In bottle. I had higher expectations of this one. Didn’t have the bitterness or hoppy wallop I’d expected.

[4/10] Tap at brewery. Dirtyish copper with a thick cream head. Aroma of flowers, grass and a little citrus with deep malts behind. Taste is layered dark malty sweetness with firm bitterness. Finish has volatile aromatic bitterness and some alcohol. I would have thought this an English Strong Ale without the benefit of the list at the bar - it’s full of robust flavours and feels boozier than 6%. This is a hoppy beer, but as ever with Red Hill they don’t get silly with the hops: the malt side is plenty big enough to handle the aromatics and the bitterness. [rerate: leaving score unchanged, just a bottle note] Bottle. Clear copper, nicely-lacing light beige head. Aroma of grass and caramel. Nice complex malt sweetness with decent balancing bitterness. Good, but a lot less vibrant than on tap. Cask at Red Hill. Swan neck and sparkler. Certainly looked great and had a creamy mouthfeel, but the hops popped rather less.

Pours pale gold with a small persistent head.Aroma is light on but shows some floral notes, along with a hint of melon. Little in the way of malt.Flavours, on the other hand, are malt-dominated, with caramel and bready notes, followed by more floral and slightly grassy hops.Carbonation is quite high.

Pours dark copper with a small head.Nose shows earthy peat, cinnamon, soft alcohol, caramelised malt and creamy chocolate. Pretty complex!More the same regarding flavours, but with more roasted malt present as well. Not quite as complex, and there’s a floury flavour I find in several of the Red Hill beers.Carbonation is too high.

Bottle 33cl. @ Chris O’s Night of the Gaylords.Clear medium amber color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, roasted, caramel, nutty, berry, honey, chocolate notes, light to moderate hoppy. Flavor is moderate to light light heavy sweet and light to moderate bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20091229]

Pours dark coppery ruby with a large, almost white head. Nice combination!Nose shows lots of creamy chocolate and hazelnuts, with some soft alcohol and toasty malt following later.Dominant flavour is the same creamy chocolate, with figs not left far behind. Unfortunately the alcohol is quite noticeable, otherwise this would have been great.Quite strongly carbonated, but still creamy.

Pours hazy dark amber with a medium-sized persistent head.Nose shows lots of malt, with golden syrup and some spicy cloves, as well as grassy/spicy hops.Similarly malty flavours, but with a somewhat floury note. Some grassy hops shows through. Not great.Carbonation is way too high and prickly.

Bottle@The Chriso Gaylord Tasting. Amber colour, beige head. Aroma is wood, herbs and some slight toffeeish and grassy notes as well. Flavour is toffee, wood, grass and some slight herbal notes. Quite bitter finish, but otherwise not very exciting.

[1/10] Tap at brewery. Brown, beige head. Mild caramel and grass nose, hints of vanilla and prunes. Caramel sweetness with some burnt touches. Thick body for the alcohol content. Not really my sort of thing, but pleasant enough. [2.8] [10/16] Coming around to this a little after a few tries. But only a little. Much as before with firm peppery bitterness at the end.

500ml bottle, 2008 version from brewery. Oily black, an inch of loose tan head settles to a nice half cm which reappears when you give it a swirl. Aroma has coffee, chocolate, vanilla, roastiness and firm grass hops. There’s far too much remaining carbonation, but after a bit of swirl in the glass there’s a smooth mouthfeel on a medium to oily body. Layers of roasted/ burnt flavours. Some dried fruit notes under the coffee. The hops seem mainly about structure rather than bitterness, and they balance up the beer well. Apart from the carbonation, everything’s nicely integrated in this (the 2008) now, but it will probably improve for a year or two if I can keep the remaining bottle that long. [3.7] 500ml bottle, 2008 version. Opened less due to impatience than the alarmingly short shelf life of some of their other beers. Perhaps a better glass (large tulip) brought the head out a bit and got rid of the overcarbonation of the last one - or maybe it’s settled down a bit. Anyway, pretty much as above: a lovely beer that’s kind of light for the style. [3.9][11/2011]Bottle, 2011 version. Black with a tan head that fades but laces pretty well. Aroma is hoppier than previously with flowers and spices. Coffee, dark sugars, roasted malt. Silky texture with low but noticeable carbonation. Taste has dark toffee, roasted malt, cocoa, vanilla and coffee and is moderately sweet before a bitter finish that’s a little spicy. A little smoke, too. Some roasted bitterness and more hops than even fresh ones I have before. [3.8][5/12 ]Another 2011 bottle. Aroma is more delicate than the taste - more floral and spicy than roasted or fudgey notes. Very silky and luscious. Quite sweet with mocha and roast, dark fudge, spices. Again have the impression that this is more heavily hopped than previously. [4.0] Buy more this year. Averaging score.[7/14] 2014 version. Not much in the way of head at all. More chocolate than previously. Some soy sauce notes. Not tempted to up score, but very satisfying and harmonious. [6/16] 2016 bottle, Cellar & Pantry. Coming out in winter now. Appreciate the 24/5 bottled on date. Less aromatically hoppy but really quite bitter. Would have liked it to seem a little drier by the end. Fudgy and and a little earthy. Some licorice, deployed as a spice with anise. Carbonation is fairly low.[6/17]Similar to last year: lots of chocolate, low carbonation. Finish seems slightly sterner. Still really good.[6/18] Again a little less hoppy. A bit more of a creamy caramel note joins chocolate, roast and spices.