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

Cask conditioned at the Alexandra Hotel ("The Alex"), Derby. Copper coloured, moderate malty and caramel aroma. This is a malty "bitter" in the Welsh style, i.e. with very little actual bitterness, just some dusty hops in the finish. A slight acidity keeps it from being too sweet.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Colour is black / dark ruby. Lovely aroma of dark fruits / prunes, English pipe tobacco, chocolate and coffee. Flavour is roast barley and oats on a surprisingly fruity background. Very drinkable. Fruity aftertaste - not what you expect from a stout, but nice! (And the beer is vegan - as if I cared!)

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

(Cask condtioned). Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival, where it was served at room temperature with no carbonation. Dark ruby colour, OKish porter with just too little of everything.

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

Cask conditioned in Northern England. Malty aroma, flavour is smooth, full & malty with a sufficient hoppy bite to make it interesting. Dry hoppy finish. A very nice pint. The brewery is now again family owned. Rerate: 500 ml bottle, thanks to my beerpal Egil. ABV is 4.5%. Brown to copper colour, moderate but lasting white head. Pleasant aroma, hoppy / fruity with notes of berries, also notes of toffee. The flavour has a nice balance between the malts and hops, notes of berries again, typical Bramling Cross qualities. The pasteurised bottle has not quite the subtle character of the cask version (if well kept), but this is still a very enjoyable beer to drink.

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

Cask conditioned in Northern England. Many British raters seem to hate this beer, but I found it as a very drinkable standard session bitter, with a decent maltiness and acceptable hops. Dusty finish. Maybe not a true masterpiece, but certainly not bad from a well kept cask.

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

Cask conditioned in Northern England. Milds are really not my definite favourite style among cask ales - most of them are, well, too mild.... However, this one is probably about as good as a standard mild can get. (Well, some micro breweries make them better!) Smooth and easy drinking.

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

Cask conditioned in England. Pumped through coolers not normally used for cask ales. Apparently an effort from Theakston to attract cool people through cool ale. They can do better than that. Oh yeah, it's smooth and drinkable, but I'd prefer an XB or a Best Bitter at normal cask temperatures, thank you.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Black (= very dark brown) colour. Interesting and unusual aroma: Ensilage, fresh mown grass, candy ("Kongen av Danmark"), hints of old ladies with a questionable personal hygiene. (Bordering on vomit, according to chris_o, but I liked it.) Flavour is grassy, citrussy, green apples. Easy drinking. Fruity finish.

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

500 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5.5%. Very dark colour, nearly black, reddish brown in the highlights. Decent tan head with good retention, leaves a nice lacing. The aroma has loads of malts, also chocolate, dark fruits, caramel, rye bread and coffee, hints of oak too. The flavour has much of the elements as the aroma, plenty of malts, chocolate and fruit, but also decent hops in the finish. A brilliant porter, and a true classic. Original rating: (Cask in England). A beer for... well, old growlers, like me. Definitely not for beginners! There's an "old man" feeling throughout, but also a fairly complex malty and fruity flavour with hints of spices and oak.

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

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml, bought at Memorable Cheeses, Ipswich. Batch No. 040510atpp. Pours with next to none head, beer is totally flat with no carbonation whatsoever. Very dark reddish brown colour. Nice aroma of roasted malts, coffee and leather. Flavour is lightly roasted malts and lemons. Acidic and thin mouthfeel. Unremarkable aftertaste. Drinkable, but disappointing.

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

Bottle conditioned, batch no. 040812arw. Bought at Memorable Cheeses in Ipswich. This fruit beer is an unfiltered and bottle conditioned wheat lager, not an ale. Cloudy golden colour (I poured the yeast in). Aroma and flavour are prickly and tart raspberries on a wheat background, not too sweet. Rather bitter finish. Not bad.

