17/11/2017. HIGH CROSS, 103-105 High Street, LEICESTER, Leicestershire, England (WETHERSPOONS)

17/03/2015. WELLINGTON, 37 Bennetts Hill, BIRMINGHAM, West Midlands, England

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Cask at Standing Order, Derby. Pours a golden yellow with a small white head. Malts and biscuits vie for attention in the aroma. Mouthfeel starts off with malts before quickly progressing to floral hops on a bed of caramel. Traces of grains and spices as well. Finish is dry and quite bitter. OK but nothing special.

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

Cask at Pothole, Allestree (Derby). Pours a golden yellow with a minimal white head and good lacing. Has floral hops in the nose, which continue into the mouth where there is a creamy texture. Some summer fruits and a hint of caramel too. Pretty d*mn hoppy with a bitter finish. I would say this or more leaning towards an English IPA rather than a Bitter – but what do I know ?

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

Handpull cask at the Pot Hole, Allestree. Golden and clear with white head and a fair bit of lacing. Smells of butter and hay. Tastes a lot better than it smells, with a sweet citrus note and a character of white grape. Slight sulphur note on the finish. Okay.

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

Cask at Bird in Hand, Stafford – not listed in RateBeer. Treat this review with caution. My beer poured cloudy, and the barman admitted it shouldn’t be. However it tasted OK (certainly not “off”), so I drank the original. Anyway, pours orange-brown with a small cream head. Has lemon and nuts in the aroma. In the mouth it is fruity with the main flavour being tangerines. But there is more than just that – traces too of apples, pepper and ginger biscuits. More bitterness creeps in at the finish. Quite nice – but not as good as some of their other beers.

Appearance - 2 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Cask at Standing Order, Derby. I probably shouldn’t be reviewing this because the beer I was served was very cloudy. The brewer confirms this was NOT intentional, and probably caused by being put on sale before it was ready. However, it tasted OK, so I will add it with a note to Rerate. As I said poured an almost murky dark chestnut with minimal beige head. Aroma of boozy ripe fruit. In the mouth had a creamy texture with sweetness provided by caramel, and sharpenss of autumn fruits with hints of malts, spices and apples. The finish has fruits and grain. Quite nice – but needs a rerate as stated above.

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

Handpull cask at the Codnor Inn. Chestnut brown, clear with an off-white head. Chocolate malt and some malty and oaky notes in the aroma. Malt-led taste with a sour woody and slightly medicinal flavour. Some earthy bitterness on the finish with more oak in the aftertaste. Light carbonation. Decent enough but of course these bitters are a dime a dozen in the UK.