23rd January 2017
Level 42 Bottleshare. Thanks to Paul. Light haze on this deep amber beer, small cream colour head. Palate is smooth and semi dry, modest carbonation. Soft dry malts, sweetish cream and caramel. Modest fruits and mellow rum. Some mild alcohol warmth. Touch of vanilla. Light dry spicy finish. Some decent components but the whole doesn’t sing for me.

Bottle shared in London - thanks to Paul. Pours clear, rich brown with a creamy, tan head. The nose has some burnt wood, ripe berries, earth. Light sweet flavour with some jammy dark berries, toffee, alcohol, burnt marshmallows. Full bodied, oily, with fine to average carbonation. Warming finish with more toasted toffee, light ash, brown bread, ripe berries. Not bad overall.

Bottle shared on Level 42 23/01/2017. Many thanks to Paul for this one. A nut brown coloured pour with a halo of beige head. Aroma is salty, solvent, hot alcohol, raisin. Flavour is composed of semi sweet, brown malts, raisin, brown bread, cakey, little tangy fruits in the finish. Lingering alcohol.

A hazy copper and light amber coloured body with a nice rich glow and a dense, slow-dying five centimetre tall off-white head. Aroma of yeast, bread, alcohol, grain, cereal and more malt - funky and definitely on the earthier side, especially for the style. Medium-bodied; Assertive effervescence; Strong malt notes with cardboard, light apples and pears, a touch of grain and alcohol along with some malty and nutty flavours that show some caramel. Aftertaste is a bit plain with the earthiness, nuts and malt that show through - no real bit in the name of complexities. Overall, a decent beer with some yeast, malt and grain flavours that show throughout, but not enough of a hop balance or character to break through. I sampled this 440 mL bottle purchased from TOPS in Cape Quarter (Green Point), Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa on 14-August-2015 for ZAR27,99 sampled at home in Washington on the opposite end of the planet (and added to Chili) on 10-November-2016.

Bottle from Rowland Liquors. It pours cloudy dirty blonde with a small white head. The aroma is fresh, tangy, juicy fruits earth, slightly chalky and orange sherbet. The taste is crisp, tart, bright, juicy, some acidity, lemon sherbet, gooseberry, white grape skin, minerals, gooseberry and granny smith apple with a dry finish. Light body and moderate carbonation. Decent go at a sour. Drinks very easy.

Keg at Beerhouse on Long. It pours clear pale gold with a small white head. The aroma is mellow, sweet tropical fruits, stewed orange, marmalade and muffin. The taste is crisp, bitter - sweet, quite a lot of stone fruit, melon, pithy citrus, light alcohol, bread, straw and some grass with a drying finish. Medium body and fine carbonation. A touch sweet and not as vibrant as I had hoped. Fair.

Draft at Beerhouse. Clear golden color, thick white head with good retention and solid lacing. Aroma of stone fruit. Taste is lightly fruity. Nice.