Hand-pulled cask ale, half, shared by Finn at NWAF ’13. Amber coloured body. Dotted spots down the glass. Aroma is malt-fruity. Dried fruity taste nicely added by earthy malts and a little spicy touch, rather jam-like, with a fine dry bitter support. Medium bodied. Above par for a British strong bitter (Manchester, 25.01.2013)

500ml bottle. Clear golden amber colour, foam white head and slight hoppy aroma. Taste is a sweetish biscuity malt caramel, and some spicy hop bitterness with citrus & blackcurrant notes. Light bodied and fairly fizzy, dryish finish. OK.

16.9oz bottle. Orange-brown body, frothy off-white head. Thankfully much better than the lackluster Blonde Ale. The hops aren’t that assertive, but are present enough to add to the balance, and create a nice drinkable Ale. Light caramel, toffee, finings. Still doesn’t really have a cask feel. Rather mediocre, but a nice change of pace for my Midwestern palate.

500 ml bottle. Pours a light gold color with a nice head, but little retention. Aroma is of biscuit malt and floral hops. Sweet malt and diacetyl in flavor. Some faint hop bitterness is present. The wheat adds some body, but only confuses me in this style. Light to medium bodied. Not quite as expected.

16.9oz bottle. Transparent orange-tan, quick risiing, active carbonation bubbles. Oh. Brewed by Coors. Damn. Straightforward, medium bodied. The wheat adds some dimension, but with the already big fruity ale notes, its kind of a mess. There is some dry, spicy hop bitterness up front, but again, ends up clashing and being a mess with the NW hops. . Lemony edged sub par English Pale Ale. I certainly wouldn’t buy this beer again. Loses more points for claiming to be "closer to cask". This beer is overcarbonated, and is quite far from having any semblance of cask feel.

Bottle bought during visit to Burton-on-Trent. Pours a clear amber colour, with a frothy head that stayed. Quite high in carbonation and a little oily initially. Caramel aroma. Hoppy. Good overall.

Bottle from Morrisons [260113]
Amber, clear, huge frothy fluffy head, good lacing from bottle
Aroma - soft light citrus light spicy hops, slight fruity malts, soft yeast esters
Taste - Soft fruity malts, light sour fruity hops, touch of lemon, soft spicy light peppery hops, nice slightly sharp sour notes, soft caramel malts, alcohol very well hidden, some complex yeast stuff going on, some tartness, no minerals, this is really good, it’s a tad Belgian to me, shockingly good for an English supermarket beer
Palate - soft carb. medium body, smooth. Finish as main flavour, cleans well, bit dry, soft peppery hop, nice slightly tart note
Overall - Didn’t get any minerals here - I was very surprised be this. It’s probably one of the best ’old fashioned’ English beer you can get. I will get more for this for sure!

Bottle at home in London. Pours clear, grapefruit-pink with a small, white foam head. Nose of watermelon, sugary berries. Medium sweet flavor with melon, peach, light cherry pits. Light bodied with average carbonation. Sweet finish, some light fruit pit bitterness, watermelon, light citrus, grapefruit. It’s not actually as bad as I had hoped it would be.

Bottle @ home, picked up at Wilbur’s Fort Collins. I don’t think this is super fresh, but here goes. Pours a fairly clear, dark orange appearance with a nice off white head. Holiday minty, light veggie, fairly spicy, toasty malty aroma. Tangy, somewhat fruity, very earthy bitter hoppy, quite herbal, somewhat minty, spicy flavor. Kind of interesting - probably better fresher but not my thing.