6.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
On tap at The White Horse, Parsons Green, London. An amber coloured pour with virtually no head to speak of. Not much in the way of aroma but hops were detected. Tastes quite bitter, hoppy, fruity. Rather unbalanced and could do with refining. Good to see a UK brewery willing to experiment though and I quite like the thinking behind this brewery from Cumbria.
Tried
from Draft
on 04 May 2011
at 05:52
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottled. Dark brown, vreamy beige head. Smokey licorice aroma with some plum brandy. Full bodied and intense with soft mouthfeel. Salty with peppery alcohol, some tobacco, earth and mirabelle. Mildly warming finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Apr 2011
at 05:44
5.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
Cask handpull at Southampton Arms. Clear deep gold with lasting off white head. Diacetyl in this otherwise toffeeish fruity golden bitter. Diacetyl really takes away from it. Bit disappointing
Tried
from Cask
on 25 Apr 2011
at 09:36
7.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
50cl Bottle at Dutch RB Meeting, gift from nate2g, thanks Nate! Black colour, off white head. Aroma of tar, smoke, ash, a bit medicinal like iodine or band aid but in a good way, hard roasted malts. Flavour is light sweet, very smokey, ash, tar, medicinal, liquorice root, some alcohol, ashy bitter finish. Medium bodied. Great and rough stuff, should’ve called this Asphalt instead of Granite.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Apr 2011
at 01:56
8.5/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
500 ml bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. ABV is 10.4%. Very dark ruby colour, nearly black. Fine tan head. Lovely complex aroma, vinous, smoked, burnt, malty. The flavour is very smoked, peaty, tarry and oaky, sweet and roasty. Not a classical barley wine by any stretch of the mind, more of a "smoked imperial porter" in my book.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Apr 2011
at 16:32
6.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle at the Rake. It pours near black with soft carbonation and a thin beige head. The nose is coffee, caramel, sweet dark fruit and burnt sugar. The taste is wood, burnt sugar, caramel, raisin, date and a little marshmallow. It’s medium-bodied and the finish is disappointingly short. Ok, but not particularly exciting.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Apr 2011
at 12:40
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
500ml bottle. Pours black with a large frothy head. Aroma is root beer and floral notes. Root beeresque to start. Lots of roast malt in the finish with a hint of vinegar. Fair amount of carbonation. A fair bit going on, but I’m not sure if it all fits.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Mar 2011
at 13:07
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle from beermerchants.com A ruby/red coloured pour with a medium off white head. Interesting malty, hoppy aroma. Tastes hoppy, dry, citrus fruit, caramel, pine. Fancy looking bottle but I expected more. Perfectly drinkable though.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Mar 2011
at 14:15
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Cask at the Southampton Arms, London on 5th February 2011. Solid black with thin pale brown head and no lace. Fruity aroma then roasted malts, instant coffee and spicy herbiness in-mouth. Aftertaste is fruity with lemon, berries and some burnt malts, and is fairly lengthy.
Tried
from Cask
on 06 Feb 2011
at 06:42
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
bottle at home .. dark red brown ... huge tan bubbly head ... dark fruity yeast malts nose ... dark fruits ... loads of licorice .. little chocolate ... dark malts ... little cherry ... nice soft and easy ... good light roast ... juicy ... really enjoying this one
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Feb 2011
at 12:30