Tap at Sommar, Waterloo St, Birmingham. Near black, small beige head; looks good. Big roast and liquorice notes but has a sweetness to balance the bitterness. Medium bodied and semi-drying. Tasty stout.

500ml bottle from Hop Vault, Stourbridge, online. Shared with father in law. Brown pour with moderate sized beige head, nice retention. Aroma and taste is sweet, malty and nutty, somewhat dry in the finish. Not a bad example of a mild.

500ml bottle from Hop Vault, Stourbridge, online. Pours gold, lots of visible carbonation, big white fairly tight head, lots of lacing. Looks the part. Aroma and taste is semi-sweet, grains, grass, floral fruity hops. A fairly bitter finish with a touch of spicy hop. Nice crispness. Medium bodied. Excellent Pilsner.

500ml bottle from Hop Vault, Stourbridge, online. My 1000th England rating on here. Pours a cloudy reddish-brown colour with big off-white head. Aroma is sweet, fruity, grains, confectionary, some zest. Nice and hoppy. Taste has an astringency from the start. Its malty and sweet with fruit and zest notes but all overridden by the bitterness. Tangy finish. There is a nice smooth body with soft carbonation. I've had Fownes beers before which have been close to astringent but not crossed the line so to speak and have been very enjoyable, packed with flavour. This one not so much.

500ml bottle from Hop Vault, Stourbidge, online. Pours black with moderate sized beige head, solid head retention and lacing. Aroma is chocolate, light roastiness, grass, mint. Interesting. Taste is semi-sweet, chocolate, oats, roasty, somewhat grassy bitter finish with floral hoppy notes. Very tasty.

500ml bottle from Hop Vault, Stourbridge. Light hazy dark gold with moderate sized white head, settles down to a nice lasting top with lacing. Aroma is fruity with blackberry and gooseberry coming through as well as pale malts. Taste starts with a fairly nuanced malt profile (barley, oats, wheat and rye used) and then the hop called Most kicks in which is quite fruity and definitely picking up blackberry, less so the gooseberry on the flavour but still a hint of it. Also a yeasty bubblegum note is there. Medium bodied, fairly soft carbonation. Another good'en from an underrated brewery. Maybe its because they still sell in bottles.

Bottle from Hop Vault, Stourbridge, online. Pours near black, moderate sized beige head, nice retention and lacing. Aroma and taste is sweet, roasted malts, light berries, rye grains, chocolate. Nice level of roasty bitterness in the finish. Light to moderate body, smooth, moreish malts. A very sessionable tasty porter.

Bottle from Hop Vault, Stourbridge, online. Pours a cloudy to murky orange-brown, with small white head, nice retention, some lacing. Aroma has a sort of tropical chewit sweet aroma but fresher. Interesting. Taste of tropical fruits mango, pineapple, grapefruit, caramel and toasted malts, some confectionary sweetness, tingle of spice in the finish with a long but mild bitterness. Like it.

Bottle from Hop Vault, Stourbridge, online. Pale clear light gold with small moderate sized white head, nice retention. Aroma of grains, grassy hop with some lemon. Taste of lovely smooth pilsner malts, lightly grainy, grass and citrus hoppy notes lead to a moderate bitter finish. Very good lager.

Cask @ Cromwell's Tap House. Pours clear gold, white head. Gentle hoppy sweetness, citrussy mild lemon I suppose. Ok