Bottle 0,5l. Golden brown with a lasting creamy head. Good looking. Sweet malty aroma. Fruity flavor. Pleasant sweet malty bitterness in a lingering aftertaste.

[500ml bottle, gift from wife] Colour veering towards mid-brown - darker than one would expect for the style of ale. Good and lasting creamy head. Sweet, fresh, delicious aroma. Taste initially sweet and malty, and very smooth. The middle of the bottle went very sour for a few mouthfuls - quite a strange interlude - before the sweetness returned towards the end of the bottle - it was only at this point that the elderflower suddenly came through. Left a pleasantly light, fresh, hoppy aftertaste. This went down very easily, and would make a nice summer ale. A good effort from Charley boy (or at least from Wychwood Brewery, who have contract-brewed this beer for him) but it was somehow a little too light. If you’re looking for a similar organic ale with just a little more kick than this, try Shepherd Neame’s Whitstable Bay. However, I will definitely look forward to other beers from our monarch-in-waiting!

Deep amber with tiny off white head. Sweet fruity aroma with roasted malt, caramel and hops. Flavor likewise with a bitter end.

50 cL bottle, comes as Duchy Originals Select Ale. Pours golden amber with a lacing tan head. Dry malty and light fruity aroma. Flavour is light spiced, mild roasted malt and a slight ash/tobacco note. Goes into a light caramel malt flavour before the tobacco notes reappear. Light herbal hops finish swept in a light sweetness. Too much of that tobacco like English hops I cannot stand - sadly.

50 cL bottle. Pours cloudy orange with a lacing off-white head. Light sweet caramel malt and minor fruity note in the aroma. Flavour holds a light spiced and liqourice like hops note. Light fruity hops flavour following. Goes into a dry bitter finish.

Bottle (from Waitrose). Sour milk, banana, and clove aroma. Cloudy brown-orange color with big tan head. Slight sweet banana, clove and creamy malt flavor. Pretty good. Re-rate purchased in Germany: no difference - naturally fresher which is always a plus. Very solid dunkelweizen.

Brown bottle, 500 ml, best before 21 JAN 08, savoured on March 29 2008; eye: copper with a reddish hue, clear, slight effervescence, beige head made up of rather large bubbles, a bit of lacing; nose: floral hops, caramelized malt, light fruity; mouth: grainy caramelized malt, light fruity, light hops, a bit of pepper, rose water, banana just before the finale, finale in grainy malt, a bit watery, medium body, not much carbonation; overall: fine FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 500 ml, meilleure avant 21 JAN 08, savourée le 29 mars 2008; œil : cuivrée avec une teinte rougeâtre, claire, légère effervescence, mousse beige formée de bulles plutôt grosses, un peu de dentelle; nez : houblon floral, malt caramélisé, léger fruité; bouche : malt caramélisé granuleux, léger fruité, léger houblon, un peu de poivre, eau de rose, banane juste avant la finale, finale en malt caramélisé granuleux, un peu aqueuse, corps moyen, peu carbonatée; en résumé : bien

Clear deep amber with meidum off white head. Sweet aroma with caramel and hoppy notes. Sweet fruity flavor with hops, caramel and malty notes. Ends bitter. Very good balanced beer.

Bottle from Sainsburys. Pale copper coloured with a decent off-white head. Earthy malt aroma with a whiff of grassy hops. Flavour was malty, with a touch of orange peel and a decent bitter finish. Ok.

Duchy is an ok beer, at least for an organic. It is not a traditional bitter, and has a significant hop flavor and aroma. Dry and bitter.