Handpull cask at the Brunswick, Derby. Mid-brown, clear with an uneven khaki head. Sweet, malty aroma, a good dollop of caramel syrup. Sweet taste, very muted, with a light bitterness in the finish. Light to medium body, soft carbonation. A forgettable mild.

Cask at Oakes Barn, Bury St Esminds. Aroma is vaguely fruity. Malty. Clear copper gold. Thin frothy foamy white head. Malty led. Relatively chewy. Sweet fruit watered down by a vegetable broth for some reason. Struggles for some hoppy bitterness but ultimately it falters. Light-medium bodied. Slick. Soft carbonation. Long dry slightly astringent finish. Snore.

Bottle from Waitrose, Frimley. Opaque light amber. Frothy foamy white head. Aroma has citrus. Spice. Both are low-key. Also malts. Jammy. Flavourwise this beer definitely exhibits its trad brewery roots. There is citrus and resin but they're clumsy: weak but witb harsh edges. Although, yeah, there is a jammy streak. Underlying malts. And, the required by CAMRA, hint of veg soup. Light-medium bodied. Slick. Flat-soft carbonation. Long dry slightly astringent finish. Decent despite the twiggy family tree.

Pours dark brown, looks almost black in the glass, with nice reddish hints through light. Average to small sized, greyish to mocha coloured head, quite large bubbled; recedes quite quickly, no lacing. Average intensity in a soft aroma: nutty malts, some milk stout like feeling, minimal roasted character with hints of chocolate and a bit of dark malts acidity, a touch of frutiness with a light dried character (figs perhaps most discernible, but all in all a quite 'vague' fruity feeling). Taste notes follow the aroma closely: there's pretty good intensity for the abv and a nicely clean, polished profile. The main feeling is soft, quite milk stout like maltiness, with now barely noticeable darks malts acidity. Medium sweetness, quite low bitterness, overall quite on the sweet side in both taste and aftertaste, but a very clean and never sticky sweetness. Quite light in body, average or slightly below average carbonation. Probably a bit more carbonated than usual for an english stout, but a very fine-bubbled, delicate carbonation. Mouthfeel is overall pretty smooth with a hint of creaminess. Liked this one, perhaps not outstanding but very much what you'd expect from a good, classicly english stout.