Tap at the Euston Tap - 20/09/12. Hazy dark amber with a thin frothy off-white head. Caramel malt nose, hops, tropical fruits and a little cheese. Bitter grapefruit taste, orange, hops, pine. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation leading to a bitter dry finish. Decent!

ambrata buona schiuma piuttosto persistente agrumato resinoso leggero malto caramellato buona secchezza amaro deciso radice

scura buona schiuma media persitenza caffe duiscreta secchezza non molto corpo note tostate discreto amaro

Draught at Bishop’s Arms Vasagatan, Stockholm. Near black, coarse beige head. Aroma of coffee, bread, licorice and grapefruit. Mid dry with above medium body and rounded mouthfeel. Some dark chocolate and nougat. Salty and grapefruity with lingering bitter finish.

330 ml bottle bought @ The Bottle Shop Canterbury. Pours tiny hazy amberish dark brown with a huge frothy and fluffy beige head that slowly dissipates while leaving some thick lacing on the glass. Smell is tiny sweet and spicy with roasted malts, banana bread, cloves, minerals, coffee, dry wood, orange zest, dark bread, leather, black pepper, dusty rye flour, apricots, mandarin oranges, coriander roots, plums and hints of grapefruit juice. Taste is tiny sweet and very bitter and slightly sour with roasted malts, grapefruit juice, orange peal, salty liquorice, dark roast coffee, black pepper, cloves, coriander roots, dry wood, moist grass, dried apricots, dark rye bread, lemon grass, resin, pine, plums and hints of burnt cookies. Mouthfeel is slightly dry, slightly astringent, tiny tart, tiny watery, tiny oily bitter and medium bodied. Finish is bitter, tiny sour and slightly astringent with roasted malts, lemon balm, grapefruit peal, orange peal, black pepper, cloves, pine and dried apricots. A nice try but quite unbalanced...

3rd August 2012
On tap at the Rake. Very hazy orange - amber beer. Tidy cream coloured head. Smooth palate, pretty dry at the end. Juicy but bitter hops. Bitter orange, mango and grapefruit with a little pineapple and lemon. The bitterness keeps going. Finishes semi dry with strong bitter linger. Needs perseverance this one - initially too bitter but when the palate adjusts it’s very nice indeed.

15th September 2012
Bottle. Opaque brown - black beer, just a few residual tan bubbles for a head. Fresh palate with mild fine carbonation. Dark malts entertain sweetish ginger cake. A touch of subtle red fruits are followed by a mild dark malt roast bitterness. Finishes with more sweetish ginger tang. Not sure I can taste any Rum Barrel here - this is probably the straight version? Would love to taste the BA version. Nice beer - very tasty and drinks very easy!

Aroma: Dry, lemony and hoppy (Citra?). Reminds me of Fyne Ales’ Jarl.

Appearance: Hazy, golden body with a small white head. No visible carbonation. Great lacing.

Taste: Soft lemon flavour. Like Jarl, but with more of a malty backbone. Lingering bitterness.

Palate: Medium body with a very oily texture. Flat carbonation.

Overall: A decent ale, but completely lacking in carbonation and, in my opinion, character of flavour. Good but not great.

Keg at the Euston Tap, London. Pours clear gold with a creamy, white head. Rich straw nose. Medium sweet flavor, some alcohol, dirt, bitter grass, toasty hay. Medium to full bodied with fine carbonation. Bit of warmth on the finish, more toasty straw, some sticky grass, grain. Pleasant but nothing special.

Keg at the Euston Tap, London. Pours cloudy, orange-brown with a moderate, creamy head. Nose holds tons of ripe citrus, jammy fruits, resinous pine. Medium to big sweet flavor, lots of dirty grass, sticky pine, whole flower hops, dirt and earth. Medium to full in body with fine carbonation. Hugely resinous and sticky on the finish with a bit of abrasive hoppiness, plenty of pine and grass, toasty sugars, toasty bread, some burnt caramel. Lasting raw hop character, grass, pine, some sweat and urine in the background. Decent beer, but definitely a bit too raw.