Cask at Tom’s Tap, Crewe. Pours a (very) dark reddish-brown with a small frothy off-white head and good lacing. There’s ginger, oats and bran in the aroma plus a hint of treacle. In the mouth it is quite sweet but with also some sharpness, and a rather watery texture. Flavour is strongly ginger, though this sometimes gives way to dark fruit. Roasted malts are also around and hints of black wine gums, plums and spice come later. Fruitiness lasts into the finish. This is nice but is let down by its thinness.

On tap at Tom’s Tap, Crewe. Pours golden yellow with minimal off-white head, good lacing and medium carbonation. Not much of an aroma – just hints of floral hops and melon. In the mouth it starts off slightly sweet (in the cheeks) but quickly becomes quite bitter (on the tongue). Flavour is marmalade, oranges, floral hops and hints of citrus, with a little lemongrass coming through later, leading to a slightly fruity finish. This is quite decent.

cask at Nottingham beer festival 2025 Wednesday ..deep copper brown ...thin tan lacing ..soft sweet caramel toffee fruit nose .msoft sweet bready toffee malts ..juicy malts