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

This one of the very best (moderate strength) beers I've ever had (cask conditioned). Aroma and flavour of dried fruits, coffee and liqourice. Can't think of any faults with it. Rerate: 500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 4.6%. Black colour, ruby in the highlights, big to moderate tan head. Aroma of coffee, dark chocolate, hints of peaty smoke and oak, not as fruity as the cask version, but nice. The flavour has the same elements as the aroma, but here distinct fruity and vinous (claret) notes come through too. The finish is slightly acidic with moderate but sufficient hops.

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

Cask conditioned: Fruity, flowery, extremely refeshing English bitter. Can't think of any faults with it.

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

A beer for extremists - if the brewers / maltsters had roasted the malt more, we'd be talking about cremation! An excellent after dinner beer, could stand in for a cup of espresso. Aftertaste lasts forever. One bottle is enough for the evening

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

275 ml bottle, unfortunately served far too cold at The Marquess of Anglesey, London. Amber colour, moderate head. Sweet alcoholic (despite ABV only 5%) candylike aroma. Flavour is a bit sweet with hints of nuts and cherries. Not my favourite this one.

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

(500 ml bottle, ABV 5,2%). Black (actually very dark ruby) with a good tan head and nice lacing. Aroma is all chocolate and roasted malts. When you expect something cloyingly sweet (chocolate in beer - "uff da"!): Surprise! - a perfectly rounded and well balanced flavour, loads of chocolate but never sickly, just the right roasted bitterness in the aftertaste. This beer is a real treat - I would be happy to drink it each and every afternoon, but just one bottle a day!

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

Cask conditioned at The Marquess of Anglesey, Covent Garden, London. Served at cellar temperature. Amber colour, low head, moderate malty aroma with some oak, mellow rounded flavour, moderate but decent bitterness. A good pint!

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

One of my favourite English session bitters (had it from cask in London).

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

Great on draught, great bottled. Forget that Bass is now owned by big bad Interbrew - just enjoy it!

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

(Bottle). A good but somewhat overrated beer. Aggressively carbonated. Better in the Good Old Days when it was stronger. Rerate, draught in Newcastle: I found the colour to be darker brown than the bottled version (can that be?), and the flavour was fuller and richer - even though the pub tried to ruin it by serving it ice cold.

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

I quite agree with all the positive things that has been said about this ale by others. Good stuff!

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

Some of the smoothest stuff you can pour from a can. Perhaps not too much character, but I like it anyhow. Easily accessible even in Norway, a lot better than most of the stuff we get here.

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

One of the best bitters around. Rerate: Cask conditioned at the Blackbird, Earls Court, London. Copper coloured, no head, minimal carbonation. Moderate aroma, initial mellow flavour, then a dominant but pleasant hoppiness. Rerate bottle: 500 ml bottle, now available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Clear amber colour, large fluffy head. Pleasant aroma of citrussy hops and toffee, hints of oak and leather. Flavour has some toffee and nuttiness, but first and foremost a distinct hoppy bitterness from start to finish, grapefruity notes. Hops linger in the long aftertaste. Not quite as good as the cask version, but still very good!

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

(Bottle, bought in Denmark). Deep amber (okay, chestnut) colour, moderate head. Too much CO2 for a bitter. Moderate aroma of toffee/caramel and malts, hints of dried fruits / fruitcake. Flavour is malty with a reasonable bitterness, finish is a bit watery. Easy drinking, nice enough - but nothing special either.

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

(500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark). I’m a big fan of Monthy Python movies, which, however, is irrelevant when sampling this beer. Inside the gimmicky bottle is a decent English bitter, and decent English bitters are always welcome in my home (no cask ales available around here, I’m afraid). Colour is deep golden, pours with a good head which leaves a nice lacing. Decent hoppy aroma (oranges and some toffee), flavour has sufficient malts and a pleasant hoppiness that lasts through the long aftertaste. Maybe not a true masterpiece, but a nice beer indeed!

