Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

330 ml stubby bottle, thanks to oh6gdx and chris_o. ABV is 5.7%. I admit I had never heard of manuka before I got this beer! Clear amber colour, huge off-white head with an orangey hue. Moderate aroma of malts and spice, and something undefined which I suppose is the manuka leaves. The flavour has moderate malts and some caramel and undefined spice, with a noticeable bitterness in the finish, which might or might not be caused by manuka leaves, in addition to the hops? Definitely drinkable, but not particularly exciting.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

12 fl. oz. bottle, in the Houston tent at the ONS 2008, Stavanger. Brown colour, moderate creamy head. Moderate but pleasant aroma of malts, hints of caramel. Fizzy mouthfeel. The flavour is moderately malty and bready without any offensive sidenotes, but not exciting either.

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

On tap in the Faroe Islands tent at the ONS 2008, Stavanger. Served ice cold (= minimal taste). Golden colour, low head. Moderate sweetish aroma. Fizzy mouthfeel. Bland pale lager flavour, nothing particularly offensive, but nothing to make you happy either. The Faroese singer Hanus G. Johansen made my day, the beer did not.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

On tap in the Faroe Islands tent at the ONS 2008, Stavanger. Served too cold (= minimal taste). Amber colour, low head. Moderately malty aroma and flavour, hints of caramel. Not offensive, but boring.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

12 fl. oz. bottle, in the Houston tent at the ONS 2008, Stavanger. Golden colour, low head. Moderate sweetish fruity aroma. The flavour is very bland, slightly sweetish with minimal hops. Poor.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

12 fl. oz. bottle, bought at the GBBF 2008 for takeaway. Amber colour, big head. Aroma of Fuggles hops, but surprisingly moderate. The flavour is dominated by Fuggles hops as expected, but there is also a noticeable malty sweetness. Some fruity notes and a piney and slightly soapy finish. The bitterness is fairly subdued for an American IPA.

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

12 fl. oz. / 355 ml bottle, bought at the GBBF 2008 for takeaway. ABV is 5.2%. Amber colour, moderate head. Interesting aroma, notes of ripe berries, flowers, caramel and some wood. The flavour has first a noticeable malty presence, then slightly subdued fruity American hops take over (a little more hops would not hurt!), leading to a moderately bitter and piney finish and aftertaste.

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

12 fl. oz. / 355 ml bottle, bought at the GBBF 2008 for takeaway. ABV is 6.0%. Amber to orange colour, pours very fizzy with a moderate head. The aroma has a dominant malty sweetness, also notes of caramel, honey and moderate fruity hops. The flavour also has a dominant sweetneess (too sweet), then grapefruity hops make their presence known, leading to a distinct hoppy bitterness in the finish and aftertaste.

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

12 fl. oz. bottle, bought at the GBBF 2008 for takeaway. ABV is 5.5%, IBU 35. Deep amber to orange colour, decent off-white head with an orangey hue. Very nice aroma of Cascade hops, notes of citrus and honey. The flavour is also dominated by Cascade hops, but there is a sufficient malty base to balance the hops. Moderately bitter aftertaste. American Pale Ale is an underrated style IMO, this is an example. Great balance is more interesting for me than "hop monsters". Good beer!

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

Cask conditioned at the GBBF 2008. Golden brown colour. Moderate aroma, notes of basement. Fairly bland flavour with some malts and a little fruitiness.

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

Cask at the GBBF 2008. Golden colour. So-and-so grainy aroma, hints of basement and butterscotch. Caramel and some fruitiness in the flavour, fairly bland. Drank it too warm though.

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

Cask at the GBBF 2008, hand pump / beer engine. Black colour, dark reddish brown in the highlights, low head. A moderate nuttiness in the aroma, hints of mild coffee. The flavour is smooth with a slight roastiness and some nutty notes.

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

Cask conditioned at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) 2008. Golden colour, low head. Moderate pale malts and some fruit in the aroma and flavour, tolerably well hopped.

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

Cask at the SIBA bar at the GBBF 2008, hand pump. Golden colour, low head. Lovely aroma of tropical fruits and flowers. The flavour has tropical fruits and grapefruit throughout, convincingly hopped but not too bitter. The aftertaste is quite bitter though.

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

Cask at the GBBF 2008. ABV was said to be 3.8%. Black colour, reddish brown in the highlights. Lovely complex aroma, roasted malts, oak, dark fruits, chocolate and liquorice. Nicely balanced flavour between the malts and hops, there is an assertive bitterness but it is not overdone.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cask conditioned at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) 2008. Black colour. Very nice roasty aroma, notes of coffee. The flavour is malty and roasty, with a light mouthfeel.

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

Sampled bottle, at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) 2008. Copper coloured beer. The aroma and flavour are very malty, alcoholic and oaky. Clearly a craft beer though.

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

Cask at the GBBF 2008. ABV was said to be 7.2%. Amber to copper colour. Lovely aroma of fruity American hops. The flavour has dominant American hops throughout, but is not overdone. Drank it too warm though.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Cask at the GBBF 2008. ABV was said to be 5.0%. Brown colour. Nice aroma, malts, caramel, hops. The flavour is slightly less interesting, some fruitiness and malts, but like most brown ales it lacks hops. Drank it too warm though.

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

Cask conditioned at the GBBF 2008. Deep golden colour. Strong aroma of fruity American hops, some oaky and winey notes too. Reasonably hoppy flavour, nice beer.

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

Cask conditioned at the GBBF 2008. ABV was 4.8%. Deep golden to amber colour. Nice fruity hops in the aroma. Decent hops in the flavour too, notes of blackcurrant leaves.

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

Cask at the GBBF 2008. Black colour, dark brown in the highlights. Pleasant fruity and roasty aroma with a breath of sea air. The flavour has a moderate and smooth roastiness with a distinct fruity acidity at the side. The oysters don’t come through much though.

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

Cask at the GBBF 2008. Black colour, low head. Nice roasty aroma, notes of coffee, liquorice and dark chocolate. Roasty flavour with just a subtle fruity acidity.

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

Cask conditioned at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) 2008. Golden colour. Nice and moderately hoppy aroma and flavour, with notes of flowers and tropical fruits.

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

Cask at the GBBF 2008. Black colour, dark brown in the highlights. Roasty aroma, notes of coffee and wood. The flavour is moderately roasty and smooth, easy drinking for its strength. Some fruity acidity.