Subsidiaries
Tried
on 11 Jan 2015
at 17:27
6.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Cask at bow bar. Pours black, a bit thin, light coffee, smooth roast chocolate.
Tried
from Cask
on 09 Jan 2015
at 01:33
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Cask at the Lyndhurst, Reading. They haven’t have they? No, surely no-one in their right minds would take the lovely smooth decadent Doodle Stout that I like so much and put chillies in it? That’d be crazy. Oh, right, that’s exactly what they have done. Fortunately much of the character of the original beer remains. It’s dark brown with a thick cream head, and at first it’s all smoothness and chocolate and roasted malt and coffee. The chilli starts as a vaguely irritating tingle at the back of the throat but as you drink more the heat grows quite a lot. Unlike some chilli beers it never overwhelms the other flavours but- here’s the thing- it in no way works with them or complements them. There’s a good stout there and there’s chilli there, they’ve not mixed well and frankly should have been kept separate. Nevertheless, the base beer is good enough that it’s still quite enjoyable- just not as good as the original.
Tried
from Cask
on 06 Jan 2015
at 14:52
6/10
Tried
on 05 Jan 2015
at 17:35
5/10
Tried
on 02 Jan 2015
at 17:44
6.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
From cask. Pours pitch black with a small off white head. Aroma is dense vanilla. Toasted dark malty, caramelish. Vanilla. Caramelish dense maæty. Dry and solid vanilla finish.
Tried
from Cask
on 29 Dec 2014
at 18:04
6.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Carry out from the brewery. A deep chestnut pour with an earthy, nutty aroma; the carared malt gives a sweet malty flavour and there are lots of woody hops and a touch of spice to finish. A good seasonal bitter.
Tried
on 27 Dec 2014
at 05:29
6.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Carry out from the brewery. A pale amber pour with a stony peach aroma and taste; and a clean crisp bitterness. Another interesting hop variety.
Tried
on 27 Dec 2014
at 05:26
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6
Cask at the William Robert Looseley (JDW), High Wycombe. Deep copper-chestnut with a moderate cream head. Caramel and fake chocolate are pre-eminent, with raisins, port and spices in there too. There’s a little bit of fuggley leaf mulch behind but generally this is all about the malt. It’s sweet and strong and tastes more alcoholic than it actually is. It could have been pretty decent without the fake chocolate, but I can’t stand fake chocolate. Despite that it’s still not a bad beer and it’s nice to have a winter seasonal cask beer that actually tastes right for the season.
Tried
from Cask
on 23 Dec 2014
at 11:45
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Cask at the Rose & Crown, Sandhurst. Pale amber with a loose white head; pleasant floral aroma; floral taste at first, but with a sharp citrus kick to follow; and a dry, well balanced finish. Rather good.
Tried
from Cask
on 05 Dec 2014
at 11:42