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

(500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark). Very dark reddish brown colour, moderate thick tan head. Moderate but pleasant roasted aroma, hints of tar and old woodwork. Flavour is all roasted malts, a bit thin mouthfeel compared to some other stouts, but refreshing. No masterpiece, but nice enough.

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

(500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark). Beautiful dark reddish brown colour, large head. Fine aroma of oak, toffee, dark chocolate and Colombian coffee beans. Full malty flavour with a little alcoholic bite, but not too much. Roasted notes, hints of English liquorice, bitter dark chocolate and smoke. The long aftertaste has strong black coffee notes with a hoppy bite. This is a first class beer! You'll need more than one to make you a "ryggvelter", though. Baaah!

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

(500 ml bottle, bought in Finland. ABV was 5.2%.). Black (actually very dark ruby) with a good tan head and nice lacing. Aroma is all chocolate and roasted malts. When you expect something cloyingly sweet (chocolate in beer - "uff da"!): Surprise! - a perfectly rounded and well balanced flavour, loads of chocolate but never sickly, just the right roasted bitterness in the aftertaste. This beer is a real treat - I would be happy to drink it each and every afternoon, but just one bottle a day!

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

(500 ml bottle, bought in Denmark). Amber colour, moderate head. Lovely hoppy aroma, hints of heather, tobacco and spices. Flavour is nutty and biscuity, a hint of toffee but not really sweet, good bitterness which lingers in the aftertaste. Very nice.

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

(Cask conditioned, Northern England.) This is a very good and strong Old ale, well suited for a winter's day. One of my favourite pints! Rerate: 500 ml bottle, thanks to my beerpal Egil. ABV is 5.6%. Very dark reddish brown colour, big beige head. Nice aroma of malts (some of them apparently lightly roasted), vinous notes, dark fruits and berries. The flavour is rich and malty with just a mild roastiness, perfectly balanced by fruity hops with berry notes. Not an extreme beer in any way, other than being "extremely good".

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

(500 ml bottle, bought at Systembolaget, Sweden). Dark brown colour, low head. Aroma of malts and ensilage. Flavour has some maltiness, some bitterness - but lacks complexity. Cool bottle and label promises more than the beer keeps. Probably better cask conditioned?

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

(500 ml bottle). Golden colour, moderate head. Moderate but decent hoppy aroma. Hallertau in a bitter? Must be unusual? Mouthfeel is initially quite soft and not very "bitter and twisted", but there's a distinct lemony bitterness in the finish (Styrian Goldings). Leaves a nice aftertaste. Very refreshing. I can see why this beer has a broad appeal to the masses. Not a piece of art, perhaps, but a decent and well made bitter. Looking forward to sampling it cask conditioned. Rerate: This beer has become part of my staple diet, due to its availability here in Norway, and I will readily admit that I LOVE both the aroma and flavour. I’m upping it 1 point. Also sampled cask conditioned at The Cask & Barrel, Edinburgh. Not in the very best condition, and served slightly too warm. Deep golden colour, creamy head. Nice zesty and fruity hop aroma, but should be even better. Distinctly hoppy flavour throughout, but not quite as zesty as it should be in its best condition.

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

"(Bottle). A good but somewhat overrated beer. Aggressively carbonated. Better in the Good Old Days when it was stronger. Rerate, draught in Newcastle: I found the colour to be darker brown than the bottled version (can that be?), and the flavour was fuller and richer - even though the pub tried to ruin it by serving it ice cold."

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

Rerate, draught in Newcastle: I found the colour to be darker brown than the bottled version (can that be?), and the flavour was fuller and richer - even though the pub tried to ruin it by serving it ice cold.

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

(500 ml bottle, now available in Norway). Colour is yellowish brown, good thick head. Aroma has first some fruity hops, then dusty malts. Flavour is malty with hints of caramel and dust. There is too much carbonation for my taste. OKish beer, but not remarkable.

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.