6.8

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Medium bodied, smooth with a short dry back.
Grain, citrus, stone fruit & confectionery tastes with a bitter hopped finish.

6.5

Tried at the Strugglers inn, Lincoln. Nice golden beer with a bitter finish. easy drinking and decent enough, for the abv. oh and for comparison £4.10 for a pint (although i'm drinking a third which was £1.37) For pricing context (Real ale pub, In the tourist area of Lincoln, in sight of both castle and cathedral, and where they used to hang people when that was a thing)

6.4

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

6.6

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 5.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Hand pulled pint at The Wrekin Inn on Christmas Day 2025. Pale golden pour, white cap on top. Mild citrus nose and initial taste, slight spicy undertones, grew on me as it warmed in the glass.

7

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Cask at Crewe Dog, Crewe. Pours a very dark reddish-brown with a small foamy tan head and some lacing. There’s roasted malts in the aroma alongside milk chocolate and dried fruit. In the mouth it is rather sweet with flavour of cream, cherries, roasted malts and chocolate. A little alcoholic strength can be detected later, leading to a slightly fruity finish. This is decent – though could have done with more stout characteristics.

6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 5.5

'Mad Friday' 2025 Beer#12. Twelfth brew on one of the busiest drinking days of the year. Very dark-red stout, extremely sweet for the style too, which may account for its colour. Red berries are dominant here in what I assume is a Buckfast Abbey tribute brew, having visited it and bought their tipple previously. Looks good, but too overbearing in its ingredients for me.

6.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5

Cask at PACK, Wolverhampton. Pours a pale gold with a small frothy almost white head and good lacing. Not much of an aroma just hints of spices and lemon. In the mouth it is sweet and smooth with a creamy texture. Main flavours are floral hops and a strong but light citrus. Some bitterness comes through later on plus traces of spice, grapefruit and lemon. Finish is slightly dry. This is Ok. A bit bland to start with but gets better as it progresses.

7.5

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Cask at Crewe Dog, Crewe. Pours a dark reddish-brown with a small foamy tan head and good lacing. The aroma is mainly malts and alcohol but with some hints of spicy and chocolate also. In the mouth it is basically sweet and remains so, but with a hint of underlying bitterness. Flavour is roasted malts, alcoholic strength, liquorice and chocolate with hints of coffee, spice and treacle coming later. Finish is slightly dry and quite boozy. This is decent.

7

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5

Cask at Crewe Dog, Crewe. Pours a slightly hazy golden brown with a small scummy cream head and good lacing. There’s malts and ginger in the aroma plus a hint of chestnuts. In the mouth it starts off sweet and creamy with malts, butterscotch and caramel. However after a while it spices up with cloves and cinnamon coming through leading to a quite bitter finish. This is reasonable. Bland at the start but the spicing up improves it no end.

7

Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Squashed flat under a forklift dropped palate at a place I've worked at, that's my first flat rat experience. This second one is much more rewarding - a clear golden good-looking hoppy dominant easy session ale.