Cask, half at The White Star. Deep dark amber with a russet tint topped by a film-type, off-white head and with solid laceworks on the glass. Dry and dark malty aroma. The flavour brings dark fruits mixed with caramel malts. Finish with bitter dark fruits. Well-bodied and pleasant (Stoke on Trent, 02.05.2009).

Half pint served at the right drinking temperature from well-kept cask at The White Star, Stoke on Trent. Slightly hazy, golden body with a skinny strip of white foam that left great lacing on the glass. Sweet smell of dry fruity hops. Fusion of citrus hops in flavour with herbal and spicy undertones. Rounded bitter finish. A bit too smooth on the swallow, perhaps (02.05.2009).

Half, cask conditioned at The White Star, Stoke-on-Trent. Light pale golden body. Minimal head. Floral fruity aroma. Oily hops in flavour with sweet hints of honey. Smooth and dry bitter aftertaste. Well bodied, refreshing and likeable (02.05.09).

Cask, half pint in perfect condition at The White Star in Stoke. Golden body with light haziness. Very low head, but solid laceworks on the glass. Inviting floral aroma with notes of earthy malts. Flavour profile of mild fruity hops sustained by lingering bitter endnotes. Well bodied for its abv strength (02.05.2009).

Cask @ Willow Walk, JDW, Victoria SW1. Pours a clear copper color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty caramel aroma. Fruity malty caramel flavor with some hoppy hints. Has a sweetish fruity caramel finish.

Cask, JDW, Hoylake Lights. Deep dark brown with a decent tan head. Big sweet bubblegum and creamy vanilla aroma. Flavour was similarly sweet with chocolate predominating alongside roasted coffee and some subdued hop bitterness. An enjoyable and tasty stout.

[Gravity cask at Back of Beyond, Reading] Pours black with a small tan head. Smells of cream and vanilla. Initial taste is of deliciously creamy coffee, but your dreamy contemplation of what (based on first impressions) you expect to be a smooth and relaxing stout is rudely interrupted by sickly sweet pear drops, which swell aggressively to dominate your palatte. Once your taste buds have recovered from this shock, you start to pick up other flavours - banana and a hint of liquorice. The liquorice grows into a roastiness which eventually reveals a black coffee and bitter chocolate finish. But in the afterness, you’re reminded that Titanic appear to have poured a sweet shop into this beer - more of the intrusive pear drops, and hints of those old rhubarb-and-custard-pillow-shaped sweets. Overall then, the beer certainly has complex layers of intensive flavours, which are strange enough to satisfy a lover of weird Belgian brews. Unfortunately, these layers simply do not sit well together at all - the beer is grotesquely unbalanced. It’s certainly interesting to sip and seek out all the different flavours - but as an actual drink it is pretty unappealing, and I’d only recommend it to the most ardent lover of pear drops. c10