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

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml. Bought at Memorable Cheeses, Ipswich. Very dark brown colour, cloudy (I poured the yeast in). Very low head. Lovely "old" aroma of leather, oak, coffee and dark fruits. Flavour is fruity and vinegary, roast notes. Acidic finish. Not bad.

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

Bottle conditioned, 500 ml. Bought at Memorable Cheeses, Ipswich. No head, very little carbonation. Deep amber colour, hazy (I poured the yeast in). Aroma is hoppy, oaky, slightly spicy. Well balanced flavour, just the right blend of fruitiness, hoppiness and maltiness. Nice hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste. A good beer!

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Dark brown colour. Aroma of dark fruits / prunes, flavour is fruity and rather sweet. Nice. A decent mild!

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

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Aroma is very malty with notes of oak. Flavour is malty and rather boring. Not the highlight of the festival.

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

Cask conditioned. Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival. (Room temperature). Pitch black. Low (natural) carbonation. Lovely aroma, smooth roast malt and coffee flavour, with some acid side notes that I'm not entirely happy about.

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

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. A very soft and easy drinking session bitter. Nothing to blow your socks off, but nice enough for an evening in the pub.

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

Rerate, cask at The Shipwrights, North Hylton, Sunderland. A nice little beer, this one. Aroma a bit like Marston’s Pedigree, but less pronounced. Smooth and mellow, fruit and nuts in the flavour. No true "masterpiece", but certainly a drinkable pint.

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

Cask conditioned at the Lambton Worm (JDW), Sunderland. Golden colour, no head, little lacing. Moderate citrussy aroma. Light bodied. Pineapple and grapefruit in the flavour. Quite nice, but unfortunately a bit too sweet to be a definite favourite of mine.

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

Wylam’s former summer seasonal "Summer Magic" is now a permanent all year beer in Wylam’s portfolio, and the name has accordingly been changed to "Wylam Magic". ABV is 4.2%. Sampled cask conditioned at the Lambton Worm (JDW), Sunderland, on a cold winter’s day. Pale golden colour, next to none head but a decent lacing. Moderate fruity aroma. Light bodied, flavour is citrussy light and refreshing, with just enough hops to make it interesting.

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

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004. Brewed following a 17th Century recipe using rosemary. Rosemary and cloves (? - can't read my own handwriting) in the aroma and flavour, which otherwise have the characteristics of a good standard pale ale. Must be a great accompaniment with lambchops.

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

Cask conditioned at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004. Black (= very dark brown) colour. EXTREMELY fruity aroma and flavour for a stout. Notes of dark chocolate and coffee too. Interesting beer, very good. And it’s vegan, for those who care.

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

(Cask conditioned). Sampled at the Wear Valley CAMRA beer festival. (Room temperature). Low (natural) carbonation, some lacing. Black. Surprisingly fruity and flowery notes in the aroma. Roasted flavour with fruity tones, nice bitterness.

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

Cask at the Ipswich Beer Festival 2004, gravity dispense. Aroma of ensilage and barnyard, some sulphur (over-cooked eggs). Flavour is OK, but light bodied and not very exciting. Weak background of acidity.

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

Rerate, 500 ml bottle, at Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV is 4.1%. Clear and deep golden colour, huge white head. Aroma of malts and toffee, hints of herbal and earthy hops. The flavour has the same elements, with a hint of caramelized berries, the earthy hops are now quite distinct, leading to a bitter aftertaste. Original short and slightly exalted comment: "Excellent cask ale! Rule Britannia!" - which means that this is a well balanced and refreshing ale where sufficient malts are accompanied by a distinct hoppy bitterness, like you expect it from a good British bitter. Rerate, cask as guest ale at the Fuller's pub in Euston Street, London: Still solid hops and malts, but drinking experience partly ruined by the fact that the beer was served at room temperature (20-22 degrees C) - a beer like this should definitely be served at cellar temperature (10-12 degr. C). Well, most ales should be served at that temperature, actually. But the American waitress who served us was gorgeous!