Half on cask. Ruby brown in colour. Missing head. Marked aroma of dried fruit. Rich fruity - pineapple and banana - flavour supported by chocolate. Roasted impression towards the end. Medium mouthfeel (Wenlock Arms 19.09.2006).

(Cask at Wenlock Arms, London, 30 July) Colour is almost black with ruby notes, small frothy head. Nose is roasted and malty, with notes of wild berries (blackberries), a bit modest. Taste is roasted, leaning towards fruity with notes of blackberries and cherries. Mainly dry, light body and rather short finish. Thin but relatively tasty mild.

Brown bottle, 500 ml, expiry date: 04-08-05, purcahsed on : December 11 2004; eye: brown with burgundy reflections, beige head made up of small bubbles, head disappears to leave a ring around the glass, opaque, lacing; nose: roasted malt, dark chocolate; mouth: in that order, acridness, roasted malt, caramel, finale of roasted malt with a layer of caramel and a hint of acridness at the end, quite bitter, mild acridness, lightly sweet, medium body, slighlty oily texture, not much carbonation; overall: good FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 500 ml, meilleure avant 04-08-05, acheté le 11 décembre 2004; oeil : brun avec des reflets bourgognes, mousse beige formée de petites bulles, mousse s’affaise pour laisser un anneau autour du verre, opaque, dentelle; nez : malt torréfié, chocolat noir; bouche : dans l’ordre, âcre, torréfaction, caramel, finale en torréfaction avec une petite couverture de caramel et une pointe d’âcreté à la toute fin, assez amère, moyennement âcre, légèrement sucrée, corps moyen, texture légèrement huileuse, peu carbonatée; en résumé : bonne

Cask handpull at Wenlock Arms. Never been much of a fan of Nethergate and seeing a 3.5% so called IPA didn’t fill me with hope, but I am glad to say that this won me over. Copper colour with lasting bubbly off white head. Drinkable session bitter. Soft and hoppy. Bit of yeast/sulphur aroma. Easy drinking in mouth with slightly hoppy finish. Bit of citrus. Won’t win any prizes, but a well made weak session bitter.

Cask at GBBF 2006. Very dark brown with disappearing beige head. Quite a bit of caramel. Quite a decent dark mild. Some dark malts. Decent depth of flavour. Bit of grainy powder on end. Nice mild.

Cask conditioned at JDW Penny Black, Bicester 24-07-06. Amber coloured with a picey and hoppy aroma. Tasted distinctly fruity and spicey, served maybe a little bit too cold but this was a really interesting beer, finished with a nice maltyiness leading to good bitterness.

Cask gravity at Catford BF 06. Golden with thin white head. Some odd malt in this, not huge hop. Bit bland. Some hop aroma. Nothing defining though. Fine.

Cask at Merton Beer Festival, Oxon, July 2005. Wrm golden colour, could just about detect the coriander but also florally, beer a touch on the thin side but good level of bitterness and a thouroughly decent pint.