Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Sampled cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Amber colour. Malty ale, reasonable bitterness. Not brilliant, but good!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Black colour (no surprise). Aroma of raisins, cigarbox and coffee. Surprisingly fruity flavour for a stout (=surprising if I hadn’t read the IBF programme), dark fruits on a background of espresso coffee and dusty roasted malts. Interesting beer!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

33 cl capped bottle simply called "Saison Dupont" (bought in Norway), "Vieille Provision" is apparently used only for the corked bottle, otherwise it must be the same beer. Hazy golden beer with a large head. Lovely farmhouse aroma with spices and tobacco. Spicy and "authentic" farmbrew flavour, which unfortunately soon is overpowered by a strange medicinal bitterness on the the back of my tongue - I’m not sure how much of this bitterness comes from the hops and how much comes from dead yeast cells. This bitterness dominates the long aftertaste.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

(500 ml bottle, bought in Norway). Filtered wheat beer, like the name says crystal clear, very light golden, enormous head. Strong aroma of ripe bananas (or rather: the artificial "banana" filling you get in some chocolates + bubble gum), cloves too. Banana, cloves and hops in the flavour - but there's just too little of everything. Why filter away the goodies? Very short aftertaste.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

(Sampled 500 ml bottle, bought in Norway). This is a decent Helles with a pleasant aroma. Flavour and aftertaste are OKish, but far from exceptional. Probably better on tap - or maybe all the "Bierkeller" hype is misleading?

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

(500 ml bottle). This is an ale (bitter), not a lager! Deep golden to amber colour, moderate head. Aroma is hoppy and dominant vanilla. Flavour is not sweet, quite bitter actually, and the vanilla somehow seems out of place. I guess there's a reason most beers don't smell and taste strongly of vanilla. Nice for a change of pace, though.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Rerate, 500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.5%. Clear amber to brown colour, moderate head. Moderate aroma with notes of malts and bread, just some faint hints of caramel, sulphur and fruity hops. The flavour has some nutty malts, and the fruity hops are more pronounced. A hint of toffee too, and a moderate bitterness in the finish. It is quite obvious that this is not a "live" beer. Cask conditioned this is a mellow, easily drinkable bitter. Not the very best, but GOOD, to be sure. Available in most of Britain, partly because of Marston's contract with the nationwide pubchain J.D. Wetherspoon.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

(750 ml "champagne" bottle, vintage 1997-98). Pours with an enormous lasting head. Cloudy golden colour. Lovely aroma of sour fruits, notes of spices and horse stable. Flavour is fruity, sour but not vinegar, a little tart. Quite dry. Reminds me of a brut champagne. Moreish aftertaste. Yummy!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. I haven't had the bottled version yet, but it is reported to be somewhat different. ABV of the cask version is 4.4%. Golden colour. Flowery and candy-like aroma. Light bodied. Would benefit from a cooler serving temperature than was the case at the IBF. Flavour is moderately hoppy, would no doubt be refreshing if served cooler. As it was, it lacked some "freshness". Dry finish. BTW, it’s organic - "suitable for vegans" = no animals killed for the purpose of brewing this beer. Nice to know before you order your plate of bangers & mash.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Rerate bottle, pasteurised: 500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal, Stavanger. Amber to brown colour, large off-white head. Moderate malty aroma, slightly sourish. Flavour is also moderately malty with low bitterness, fairly dry. Mouthfeel is "dusty" and slightly sourish, not very rich. Drinkable, but better cask conditioned. Original rating: Sampled cask conditioned in Scotland. Copper coloured. Smooth and pleasant Scottish "heavy". Nice malty aroma and flavour. I'm ready for another one any time.