Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

First time impression: Cask at The Grid, Southfields, London. Served too cold. Unbelievably high rating at the Great British Beer Festival. I still find the use of extremely bitter hops totally out of hand. Probably the first pint of my life that I was unable to finish. Undrinkable. If you guys like it, fine. I just don't. Sorry. Note: Looking at other ratings, I will have to sample this one again. My taste MAY have changed ...

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

(330 ml bottle). Very pale yellow colour, decent head. Sweet fruity aroma. Flavour is, uh, thin... some alcoholic/fusel notes, like Norwegian "hjemmebrent" (="moonshine"). Might be drinkable ice cold at the beach of Antalya. Anywhere else: Avoid!

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

500 ml bottle. Very dark ruby colour, large thick tan head. Malty aroma with smoked notes, elements of espresso coffee, tar and old woodwork. Flavour is initially a tad sweeter than I appreciate, roasted malts with tar, coffee and prunes. A distinct bitterness from the hops and roasted malts takes over, and lasts through the long aftertaste. The high ABV is well hidden. A solid Baltic porter, but not as good as Sinebrychoff.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 2

(Bottled 2003). Deep golden/amber colour, moderate head. Aroma of sugary alcohol and hay. Grossly over-hyped and over-rated beer, mostly by people obviously fascinated by the high ABV. Sorry, I have difficulties respecting the ratings of people who actually LIKE this crap. Flavour is cloyingly & revoltingly sweet, alcohol, molasses, syrup, syrup and more syrup. And alcohol. Did I mention syrup? And alcohol? This is gross. This is REALLY gross. Half of it went down the drain. And I paid nearly US$10 (in Norway) for this bottle! (Sob!) Cellaring it for 30 years might have helped A LITTLE, but why cellar crap? A real drainpour, if I ever saw one. Thank God I drank it in November - "Samichlaus" would have ruined my Christmas completely.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml. ABV was 4.8%.) Gushes out of the bottle, pours with an enormous light tan head. Aroma is malts, caramel and overwhelmingly fermenting fruits (apples, pears, plums). Flavour is overwhelmingly acidic and fruity, bordering on vinegar. This acidity masks all other flavours, just a hint of hop bitterness on the back of my tongue. Some metallic sidenotes. My beer was still drinkable (2 months left till expiry date), but had clearly set sails for a voyage to the promised land of Vinegaria.

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

(500 ml bottle). Pours with a large to moderate frothy head. Very dark brown colour. Moderate but pleasant aroma of cherry chocolates and coffee. Decent sweetish flavour of roasted malts, oats, coffee and dark chocolates, some fruityness too. Mouthfeel is surprisingly thin for an oatmeal stout. A bit too carbonated for my taste. Acceptable bitterness from the hops and roasted malts in the aftertaste.

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

(Bottle conditioned, 500 ml). Pours with an enormous fluffy lingering head. Cloudy brown colour. Aroma is alcohol, red fruits, leather, caramel and sherry. Flavour is malty with English fruitcake and Christmas pudding elements, but a substantial hoppy bitterness (nearly too much?) takes over and dominates through the long finish. Some alcoholic warmth. Good strong ale, but somehow the hop varieties used seem not to be perfectly balanced with the initial comforting sweetness.

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

(500 ml bottle). Typical hefe cloudy golden, large head. Lovely strong aroma of ripe bananas, bubblegum and cloves. Cloves in the flavour too, light bodied, tasty but could still use some more "bite". Like most weissbiers not too much aftertaste. Good, not outstanding.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

(500 ml bottle). Nearly gushes out of the bottle, pours with an enormous long lasting fluffy head. Colour is hazy golden. Pleasant hoppy aroma, heather, herbal, hints of cedarwood. Initially some notes of dirty socks too, notes which fortunately soon disappears in the glass. Lovely crisp hoppy flavour on a subtle malty background, hop character reminiscent of a very good golden ale. This is not a sweet beer, but the little sweetness there is reminds me of heather honey. Notes of rambutan and grapefruit too. Excellent mouthfeel, not fizzy. Long lasting hops aftertaste. This is a very good beer, regardless of style - and of course MUCH better than any industrial pilsener.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Crouch Vale’s attempt at a red Irish style ale - not a bad try IMO. Reddish colour, malty / toffee / caramel aroma, hints of oak. Malty caramel flavour with a surprisingly hoppy bitterness. Very good. A great combo with burger & chips.