7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle brewed in 2005. Brilliant copper color with lots of tiny bubbles. No discernible head. Aroma is sweet malt affected by significant smoke. Medium body with very mild carbonation. Flavor is sweet, smoky, and arguably a tinge woody. There’s a lot going on. Smoke. Wood. Rubber? Sugar. Caramel. Toffee. Where does it end? Should be a sipper, but it goes down incredibly well. Finish definitely develops smoke. Just really good. Not dry in the finish, but the sweetness is tolerable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Jul 2008
at 22:31
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Bottle brewed in 2005. Copper amber color with some floaters and only bubbles for head. The aroma is vinous and port (redundant?). Rather medium in body. Quite thick in a way. Not much carbonation. Flavor is sweet, but somewhat balanced with wood. The port is definitely present. Heat is noticeable, but it blends right in and is not bothersome. With time some biting (bitter?) things happened to the top of my tongue. This ale really goes down well. Finishes sweetish, but it works here. Fandangtastic treat.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Jul 2008
at 17:55
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle @ Chris O’s tasting. Courtesy of Reak and Mes. Clear brown with tiny beige head. Sweet aroma with notes of roasted malt, caramel, port and hops. Sweet and vinious flavor with toasted malt, caramel, port and ripe fruits. Warming alcohol in the end.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Jun 2008
at 15:35
3.8/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 4
Flavor 3
Texture 4
Overall 4
[cask at Back of Beyond, Reading] I’d only had a mild once before I tried this and had loved it (wish I could remember what it was!), so I couldn’t wait to try this one at my local Wetherspoons beerfest. It poured as black, flat and headless as a black cat on the M25 at midnight. Unfortunately it had about as much taste as that previous sentence; a mild hint of dark chocolate, then just tepid water. A grave disappointment this one.
Tried
from Cask
on 16 May 2008
at 16:26
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 7
Bottle from Monument in Concord, CA. Brewed in 2006. Aromas of light caramel, wood and sherry. Amber color with a white head that didn’t stay long. Medium body with virtually no carbonation. Flavor is sweet, nutty, and woody. Finishes with something herbal or woody. Overall it actually resembles a cream sherry. Something of a dessert thing. Essentially no hop, but some balance comes from the wood. A very excellent sipper.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 May 2008
at 21:01
6.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
(Cask at White Horse, Parson’s Green, London, 25 April 2008) Dark brown colour, almost black, with brief beige head. Malty, roasted nose with notes of chocolate and coffee. Malty, roasted taste with chocolate, dark fruit and some cocoa bitterness in the finish. Smooth mouthfeel. Decent and well made mild.
Tried
from Cask
on 03 May 2008
at 15:08
8.1/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
(2007 vintage at Gallows Bird on 2008-01-26) Clearly a barley wine. Surprisingly lots of carbon dioxide.Quite sweet and some hops balancing the sweetness. Rather enjoyable.
Tried
on 26 Apr 2008
at 03:03
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
0.5L bottle pours deep darkness with nice looking mocha head. The aroma is at first roasty with a mix of malt balls, roasted malts, a dash of chocolate and then a load of sweet dark fruity esters. The taste is as dark fruit heavy as the nose with sweet Concord grape preserves, huckleberries and sugar coated black currents. A note of sweet molasses adds to the experience along with mild amounts of roasted malts, chocolate malts and black licorice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Apr 2008
at 20:59
7.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Cask-conditioned at Penderel’s Oak (JDW, Holborn 8/4/08. Deep, dark brown aroma with a thin tan head. Aroma of sweet and roast malt with some chocolate. Easy drinking with fruity flavours of brambles and blackcurrants and some lovely toffee. Excellent.
Tried
from Cask
on 09 Apr 2008
at 13:46
8.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Pours deep amber into a snifter. Oak and Lagavulin aromas. Sweet malts upfront smooth through the middle with an oaky whiskey finish.
Tried
on 06 Apr 2008
at 12:47