6.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 6
16/6/2022. Cask at the 30th East Anglian Beer & Cider Festival, Bury St Edmunds. Pours clear dark ruby brown with minimal head. Aroma is damson, plummy, earthy, malt, light roasting. Moderate sweetness, quite heavy bitterness, touch of sour. Moderate body, oily and watery, soft to flat carbonation. Okay but lacked some body and life.
Tried
from Cask
on 19 Jul 2022
at 17:16
5.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 5
16/6/2022. Cask at the 30th East Anglian Beer & Cider Festival, Bury St Edmunds. Pours clear dark straw gold with a small bubbly white head. Aroma is malty, earthy, fruity, caramel, touch of berry and slightly veggie. Moderate sweetness, quite bitter. Moderate body, oily, soft carbonation. Bitter finish, a little rough this one. Expected better. Maybe the cask wasn’t in the best shape.
Tried
from Cask
on 19 Jul 2022
at 17:16
6.5/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6
Handpull cask at the Captain Noel Newton (JDW), Oakham. Dark brown and opaque with a big beige/khaki head. Light malty aroma. Sweet taste, with an almost sour bitterness rounding up rhe lingering slightly herbal finish. Thin body, no carbonation. A little dull.
Tried
from Cask
on 24 Jun 2022
at 11:20
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Cask: Poured an amber orange with a frothy tan head. Aroma is juicy fruits, earthy, leafy, malty. Taste is fruity forward, loads of rich malts, earthy.
Tried
from Cask
on 19 Jun 2022
at 20:16
6.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Cask thanks to Grumbo: Poured a deep brown with reddish edges, head is khaki. Aroma is molasses, rich roasted malts, earthy. Taste is nutty, roasted malt, earthy, light bitterness.
Tried
from Cask
on 17 Jun 2022
at 11:28
7.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
(Bottle) Pours slightly hazy brown with small head. Lovely rich spicy aroma. Nice mouthfeel - medium bodied with plenty of soft bright carbonation. Nice rich complex taste. Quite boozy. Spices that I cannot name that remind me of Christmas. Some funky and peppery hints. Unusual and very enjoyable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Jun 2022
at 21:25
6.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Cask at Bird in Hand, Stafford. Pours a fairly dark reddish-brown with a small foamy cream head. Just some malts in the aroma. In the mouth it is light and rather watery. Flavour is strong but a bit odd. Malts, dark fruits and chocolate to commence with, plus later on liquorice and cream. Finish is rather dry. This is OK, but I’m not convinced about the overall flavour.
Tried
from Cask
on 20 May 2022
at 22:08
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 5
Texture 8
Overall 6
500ml bottle purchased from Beers of Europe and drunk at home. Mahogany/dark amber and only a little translucent with a small film of beige head. Overwhelming aroma of dates and figs with a little bit of woodsmoke. Taste is sweet with a medicinal hoppy bitter/sour character and a surprisingly dry finish. More fig appears fleetingly in the aftertaste. Big body with heavy carbonation. A dubbel? Hmmmm. It's very English, which is not what you want from a supposed Abbey style. If I'd been out drinking cask ale all day in traditional pubs and this one was the last of the night, I might be raving about it. But as it stands it's a bit messy, of an indeterminate style. It is close to the Best Before date to be fair. All in all: drinkable, bordering on good, but doesn't hit the bullseye.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 May 2022
at 17:00
6.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6.5
Texture 7
Overall 6.5
Pint at the gate House JDW. Medium creamy beige head. Clear almost black pour. A lovely smooth stout
Tried
from Cask
at
The Gate House (JDW)
on 14 May 2022
at 18:17
5.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6
Cask at Moon under Water, Stafford. Very surprised I haven’t rated this before, as I’ve drunk it a number of times. Pours a golden yellow with a small white head and good lacing. Not much of an aroma, just some vague floral hops. In the mouth sweet malts and grains are to the fore to begin with. Followed swiftly by crisp apples along with an underlying biscuit base. Later still an acrid sharpness pervades the beer, and this is what dominates the finish. It’s OK I guess, but let down by the finish.
Tried
from Cask
on 14 Apr 2022
at 22:02