Copper coloured bitter with a small head. Mainly a malty bitter character with an aroma to match, maybe a hint of fruit in its flavour.

Cask from The Railway Tavern, Chelmsford. Light brown with little head. Sweet and syrupy, though quite pleasant initially. Glad I’d only ordered a half as sweetness became a little overwhelming towards end.

Cask at the Old Manor (JDW), Bracknell. A bright copper colour with thick cream head; aroma of earthy, nutty malts; soft and earthy in the mouth with a syrupy consistency and some fruity malts; then some pleasant, warming spice to finish. Not bad.

Bottle. Syrupy malt aroma. Amber with small head. Sweet toffee malt and mild herbal hops flavor. Nice body. This bottle was a bit past its prime but still not bad.

Bottle. Floral honey and malt aroma. Golden yellow with minimal head. Sweet honey barley malt flavor with lightly bitter herbal hops finish. Pretty good.

Cask @ Haymarket, Edinburgh 051212
Dark amber, slight haze, dense white head, good lacing
Aroma - soft fruity malts, not a lot on the nose
Taste - fruity caramel malt, soft bitter hops, some soft sweet jammy fruits, touch of red berries, touch of toasted malts, fairly simple
Palate - medium body, oily, smooth texture. Finish - soft bitter finish from toasted malts
Overall - OK bitter

cask at kennilworth ... copper ... thin tan head ....soft sharp fruit nose ... sweet fruits ... sft honey tones ... juicy fruity finish

500ml bottle - copper coloured body, a gush of a white head which has just gone in the time it took to type this opening. Nose is cereal, not much else, a bit sweet in the nostrils too. A bit thin, with a bitterness and that cereal coming through again, not too pleasant this time. No, I think this is a sub-average bitter with very little to do with Christmas... I’ve got about a dozen bottles of various Belgian Xmas brews to put this to shame.