malty and light bitter finish.